Got to be honest with you guys

[the Ferret]

from tonight's ride

 

[Coddy]

Thanks for your reports, I currently have a Tiger 800 and solo riding is fine but I have a long trip planned next year to the French/Spanish Pyrenees Mountain range with the Mrs on the back. Two up on the top heavy Triumph is worrying for someone of my build in some situations such as Hill starts and tight hairpins with oncoming traffic.

The new NC750 DCT will help in not stalling which would be a lot safer for me but how would it fare with hill starts when two up I will need two feet on the floor and one hand on a brake lever, will I roll back the second I release the brake lever?

Thanks in advance.

 

[bdeyes]

Important to me on the display:
Speedometer
Tachometer
Fuel level (with fine detail)
Odometer
Trip meter displayed in addition to odometer
Time of day

Really nice to have: Ambient temperature

Don't care: Gear selected

Looks like Honda got all but two on there for 2021.

Myself, I would like a compass like they put on most car displays. Going on an "adventure" is fine but I need to know what direction I am going to get home - and no I do not have a cell phone.

 

[the Ferret]

Thanks for your reports, I currently have a Tiger 800 and solo riding is fine but I have a long trip planned next year to the French/Spanish Pyrenees Mountain range with the Mrs on the back. Two up on the top heavy Triumph is worrying for someone of my build in some situations such as Hill starts and tight hairpins with oncoming traffic.

The new NC750 DCT will help in not stalling which would be a lot safer for me but how would it fare with hill starts when two up I will need two feet on the floor and one hand on a brake lever, will I roll back the second I release the brake lever?

Thanks in advance.

Wish I could answer that Coddy, maybe someone else can. First off I ride solo now. Secondly I have not encountered the situation in my brief time on the NC. The manual warns against using the engine to hold you on a hill in that situation, so I imagine if you released the brake without immediately applying throttle then yes, you would roll backwards some, just as on a manual shift bike if you didn't let out the clutch and apply throttle at the same time.

 

[the Ferret]

Twice now I have zeroed trip B when filling up and then toggle back to trip A and take off and it has zeroed as well.

Ok as to this problem I think I have found that once you zero B, you have to use the UP button to get back to A and it won't zero A as well.

If you zero B and then use the down button to go directly to B, it zeros them both.

 

[dduelin]

Thanks for your reports, I currently have a Tiger 800 and solo riding is fine but I have a long trip planned next year to the French/Spanish Pyrenees Mountain range with the Mrs on the back. Two up on the top heavy Triumph is worrying for someone of my build in some situations such as Hill starts and tight hairpins with oncoming traffic.

The new NC750 DCT will help in not stalling which would be a lot safer for me but how would it fare with hill starts when two up I will need two feet on the floor and one hand on a brake lever, will I roll back the second I release the brake lever?

Thanks in advance.

Hello Coddy and welcome to the forum.

The DCT bikes have a parking brake on the left handlebar and it’s very handy for stopping on hills and for hill starts. When it’s properly adjusted you can hold the bike in place with a slight pull with the left hand on the parking brake and not actually setting it. Used like this when you roll on throttle to take off you let the parking brake relax and off you go. If it is set for parking it takes two hands to release.

The parking brake is necessary with DCT because the clutch is disengaged when the engine is stopped.

 

[NWGABikeGuy]

Thanks for your reports, I currently have a Tiger 800 and solo riding is fine but I have a long trip planned next year to the French/Spanish Pyrenees Mountain range with the Mrs on the back. Two up on the top heavy Triumph is worrying for someone of my build in some situations such as Hill starts and tight hairpins with oncoming traffic.

The new NC750 DCT will help in not stalling which would be a lot safer for me but how would it fare with hill starts when two up I will need two feet on the floor and one hand on a brake lever, will I roll back the second I release the brake lever?

Thanks in advance.

I am a big believer in simulation and practice. If there are riding situations or scenarios about which you have qualms, I would recommend that you simulate them in as benign and forgiving environment as you can (parking lot, driveway, seldom traveled street or road, even open fields and dirt roads), and practice as realistically as you can (2 up) until you have confidence that you can handle the situation and variations thereof. Being cognizant of the mechanical operation of your bike is really most useful when you practice the riding skills you need and develop muscle memory and awareness of the challenges in real time. If you struggle a few times in a parking lot or driveway, the risks of injury and crash damage are greatly reduced, versus learning "on the fly" when traffic and road hazards exponentially increase the odds of a really bad outcome.

