+nitenurse69 I currently ride a Honda ST1300 and am looking at changing riding styles. This video is a bit dated. My concern for the Varadero is that Honda stopped distributing it here in Canada in 2010. I know an ex Honda Canada exec who's had two of them as well. 177,000 on the first and and 125,000 on he second. Honda did not market it well here. Great to hear your endorsement. The new Africa Twin coming here this spring is a about 15,000 were as a used Vara is going for about $6500. The math is pretty easy. Cheers

I think yes it is , but ... Honda make surprice to the end of the year , NEW Honda Africa Twin 1000 cc . I drive Varadero 2008 XL1000V , and im very satisfied with this bike ...

+kalledisco Same in Belgium they've stopped selling it in 2011 and it's been replaced by the Crosstourer

chezzylee I'm 5'10" and not overly long in the leg or physically strong. It's okay. you can wind down the rear preload and they're straightforward to lower if you need to.

Gideon Nisbet thanks for the heads up.

+Cristian Luca Agreed. That was exactly what I thought after watching this review. I had the first, carbie model and have ridden the other two as well and they were nothing like what they describe here. The Varadero is not only uncomfortably top heavy, it's just plain heavy overall. Whatever Honda is claiming (I think about 220kg), the actual weight with crash bars, top case and luggage rack along with a few little farkles here and there was nearly 290kg. Pretty unwieldy if you're not at least 6ft+, and even then, you need some muscle to maneuver it around. I'm about 5'11'' and backing up uphill was just out of the question, and I'm no lightweight! Apart from that, the stock suspension is just terrible. Good enough if all you need is a relatively comfy ride but certainly inadequate for any kind of hard riding, unless you're really brave! I eventually swapped the stock springs (front and back) for Hyperpros and they were terrible as well. Wind up the preload enough and it would keep a line on the twisties but hit a bump and you'd feel it all the way to your forehead. Wind it down to get kinda comfy and it just wouldn't corner. Midway was not a real choice either, it did absolutely nothing adequately. The motor is just fine. Torquey, tractable and peppy enough to get you in trouble. Although it's a thirstly beast, even the injected ones. Compared to the rest in its category, at least. It can be frugal if you keep it tame but wind it up a little and it gulps it down fast. Hence the 25liter barrel of a fuel tank. As for dirt riding... I've done a little bit of dirt and green laning on it and to be honest, it's kinda scary. It's way too heavy to be comfortable on anything but paved roads, mud and sand are out of the question and its size, weight and torque make it quite a workout at gravelly roads. Perhaps if you're a Dakar rider you'd fare better than I...! All in all, it's a Honda. Pretty reliable -albeit not without its weak points-, it's an extremely comfortable two up, paved roads touring machine and it will give you no surprises or extreme thrills. Friendly enough bike but ultimately, a bit bland and for me, personally, a let down. I'd much rather have the faster, more agile, more frugal and MUCH lighter Caponord or the V-Strom 1000.

+GreekDudeCovers ...Detailed reply :) I personally went for a Yamaha TDM 900 2006. Got it for 6 weeks now (done 1000km on it so far) I got it in good condition and I'm happy with my choice. I think it's a much better choice overall compared to this fat cow.

The TDM's a nice, proven bike. Quite "sippy" on gas, peppy enough for its claimed horsepower, light and maneuverable. Can be surprisingly good on the twisties. Only thing I didn't like about it was the reach to the handlebars, it was kind of a weird riding position for me. Nevertheless, I do consider it a better bike overall than the Varadero. But oh well, to each his own I guess. There are a lot of people that do love the 'dero so...

+GreekDudeCovers The handlebars are narrower considering the size and the type of the bike, and it takes a bit of muscle to wind it around, especially when you have the bike heavy loaded and a pillion on top of that. I think they made them narrow to further enhance their all-rounder quality. The narrow handlebars are good for filtering traffic. Since I use the bike 50% in town and I filter quite a lot I do appreciate the narrow bars. I had an er-6n 2007 previously and the riding position on this bike is much more comfortable.

i don't know why but i feel like you are complaining too much, i have a SD01 honda varadero and i ride it every day of my life, in heavy trafic, open roads and sometimes, off road or sand, and the bike is not as terrible as is described here, the only change i made to her that is importat in handling is an pro taper bar with the same shape as original and 1 inch raiser for the pro-taper, being more solid, make the bike a lot more easy to manouver on low speeds, i feel this bike confortable in any situation, i have riden a lot of bikes before, 2003 GS (this bike has a lot better suspension but is not that conffy and i feel her less powerfull in any situation), 2011 Vstrom 650, out of question, the varadero is a lot more powerful but with similar handling, KLR 650, no point of comparision, the KLR is a bike in front of the Varadero, easy to handle on off road but terrible in any other thing you want to do, even breaking is terrible... so the varadero is not that bad bike, of course if you compare it to a new africa twin, KTM 1190 or GS she will lose on almost everything, but you are comparing an old bike that has not changed a lot in years... only ABS, EFI and some weight improvements... compare it with 2000's bikes a you will find why the Varadero is the best bike of his age.