NC700X - Does it Matter What Year to Buy?

[Jarrett]

I'm looking to buy one and have them available from 2012-2017 models in my area, starting from $4,000 to $8,299.

Is there a better year to buy? Were there worthwhile upgrades along the way?

DCT model if that makes a diff. Thanks!

 

[670cc]

In my opinion, any of them are fine. The chassis, engine, and transmissions are all the same. 2014 brought a different display that added a few features. 2016 brought the three sport modes and the new bodywork. It's purely personal taste on the bodywork, but I like the original better except that the muffler is nicer on the 2016. I thought the three sport modes would be awesome, but after trying it out I didn't think it was work paying any extra for. The seat is bad on all of them.

 

[ld_rider]

Were there worthwhile upgrades along the way?

No.

Buy the cheapest running DCT you can find....These are beginner bikes so there are a bunch of used ones out there. LOTS of riders get tired of whipping this little motorcycle on the freeway or otherwise outgrow it and end up selling. With a used bike you will probably have some of the deficiencies of the NC already addressed: Seat, windscreen, engine guards, highway pegs, etc. Those things (if bought new) cost a lot of $$$ and bring practically zero on resale. Great for an asute buyer ;-)

Ride it this season and if it doesn't work for you....sell it.

Don't buy new, you will lose your shirt when you either trade up or give up riding...... Seriously.

Once you have actually ridden one for a season, all your questions will be answered ;-)

What works for someone here might or might not work for you...Best would be to just swing a leg over one and give it a go. These are inexpensive motorcycles and if you by used you won't lose much in a season if it doesn't work out.

Good luck to you and hope you find a bike that meets your needs...

 

[AK Mike]

In my opinion, any of them are fine. The chassis, engine, and transmissions are all the same. 2014 brought a different display that added a few features. 2016 brought the three sport modes and the new bodywork. It's purely personal taste on the bodywork, but I like the original better except that the muffler is nicer on the 2016. I thought the three sport modes would be awesome, but after trying it out I didn't think it was work paying any extra for. The seat is bad on all of them.

I just got a used 2014 (with only 500 miles), and really like the looks and ergos of the bike. The only thing I like better about the newer versions is that muffler. So that got me wondering if one could replace the older muffler with the newer one? Any idea?...

 

[drstimpy]

I just got a used 2014 (with only 500 miles), and really like the looks and ergos of the bike. The only thing I like better about the newer versions is that muffler. So that got me wondering if one could replace the older muffler with the newer one? Any idea?...

Yoshimura makes a fine slip on I really liked


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[AK Mike]

Yoshimura makes a fine slip on I really liked
If possible, I rather get an OEM, since the after market ones are usually louder. And I want to be as quiet as I can get. But I appreciate the suggestion, and if you know of any REALLY quiet after market exhausts, please let me know.

 

[jjtj2]

I thought the three sport modes would be awesome

I thought the same thing and purchased a 2016 model. I have yet to put it in anything other than D

 

[Techrat]

No.

Buy the cheapest running DCT you can find....These are beginner bikes so there are a bunch of used ones out there. LOTS of riders get tired of whipping this little motorcycle on the freeway or otherwise outgrow it and end up selling. With a used bike you will probably have some of the deficiencies of the NC already addressed: Seat, windscreen, engine guards, highway pegs, etc. Those things (if bought new) cost a lot of $$$ and bring practically zero on resale. Great for an asute buyer ;-)

Ride it this season and if it doesn't work for you....sell it.

Don't buy new, you will lose your shirt when you either trade up or give up riding...... Seriously.

Once you have actually ridden one for a season, all your questions will be answered ;-)

What works for someone here might or might not work for you...Best would be to just swing a leg over one and give it a go. These are inexpensive motorcycles and if you by used you won't lose much in a season if it doesn't work out.

Good luck to you and hope you find a bike that meets your needs...

