You will note I said suburban rather than urban commuting. Although the Dylan 150 performs admirably in tight traffic and around town with a good turning circle, a slightly lighter/smaller wheeled scooter will do a better job if your commute is limited to inner city use. This scooter does feel quite large, it isn’t especially but it feels it. The weight is not excessive although the 9 litre fuel tank brings the running weight up around the 130kg mark. Thank you by the way to Honda for providing a tank that allows me to bypass the occasional fuel station. Anyway, the weight and the big wheels combine to make the Dylan feel heavier than it is.

Now I said that the Form over Function equation that I was expecting was reversed. That is not to say that the Honda Dylan looks bad, quite the contrary; from a distance this machine looks quite stunning. Unfortunately some of the materials used and fit and finish don’t stand up quite so well to a closer inspection. It isn’t so much that they are bad, it is just that with a little more effort this bike could have been very, very good. A few examples, just in case the Honda design team are reading. Foot pegs; the pillion foot pegs are effective but look and feel cheap when extended. The plastics used inboard could have been higher quality, darker, rubberised perhaps just something that didn’t look quite as cheap. The same goes for the seat fabric, dash surround and handlebar grips. Don’t get me wrong none of these are especially horrible but when you are competing with the Italians you need to get the details right. In most markets the Dylan is priced very competitively which offsets these minor complaints.

In saying all that, to me at least it is the ride that is the most important factor and this machine rides very well. Power is good, what I would expect (but seldom receive) from a 150cc 4 stroke and the torque is solid. By some miracle the Honda manages all this while returning very good fuel economy. Suspension works well with twin shock rear and hydraulic, telescopic front fork. The front is set up a bit softer than the rear providing a nice comfortable ride over uneven road surfaces.