Brillot2000
Active Member
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2014
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- 1,485
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- Location
- Sun Valley, CA, U.S.A.
Hello All,
I had the opportunity to get up “Close and Personal” with new the 2015 NM4 (NC700J) on the evening of Wednesday the 10th. This was all possible due to a close friend that works at American Honda based in Torrance, CA. A great big thanks to him, for giving me this rare opportunity.
Sorry all I was not permitted to test ride the motorcycle, just to do a static review. The color that I got to review was Matte Black Metallic. There have been images or videos of Pearl White floating around the internet.
By the time I meet up with my fried to take a look at the NM4, the sun was starting to set the ambient lighting was starting to fade.
My Initial Reactions: In person the NM4 does not look too bad, the overall lines were good. However it does not look as big as all the marketing images big the appearance that the bike is much larger. I do believe that some laid-off engineers from Lockheed that worked on the F117 Stealth Fighter were employed to design this bike. I am sure that they left off the “True Stealth Technologies” for budget stake. Do not try to go speeding past a Highway Patrol Office to test fact. I am sure that both this eyes and radar will still detect you. This bike could have also been featured in any of the past Batman movies or the 1960’s Batman series with Adam West. To the “Bat-Cycle” boy wonder…
Storage: Let me start with the storage or should I say the lack of. The two rear storage compartments were a “Huge” let down for me. I was expecting large saddlebags to accommodate a Full-Faced Helmet, as I own a 2004 ST1300. The space inside of the both of those was not big enough for a 6” sub sandwich and 20 oz bottle of soda. You might be able to fit a set of bulky winter gloves in one side a sack of 6 medium-sized apples or oranges in the plastic bag in the other. I do believe the weight limit per side was about 6.6 lbs. The “Frunk” found on both the NC700S and NC700X had been eliminated from this model variation of the NC Family. Instead Honda replaced it with two compartments in the front section of the front bodywork. Finding the latch to one the on the right side was nearly impossible with not having full education on where to look. The one on the left side is keyed and lock can be found to the left handlebars on the bodywork, which was clearly visible. I turned the lock several times and nothing would open up. It appears there’s another “Hidden” latch in the bodywork you have to actuate somehow. Just turn the key was not enough. Once I got this compartment open, I saw a 500 ml bottle of water stuffed in the right compartment and the owner’s manual. There was a little bit more room in there for a shop towel, wallet, LED Flashlight or a set of warm weather riding gloves. Maybe these are intended to store a snack for starving college student. Other than that, they’re pretty much useless. The left one is not any better. However it’s a good place to put your registration and a few other small items such as a small first aid kit or pack of gum because it can be locked.
Ergonomics: Sitting on the bike is a whole different experience. Your body position is so low; it’s more like you into the bike, not to it. Honda specifies the seat height to be 25.6”, which is quite low compared to most modern motorcycle. Some of a smaller stature could easily flatfoot this bike. The seat is more like a saddle that will position your rump to follow its contours, not what you want it to be. There’s very little more space for you to move yourself around on the seat, however the geometry of the seat will strong-arm your rump where it wants to be. Not being able to ride this bike makes that determination at best an “Educated Guess”. The rear seat in the down position and your rump pulled all the way to the back of seat place the rear cushion into your lower lumber region. This could offer some sort of support or problematic for riders preexisting back conditions. The ignition key is required to move the seat in to the up position. I did not sit on the bike at that time nor did I pay attention if the seat has multiple setting positions. The seat is up, it revels hard plastic cargo platform. I did not see any decent means of hooking a bungee cord/s to the base of the platform. It might be intended for placing the cord around the item and the raised backrest to hold the item in place. The handlebars are “Drag Style” near shoulder height with a wide stance with a slight pull-back and long setbacks to bring them closer to you. The floor boards are quite large to accommodate my size 11 boot. The styling looks like they were cruiser inspired. There “Stop Tabs” on both ends to prevent your feet from slipping off. The fully seated position with your legs up would be similar to that of riding bobber with a drunken rider position. The rear brake pedal is located near the front of the right floor board, quit common for cruisers. The slop of console/gas tank from the base of seat leading to the handlebars is quite steep, so much that a sudden decrease of speed or sudden stop would cause your chest to slam into this surface and the rider would be in a world of hurt and an imprint of the filler cap onto your abdomen/torso area. The switch pods are the same ones used on the NC700XD (DCT) with a minor difference. The parking brake lever has been moved below the left rear view mirror. It is a lot easier to engage and disengage. With a person of my height of 5’ 11”, the wind shield’s trailing edge is about eye-level when seated on the bike. The windshield will not offer much wind or foreign object protection due to the angle which it rest. It look its intent is to direct air, not block it. The instrument cluster is far out of reach while seated on the bike, but clearly visible when seated. Reaching either of the 2 buttons on it would require either to standup or access them when the bike is on its side-stand.
