2007 Honda 919

NAME: Jon Langston
AGE: 42
HEIGHT: 5’11’
WEIGHT: 185
POSITION AT TAM: Associate Editor, RoadBike
BEEN RIDING FOR: Two years (street)
PERSONAL RIDE: 1983 Kawasaki KZ 11000 LTD aka “The ‘Saki Bomb”

Technically, it’s a Naked Standard, and judging by the lack of bodywork, I guess it’s true. But the Honda 919 has the heart of a sportbike, boasting an inline four derived from the CBR900RR, and Big Red rightly posits the nimble bike into the Sport category on its website.

Power is plentiful, as the 919cc engine (clever name) pumps out plenty of horses all through the range. Additionally, I found the 919 to be extremely rider-friendly, with a big, easy-to-read instrument cluster and negotiable controls. The seat height (31.3”) was ideal for my (unfortunately average) size, and it certainly rides like a naked standard. For a while. But twist the grip, man, and hold on. This bike jumps off the line with aplomb, gets up to cruising speed in a hurry, and wants to stay there. Even at top end, if you’ve got more throttle to twist, then the 919 has more power to give. It’s very generous.

On a weekend blast over the Catskills, the 919 performed admirably, standing up to the twisting challenges of a Triumph Daytona 675 and the straightaway beelines led by a couple of Harleys. And even as the other guys were pulling over for gas, the 919, thanks to its efficient powerplant and large, 5-gallon tank, still had enough juice to wait for the next exit. Politely, I pulled off with my thirsty comrades and gassed up anyway.

My only complaint was with the seat angle. It’s not supposed to be a “sportbike,” but the 919 really, really wants its rider to be nestled right up on top of that big gas tank, an unfortunate position for a man to be in, especially for hours at a stretch. By the time we got to Oneonta, I was more than ready to put it aside for the night. But only for the night.

I also would have liked the foot controls to be a little further forward, as the leaning seat angle combined with the midsets had my inner legs and crotch supporting the bulk of my body weight against the tank, and my knees cramping up a bit. I couldn’t help thinking
that if I could only put a little more pressure on the footpegs, the tank wouldn’t be quite so unforgiving.

Stylewise, the Honda (almost) holds its own among the Harleys and a Triumph

A gathering of yahoos near the secluded swimmin’ hole known as the “Blue Hole”, in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York

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