Honda XL1000V Vardero (Honda Varadero XL1000V)

Member Name: Pieater

Product:	Honda Varadero XL1000V
Date:	18/03/03 (9333 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Comfort, Torque

Disadvantages: Front Screen, No 6th Gear, Centre Stand Not Standard

The mighty Varadero doesn't seem to have won many friends in the UK (Unlike Europe), but I recon it's been wrongly written up by the so called 'know it alls' of motorcycling. At 6' 3" & 18 stones, I was looking for something big & comfortable, which would carry me & a pillion for many hours at a time. Love it or hate it, I recon the Varadero is a top machine & fell in love with it at 1st sight. Considering that they're not selliing well in the UK, I expected to pick up a nice cheap bike from a UK Honda dealership, but that wasn't the case, as the ones I found were around the £7,300 mark. After looking long and hard, I managed to secure a good deal, purchasing a new 'Y' Reg, Australian Import from a local dealership, for £5,600 on the road.
From the moment I rode out of the showroom, I've had nothing but pleasure from my bike, notching up 7500 miles in the 1st year. The meaty twin pot Firestorm engine makes light work of long liesurely rides out with her indoors, yet allows me to keep up with the boys on those lads outings!?! Despite its size, the Varadero is a superb road holder and I have no real complaints in any area.
Being particularly picky, I did find several things which could be improved with my bike and it's nice to see that Honda have addressed most of them on the 2003 Varadero.
On my example, the lack of a 6th gear causes it to rev unneccesarily high at normal motorway speeds, attributing to the poor fuel consumption. Also, I find that the front screen is too low, causing deafness & brain damage at anything over 60 mph in a slight wind. Lastly, the lack of a standard fitted centre stand (I'm too tight to buy one as an extra) is a real headache when it comes to routine rear wheel maintenance.
That said, I'd have another!

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