Honda shows 06 range

The Honda stand at the NEC Bike Show holds the 2006 FireBlade, the new CB1000F, and the revised VFR800 VTEC, but the star of the show for many people was ASIMO, the Honda robot.

You can see why the crowd was distracted from motorcycling by clicking on the video clips below. The lifelike robot couldn’t keep people away from the FireBlade for long, however, as Honda’s Matthew Stone chatted with Suzi Perry about the revised engine characteristics, new swingarm and steering angle on the Blade.

The VFR800 has also been changed with a smoothing of the VTEC “step” that riders has noticed. The Goldwing, meanwhile, gets heated armrests and a heated seat.

The main thrust of the Honda talk was new technology, with the first bike airbag arriving in summer 2006, and the move to hybrid and fuel cell powered bikes.

Safety also played a big part, with a new Honda training simulator on show, and it will eventually be in every Honda dealers and training centre in the UK.

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