Tal
New Member
So, looking for general advice from the folks here who have been at this a lot longer than I have.
Living where I do (central NE) I have a severe limit in what I can find, test ride, and buy. The nearest city with >50k people is over 3 hours away in each direction. In some ways, it's a utopia where the hassles of massive traffic, never ending suburbia, and urban decay are a distance memory. When it comes to being a consumer whose interested in a more unique product it is a pain.
The only authorized Honda dealer within 150 miles is actually right down the street, but being a Harley/Honda/etc dealer in this region means they have a good selection of cruisers and not much else. They would be more than happy to order up a 2016/17 NC700X with DCT for me, but would charge me full MSRP, 600 in shipping, and 100 or so in paperwork fee's. It adds up to a lot for a bike I would be buying sight unseen. They do have a 2014 manual on the floor and sitting on it it doesn't feel bad at all (5'11", 160 pounds, 32" inseam at least as far as my pants are concerned) but that's hardly indicative of how the bike would feel while riding and even if I did ride the one there, I'm purely interested in the NX due to the DCT option which I'm certain will have it's own characteristics. Also they want 7300 OTD for the 2014 manual, one player markets ftw.
This bike would end up being a daily driver for me over the summer. Back and forth to work approximately 6 times a week, out about 100 miles to the nearest towns once a week or biweekly on state highways, and probably a 1k mile trip to see family in July. Come rain, shine, or 40 mph wind gusts those first two would have to happen and the last would be pretty hard to diverge from barring tornado activity.
So what's a fella who really likes the idea of the simplicity of a computer controlled transmission to do? Buy sight unseen? Or go buy a used DL650 that he can actually touch first?
The only reason I mention the DL is there's one for sale within riding distance home, which greatly simplifies things. I would also rate it at least comparable for my expected uses with it being more annoying in the city, roughly equal on the highways, and slightly more comfortable for 500+ mile days on the interstate by my understanding (*having never ridden either).
I really, really like the idea of the DCT though. I'm not a traditional motorcyclist. I have no deeply ingrained love of mastering powerful machines by way of moving up and down the same set of 6 gears 20+ times a day. I want to buy something that works, and the more convenient it is in fulfilling that purpose the happier I am with it.
Thoughts?
Living where I do (central NE) I have a severe limit in what I can find, test ride, and buy. The nearest city with >50k people is over 3 hours away in each direction. In some ways, it's a utopia where the hassles of massive traffic, never ending suburbia, and urban decay are a distance memory. When it comes to being a consumer whose interested in a more unique product it is a pain.
The only authorized Honda dealer within 150 miles is actually right down the street, but being a Harley/Honda/etc dealer in this region means they have a good selection of cruisers and not much else. They would be more than happy to order up a 2016/17 NC700X with DCT for me, but would charge me full MSRP, 600 in shipping, and 100 or so in paperwork fee's. It adds up to a lot for a bike I would be buying sight unseen. They do have a 2014 manual on the floor and sitting on it it doesn't feel bad at all (5'11", 160 pounds, 32" inseam at least as far as my pants are concerned) but that's hardly indicative of how the bike would feel while riding and even if I did ride the one there, I'm purely interested in the NX due to the DCT option which I'm certain will have it's own characteristics. Also they want 7300 OTD for the 2014 manual, one player markets ftw.
This bike would end up being a daily driver for me over the summer. Back and forth to work approximately 6 times a week, out about 100 miles to the nearest towns once a week or biweekly on state highways, and probably a 1k mile trip to see family in July. Come rain, shine, or 40 mph wind gusts those first two would have to happen and the last would be pretty hard to diverge from barring tornado activity.
So what's a fella who really likes the idea of the simplicity of a computer controlled transmission to do? Buy sight unseen? Or go buy a used DL650 that he can actually touch first?
The only reason I mention the DL is there's one for sale within riding distance home, which greatly simplifies things. I would also rate it at least comparable for my expected uses with it being more annoying in the city, roughly equal on the highways, and slightly more comfortable for 500+ mile days on the interstate by my understanding (*having never ridden either).
I really, really like the idea of the DCT though. I'm not a traditional motorcyclist. I have no deeply ingrained love of mastering powerful machines by way of moving up and down the same set of 6 gears 20+ times a day. I want to buy something that works, and the more convenient it is in fulfilling that purpose the happier I am with it.
Thoughts?