Blrfl
Natural Rider Enhancement
The most interesting line in that article is at the end:Mr Hancock has talked about this before. Hard to believe 10 years have passed. This is proof the search engine does work on ST-O: https://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?26299-Honda-responds-in-print-to-Pan-European-weave&highlight=Hancock
Following that press launch, Hancock got a call from the president of Honda R&D, telling him that a process would be put in place, that, as Hancock put it, “R&D cannot produce any bike that hasn't been signed off by me.†That process still stands today.
The limited number of larger models in recent years may have something to do with R&D's inability to get Dave Hancock's John Hancock on what they come up with.
(I also can't rule out the fact that motorcycles don't sell anything like they used to in markets where they're primarily for recreation.)
--Mark