Adventure Bike Rider Forum

well its not the first thought in peoples mind i know but bear in mind im thinking replacing me trusty dl650 ... commutes works all day ity is a working bike ...

so the honda nc 700 with its 80mpg tag has some appeal for the purpose i want it for
so after all the reading i took one out today from preston honda

heres what i thought

first thing its quite a good looking bike ..the x one is taller than the s and has better lines ..
the ergos is good very comfy the seat in the three hours i had it was ok not too bad but may need me airhawk for all day stuff
the horn is where the indicators are and vice versa why? ..hey ho
the screen is pants but givi already have a barn door for it i can soon sort that out

i split the ride into three parts bearing in mind it will be my home for 8 hours a day for some time to come

..urban sprawl in preston
trough of bowland fast ab and c roads
motorway for three junctions and back

urban

the engine sounds like a typical honda twin think transalp /africa twin of course modern quiet and muted but you can hear it not unpleasent
clutch light easy accurate well balenced easy to ride nery smooth and nippy ..loads of low touque any gear will do ish but 6th is very tall and 45mph is where its at without argument ...no problems
the gearbox is very good easy blips well and you can produce a mondeo destroying turn of speed in the first three /four gears ..effortless u turns high riding position ..in town is all you ever need ... easy to use too

a road
a59 out towards the trough no problem watching the rev counter afew time produces shifts around 4500 reves which keep you ahead of the eurobox game
i have to admit it has a decent turn of speed its not slow to 70 by any streach of the imagination ...some of the blurb ive read states its quicker than a hornet to 70 and i can now believe it ...great tourque and it is quite pleasing the way it pulls effortless 70mph cruising at low revs
handling its easy nuetral and no bother

b roads single tracks ..

here it shows its achillies heel the suspension ..
its ok but doesnt take the hillbilly gp that well but again not that bad its not unpleasent but the messages are .. slow down im running out of damping /rebound but in its defence i was pushing more than normal ..i mean it will truck along 60 /70 no bother but its no xt or gs here but 60 / 70 is all thats sensible here really and it copes ok ..fair enough

motorway
well it depends what you want
ill be clear here its not going to break any landspeed records but
driving down the slip road it accelerates pretty well the 6th gear is very tall dont xpect any gs type roll ons ..but it will pull 6th gear at a steady 85 mph at around 4200 revs and be pretty hppy to stay there as long as you want
with a better screen it will get you where you want to go on the motorways as quick as most bikes three times the horspower it is noticable how unstressed it is at a steady 80

80 miles i managed to drop the fuel guage from five bars too four bars ..
i have no idea how accurate it is but the 80mpg im sure may not be a myth
ive looked over the nc infant forums and the feedback is positive on this count

storage
the big false tank opens wide and the space is enoufg to take all you need for a weekend ... or shopping /spare radio kit weaterproofs gloves whatever you like i loved it
i got a picknick in a box and a tea with two sugars and had me lunch on the top of the trough ..thats a real practiacl plus ..dont compare but i used to open the seat on me gs and coulnd store a autocom in there !
the tail would pack a few usful items too ....

the price
negotiated a 5650 to buy now with a givi barn door fitted ...

the sting

they offered me 1250 quid for a 07 dl650 robbin twarts the cheapest i can find in the country is 2650 with 36000 miles up
i told him i expected to be insulted but not kicked in the nuts :woohoo:

will i buy one

yes ithink its a great buy for the money and not anywhere near as dull as the powerangers say at 5600 quid 80mpg 8000 service interval its a lot bike for the money and the performance is no different to a transalp in the real world ..

look at it this way you can get a brand new nc and a brand new xt660z and 3500 quid change over a bmw adventure ... ...one better at comuting the other better off road at a fraction of the running costs
its not a bad bike at all and setting off for a 4000 mile road trip on it wouldnt bother me at all if you are a comuter or need a workhorse that will take you further its worth a try olverall ..i was impressed by it

That's a cracking good review of the NC700X mate. You've looked at it with an open mind rather than most people's view of 'why the 6500 red line?'