Lighting: All the lighting is LED (Light Emitting Diode), which includes the turn signals (blinkers), taillight, license plate light, and the instrumentation lighting. I had a heated debate regarding the headlight with my friend regarding whether or not it was also LED, he insisted that it was HID. Me with my LED Lighting background I insisted it was LED and was willing to put money down on it. This sparked an intense engineering debate, being that I am an engineer and knowing that I have a leg to stand on it regarding it. Not finding a definitive answer in any of the Honda literature available to the general public regarding this bike, we simply agreed to disagree. I know that I am right though. He further stated that the headlight assembly retails for $800. “Ouch!!!”, if it ever goes out on you. We also played around with changing the instrument cluster panels, which is a quite complicated procedure as I was observing him to it. There was a point where the 2 side clusters were doing a “Fade” sequence, which would be distracting while driving especially at night. Putting the side-stand into the up position put the instrument cluster back to the initial color we started with. How annoying is that?
Engine: The engine used on the NM4 is that same 670cc parallel twin used on the NC700S/X and CTX700 series. When I started the bike, it sounded exactly like my NC700X, even when revving it. The exhaust system and the muffler look very similar to those found the NC700X; however the muffler shape and its geometry had been slightly altered. Either way the sound of the 2 bikes were exactly the same. I asked my friend what’s the Horsepower rating as stated by Honda, which is not published anywhere. He responded with approximately 47 bHP. The NC700X is rated at about 51 bHP.
Closing: The NM4 is a nice “Concept” model that made it into production somehow. The rumored purpose it to attract new riders to market that would not consider a motorcycle due to dreading to use a clutch and shifting. While the introduction of the Hondamatics in the mid 1970’s and into the 1980’s were an utter complete failures due the technology was not quite there yet. The next iteration and introduction of the DN-01 and it’s fully automatic transmission, this bike was also "Doomed to Fail" just as the second Death Star in the Star Wars movie franchise. The recent advancement in Dual Clutch Transmissions (DCT) has come a long way. Also with Honda’s willingness to cross over those barriers has blazed a trail that others will soon follow in the years to come. Offering the DCT as “Standard” has crossed the line drawn in the sand and we all need to watch how this all will play out. It could work out to be a “DUD” and create an instant collector bike. It is also rumored that one a few hundred of these will be imported into the United States.
Riders Thoughts: Being that I have been riding for over 27 years, most of which on the streets and having my ears open listening to other riders. The initial reactions from other experienced riders regarding the NM4 has not been very warming and may or may not be easily accepted into the ranks as being a motorcycle. It’s one of things where “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. It’s also like riding mopeds, yes they are fun to ride, but don’t let your friends catch you on one…
I had the opportunity to get up “Close and Personal” with new the 2015 NM4 (NC700J) on the evening of Wednesday the 10th. This was all possible due to a close friend that works at American Honda based in Torrance, CA. A great big thanks to him, for giving me this rare opportunity.
Sorry all I was not permitted to test ride the motorcycle, just to do a static review. The color that I got to review was Matte Black Metallic. There have been images or videos of Pearl White floating around the internet.
By the time I meet up with my fried to take a look at the NM4, the sun was starting to set the ambient lighting was starting to fade.
My Initial Reactions: In person the NM4 does not look too bad, the overall lines were good. However it does not look as big as all the marketing images big the appearance that the bike is much larger. I do believe that some laid-off engineers from Lockheed that worked on the F117 Stealth Fighter were employed to design this bike. I am sure that they left off the “True Stealth Technologies” for budget stake. Do not try to go speeding past a Highway Patrol Office to test fact. I am sure that both this eyes and radar will still detect you. This bike could have also been featured in any of the past Batman movies or the 1960’s Batman series with Adam West. To the “Bat-Cycle” boy wonder…
Storage: Let me start with the storage or should I say the lack of. The two rear storage compartments were a “Huge” let down for me. I was expecting large saddlebags to accommodate a Full-Faced Helmet, as I own a 2004 ST1300. The space inside of the both of those was not big enough for a 6” sub sandwich and 20 oz bottle of soda. You might be able to fit a set of bulky winter gloves in one side a sack of 6 medium-sized apples or oranges in the plastic bag in the other. I do believe the weight limit per side was about 6.6 lbs. The “Frunk” found on both the NC700S and NC700X had been eliminated from this model variation of the NC Family. Instead Honda replaced it with two compartments in the front section of the front bodywork. Finding the latch to one the on the right side was nearly impossible with not having full education on where to look. The one on the left side is keyed and lock can be found to the left handlebars on the bodywork, which was clearly visible. I turned the lock several times and nothing would open up. It appears there’s another “Hidden” latch in the bodywork you have to actuate somehow. Just turn the key was not enough. Once I got this compartment open, I saw a 500 ml bottle of water stuffed in the right compartment and the owner’s manual. There was a little bit more room in there for a shop towel, wallet, LED Flashlight or a set of warm weather riding gloves. Maybe these are intended to store a snack for starving college student. Other than that, they’re pretty much useless. The left one is not any better. However it’s a good place to put your registration and a few other small items such as a small first aid kit or pack of gum because it can be locked.
