2017 Honda X-ADV Review – You can think of the X-ADV as either a scooter that thinks it’s a motorbike or a motorbike that thinks it’s a scooter – it offers all the practicality of a twist and go scoot but all the performance of a DCT motorcycle. Whatever it is, it looks great and goes well. Stay tuned to see what I made of it!
Thanks to HGB Motorcycles in Ruislip for making this review possible.
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Top notch MissendenFlyer. Your review certainly presents this bike as a perfectly capable every day sort of machine that would thrive in a real world use sort of capacity i.e. ripping down to the shops, ripping off to work (or school?) and generally ripping around on errands. It may not be the bike of choice for a long haul overnight weekend trip, but then again, why not?
You kept to some rural open roads for the most part, but how does the X-ADV perform in a dense urban environment? (I have visions of hundreds of scooters zipping about Rome, Paris and yes, London.) With the power, easy ergonomics and general friendliness, it should be a winner amongst either scooters or motorcycles.
Oh and how should one pronounce X-ADV? Zadv, zhadeev, CHAV? I’ve picked one already…
35yrs of braking with right hand and Right Foot – there’s NO WAY my brain could re-calibrate to braking with both levers as a change !
The extra “thingy” on the back wheel is more than likely a kind of parking brake I reckon. Nice little? scoot though, like it!
I think it looks great. Throw a tail tidy and an aftermarket can on it and it would look even better. Oh and I’d remove that top box!
When in Greece on a hired scooter, no dirt road held me back 🙂
Great review as always, but let’s see the storage under the seat and all it’s features. Also what is that catch handle for behind the fairing in front of your right knee ?.
Unfortunately, they (Honda) missing out as lots of guys have A2 licence (like me) and Honda do not offer restriction kit for it. I just don’t understand. Sales will be like 9 Tmax vs 1 X-ADV… nonsense from Honda. I was down for one, but it will be a Tmax…
Embarrassing.
From Finland to Costa del Sol Spain and back to Finland,and still i love to ride it after ca.9000km.Comfortable on all roadconditions.
£9599 is too expensive.
The NC750XDCT is £2172 less. The NC750SDCT is£2568 less.
I like how you blurred the speed gauge when you were going over the limit on some roads, lol.
That looks like the same Honda top box as on my DCT Africa Twin. The Drive mode is a waste of time on the AT as it goes up through all six gears by 35mph. I have to use Sport 1 or Sport 2 to avoid jerky junction turns.
Thanks for that most interesting – Did you try it in Sport 2 mode by any chance – seems like you only got to sport 1?
I would only buy one if it was cheap
Great to see something different. I tried the BMW C650GT last year and although it has a CVT transmission and therefore a “proper” scooter, it has a 650cc – 60 bhp engine… a big and heavy old thing compared to the Honda. Might give it a try one of these days 🙂 Cheers.
£10,000 for a scooter! NO. JUST NO.
If you want your mates to laugh at you for buy a £10,000 ugly looking piece of s*** then go for it or just buy the NC750X much cheaper.
Another thorough and useful review. Thanks! Not hearing a compelling reason to trade in the BMW C600, though…does the Honda ship with heated gear? The hot seat/hands on my Beemer are nice during chilly commutes. –cheers
Erm, …. The wheels are actually “relatively” LARGE … for a SCOOTER ! ! !
The DCT is the future of motorbikes isn’t it? I remember when they were really only in performance cars like Porsches. Slowly but surely they appeared in everything. I even had a four wheel drive with paddles on the wheel so you could change up and down manually if you wanted to. I used them once, just to try them out and that was that. Never touched them again in four years of ownership. For everyday driving an automatic is just so much easier. In city traffic it’s a no-brainer.
Now I get the purist’s saying that the clutch is crucial to the control of the motorbike and it is a bit like cars, the enthusiast will still want a manual, but I think eventually, most people will be happy with a DCT. Even Ferrari has stopped making manual gearboxes.
Those who want a motorbike to get from A to B and not for the thrill will want a DCT and all the electronics. They don’t have to worry about losing control, accidental wheelies and skidding in the wet. Point and ride. As my wife said. “I’m not interested in racing around the country lanes. I just want to enjoy the freedom of biking, without the hassle and feeling safe” is what she said. I think plenty of people will want that. Just got to get the price right.
thats a pretty darn cool looking scooter machine bike thing – I think i like it!
When are you going to test the new Honda Jet plane? lol don’t think you are like me with a few spare quid for that!
More geometry than a Lamborghini.
Regarding the back pain in a scooter, I have done 30k miles in my Xmax 125 scooter from Europe to Asia and I never had any back pain except the usual you might get on a highway without bends for hours. At the end you just learn how to stretch yourself if you need to spend 8 hours on a bike!
One MAJOR drawback
Keyless ignition
We’ve all seen the papers lately how thieves get round that.
Like the idea. Brave of Honda to put it into production. I’m tempted to try one after watching your review.
Not a mention of what it’s like when you manually shift gears?
That’s the handbreak cable on the back wheel, I’ve had mine just over 6weeks now. And I love it. Most used bike I’ve ever had too date! Great video 😉 Cheers ps have a look at my video on my page.
We still don’t know if they will bring it to Australia
Integra it’s an all around better investment UNLESS you’re Hell bent on getting this just for the looks.
I think it’s an interesting concept but poorly executed(looks kind of cartoon-ish, wacky with the big o wheel on the front[17″] and tiny one on the back[15″], all disproportionate). Not my thing.
12:34 Parking Brake.
Good work, Mr. Flyer !
Thanks TMF, another great review – already looking forward to the long-term review!
I, as a Stoke Poges chap now living in Switzerland, am currently learning on a KTM Duke 390 and a Honda Grom – both great learner bikes.
I can’t make up my mind if the XADV concept is totally crazy, or bang-on-perfect. My commute into Zürich is over an hour each way of twisties and hills. So something that behaves like a bike on those twisties, yet is as stress-free as a scooter in town (no gears to change), and can also cope with the occasional unsurfaced road intrigues me.
One question: How easy is it to ride a DCT bike like the XADV or Africa Twin ultra-slow? There is no clutch to slip….
Great review, but that is just too busy for my taste. It kind of looks like a dirt bike and a space ship made a baby. LOL Oh well, I’m sure someone will absolutely love it. I will stick to my Burgman 🙂
Nice. It looks a bit funky but I like the all-in-one sort of deal. I was always torn between a scooter and a regular looking bike. I’m in the US but driving manual cars all my life, an automatic bike in crazy traffic where everyone wants to kill you with their suv looks good. Plus leaning forward has never been comfortable for me. My neck just doesn’t like that too much. I don’t know if it will make it to this side of the world, but that’s cool either way.
This scooter is wicked. I could see them being used as promotional bikes or those used by the media for filming cycle races. Definitely looks like a motorcycle (Africa twin) from the handlebar and instrument set up. It’s the sort of bike (with a price point to match) that one would just buy for the heck of it to scoot in style. Fitting right in next to their boat, ski-doo(s), motor cross and fwd.