Modern Motorcycle Design - Love it or Hate it.

It seems most motorcyclists fall into two different camps: the evolutionaries and the traditionalists. They rarely agree on aesthetics.

Case in point: the Victory Vision. When Victory came out with the initial prototype and started doing the marketing rounds, even moto-journalists were polarized. Some called it a brave new design, while others thought it looked like a UFO. Personally, I liked it.

I can understand why boomers and early genexers like Harleys and classic Triumphs. Its melancholy - finally getting the bike you lusted at years ago. The look hasn't changed that much, and with a bit of faded memory a brand new Sportster looks just like the one you remember your uncle riding when you were a kid.

The same neo-styling is gaining popularity with the four-wheeled crowd too. Just check out Chevrolet's new Camaro or the Dodge Challenger. Straight outta the seventies, eh? Funny thing is, they both look remarkably similar. Then again, so do most cruisers out there.

I've always preferred thouroughly modern looking machines. Bikes that you simply couldn't mistake for your uncle's old Sportster. Of course, the fact that I ride a V-Strom should make the previous statement evident.

I talked about that, so that I could talk about this. Honda's new DN-01. Now for most traditionalists, one look at Honda's new Sports Cruiser will most likely trigger an involuntary gag reflex. I simply love it. This ain't your daddy's bike. It is modern in how it looks, how it works and probably how it rides. Forget the VTX, think of Akira's bike in the classic film by Katsuhiro Otomo. Want to be an individualist? Forget the chrome and leather fringe and get one of these. I guarantee that it'll turn more heads at the doughnut shop than the latest cookie cutter chopper.

For now, the DN-01 is only available in Japan. But I hope that some day Honda Canada might bring it over. After all, they did import the CBF1000, Varadero and CBR125.