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One owner review after 1000 miles

dduelin

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I rode my NC700X on a 525 mile ride yesterday. This was a day ride on roads I had been on before, the idea being to see how it worked for the back road traveling I really prefer to do but also nearly 200 miles on the interstate because sometimes I just have to get across several states in minimum time in order to get to a rally or ride at the other end. I also wanted to ride tank to tank at least once to see if the seat can do it and what kind of mileage the bars on the fuel gauge represents. I packed my road kit of tire repair tools with air compressor in the "not a tank" storage compartment, added my favorite tank bag, a small tool kit, a sheepskin seat cover (just in case the seat is a 60 minute seat), and two bottles of water and shut the lid. This is a very convenient feature for commuters and for a day ride.

Running back roads at an aggressive pace was a pleasure. The bike really corners and holds the road really well. It changes direction as easily as thinking about it and flinging it into corners both fast and slow is fun stuff. Twice I was in a little hot and these times when you have to push the lower bar harder and just make the corner the bike was confidence inspiring. In the early morning the roads were damp in places from quick rain showers and I had to tiptoe at times around wet debris on the pavement. It handles really well and the Metzeler tires seemed to work just fine for me. Despite the budget suspension, bumps in corners don't upset the chosen line and the line is easily changed if needed. For comparison I weigh about 152 pounds in street clothes, about like the ideal Japanese rider. I guess it could be better but the suspension is not a limiting factor for me. Since it does not have the upper rpm range (read horsepower) to propel you out of fast corners you have to carry speed to apex and be low to midway in the power band to accelerate out of the corner. Just like my old airhead. I had no problem with this but riders accustomed to wringing a bike's neck to get down the road will bump the rev limiter often. The front brake is very strong and progressive enough to feel comfortable trail braking. Mine buzzes under hard braking. Engine vibration is pleasant, of low frequency, and never intrudes. The mirrors remain sharp across the rev range. I never noticed a lack of wind protection and what there is is quiet and does not cause buffeting to my helmet. Adjusted for exact mileage this tank delivered 63.6 US mpg running an aggressive pace on rural roads. Aggressive just to reinterate Aggressive. The last fuel bar lit up blinking red/black at 185 miles and at 196.5 corrected miles the tank took 3.088 gallons leaving another 40 miles in the tank. That is nearly 240 mile range bombing back roads. The seat worked fine for me and was not an issue but I was stopping and getting off the bike at least once an hour for this or that during this part of the day. The bars are high and wide and the seating position works well.

After lunch I turned for home and got on Interstate I -10, setting the "cruise control" on 75 mph. I used the 90 cent O-ring for a throttle lock. I will eventually install a Throttlemeister but I read about the O ring and I used it for this ride. A rubber O-ring of 1 inch ID with a 1/8" cross section works well on my bike. I kept it on the bar end and it easily rolled into place with a gloved hand. If you haven't used one it jams the throttle grip against the bar end and holds the throttle open to wherever it is set at although you can over-ride it easily if necessary. (Just like my $160 Throttlemeister, do I really need the TM?). I wanted to ride this tank out and see if I could sit on the bike for 3 hours at 70 to 80 mph. I did not make 3 hours because I got home in about 2 hours 45 minutes. The speed was 70 to 80 except for a couple of places where I rode through rain showers. I can manage 2 or 3 hours on the seat easily enough though and that was a big question mark for me - and this was late in the day after I had already ridden 325 miles on back roads. The problem was with wind management, not the seat. As the day wore on an easterly breeze came up and it was right in my face. With the speed of 75 and a 10 or 15 mph wind I was battling 85 to 90 mph winds. If the air was clean it was bad enough but dirty air buffeting from cars and trucks was tiresome. The ease with which the bike makes direction changes works against in turbulence and crosswinds. It moved around a lot. My other bike is a ST1300 so I am not used to getting blown around like that. I will have to install an aftermarket windscreen to travel long stretches on the interstate. They are available of course. At 65 to 70 mph the wind management is adequate as is but tiring at the higher interstate speeds. There is no buzz or unpleasant vibration in the seat, bars, or mirrors. You know you are riding a motorcycle but the single counter balancer does a good job of delivering the right amount and the right kind of vibration to the rider. This tank dropped to the last bar (there are 5) at about 172 miles. I filled up at 193.9 miles and the tank took 3.34 gallons US for 58 mpg. There was only 21 miles left in the tank so the range at interstate speeds, though battling a good headwind, was 215 miles. I think in better conditions the range is easily 230 miles at 75 mph, making 200 miles between stops with a good reserve.

