jb882
New Member
My better 3/4 and I went for a ride on Sunday down to Little Compton in RI. She wanted to take a ride down to the ocean so we decoded to head there vs easten Mass/Cape Cod since traffic would be better. We just set a destination and used Scenic on our Iphones with the avoid highway and extra curvy roads options turned on. Turned out to be a great ride down there and took us almost 3 hours to get there and we went far off the beaten path.
Along the way i think we learned some things about the bike and i think she gained a lot of confidence in riding it. The Soupy's lowering links and dropping the forks were the ticket to getting her more comfortable with the height.
First thing we learned is we have to do something with the clutch lever. She has a heck of a time reaching it with her smaller hands. I have done a little research and i think we are going to get a Puig adjustable lever. I found some on ebay but they are all shorty levers and she wants a full size one so she can use all 4 fingers on it. Probably going to order that up today form revzilla.
Second thing is the seat needs some work. After a while she was getting a pressure point that was flaring up her sciatic nerve in her right leg. She wants to try some moto skivvies first since they are a $50 option and if it fixes it then she is good to go. Otherwise i have looked into the seat concepts kit and also Corbin. I need to do more research to see if the seat concepts will raise the height, the low height option seems awful thin to me.
Third thing we learned is we need to do something with the grips. Her hands were going a little numb from time to time and i think its the hard material of the factory grips that are causing it. The TW 200 she rides is as buzzy as can be and she does not have that issue with the TW. I have soft motocross style grips on that and it helps eliminate the buzz issues that bike has. If anyone has any suggestions for softer grips i'm all ears.
We also learned that this bike can be pretty capable off pavement on nasty roads. One of the roads that scenic took us down was not paved and was in very poor condition. There was mud, big potholes filled with a foot of water and loose gravel all over the place and her NC700X handled it great. It did better on those surfaces than my Ducati did, I think a lot of that is tires. She has the factory Dunlop Trailmax tires which is an 80/20 type tire and i run Michelin PR4's on my Ducati and they are a 100% road tire. I also took it real easy as i don't like replacing very expensive Italian parts.... I think with the right tires and some suspension upgrades the NC700X could be a very capable off road ADV bike with its low center of gravity and fairly light weight.
Here is a pic from just after we got back on pavement. The potholes in the background are minor compared to what we dealt with a mile or so back.
After getting back on the tarmac and riding another hour we finally made it to the ocean near the mouth of the Sakonnet river. There is a rocky beach here that is real quiet. We spent a little time here just hanging out and enjoying the sea breeze. Being here brought back some memories, i used to fish for Stripers on this beach with my Dad, haven't been down here on this beach in probably 10 years.
Our last stop before heading home was the only restaurant we could find on google in the area. There is not a lot going on here since all the tourist action is across the river in Newport. The place is Crowther's restaurant and it was surprisingly not that busy for a Sunday night at 6 on a holiday weekend. They serve a lot of local seafood here. She had clam chowder that is made fresh here with local clams and some local steamed littleneck clams. I am allergic to shellfish so i had a French dip sandwich. The food was really good. She loved the chowder and i really liked my food too. This place reminds me to every other hole in the wall place i have ever been to. Food is good, prices are reasonable and the atmosphere is always friendly. Next time we are in this area we would stop here again for sure.
From here we headed home and ended up taking the freeway the entire way. I think it was good that we did since it gave her a taste of the freeway on her first full size motorcycle. She did fine and was totally comfortable the entire time. All in all it was a fin trip for her first extended ride on the new bike. We are both looking forward to doing it again real soon.
Along the way i think we learned some things about the bike and i think she gained a lot of confidence in riding it. The Soupy's lowering links and dropping the forks were the ticket to getting her more comfortable with the height.
First thing we learned is we have to do something with the clutch lever. She has a heck of a time reaching it with her smaller hands. I have done a little research and i think we are going to get a Puig adjustable lever. I found some on ebay but they are all shorty levers and she wants a full size one so she can use all 4 fingers on it. Probably going to order that up today form revzilla.
Second thing is the seat needs some work. After a while she was getting a pressure point that was flaring up her sciatic nerve in her right leg. She wants to try some moto skivvies first since they are a $50 option and if it fixes it then she is good to go. Otherwise i have looked into the seat concepts kit and also Corbin. I need to do more research to see if the seat concepts will raise the height, the low height option seems awful thin to me.
Third thing we learned is we need to do something with the grips. Her hands were going a little numb from time to time and i think its the hard material of the factory grips that are causing it. The TW 200 she rides is as buzzy as can be and she does not have that issue with the TW. I have soft motocross style grips on that and it helps eliminate the buzz issues that bike has. If anyone has any suggestions for softer grips i'm all ears.
We also learned that this bike can be pretty capable off pavement on nasty roads. One of the roads that scenic took us down was not paved and was in very poor condition. There was mud, big potholes filled with a foot of water and loose gravel all over the place and her NC700X handled it great. It did better on those surfaces than my Ducati did, I think a lot of that is tires. She has the factory Dunlop Trailmax tires which is an 80/20 type tire and i run Michelin PR4's on my Ducati and they are a 100% road tire. I also took it real easy as i don't like replacing very expensive Italian parts.... I think with the right tires and some suspension upgrades the NC700X could be a very capable off road ADV bike with its low center of gravity and fairly light weight.
Here is a pic from just after we got back on pavement. The potholes in the background are minor compared to what we dealt with a mile or so back.
After getting back on the tarmac and riding another hour we finally made it to the ocean near the mouth of the Sakonnet river. There is a rocky beach here that is real quiet. We spent a little time here just hanging out and enjoying the sea breeze. Being here brought back some memories, i used to fish for Stripers on this beach with my Dad, haven't been down here on this beach in probably 10 years.
Our last stop before heading home was the only restaurant we could find on google in the area. There is not a lot going on here since all the tourist action is across the river in Newport. The place is Crowther's restaurant and it was surprisingly not that busy for a Sunday night at 6 on a holiday weekend. They serve a lot of local seafood here. She had clam chowder that is made fresh here with local clams and some local steamed littleneck clams. I am allergic to shellfish so i had a French dip sandwich. The food was really good. She loved the chowder and i really liked my food too. This place reminds me to every other hole in the wall place i have ever been to. Food is good, prices are reasonable and the atmosphere is always friendly. Next time we are in this area we would stop here again for sure.
From here we headed home and ended up taking the freeway the entire way. I think it was good that we did since it gave her a taste of the freeway on her first full size motorcycle. She did fine and was totally comfortable the entire time. All in all it was a fin trip for her first extended ride on the new bike. We are both looking forward to doing it again real soon.
