[dustin neal rose]

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I recently traded down to a 1500 from an 1800 due to financial situation. Someone requested i give a comparison of what i missed/glad to have etc. so here it goes

First of all i miss the torque the 1800 had. The 1500 is plenty, but no comparison to the 1800. Just one of those things i will have to get used to.

I also miss the fuel injection. I loved not having to wait on it to warm up/having to choke it, but not that big of a deal

I miss the radio preset option on the 1800. Have to change through them manually on the 1500. Scratch that. I found the preset option and like it better on the 1500. The 1800 you had 6 buttons for preset. The 1500 you just have to push 1!

I also miss the air ride preset.

1500 has more leg room for me as the faring isn't as wide and i can actually comfortably put my feet out on the highway boards.

1800 handled smoother, but the 1500 is more nimble/quicker response in steering.

My wife and i are closer on the 1500 than the 1800. Little uncomfortable for 2 big people riding 2 up. However i relocated the trunk towards the back 3 inches on the 1500 so problem solved.

Even thought i moved it back the 1800 seat was still a little wider for passenger.

The 1500 is a little easier to work on/add on parts etc./change bulbs etc. than the 1800.

The left faring pocket on the 1800 was hard just as the right side where on the 1500 it is a snap style that gets water in it and i don't like that. I also liked that the 1800 pockets were hinged as opposed to just coming off when you put a key in it.

The saddlebags have a minute more amount of room on the 1500 than the 1800, but 1500 trunk has more room/clearance for helmets/luggage than the 1800.

The brakes on the 1800 were better than the 1500 in my opinion also.Also one of those things i will get used to in time.

I miss the keyless lock system on the 1800 just because it spoiled me not to have to turn a key in a lock LOL

Overall i enjoy the 1500 but in the same aspect i will also miss my 1800. The pros and cons about equal each other out.

Hope this is kind of what yall were looking for and maybe it will help/warn someone looking to upgrade to an 1800. If you have any questions for me on something i may have neglected please let me know

 

[tdbieber]

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How do you move the 1500 trunk back? With the back rest I just installed, it cramps my wife just a bit...not really uncomfortable for her, but a bit more room would be nice.

 

[Kit Carson]

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Warn someone looking to upgrade to an 1800?? All it takes is one ride.

 

[Matt G]

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tdbieber wrote:

How do you move the 1500 trunk back? With the back rest I just installed, it cramps my wife just a bit...not really uncomfortable for her, but a bit more room would be nice.

you can't move it back, you could try thinning the padding on the passengers backrest, or get the thinner wife. ( the thinner passengers backrest is cheaper)

 

[dustin neal rose]

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YES YOU CAN MOVE THE TRUNK BACK!!! I did successfully and it looks great!
See my post in the tech forum 1500 trunk relocation. If it is not there look in the FAQ. They said it may get moved to there. It is a pretty simple project for anyone with mechanical aptitude

 

[cycledude]

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dustin neal rose wrote:

I recently traded down to a 1500 from an 1800 due to financial situation. Someone requested i give a comparison of what i missed/glad to have etc. so here it goes

First of all i miss the torque the 1800 had. The 1500 is plenty, but no comparison to the 1800. Just one of those things i will have to get used to.

I also miss the fuel injection. I loved not having to wait on it to warm up/having to choke it, but not that big of a deal

I miss the radio preset option on the 1800. Have to change through them manually on the 1500.

I also miss the air ride preset.

1500 has more leg room for me as the faring isn't as wide and i can actually comfortably put my feet out on the highway boards.

1800 handled smoother, but the 1500 is more nimble/quicker response in steering.

My wife and i are closer on the 1500 than the 1800. Little uncomfortable for 2 big people riding 2 up. However i relocated the trunk towards the back 3 inches on the 1500 so problem solved.

Even thought i moved it back the 1800 seat was still a little wider for passenger.

The 1500 is a little easier to work on/add on parts etc./change bulbs etc. than the 1800.

The left faring pocket on the 1800 was hard just as the right side where on the 1500 it is a snap style that gets water in it and i don't like that. I also liked that the 1800 pockets were hinged as opposed to just coming off when you put a key in it.

The saddlebags have a minute more amount of room on the 1500 than the 1800, but 1500 trunk has more room/clearance for helmets/luggage than the 1800.

The brakes on the 1800 were better than the 1500 in my opinion also.Also one of those things i will get used to in time.

I miss the keyless lock system on the 1800 just because it spoiled me not to have to turn a key in a lock LOL

Overall i enjoy the 1500 but in the same aspect i will also miss my 1800. The pros and cons about equal each other out.

Hope this is kind of what yall were looking for and maybe it will help/warn someone looking to upgrade to an 1800. If you have any questions for me on something i may have neglected please let me know

interesting report, nice to hear u are enjoying your 1500, i sure enjoyed mine but its been awhile

i thought the 1500 radio had presets but i've been wrong plenty of times befor

air ride preset i thought my 1500 had that

lite bulbs seem plenty easy for meto change on both bikes

total agreement on the fairing pockets

saddlebags and trunk to me seems like the 1500 has way more room and i was a little worried about that when i first got 1800, didn't take long for me to get used to less storage space, seems like i still can carry everything i need inside just fine

brakes both bikes plenty good but i have 1800 without ABS, i wish Honda would have never offered the 1800 without ABS, in 240,000 miles i have accidentlylocked the 1800 brakes twice and it didn't cause any big problems but i don't think i ever locked the brakes by accident on my 1500

the keyless lock thing caught me, at first i didn't know what u were talking about, yes its a nice feature but to be honest i never use it

 

[Rudy]

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That was the most unbiased comparison I think I have ever seen of the two.

Very nice.

 

[jimsjinx]

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I find it hard to imagine 190 HP on a bike! Nice write up of your opinion! Thanks, jimsjinx

 

[derekhendry]

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Well i think that was a great report and unbiased as well. I agree with all your findings, i find the 1800 is a better bike to ride but the 1500 has in my opinion the best looks. I know others like 12,s 11,s etc but for me the 1500 is the looker.



One thing for sure the 1500 is still a great bike to ride.

 

[Silverfox]

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A very fair and honest opinion there dustin neil rose, well done.

Two small things I miss from my 1500 are the onboard compressor and the built in seat cover in the lower passenger seat back pad. Removing these on the 1800 is in my view a retrograde step as they were good and useful features, not deal breaking, just a slightly backward step. This has happened before of course with the passing of the 1200SEi and all the features that model had.

 

[dustin neal rose]

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I have not read the manual yet, so to be fair i could be wrong about the radio presets.
In the same aspect i could also be wrong about the air ride. I know it will stay where you set it(don't have to set every time, OF COURSE), but i don't see where it can be set to 2 settings. EX. 1up & 2up

Mine is an 88 though so if others have newer bikes maybe these options were on the newer ones. Any info would be nice

 

[Silverfox]

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Presets on the later models and no you couldn't pre set the two ride settings on the suspension.

 

[SB in SC]

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Rudy wrote:

That was the most unbiased comparison I think I have ever seen of the two.

Very nice.

As usual, I agree with the Ferret.



Very nice report.



My '97 has radio presets, but can't remember if my '88 did.



Air has no "presets" on 1500. Have to change manually for different loads.



I still love my 1500, no matter how nice the 1800 is.:action:

 

[dustin neal rose]

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SEE MY EDITED POST I FOUND RADIO PRESET AND LIKE IT BETTER ON THE 1500 THAN THE 1800.