The original Varadero, introduced in 1999, had the 996cc V-twin from Honda's VTR1000 Firestorm sports bike but tuned for mid-range torque. Both had a reputation for excessive thirst - hardly surprising when you consider the VTR was fed by the largest-diameter carburettors yet fitted to a production street bike - two 51mm flat-slide monsters.

The current Spanish-built Varadero has Honda's PGM fuel-injection that draws through two 42mm throttle bodies. The result is impressive fuel efficiency on the open road, commendably low emissions - and a slight case of the jerks in heavy traffic.

Throttle response however, is always immediate and precise, getting better the harder you rev the bike, and the bike's fuel consumption averages out at about 8.2 litres/100km – a guide rather than accurate because I did the four-day test on less than a tank!

The fuel-injected edition is rated at 69kW at 8000rpm with 98Nm at 6000; there's lots of V-twin grunt available anywhere above two-five and from 6000-8500rpm the thing pulls like locomotive, accompanied by some secondary vibration that can become intrusive despite the motor's balance shafts.

It's easier to settle down to a steady cruise at 155km/h with the motor running sweetly just over 5000rpm. We're talking serious touring capability here.

In performance testing the bike rumbled up to a rather intense 214km/h at just below 7000rpm. The high screen and voluminous fairing made it easy to duck out of the wind and the bike remained steady at its top speed.

Slick shift

Power is fed through a six-speed gearbox (five on the previous model) that's noisy and notchy at low revs but slick in the upper half of the rev counter – reminding you that this motor started life in a sports bike.

There's distinct lash in the final drive; the power takes up with a clunk in first and second but it doesn't affect the bike's behaviour as much as the low-speed jerking of the fuel injection. In traffic this unites with the sensitive steering to make the bike unstable below 30km/h.

Add to that the width of the fairing and what you have is a less-than-ideal commuter. It'll do it, but it takes steady hands and an eye for just how big that gap is going to be when you get there.

Instead, take the Varadero out of the city and find some twisties; suddenly it's whole new bike as motor, transmission and chassis meld into a smooth team. Above 4000rpm you forget about the clutch.

Throttle response becomes race-track sudden; so much wrist movement gives so much punch out a corner - right now - while the wide bars give you the leverage to throw this tall 235kg machine around like a scrambler.

The long-travel suspension is supple but not soggy and soaks up the worst bumps of my suspension-test road without the bike ever getting out of shape (partly due to the bike's hefty all-up weight) or nose-diving excessively under hard braking.

Linked brakes

Honda's combined braking system earns some credit here; much though I dislike linked brakes, they do cause the bike to squat at both ends rather than standing on its headlight when you need to stop suddenly. That's why BMW, its machines notoriously prone to dive, adopted linked brakes nearly two decades ago.

The Honda layout works like this: each calliper has three pistons, the outer two of which are operated by hand or foot lever in the normal way. The rear brake lever operates the centre piston on each front calliper so even if you use just the foot lever you will get some braking on the front wheel as wheel.

Talk about protecting you from yourself.

The left front calliper isn't on the fork slider but on a pivoted bracket that bears down on a little remote master cylinder. The harder you squeeze the front brakes, the harder this calliper bracket pushes on the piston – which operates the centre cylinder on the rear calliper!

It's an astonishingly complex answer to a question that should never have been asked, requiring four times as much plumbing as a conventional braking system (and it must be a swine to bleed) but over the years Honda has refined it to the point where you don't notice it working.

Sure, the brakes don't have a lot of bite and theoretically the bike pulls a millimetre or two to the right under really hard braking – but you wouldn't know it if I hadn't told you.

Two strong fingers on the lever will haul the bike down hard enough to have the block-pattern front tyre howling while the rear remains commendably stable.

Under most circumstances you can ignore the complexity of the system; just have it flushed and all the hydraulic fluid replaced by an accredited dealer every spring – and brace yourself for a hefty bill.

Cutting corners

Thanks to the wide handlebars the bike is agile and turns in quickly – sometimes a little too quickly. Quite often I found myself cutting the apexes of some of my favourite corners a little too tight and once the bike fell off the road into the ditch on the inside of a long sweeping left, luckily without losing its composure – although the same cannot be said about the rider.

I don't think it's the bike's fault, though; it's easy to put a little too much pressure on the bars if you're used to the more labour-intensive steering on older sports machines. You soon learn to ride the Varadero with a light touch despite its size.

Once settled into a long corner it holds its line, impervious to bumps and ripples, and the harder you turn it on the harder it seems to grip.

You soon get into a relaxed rhythm of brakes and throttle, keeping up a gratifying point-to-point average without having to work very hard for it. You sit upright, unstressed behind the high screen – which is adjustable for height through 50mm – and let the bike do its job.

Luxury accommodation

The seat is wide and deeply padded, with reasonable scope for moving around to delay the Numb Bum Syndrome and a small step up to the pillion pad – which has an unusually relaxed foot peg position. Long-legged ladies will approve…

This is a big bike - a very big bike - and at 838mm the seat is high enough that I could only just get my feet flat on the deck (I'm 1.8m); with the optional top box in position throwing a leg over the Varadero was occasionally easier said than done.

The 45-litre top box, by Givi, is a Honda option but still needs its own key. It would take any competent locksmith about an hour to reconfigure the lock for the bike's ignition key - a vast improvement in convenience. Should have been done when the box was installed.

The sides of the 25-litre tank are deeply indented to hide your knees and it extends way down the sides of the bike to almost hide the motor. It should give a range of more than 300km.

You can tell when you're riding economically because the car-style instrument panel incorporates a trip computer which tells you – among other things – your current fuel consumption as well as the time, tank range and average speed. At night the instruments are backlight with a soft amber glow.

The headlights – both of which are on all the time (hooray!) - are phenomenal, giving a wide spread of light with a sharp cut-off to avoid blinding oncoming traffic and remarkable penetration on high beam.

Competent tourer

Honda set out to build a big dual-purpose bike – what it got is a remarkably competent tourer with decent handling, superb seat comfort and the ability to haul two people and their luggage as far as they want to go.

It handles dirt roads as well as any other big, stable road-bike; it'll cruise the plains all day at 180km/h and take you swinging through the twisties when you get to the mountains.

That's what adventure touring is all about – finding the places that aren't in the guide books.

Specifications:

Motor: Liquid-cooled 90-degree four-stroke twin.
Capacity: 996cc.
Bore x stroke: 98 x 66mm.
Valvegear: DOHC with four overhead valves per cylinder.
Compression ratio: 9.8:1.
Power: 69kW at 8000rpm.
Torque: 98Nm at 6000rpm.
Induction: PGM fuel injection with two 42mm throttle bodies.
Ignition: Computer-controlled digital transistorised with electronic advance.
Starting: Electric.
Clutch: Cable operated wet multiplate clutch.
Transmission: Six-speed with final drive by 530 chain.
Suspension: 43mm conventional cartridge forks, Pro-link monoshock, adjustable for preload and rebound damping at rear.
Brakes: Twin 296mm discs with three-piston floating callipers at front, 256mm disc with linked three-piston floating calliper at rear.
Tyres: Front: 110/80 -19 tubeless. Rear: 150/70 - 17 tubeless.
Wheelbase: 1560mm.
Seat height: 838mm.
Dry weight: 235kg.
Fuel capacity: 25 litres.