 

[670cc]

Thanks for your reports, I currently have a Tiger 800 and solo riding is fine but I have a long trip planned next year to the French/Spanish Pyrenees Mountain range with the Mrs on the back. Two up on the top heavy Triumph is worrying for someone of my build in some situations such as Hill starts and tight hairpins with oncoming traffic.

The new NC750 DCT will help in not stalling which would be a lot safer for me but how would it fare with hill starts when two up I will need two feet on the floor and one hand on a brake lever, will I roll back the second I release the brake lever?

Thanks in advance.

A skill that can be learned is to roll the throttle on while at the same time gradually releasing the front brake, all with the right hand, of course. I need to use that technique to do steep hill starts on my Goldwing with passenger on board. The bike at that point with passenger weighs about 1200 pounds and is more top heavy, and I need both feet down for stability, hence cannot use rear brake pedal. While I do have a clutch on the Goldwing, the right hand‘s simultaneous throttle/brake trick is the key to successful hill start take off. This technique really would not change with a DCT.

 

[the Ferret]

I was on a small grade today and thought about coddy's question. Nobody was behind me, so I thought I'd try something. With both feet down, and front brake handle squeezed holding the bike still on the grade, I reached up with my left hand and pulled the parking brake lever part way on, and then let go of the front brake handle. It stayed put. When I let off of the parking brake lever it rolled backwards, as nothing was holding it, as I expected. So I lifted the parking brake lever again, which stopped the bike from rolling backwards, and it held it. I then applied gas as I let the parking brake handle down, and it took off. Not sure I'd want to do that with a passenger and gear on board but it worked.

 

[the Ferret]

I was on a small grade today and thought about coddy's question. Nobody was behind me, so I thought I'd try something. With both feet down, and front brake handle squeezed holding the bike still on the grade, I reached up with my left hand and pulled the parking brake lever part way on, and then let go of the front brake handle. It stayed put. When I let off of the parking brake lever it rolled backwards, as nothing was holding it, as I expected. So I lifted the parking brake lever again, which stopped the bike from rolling backwards, and it held it. I then applied gas as I let the parking brake handle down, and it took off. Not sure I'd want to do that with a passenger and gear on board but it worked.

Ahhh I see dduelin already discovered this and posted before I did. That dduelin is always a step ahead lol

 

[the Ferret]

Ok as to this problem I think I have found that once you zero B, you have to use the UP button to get back to A and it won't zero A as well.

If you zero B and then use the down button to go directly to B, it zeros them both.

well that didn't work for todays' fill up. so frustrating lol

 

[dduelin]

A skill that can be learned is to roll the throttle on while at the same time gradually releasing the front brake, all with the right hand, of course. I need to use that technique to do steep hill starts on my Goldwing with passenger on board. The bike at that point with passenger weighs about 1200+ pounds and is more top heavy, and I need both feet down for stability, hence cannot use rear brake pedal. While I do have a clutch on the Goldwing, the right hand‘s simultaneous throttle/brake trick is the key to successful hill start take off. This technique really would not change with a DCT.

This method works and is the only way a clutched bike rider can do a hill start but DCT gives an alternative method and there’s value in having two ways to accomplish the same task instead of one. More and more bikes are offering hill start as option or standard equipment. Honda’s new Goldwing offers it.

The utility of the parking brake doesn’t stop there. Riders stopping a clutched bike have to choose neutral if they want to do something that takes both hands or the use of the left hand. If the stop is on any sort of grade the right foot is required to hold the bike from rolling and if the footing isn’t good on both sides of the bike the bike can’t be stopped there because it takes both feet to choose first gear from a stop in neutral. This restriction of stopping locations is just accepted by a clutched rider without thought but DCT breaks this paradigm and opens up more places to stop safely while using left or both hands. Until I owned a DCT bike I never would have seen this value in a parking brake beyond it’s obvious designated use.

 

[Janus]

I'm pretty sure that the Tiger 800 has more room for both the rider and the pillion. I've ridden a Tiger for a couple hours and really enjoyed it. I've helped work on it in the shop and didn't enjoy that so much. I haven't had a passenger or been one on the Triumph.

