Talk about attitude - Honda's Bagger is a long, low, black wedge of two-wheeled muscle designed to shake off the staid image sported by its Goldwing sibling.
Most obviously it does that via a more streamlined look, with that cut-down screen and the flowing tail revealed by removing the bigger-bike's bulky topbox and rear-passenger armchair. For the Bagger is effectively a Goldwing attacked by bean-counters and a chainsaw - the latter hacking off anything sticking above the handlebars, and the former gutting the expensive tech. But the result is better than it sounds.
If you pitted the two head-to-head in a drag race, the Bagger gets up and boogies. It fields Ford Focus levels of torque at less than a third the weight and easily shrugs off the touring bike, as it uses the same 1.8-litre 12-valve flat-six motor with 87kW at 5500rpm and 167Nm at 4000rpm, but has dropped over 40kg of heft. The better power-to-weight translates to speed off the line, and the lower centre of gravity to more agile handling, though with this extended wheelbase the Bagger remains a handful through any tight set of bends, and lots of torque and one-wheel-drive requires a steady hand on the throttle if life's not to get too interesting in wet winter conditions.
Not least because the Bagger still tips the scales at a weighty 385kg. The lost kilos were gained via binning items the tourer uses to cosset its passengers. So the heated seats have gone, and the electronically adjustable suspension. The satnav, cruise control, and airbag - there's a lockable tank-top cubby in its place. The top box, and rear back- and arm-rests. The heated seats and handgrips. The accessories charging socket, two sound-system speakers and the auto speed-adjusting volume. Oh yes, and the reverse gear which frankly would still come in useful on a bike like this. But there's still a lot of metal here, not least that motor, and you'll notice it while turning it round in the garage.