I came within a whisker of buying one and for many of the reasons you found. It was only when I asked myself why I was buying a new bike to commute and potter round on, when I have a 4.5 year old Versys, that I decided to treat myself to a Crossrunner instead and use the Versys for the commuting etc. The Versys is actually quite similar to the NC in many of it's traits and does have that added hooligan factor. But it lacks the lovely balance, smooth fuelling and ultimate economy.

Pretty sure I'll be looking at the NC700X again when my Versys gets a bit older and more tired.

Thanks for the review. It's good to read a report from someone in the real world who has a specific task in mind for the bike.

I like the practical touches. I'm not really into Hondas simply because there is nothing in the showroom that calls to me but I like the direction they have gone with this bike. I only wonder if they have simply used a 700cc engine to return the same mpg and performance of a smaller engine?

By all accounts, it seems to have an advantage over the smaller engines and 650 singles at low rpm.

Jon

Thanks for the review. I must admit I've walked past the bike in the local showroom with only a quick glance over, I'll give it a proper look next time.

Cracking review matey, thanks.
I do really like the styling on these new Hondas.

Ade

Removed.

I'm always skeptical about manufacturers MPG claims, if Honda claim 78 MPG i would expect 70 MPG or less in real world riding. My Wee Strom would do 65 to 70 MPG and it has more power than this Honda.
The only thing i like about this Honda is the tank storage, but if i were looking for new bike for commuting thats cheap to run, i would take the latest Wee Strom with the Gladius engine over this Honda anytime.

Zookman wrote:I'm always skeptical about manufacturers MPG claims, if Honda claim 78 MPG i would expect 70 MPG or less in real world riding. My Wee Strom would do 65 to 70 MPG and it has more power than this Honda.
The only thing i like about this Honda is the tank storage, but if i were looking for new bike for commuting thats cheap to run, i would take the latest Wee Strom with the Gladius engine over this Honda anytime.

i understand what you say .. i am a big fan of the wee strom ive ridden one everyday for the last four years ...70mpg ... mmmm high fifties is where its at unless you ride like a nun all the time .. ..still very good and 3500 mile service interval is easy but a pain in the ass
the honda is different alltogether ..its like going from a pertol car to a turbo deisel it doesnt need the revs
for instance the wee strom is 6200 revs at 80mph the honda 4000 revs
its a different concept alltogether ..you get it or you dont ..shifting gear at 3000 revs and staying ahead of the game in town is nice ..
if they geared the honda lower it would be faster ..but thats not what its about

the other thing honda have thought out is the 47bhp licence which starts 18 01 13
so having a riding school this bike fits the bill without having to mute the xj6 s for customers ..for a new rider its well priced economical cheap to run and insure
i think they will do well with this bike
if you ride one like the journos have complaining about hitting the rev limiter on overtakes and all that bollocks they have missed the point and have no idea how it should be ridden thre is no problem picking off cars at all
..i mean they complain about lack of power ...
its there at 2500 revs its right in your face :woohoo: dumbasses
top end rush is not what its about you ride the touque ..its as nippy as a lot of bikes the same cc up to 70/80 mph ..

it depends on your needs me klr 650 is well slower than the honda 42hp
and i love riding it .. but its miles slower than the wee strom ..with that superb sv engine ...while the engine is without doubt a gem ..its not all about revs and speed that appeals to me .. sure the suzuki will dissaper outof sight ..but after twenty miles of balls out sweaty forhead riding ..you will have about enough time to take your lid off and light a fag before the honda or the klr comes chuffing along at a steady 80mph ....

so there you go there seems to be three ways to go with this bike
you try one and get it ??
you dont try one and dont get it ??
you try one and still dont get it ??

Removed.

I could get the MPG on my 09 Wee down to the high 50's, but i really had to thrash the arse off it to get it that low.
I was constantly gobsmacked in how frugal on fuel my Wee was, so every fuel up was calculated to make sure i wasn't overcalcualating it, and 63 was the average in the 2 years i owned the bike, with 65 on most tankfulls and the rarely occasional 70.