Acutally I'm lying. You don't swing your leg over this bike. You stand on the peg and jump on, or put your knee on the seat and do a side swipe with your leg, or you show off your Taekwondo skills and side kick your leg over it.
This beast is tall
Before I was given the chance to smash my shin against the metal rear grab rail Rich showed me the controls. As this is the DCT model there's no clutch. The lever on the left side is a handbrake. I was warned not to touch the handbrake when you're moving as you;ll bin it.
I was also warned not to blip the throttle when you're at the lights, as you'll end up in the side of a white van.
And to be gentle with the throttle when you pull away.
And to forget that your left foot is there.
Then you're shown the controls, which includes the buttons for gravel riding, turning off the rear ABS, the semi automatic gear selector paddles, the neutral switch, the drive switch, the mode switches, the engine braking selections, the hand heater levels, traction control levels, the horn, the indicators and load more I had forgotten because by now I was too scared to even touch the throttle for fear of binning it.
look at all those buttons and controls
Did I mention the height? The seat had been lowered to its lowest setting. Honda do a lower seat as an option. I'm just under 6 foot and I struggled to get on the bike. I'm sure there's a knack to it.
Once on I managed to swing the bike to my right foot, flick the side stand up and gentle pull away. This bike is gentle on the throttle and the fly by wire gives an instant reply.
It is weird not having a clutch, especially when you come to a stop as your instinct is to grap the lever. On the other hand, or foot, a lack of a gear lever was soon forgotten.
Once on the move the height gives you an excellent view around. The screen is probably too tall for this bike, it causes a bit of turbulence. I reckon a short sports screen would be much better suited. The bars are wide giving you very good control, which the tall 21 inch front wheel mops up. This handles well with the plush suspension adding more than a supportive role to your steering requirements.
Some people have criticised this bike for having harsh suspension but it suits me. I like feedback through the bars and seat and this bike gives.
The brakes slow the big ATAS without being harsh or suggesting that you're going to get into trouble. For the opening few minutes you expect the bike to stall when you're braking, but it doesn't. The DTS is very well programmed.
Talking of which, it's weird hearing a bike making gear changes for you when all you're doing is twisting the throttle.
The engine is a big parallel twin kicking out less than 100bhp, but it doesn't seem like it. The fuelling is really good and the engine sings when you're gassing it and rewards you with a nice chorus when you're dropping the knots. In fact, I'll stick my neck out and say from the pilot's seat this sounds better than the 1090 from KTM
This is old school Honda. Not the tech, but the build quality, design and ergonomics. The paintwork is well planned and implemented with an obvious depth to it. The seat is flat, firm and wide, but comfortable. The controls (all of them) are easy to flick a digit on and the whole bike seems well put together.
There have been complaints about the spokes. I saw a 2016 model with the issue. It's not really a problem, the spokes have lost some off the galvanising. Honda have gone stainless for 2018.
I took the bike on the motorway, A roads, urban backstreets and some tarmac covered single track roads. It goes where you want as quickly as you can. I got an indicated 120 out of it then backed off. If you wind open the throttle it goes sporty and hammers through the rev range with that lovely background note.
I parked up to take some photos. As you can see, it was at a slight slope, which made it a doddle to get back on, but hard work to get off the side stand.
I didn't have too long on the bike which meant I didn't get used to the height and weight. So I was cautious at slow speeds, I think you need to be more confident to hustle this bike, I was offered another hour on the bike, but I had to get back home. I can go back any time I want to for more time with the ATAS.
So the big question - would I have one?
The DCT is great but it's not for me. I felt a bit of a spare part on the bike. Rich at Sutton Honda told me that they sell an even split. Like me he appreciates the DCT but prefers the manual.
I love the looks, the build quality, the features and the engine. The height I could get used to. Rich and I crunched some numbers and as always the sticking point is the high mileage on my Versys, although he did acknowledge it's in excellent condition. The offer on the table is appealing.
It would make an excellent all year round bike. The rider modes and the ability to change the ABS, traction control and engine braking means you can programme it so it's all set up just the way you like it.
it would also make for an excellent tourer. It's comfortable, tall, economical and got a 24.5l tank. This thing can munch continents, on or off the road.
But here's the "but". It's a £12k bike. It's almost too good to replace the Versys as an every day ride to and from work. The little 650 does what I want and does it well. It's been through a winter and I know now what I need to do to the Kwak to make sure come spring it doesn't look like it's been pulled out of a World War 1 battle site.
I have no idea how the ATAS would look after a British winter.
Likewise as it's a £12k bike it's a bit of a expensive toy to leave in the garage for most of the year.
The compromise could be keeping the Versys as a winter hack while the salt is out and use the ATAS once the road salt has been washed away, but that seems a bit gluttonous to me.
And I would still want a sports orientated bike for weekend blasts and the occasional track day.