For the 90% of the miles I put on my bikes, non-touring miles that is, I am extremely pleased with my new Honda so far. I did not buy it as a tourer and that is asking a bit much from it although it will deliver with a little farkling. I will add a rack and top box for light touring. For the fun of riding on weekends and the pure pleasure of running cross country little roads on long weekends I think it will do just fine. Aside from this one long ride, ride fuel mileage has been in the 60's and 70's so far. It is not hard to achieve 70+ mpg and this is not dawdling along at 45 mph in top gear. Normal highway riding at 55-65 mph gave me 71 mpg during break-in. Time will tell if it delivers Honda reliability and ease of ownership but I have owned many Hondas in 40 years and none let me down in this respect. The fit and finish is very good and the usual maintenance items appear easy to get to. I have changed the oil once and that was straight forward. The filter is easy to access and the bike does not get oil on itself when draining sump and filter.
 
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Hi Dave. Thanks for the writeup. I'd say it is a very fair assessment. Bravo! I read here that you have been riding 40 years, good man. :D Happy that you joined this forum.
 
Is the oil filter the common size used by most Honda's?

[5]
These Oil Filters
have 20 x 1.5mm threads,
14 psi by-pass valve,
anti-drain back valve,
2.3" O.D. gasket
2.5" to 3.5" long.
If you have the room, I recommend the longer filters.
Motorcycle Filters.
None are recommended.

AC Delco PF2135
AMSOil SMF103
Carquest 85358
AC Delco PF2135
FRAM PH6017A
Honda 15410-MCJ-000
K&N KN-204, about $13. Metric nut on end for easy removal.
NAPA Gold 1358
Purolator ML16817. Imported, not made by Purolator.
STP SMO 17
WIX 51358
Recommended filters.
All have superior
filtering.

About 2.5 inches long.
Purolator Pure One PL14612, about $6.
Mobil M1-108, about $12.
Made by Champion.
Bosch 3300, about $6.
Made by Champion.
Wal-Mart SuperTech ST6607
Made by Champion.

About 3.25 inches long.
Purolator Pure One PL14610, about $6.
Mobil 1 M1-110, about $10.
Made by Champion.
Bosch 3323, about $6.
Made By Champion.
WalMart SuperTech ST7317,
about $2. Made by Champion.
Automobile Filters,
about 2.5 inches long.
AC Delco PF1237
Baldwin B1400
Firestone TF2876
Hastings LF113
NAPA Gold 1365
Purolator L14612
STP S-02876
WalMart SuperTech ST6607
WIX 51365
Automobile Filters,
about 3.25 inches long.
AC Delco PF-2057
Auto Pro 2356
Autopride CF240AP
Baldwin B1402
Carquest 85356
Carquest Red B4620
Casite CF240
Castrol 7317
Champion Labs Ph2867
Defense Filters Dl7317
Deutsch D-370
Federated Filters LF240F
Fram Double Guard DG7317
Fram PH7317
Automobile Filters,
about 3.25 inches long.
Fram Tough Guard TG7317
Fram Xtra Guard XG7317
Group 7 V4610
Group 7 V4620
Hastings LF240
Mighty M4612
Millard ML-3593
Motorcraft Long Life FL-821
Napa FIL1356
Napa Gold 1356
Parts Plus PH2867
Pennzoil PZ-109
Penske 7317
Powerflo SL14610
Powerflo SL14620
Pro Gauge PGO-4620
Pro Tec 164
Promotive PH4610
Pronto PO3593A
Purolator L14610
Service Champ OF-4622
Shell SH48
Shell SH529
Stp S-02867.
Valvoline VO50
Warner PH2867
Wix 51356
 
Thanks for the ride on the NC yesterday Dave. It was a short spin from 28 to the Fontanta Dam but it was just enough to feel the bike. Should have taken it through those 28 sweepers you were heading for but what I do to a bike through those turns shortens the life of tires dramatically. If all I did was 28 from Deals Gap to Franklin I would get 1K per set tires for sure.

