• A few people have been scammed on the site, Only use paypal to pay for items for sale by other members. If they will not use paypal, its likely a scam NEVER SEND E-TRANSFERS OF ANY KIND.

Year two

New Commuter700

Site Supporter
Joined
May 27, 2018
Messages
234
Reaction score
58
Points
28
Location
San Tan Valley, AZ
nc700xcommuter.com
It has now been two years since I bought my 2015 NC700X new. Rather than rez a zombie thread, here is the link to the first year. But here are the stats from the first year:

Miles - 16,900 miles
average MPG - 75.949 mi/gal
Insurance- $450.28 (for a year and a half, I just made the next payment.)
Parts and initial cost - $11,345.19
Service - $552.65 (yea, not going back)
Registration - $588.57 (now good through 2024)
Overall, all in dollars per mile is 80 cents per mile
Dollars per mile for just gas is 4 cents per mile
Dollars per mile without the initial cost of the bike and accessories is 23 cents per mile (which should be a pretty good indicator of where it will be for the life of the bike.)

...and up to the end of year two:

Miles - 34028
average MPG – 74.800 mi/gal
Insurance- $739.04
Parts and initial cost - $13009.05
Service - $552.65 (Did all my own service this year)
Registration - $588.57 (Also a fat zero this year)
Overall, all in dollars per mile is 48 cents per mile
Dollars per mile for just gas is 4 cents per mile
Dollars per mile without the initial cost of the bike and accessories is 19 cents per mile

In two years I have had 4 tires on the rear but only the first one wore out. The second was sold to me by that shop that I won't be back to. That tire lasted only 3 months and when I changed it I looked at the date code and the found the tire was 6 years old. Here in AZ unless a shop keeps their tires in a refrigerated humidifier the tires are no good after 5 years. They should never be sold as new beyond that date. And the tire was showing cracking which probably led to premature failure. Oh yea, and let's now call out the shop – Ride Now in Chandler, AZ.

I changed out the front in March at 31,500 right on the wear bars. That tire was installed by the shop but was not too old. I now have Shinko 705's on both ends. The rear is still 5/32 (new is about 10), so I've got about 8,000 miles on it so far. It's a little disappointing as I had hoped that the Shinkos would prove to have much more life that the originals (which went about 12k) and the front which went almost 20k. At this rate I will probably need to replace the rear around 15k so it's better, just not a lot better. The front I expect to get a few more miles than the rear anyway because that's how most bikes are, but we'll see.

I did change out the front and rear sprockets and the chain around 20,000. The bike does so much better on the freeway but I did not see a big change in mileage. I did install a speedo correction gizmo and the odometer still seems to be right on.

I rebuilt the front brake caliper in February because it was leaking. Other than putting the pistons back in backwards and hurting my finger when I blew them back out, it was one of the easiest rebuilds that I've done. I replaced the rear caliper because when I went to replace the pads at 31,000 I stripped the **** out of the larger caliper bolt and the aluminum caliper, not a bolt I could get at the local Ace hardware store. The takeaway from that was not to get lazy with it. When I reassembled it I pulled the axle halfway out and pulled the other caliper half loose, put the whole thing together and then reassembled.

I changed the spark plugs right at 32,000. It seemed to be running rough before that so the next time I may decrease that maintenance interval.

My mileage is showing a small drop but I would not attribute that to age but more to the way I go to work. The South Mountain 202 opened January 1st and while it is quicker, shorter and (before Current Events), it had less traffic. It also does not have the 15 miles of 55 mph, four lane divided before I get on the freeway but instead is bout 15 miles of traffic lights.

All in all I would buy this bike again, in fact I probably will when time to replace this one.

edited to reflect lithium battery cost.
 
Last edited:
I also noticed a similar drop in mileage during my second year, but I've also been a little more liberal with the throttle. Never ran WOT or hit redline before year two

Replaced my rear brake pad and bearings, on my third set of tires (Michelin Road 5). Got 18k miles out of the previous set. Turned into a bit of a darksider with the size of the flat spot on the rear... but the tread was still deep enough that I never lost traction ^_^

On my fourth chain and sprocket because I needed to learn a few lessons the hard way :rolleyes:

8/10 would buy again
 
Those are interesting details. Thanks for sharing.

When I read this, my thoughts turn to how your experiences compare to mine. Don’t think I’m being critical of your experiences, it’s just noteworthy how variable it can be from other owners. I’m at about 43,500 miles. I changed the brake fluid once, but otherwise have not serviced brakes. I’m due for another fluid change. My brake pads will probably easily go 60,000 plus miles. Given your relatively good gas mileage, I assume you don’t accelerate hard and brake hard. Maybe it‘s the heat killing your brakes? Speaking of heat, I’m surprised your battery hasn’t been replaced yet. Annecdotal evidence says that batteries are short lived in hot climates.

Insurance is a huge variable across the country. I paid about $350, I think. Now that’s the grand annual total for 8 motorcycles spread across 2 policies.

As your numbers point out, fuel prices are pocket change compared to initial cost, insurance, and maintenance. It is great that the NC gets good fuel economy, but dollar wise, it would help so much more if tires and drive chains would last a lot longer than they do. People that expect motorcycle ownership to be cheaper than that of a car are sometimes mistaken.
 
Last edited:
I haven't kept proper track of my maintenance costs since I do it myself mostly, but I definitely agree with that last part. I've basically bought half of a small economy car (like, perhaps, a Honda Jazz) after all the accessories and durables I've put on.

Couldn't say I've wanted to go back to four wheels though.

I'm close to 48k and had my pad replaced around 6k ago. 71 mpg on average over all those miles to give you a rough idea of my riding style.