I can see where you were going with this but I have to question a couple of the things you said:
Where are there bunches of NC700X for sale? The NC usually has the least amount of ads on CycleTrader and CraigsList. I'll see 20 ads for a CBR or CBX before seeing an NC and that's searching for Honda bikes only.
"LOTS of riders..." get rid of these bikes. Who? Most of the people on this forum seem to keep these bikes for years. Some will have multiple bikes but the NC seems to hold a special spot in everyones heart.

You're absolutely right that the stock seat and windscreen suck. And don't add to the resale or trade in value but if you're like me, I didn't buy mine to trade or sale.
It is a good beginner bike but its great a commuter. It can do highways but thats not its strong point and someone looking for that shouldn't buy it to begin with.
Good advice, buy a used one and ride for a season. Better advice, sit on as many bikes as you can and go on as many test rides as possible before buying anything. It will prevent, or at least cut down, on buyers remorse.

 

[rippin209]

I'm somewhere in between the last two points, the NC is near perfect for commuting or as an all around. I think you see more CBR's and such for resale because allot more of them are sold in the first place, yes the NC is a great beginner bike especially with the DCT option but most of the people selling it are younger riders that want to go faster or have way more power, some of those that sold their NC but stayed part of the forum have actually said they regretted selling their NC even though their replacement motorcycle was better then the NC, at least on paper. I would like more power but then it would be even heavier and probably lose the frunk. For the price of a used NC you'd be hard pressed to find a better bike unless you have specific goals, i.e. if you want to ride off road mostly or ride 140mph the NC isn't the best even for its price, but for 90% of riders, it does what you want, better then most actually.
P.s. I commute 120 miles per work day 118 of that is on the freeway/highway if you like riding a bit faster go up one tooth on the front sprocket, I did and I'm very happy with it.

 

[ld_rider]

I can see where you were going with this but I have to question a couple of the things you said:
Where are there bunches of NC700X for sale?

About twenty or so bike for sale on this forum alone.

Cycle Trader has 144 ads for used NCs sale right now and 500+ total for sale. That is a lot of motorcycles. Sure, some ads are probably duplicates, but believe me, there are LOTs of used NCs around if you look.

I'll see 20 ads for a CBR or CBX before seeing an NC and that's searching for Honda bikes only

That is because searching for "CBR" will display every Honda CBR motorcycle from 250cc to 1000cc which is quite a range. If you narrow your used motorcycle search to say "600cc" and start in year 2012 (the year the NC was introduced) you will find that there are only 96 for sale (vs 144 NCs).

Why so many used NCs? Some riders get weary of whipping a 500lb/ 50hp motorcycle and move up. I've seen it happen here many times since I joined the forum...the result is a lots of used bikes with very low mileage at really good prices. Another reason is lot of beginners and re-entry riders simply give it a go and then decide riding isn't for them. Nothing wrong with the bike or their decision, riding a motorcycle just didn't work out.

Some of the riders I know that gave up on the NC moved to rides like a BMW GSA (!), Yamaha Tenere, FJR1300 (but kept the NC) and of course a bunch are now on an Africa Twin.

Finally, I think the reason most of the people of this forum seem to keep their bikes for years is because most of the riders that have sold their bikes aren't on this forum any longer, leaving (you guessed it!) a forum full of riders that have kept their bike for years ;-)

 

[davidc83]

Some of the years have had a minor recall or 2. I think the 2012s had a chain/sprocket recall; 2014s may have had an instrument cluster recall. I have the 2013 and it had 0 recalls. I don't know about the 2015-2017 if they had a recall or not. The 2016/2017 models have a 1 liter larger frunk (front trunk). The seat sucks on all of them unless your posterior is the perfect fit for the seat.

 

[rippin209]

Some of the years have had a minor recall or 2. I think the 2012s had a chain/sprocket recall; 2014s may have had an instrument cluster recall. I have the 2013 and it had 0 recalls. I don't know about the 2015-2017 if they had a recall or not. The 2016/2017 models have a 1 liter larger frunk (front trunk). The seat sucks on all of them unless your posterior is the perfect fit for the seat.

