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2021 NC750X Suspension Travel Question

Or you can ride it awhile and see if it does or doesn't suit you. I can guarantee you I won't think it's horrible enough to be buying new suspenders for it. lol
I didn't think my '17 had stinky suspenders until I had to replace the rear shock. What a world of difference Cogent Dynamics made!

A charitable assessment for the stock suspension would be "adequate". I suppose that's the price of motorcyclists being a pack of cheapskates. We get cheap equipment.
 
Rephrasing the above question. Can you reduce suspension travel from 5.7 inches to 4.9 inches and retain the characteristics of the original suspension in the modified suspension. That seems to be simpler! Thanks again.
Like they say. There is no replacement for displacement. To absorb the disturbance of an uneven road surface the suspension has to move. If it has less travel available, it must be stiffer with more damping to absorb the same energy or it will bottom out. Long suspension has issues too, but 5.7" is no way too much. For me, 4.9" is not enough. I would get a different bike, like I did with the 2020 model.
 
The NC never had great suspension and its towering 32.7" seat height put it out of reach of many potential buyers. My guess is that by dropping the seat height, they made the bike more appealing to a greater number of potential buyers, with suspension quality mostly remaining the same as before. :)
 
I didn't think my '17 had stinky suspenders until I had to replace the rear shock. What a world of difference Cogent Dynamics made!

A charitable assessment for the stock suspension would be "adequate". I suppose that's the price of motorcyclists being a pack of cheapskates. We get cheap equipment.
I prefer to refer to myself as frugal.

Who am I kidding? I'm Polish. "Cheapskate" is part of our DNA; so much so that 23 & Me added it as part of their genomic considerations. Like how they ask "Do you like bitter coffee? There's a gene for that." For us Polocks, "Are you a cheap SOB? Bet you're Polish."

Kidding on everything other than me being American of Polish descent.
 
Concerning suspension travel, I think a lot depends on what the road conditions are where you most often ride. If I usually rode in western NC or eastern TN, even the 4.7 inch travel of the ‘21 NC might be fine. In more northern states with rough roads, or states with low road maintenance budgets like mine, I need the 10.3/11.0 inches of travel of my dual sport to be comfortable even on state and US highways.
 
The NC never had great suspension and its towering 32.7" seat height put it out of reach of many potential buyers. My guess is that by dropping the seat height, they made the bike more appealing to a greater number of potential buyers, with suspension quality mostly remaining the same as before. :)
Yes, it was a Marketing decision to degrade the suspension. It would not come from Engineering.
 
Hey guys. Culturalizing and making fun even of your own lineage just perpetuates and condones racism and bigotry. I find these posts offensive and inappropriate. Call me thin skinned and over-reactive if you want, and I’m fine with that. But if you want to stop discrimination and marginalization, have a look at what you think is funny.
 
I've had a lot of motorcycles, about 30, in 50 years of riding and I was really pleased with the handling of my 2012 NC700X against that backdrop. At the time I would tell people it was the best handling motorcycle I had owned and that was with the stock suspension. I'm about 165 lbs in riding gear and that means a lot because the shock still required all the preload I could get out of it as it was a bit too soft and bottomed too often. Preload doesn't change the spring hardness but it did raise the ride height so the shock worked (mostly) in the middle of its travel. The stock forks were fine for slow speed compression but rapid hard bumps were too harsh so I did install Cogent Dynamic cartridge emulators and changed the spacers to get more preload and ride height. When I got the 2015 I immediately installed the CD cartridge emulators and spacers to what was in the 2012 forks and went a step further and installed the Cogent Dynamic shock built to my weight. Now that 2015 DCT was the best handling bike I ever owned until the RT. For about $1000 in suspension upgrades the NC700X had great suspension - and $1000 bucks is cheap. That's what I paid for just the rear shock on the RT.
 
I've had a LOT of motorcycles as well. Had custom suspension on 2 of them. I honestly couldn't tell the difference between the stock suspension and the expensive aftermarket stuff.

At a CB 1100 rally, I rode a guys CB that had cartridge forks and Ikon shocks on back. He swore they transformed his bike. After riding it I thought it felt just like my stockers with 50,000 miles on them. Guess I'm just not sensitive enough to tell the diff. I was following him on one ride, he'd hit a bump and the bike would go up and down, I'd hit it right behind him and my bike would go up and down. He'd go around a curve and not wallow, I'd go around the curve and not wallow. When I replaced the rear shock on my ST 1300 after 75,000 miles, I just put on a new stock shock.

I also have never felt the need to get a custom seat. Stockers are just fine with me.

I have replaced tires and grips with better stuff, but I could probably have gotten along with the stock grips lol.
 
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I've had a LOT of motorcycles as well. Had custom suspension on 2 of them. I honestly couldn't tell the difference between the stock suspension and the expensive aftermarket stuff.

At a CB 1100 rally, I rode a guys CB that had cartridge forks and Ikon shocks on back. He swore they transformed his bike. After riding it I thought it felt just like my stockers with 50,000 miles on them. Guess I'm just not sensitive enough to tell the diff. I was following him on one ride, he'd hit a bump and the bike would go up and down, I'd hit it right behind him and my bike would go up and down. He'd go around a curve and not wallow, I'd go around the curve and not wallow. When I replaced the rear shock on my ST 1300 after 75,000 miles, I just put on a new stock shock.

