Kawasaki Concours vs. Honda Helix

I took Dad's Honda Helix and raced it against my '88 Concours.  It was a draw.

The bikes have never been together since they reside 5 hours apart, but since I rode the Concours to work that morning and then the Helix that evening after the car trip, I got a real chance to compare the two.

Bike Porn - Helix on the Lake

The battery on the Helix wasn't doing well, so we swapped it out for the one in the Yamaha Zuma 125 - always have a spare.  It started up after a few seconds for the first time in months and I took off about ten minutes later.

The top speed test was first.  They say the Concours has a max of 147 mph but I've only seen 110.  It was totally stable but the sheer stupidity of that speed made me back off the throttle.  I leaned forward on the Helix with my helmet close to the tiny windscreen and ran it up to 81 mph on a flat section of 86 with the sun setting behind me.  The front end was light and skittish and the bike doesn't like wind so I was glad once it quit speeding up and I could exit the interstate.

I wouldn't run it on the freeway for long, but it's great around town and on the back roads and that's how Mommy and Daddy use it.

Has the Helix seen dirt before?

It's not bad on the dirt either.  I took it up that rutted dirt road in the picture and though the suspension is bouncy and the wheels are tiny and the bars are set too close to my knees, it's low enough and light enough that it'd be tough to drop it unless my foot slipped.  I've sat on superscooters without adjustable handlebars but the Helix accepts any standard handlebar and you can adjust the angle with standard handlebar clamps.  It even has a parking brake.

The Concours seems to be designed for the curves and I rarely notice the suspension.  The Helix, however, is not nearly as twisty as its name.  The springy suspension and the small wheels do not make it a mountain goat through the corners.  At 6'5", my legs are too long for the foot well, but it's fine for anything but really long rides with no breaks.  I got off to snap pictures pretty often so it never bothered my knees.

For it's intended use, the Helix is great.  My naked Concours is almost twice as heavy, a lot taller, and more complicated with its standard moto controls but the exhilaration of speed and turns more than make up for its complication.

I want one of each.