The seat isn't the greatest but that's the case with almost any OEM seat, I've done the slope mod and added a sit-n-fly type seat cover to the primary seat at the recommendation of another on the forum and my stock seat has been comfortable for lots off miles and hours. Adding a cheap set of risers (for the handlebars) might help as well

 

[travatron4000]

I have a 14. Got it new last year for about $5k out the door after stealership fees and tax, title, etc. I think the '16 and later look better but couldn't beat that new old stock price.

To answer the original question there is little deference between years other than the 2016 refresh. No specific year has a problem that was fixed in later years. Get the one you like and can afford.

As far as ownership... I had a 94 CB1000 Big One and sold it for the lightness, low CG, frunk, and comfort. I do wish it had 10 more hp but only about 5% of the time. It's great around the back roads and in town. I can bomb corners as fast as or faster than I could on the the CB1000 with half the effort. I can keep up with buddies on 1200cc sport touring bikes anywhere but a straight. Between the frunk and a 35L top case I don't need side bags. Only bikes I'd rather have would be a VFR800x, Fazer900, or Tiger 800XR and you can't get a new one, or a nice used, for $5k out the door.

 

[MalcolmReynolds]

The NC is one of the few bikes on the market that you can buy any model year and the bike is pretty close to being the same. So I would second what the others have said and look for the nicest bike at the lowest price and start farkling from there.

 

[superdedooperman]

You’ll find better prices on the older ones. They’ll be just fine to get as these bikes are high on longevity with proper normal care (which is less than most) and you’ll more than likely sell or trade before you wear the bike out.

But as everyone said, do not buy new...whatever you do. I got a 2013 model last year for $4500 and it only had 729 miles on it. Let someone else face the depreciation.

 

[Sonny]

After years of reading MC forums, it seems that a question like the OP's is mainly an invitation to members to express confirmation bias. Riders of an older model will say there's no difference, save your money and buy the early model. Riders invested in a late model are sure the incremental improvements are well worth the money. It's no fault of anyone. We make a decision and rationalize it so as not to feel a mistake was made. Shopping around is one thing -- with ownership we come to terms with the machine in the garage, we rationalize our decision and make it work for us.

It just pays to realize that user forums are better at answering some kinds of questions than others, and take them for what they have to offer. It is the same for windscreens, seats, tuners and exhausts, anything at all that requires a significant cost. You have to read between the lines and consider the source of the opinions as carefully as the opinions themselves. Doing that, you have graduated from User Opinion 101.

 

[GgarryP]

This article gives a good description of the 2016 upgrades.
2016 Honda NC700X Review / Specs / Pictures & Videos | Honda-Pro Kevin

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[Sonny]

Thank you, Ggarry. That link didn't seem to work, but yes, 2016 was significant; all at once you got a new muffler, new bodywork, LED taillight, larger windscreen, one-liter larger frunk, the tie-down rail on the frunk lid, and the three S modes. It was touted as a third generation of the NC700's DCT. A lot of upgrades for one year.

The '16s are correspondingly harder to find on the used market, at least in my region. No surprise, really.

I would expect a number of riders of earlier models, committed to the NC, traded in to get the new features and they haven't sold their 16s.

 

[potter0o]

If the link doesn't work try editing the web address by removing the "s" in https.

 

[Sonny]

Yes, I eventually got it to load. Ggarry like me prob. uses the HTTPS Everywhere plugin for a layer of security online, and for some reason it hung me up. Or it could be my plugin added the "s" to the link he posted... don't know. Anyway, I got there and read the piece.

There are several other reviews that list the 2016 changes as well... I left out the color display and bending valve fork components. Several years of customer feedback were addressed in that year.

If I cannot find a '16 or later before the summer, then the new 750x will arrive in the US and oh my, if it comes in the beautiful blue I will be in trouble. Because it won't be cheap, it won't be discounted, and out the door price will be a sizable number I am sure... 8^O