Ergonomics: Sitting on the bike is a whole different experience. Your body position is so low; it’s more like you into the bike, not to it. Honda specifies the seat height to be 25.6”, which is quite low compared to most modern motorcycle. Some of a smaller stature could easily flatfoot this bike. The seat is more like a saddle that will position your rump to follow its contours, not what you want it to be. There’s very little more space for you to move yourself around on the seat, however the geometry of the seat will strong-arm your rump where it wants to be. Not being able to ride this bike makes that determination at best an “Educated Guess”. The rear seat in the down position and your rump pulled all the way to the back of seat place the rear cushion into your lower lumber region. This could offer some sort of support or problematic for riders preexisting back conditions. The ignition key is required to move the seat in to the up position. I did not sit on the bike at that time nor did I pay attention if the seat has multiple setting positions. The seat is up, it revels hard plastic cargo platform. I did not see any decent means of hooking a bungee cord/s to the base of the platform. It might be intended for placing the cord around the item and the raised backrest to hold the item in place. The handlebars are “Drag Style” near shoulder height with a wide stance with a slight pull-back and long setbacks to bring them closer to you. The floor boards are quite large to accommodate my size 11 boot. The styling looks like they were cruiser inspired. There “Stop Tabs” on both ends to prevent your feet from slipping off. The fully seated position with your legs up would be similar to that of riding bobber with a drunken rider position. The rear brake pedal is located near the front of the right floor board, quit common for cruisers. The slop of console/gas tank from the base of seat leading to the handlebars is quite steep, so much that a sudden decrease of speed or sudden stop would cause your chest to slam into this surface and the rider would be in a world of hurt and an imprint of the filler cap onto your abdomen/torso area. The switch pods are the same ones used on the NC700XD (DCT) with a minor difference. The parking brake lever has been moved below the left rear view mirror. It is a lot easier to engage and disengage. With a person of my height of 5’ 11”, the wind shield’s trailing edge is about eye-level when seated on the bike. The windshield will not offer much wind or foreign object protection due to the angle which it rest. It look its intent is to direct air, not block it. The instrument cluster is far out of reach while seated on the bike, but clearly visible when seated. Reaching either of the 2 buttons on it would require either to standup or access them when the bike is on its side-stand.
Lighting: All the lighting is LED (Light Emitting Diode), which includes the turn signals (blinkers), taillight, license plate light, and the instrumentation lighting. I had a heated debate regarding the headlight with my friend regarding whether or not it was also LED, he insisted that it was HID. Me with my LED Lighting background I insisted it was LED and was willing to put money down on it. This sparked an intense engineering debate, being that I am an engineer and knowing that I have a leg to stand on it regarding it. Not finding a definitive answer in any of the Honda literature available to the general public regarding this bike, we simply agreed to disagree. I know that I am right though. He further stated that the headlight assembly retails for $800. “Ouch!!!”, if it ever goes out on you. We also played around with changing the instrument cluster panels, which is a quite complicated procedure as I was observing him to it. There was a point where the 2 side clusters were doing a “Fade” sequence, which would be distracting while driving especially at night. Putting the side-stand into the up position put the instrument cluster back to the initial color we started with. How annoying is that?
Engine: The engine used on the NM4 is that same 670cc parallel twin used on the NC700S/X and CTX700 series. When I started the bike, it sounded exactly like my NC700X, even when revving it. The exhaust system and the muffler look very similar to those found the NC700X; however the muffler shape and its geometry had been slightly altered. Either way the sound of the 2 bikes were exactly the same. I asked my friend what’s the Horsepower rating as stated by Honda, which is not published anywhere. He responded with approximately 47 bHP. The NC700X is rated at about 51 bHP.
Closing: The NM4 is a nice “Concept” model that made it into production somehow. The rumored purpose it to attract new riders to market that would not consider a motorcycle due to dreading to use a clutch and shifting. While the introduction of the Hondamatics in the mid 1970’s and into the 1980’s were an utter complete failures due the technology was not quite there yet. The next iteration and introduction of the DN-01 and it’s fully automatic transmission, this bike was also "Doomed to Fail" just as the second Death Star in the Star Wars movie franchise. The recent advancement in Dual Clutch Transmissions (DCT) has come a long way. Also with Honda’s willingness to cross over those barriers has blazed a trail that others will soon follow in the years to come. Offering the DCT as “Standard” has crossed the line drawn in the sand and we all need to watch how this all will play out. It could work out to be a “DUD” and create an instant collector bike. It is also rumored that one a few hundred of these will be imported into the United States.
Riders Thoughts: Being that I have been riding for over 27 years, most of which on the streets and having my ears open listening to other riders. The initial reactions from other experienced riders regarding the NM4 has not been very warming and may or may not be easily accepted into the ranks as being a motorcycle. It’s one of things where “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. It’s also like riding mopeds, yes they are fun to ride, but don’t let your friends catch you on one…