I think my rear pad got eaten up was me dragging rear brake in traffic (SEA life). And how my driveway is a short steep turn... Not the front brake's best friend. Front pad looked close to new *ahem*
 
If I could make one single change to the NC it would be swapping to a shaft drive. My other complaints can be fixed by myself
 
Those are interesting details. Thanks for sharing.

When I read this, my thoughts turn to how your experiences compare to mine. Don’t think I’m being critical of your experiences, it’s just noteworthy how variable it can be from other owners. I’m at about 43,500 miles. I changed the brake fluid once, but otherwise have not serviced brakes. I’m due for another fluid change. My brake pads will probably easily go 60,000 plus miles. Given your relatively good gas mileage, I assume you don’t accelerate hard and brake hard. Maybe it‘s the heat killing your brakes? Speaking of heat, I’m surprised your battery hasn’t been replaced yet. Annecdotal evidence says that batteries are short lived in hot climates.

Insurance is a huge variable across the country. I paid about $350, I think. Now that’s the grand annual total for 8 motorcycles spread across 2 policies.

As your numbers point out, fuel prices are pocket change compared to initial cost, insurance, and maintenance. It is great that the NC gets good fuel economy, but dollar wise, it would help so much more if tires and drive chains would last a lot longer than they do. People that expect motorcycle ownership to be cheaper than that of a car are sometimes mistaken.
To be fair, the front pads were nowhere near to needing replacement, it's just that I had to rebuild the caliper and why not change the pads at the same time. The rears might have had another 5 to 10k on them but I do not wait too long to replace pads because they are so much cheaper (usually) than rotors.

I did just take a quick look and it's interesting that the difference in price between the tiny little brake pads on this bike and the rotors is not nearly as much as the difference between rotors and pads on my pickup truck. I may just let the pads get down further next time since the rotors will probably need changing anyway.

Oh, and I completely forgot about the battery, I don't know why it wasn't in my spreadsheet. I replaced it early as well, with a lithium battery last November. That would have been about 24,000 miles. Thanks for reminding me.

edited original post to include battery.
 
I enjoyed reading this because it shows how different two riders situations can be. I haven't spent any time trying to determine my numbers but a rough guesstimate would put me much lower. Compared to others, I neglect my bike and this thing just keeps going. I've been through several sets of tires and chains but only changed the brake pads once and they do not need changed anytime soon.

I just went over 70K on my bike. It has been, and still is, my primary transport to work. I rarely ride on the weekends.

Miles - 10K Average for 7 consecutive years
average MPG - 55 to 60ish mi/gal
Insurance- $160 (Progressive - full coverage)
Parts and initial cost - $500 (Tires, Sprockets, and chain)
Service - $100 (Tires swapped, oil, and filer)
Registration - $26 (Gotta love Arkansas)

I don't ride a bike to "save money" so that really isn't a consideration. Not saying you do.
 
Thanks for the thread. I’m very curious to hear how the lithium battery works and especially how it lasts for you, since we’re in the same climate.

I look at m/c expenses differently than some, since I always include the cost of riding gear in my calculations. I see gear as basic safety equipment. With a car, basic (actually very extensive) safety gear is part of the vehicle, but with a motorcycle one has to buy that separately, so I always add that cost in. I don’t say it makes a huge difference in cost per mile, but it makes some.
 
Thanks for the thread. I’m very curious to hear how the lithium battery works and especially how it lasts for you, since we’re in the same climate.

I look at m/c expenses differently than some, since I always include the cost of riding gear in my calculations. I see gear as basic safety equipment. With a car, basic (actually very extensive) safety gear is part of the vehicle, but with a motorcycle one has to buy that separately, so I always add that cost in. I don’t say it makes a huge difference in cost per mile, but it makes some.
That is a good point. I made a decision to not include the helmet, gloves, jacket...etc mostly because it is not specific to this bike. I mean in this state I theoretically could ride in flip-flops and ray-bans but my bald head would get burned. In the middle of summer we see a lot of people riding without anything but a t-shirt and shorts. So while I, and probably most on this forum, ride with proper gear, it's really not a part of the calculation for commuting, especially if my wife will let me get that Suzuki Boulevard then the helmet and jacket will be shared by both.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MZ5
That is a good point. I made a decision to not include the helmet, gloves, jacket...etc mostly because it is not specific to this bike. I mean in this state I theoretically could ride in flip-flops and ray-bans but my bald head would get burned. In the middle of summer we see a lot of people riding without anything but a t-shirt and shorts. So while I, and probably most on this forum, ride with proper gear, it's really not a part of the calculation for commuting, especially if my wife will let me get that Suzuki Boulevard then the helmet and jacket will be shared by both.
If you're looking for a C50 I have one up in the PNW I'm willing to sell, an '05 with around 38k.

I've been trying to convince my wife it's a great starter bike but the Suzuki pretends to be a big bike :rolleyes:
 
If you're looking for a C50 I have one up in the PNW I'm willing to sell, an '05 with around 38k.

I've been trying to convince my wife it's a great starter bike but the Suzuki pretends to be a big bike :rolleyes:
The C50 is a heavy bike (550lbs+) to be a starter bike...my c50's nickname is Rhino...cause my friend sat on it and said it was as wide as a rhino....
 
The C50 is a heavy bike (550lbs+) to be a starter bike...my c50's nickname is Rhino...cause my friend sat on it and said it was as wide as a rhino....
That may be technically true, but the weight is down low and, well, I started out on it. So it is technically a starter bike

The biggest reason why I'm trying to convince her is that the seat is low enough for her and I already own it! Not that I would ever tell her no to a new motorcycle :D

Rhino is a great name for the demeanor of the C50!
 
Back
Top