HO HO HO: Honda?s $225 Million Mistake

He does make a good video.
 
I sold the first Rune delivered to NorCal. I was working at (now defunct) Fairfield Cycle Center, in Fairfield. The buyers (they bought it jointly) were a gay couple who lived in Martinez. Only one of them intended to ride the thing, and he was too scared to ride it home, so I was the first person to ride a street-registered Rune.

It was...heavy. My lord. So profoundly dense. Stable as all get out, too, as he mentions in the video. Freightliner stable. The overriding impression, however, was of uncanny, inexplicable length. The headlight was so far away, and the front fender seemed to be in another zip code. I'd never experienced anything like it.

The thing sounded amazing. Even in the video here, you can hear it. It sounded deep, rumbly, menacing, and very expensive. Tremendous.

Speaking of expensive, wooo, the paintjob on the Rune was exquisite.

The bike was too large for me to want to daily, but if I were the size of the typical rider of oversized cruisers, and I ever wanted a cruiser, the Rune would have been my no-brainer choice. It's a truly incredible machine.

Man, I wish Honda still exhibited that sort of no-effs-given pride as a builder.
 
Thread starter
Gotta make those mortgage payments, I reckon. Or put some protein on the table. After all, the children have to eat at some point.
 
The most ugly bike I've ever seen :huh:
No need any even for free.
All it needs is a big suction pipe to serve as a sewer truck.
 
peterbaron_imp said:
The most ugly bike I've ever seen :huh:
No need any even for free.
All it needs is a big suction pipe to serve as a sewer truck.
:rofl:
PB, that's the best comment I've seen on this beast.
 
An old thread, but while at a local show on Sunday, I spotted a Rune. No problem clocking one of these chrome elephants from across a parking lot.
Failed to take a photo, but you know what they look like. It was Pearl Blurple.

Seemed to be in good shape, with a for sale sign, asking $20k. The sign noted that the Rune coffee table book was included.
 
I was at the dealer when the sales manager showed me Honda's dealer promo packet of the Rune including pictures. I simply said "it looks horrible". He just shook his head saying something to the effect "most of Honda's line-up needs updated, a few units like the XR650L are way past due, the XR650R needs to be made street legal, the whole ATV line needs updated, the FJR1300 is kicking the ST1300's ..., and they present us with this?!"

And he was right, it's not so much the money Honda wasted, rather than that same money could have been put to far better use.
 
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