What a small world, I was reading your post on Thursday night after stopping by the local Honda dealer in Knoxville and seeing the NC for the first time in the flesh. I almost traded in the Versys on Friday but decided to wait and mull it over for the weekend. We have breakfast every Saturday morning at Deals Gap so no coincidence I was there but to come off the Foothills Parkway at the exact moment you were coming up 129 and then having to wait on The Girl (which never happens) and letting you pass was a strange set of circumstances but really glad I got to see the NC in action.

I was probably following you too close for your comfort and sorry about that but I wanted to see what the ground clearance of the NC was like and I could tell you were a solid rider so I didn't see a problem. From following you I figured I would drag the pegs and possibly the pipe on the right side unless I jacked the NC's suspension up as I weigh over 200 lbs and I use lean angle to brake for the turns on roads like the Dragon but otherwise I liked the way it flowed through the turns. In my short run over the dam I could feel the long wheelbase but I could also feel the low COG and the setup creates a great steering bike.

Seems like the NC would be a great compliment to the VFR and the Tiger 800 much like the Versys is. So what you need to do is come back up and we can swap middleweight twins for a blast through the Gap. ;)

Thanks again for the test ride Dave.

Kimball
 
snip snip

Seems like the NC would be a great compliment to the VFR and the Tiger 800 much like the Versys is. So what you need to do is come back up and we can swap middleweight twins for a blast through the Gap. ;)

Thanks again for the test ride Dave.

Kimball

Hello Kimball,
welcome to the den.

I read with wide open eyes at your stable of neat choices of bikes.
Why do you need another "same style" NCX with the Tiger and Versys?
:p
~Joe
 
Hello Kimball,
welcome to the den.

I read with wide open eyes at your stable of neat choices of bikes.
Why do you need another "same style" NCX with the Tiger and Versys?
:p
~Joe

Obviously I don't need another bike and the Versys is a great machine that is a great primary bike or a complimentary bike such as I use it. The only reason I would go for the NC is its unique design. There is a great chance the NC will become a very high value bike over time as the engine design shows great promise for long term durability and with the inherent Honda quality and superb fuel mileage the NC may redefine the midsize standard/sporty motorcycle. There is a chance this will be the last year it is manufactured in Japan which may prove to make it collectable, but that is a stretch. The tank storage would be fabulous as well.

The most intriguing aspect, to me, is the low revving motor. With my VFR I can chug through the mountains in the 3 to 3.5K rev range and it just feels great (never got over 4.5K following Dave's NC yesterday and his bike pulled as well as mine out of the turns when I was following him). The NC promises to deliver the same type of low rev experience. The Versys can tractor through the mountains as well but I suspected the NC had even better low end torque. My ride was too quick yesterday but I believe the Versys and the NC are pretty close now.

It is hard to beat the Versys on the Dragon and it enjoys a solid reputation as a quick back road bike. The NC has a slightly more commuter reputation and there are a few comments out there that the power is lacking. I believe the quality, durability and efficiency of the bike makes it a much better choice for most people even if they think they need something with more performance. I have led group rides with an EX500 before and had to wait at stop signs for R1s and Hayabusas so I have a rather dim few of people, especially new, young riders, thinking they need high horsepower sport bikes to have fun. I would love to hustle the NC through the mountains and fly the flag for rider skill over high horsepower and maybe help build a solid reputation for a high value, practical bike like the NC700X. Our sport would be better off in the long run.

It was raining this morning so I levered some sport tires on the Versys this morning and I am getting ready to head for the Gap for a late lunch and to watch MotoGP.


KEB
 
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DDuelin, thanks for taking the time to post your experience on the NCX and most of what I've read about this bike is positive. My first fill up was today and in a mixture of highway, spirited mountain road low gear riding and basic commuting, the bike achieved 65.45 mpg. I foresee a long future for this bike in the Honda lineup.
 
My first 950 miles have been on the interstate heading in and out of Manhattan, 75 miles a day. This bike has been a dream. I am so glad I didn't pay any attention to the people that thought it would be a scooter commuter, good for short rides.
Mileage has improved after the first service as well.
 
Six years six months & sixty thousand miles after starting this thread I still love my NC700X. I admit to a year long fling in the middle with a Triumph Tiger but I returned and in returning I gave a DCT model a try. I guess I'll keep it awhile ;)
 
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