I also have never felt the need to get a custom seat. Stockers are just fine with me.
Consider yourself lucky. It’s good for your wallet if you’re pleased with the stock hardware. Other than the NC, of all my motorcycles, I”ve spent nothing on suspension except $100 for the forks on two Ruckus scooters. However, the NC suspension needed help and that cost me quite a few bucks.
 
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I've had a LOT of motorcycles as well. Had custom suspension on 2 of them. I honestly couldn't tell the difference between the stock suspension and the expensive aftermarket stuff.

At a CB 1100 rally, I rode a guys CB that had cartridge forks and Ikon shocks on back. He swore they transformed his bike. After riding it I thought it felt just like my stockers with 50,000 miles on them. Guess I'm just not sensitive enough to tell the diff. I was following him on one ride, he'd hit a bump and the bike would go up and down, I'd hit it right behind him and my bike would go up and down. He'd go around a curve and not wallow, I'd go around the curve and not wallow. When I replaced the rear shock on my ST 1300 after 75,000 miles, I just put on a new stock shock.

I also have never felt the need to get a custom seat. Stockers are just fine with me.

I have replaced tires and grips with better stuff, but I could probably have gotten along with the stock grips lol.
I think the initial price point and competition in that category are why the CB1100 and ST1300 had stock suspensions that weren't greatly improved by aftermarket upgrades. The NC series is at more or less an entry level price-point.

My DRZ400 has really nice suspenders though, not sure it could be improved much with aftermarket bibs. It's not entry level though.
 
Concerning suspension travel, I think a lot depends on what the road conditions are where you most often ride. If I usually rode in western NC or eastern TN, even the the 4.7 inch travel of the ‘21 NC might be fine. In more northern states with rough roads, or states with low road maintenance budgets like mine, I need the 10.3/11.0 inches of travel of my dual sport to be comfortable even on state and US highways.

Curious why a "maintained" road would need 10.3 to 11.0 in travel. Potholes? I guess I am assuming the roads you ride on are maintained.
 
I've had a LOT of motorcycles as well. Had custom suspension on 2 of them. I honestly couldn't tell the difference between the stock suspension and the expensive aftermarket stuff.

At a CB 1100 rally, I rode a guys CB that had cartridge forks and Ikon shocks on back. He swore they transformed his bike. After riding it I thought it felt just like my stockers with 50,000 miles on them. Guess I'm just not sensitive enough to tell the diff. I was following him on one ride, he'd hit a bump and the bike would go up and down, I'd hit it right behind him and my bike would go up and down. He'd go around a curve and not wallow, I'd go around the curve and not wallow. When I replaced the rear shock on my ST 1300 after 75,000 miles, I just put on a new stock shock.

I also have never felt the need to get a custom seat. Stockers are just fine with me.

I have replaced tires and grips with better stuff, but I could probably have gotten along with the stock grips lol.
I did mod the suspension, front and rear, on my VFR. The suspension was not terrible, just not what I wanted. It still isn't perfect but much better.
 
Consider yourself lucky. It’s good for your wallet if you’re pleased with the stock hardware. Other than the NC, of all my motorcycles, I”ve spent nothing on suspension except $100 for the forks on two Ruckus scooters. However, the NC suspension needed help and that cost me quite a few bucks.
I don't recall the mods you made to the suspension. Would you mind sharing what you did and if you were satisfied with the outcome? Thanks.
 
Hey guys. Culturalizing and making fun even of your own lineage just perpetuates and condones racism and bigotry. I find these posts offensive and inappropriate. Call me thin skinned and over-reactive if you want, and I’m fine with that. But if you want to stop discrimination and marginalization, have a look at what you think is funny.

Not going to get in a debate with you, but I entirely disagree. Because you feel a certain way, or interpret a matter with a particular bias, does not make it so. Are you drawing conclusions from scientific research or sources such as the CBC, CNN, or programs in your workplace? Please don't even begin to introduce microaggressions into this equation. And for the record, I dedicated my entire life to protecting the rights of others. I do respect that you have a unique perspective on this and I'm not going to call you any names, but I will call you out. Prove it. Prove that a good-natured joke that includes self-deprecation referencing lineage perpetuates and condones racism and bigotry. Bigotry and racism are far more complex than you are suggesting, and one does not beget the other necessarily. Is it okay for me to find offensive your characterization of me, and others, as suborning racism and bigotry? And in closing, I need no advice from you on what I should or should not consider funny.
 
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Curious why a "maintained" road would need 10.3 to 11.0 in travel. Potholes? I guess I am assuming the roads you ride on are maintained.
I guess “need“ was a poor word choice. Nice to have is more what I meant. The roads locally are very rough. Maintainance usually means spraying oil on the bad spots, then sprinkling gravel on the oil. They often should have been totally resurfaced ten years ago, but they have been neglected. Many of the roads were originally concrete, but when the concrete joints began to crumble and the slabs shifted, they just cover it over with a layer of asphalt. But the underlying base is still poor so the joints still end up as raised repetitive “speed bumps”. Railroad crossing are also usually very rough. The beauty of the dual sport suspension in that instead of being nearly bucked off the seat as on the NC, the DS just floats over the bump as if it’s not there. No, I don’t need the whole 10” of travel, but the long travel suspension soaks up bumps very nicely.
 
I don't recall the mods you made to the suspension. Would you mind sharing what you did and if you were satisfied with the outcome? Thanks.
I have an Ohlins rear shock, and RaceTech gold valve emulators up front. I experimented with different front spring rates but settled back on the stock springs. The results were a big improvement but I still feel as if the front forks have too much stiction, even after 50,000 miles of break in.
 
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