I have put many thousands of miles with my wife on the back of my NC. It's alright at that. I would look for a bigger (at least as far as occupancy space) bike for any serious amount of two up touring. It certainly works though

 

[670cc]

This method works and is the only way a clutched bike rider can do a hill start but DCT gives an alternative method and there’s value in having two ways to accomplish the same task instead of one. More and more bikes are offering hill start as option or standard equipment. Honda’s new Goldwing offers it.

The utility of the parking brake doesn’t stop there. Riders stopping a clutched bike have to choose neutral if they want to do something that takes both hands or the use of the left hand. If the stop is on any sort of grade the right foot is required to hold the bike from rolling and if the footing isn’t good on both sides of the bike the bike can’t be stopped there because it takes both feet to choose first gear from a stop in neutral. This restriction of stopping locations is just accepted by a clutched rider without thought but DCT breaks this paradigm and opens up more places to stop safely while using left or both hands. Until I owned a DCT bike I never would have seen this value in a parking brake beyond it’s obvious designated use.

I beg to differ, totally, on your statements that I enhanced in bold. A manual clutched motorcycle rider that accepts this as a limitation is not using all the bike’s tools to their advantage. On a clutched bike, if I stop for some reason that requires use of both hands, which happens fairly often, I just leave it in gear and hit the kill switch. Bike is in gear and won’t roll away, so I am free to use both hands, and keep both feet on the ground. The lights are still on so the bike is visible to other traffic. There is no need for a parking brake, and there is no need to fiddle with the gearshift. When ready to leave, put both hands on the bars, pull the brake lever, pull the clutch lever, flip the kill switch, restart the engine, ride away. It’s so easy, and I do it quickly and automatically without any conscious thought.

As for the potential problems with hill start on a DCT motorcycle, since the left handlebar is not being heavily utilized, I‘d like to see Honda put the rear brake control lever there, as some DCT owners have done via modifications. Scooters are usually CVT automatics and they usually have the rear brake control on the left handlebar, while putting the parking brake elsewhere separately or making it integral to the rear brake lever. Late model Zero motorcycles (which can roll away when parked) have the optional parking brake lever on the right handlebar, so if Zero can figure that out, maybe Honda can, too, thus leaving the left handlebar free for the rear brake. Having the rear brake on the left handlebar would make hill start control easy without involving more DCT “features”, options, or firmware enhancements.

 

[the Ferret]

On today's ride, I rode one of my favorite little stretches of curves. The road is only 4 miles long but it's one curve after another. Speed limit is 55 mph, and the County Sheriff's office is on this road so you may see one behind you, or in front of you, or coming at you at any time so I tend to keep it close to the posted limit. Truthfully I ride speed limit +- 5 everywhere I go, so this is normal riding for me. If you get behind a car it can ruin the road because they never hit 55 and they brake for every curve, but when you get a chance to "run it clean" it's a joy. Timing is everything and good lines reward. I'll wait at one end or the other and let a car get out of sight for a minute or so before taking off. Today I ran it clean twice. First I ran it in Standard mode. It quickly got up to 6th and stayed there except for the sharpest curve near the far end, when it down shifted to 5th, then upshifted back to 6th a short time after exiting the curve. I ran it at the posted limit of 55 miles per hour +- a couple.

Then I went back and ran it in Sport mode. It held the rpms for each gear longer and only got up to 5th, then held 5th the whole 4 miles, even in the sharpest curve. It won't downshift to 4th until 42 mph and I never got that low.

What I took away from the run was whether I was in 5th in Sport or 6th in Standard I was still running at the same speed..55 mph, and the bike was running and pulling cleanly in both modes. FOR ME, (notice I highlighted FOR ME as I realize not everyone is the same) there was no advantage to being in Sport mode. Just the rpms were higher in Sport. If the road had been a little bit more technical, maybe sport mode would have paid dividends.

Next time I run that road, I think I'm going to try Manual mode and the paddles and see how it compares to the two Auto modes.

I'm having a blast. Experimenting is fun, and so are the options. One of the advantages of this DCT box.

 

[Coddy]

This method works and is the only way a clutched bike rider can do a hill start but DCT gives an alternative method and there’s value in having two ways to accomplish the same task instead of one. More and more bikes are offering hill start as option or standard equipment. Honda’s new Goldwing offers it.

The utility of the parking brake doesn’t stop there. Riders stopping a clutched bike have to choose neutral if they want to do something that takes both hands or the use of the left hand. If the stop is on any sort of grade the right foot is required to hold the bike from rolling and if the footing isn’t good on both sides of the bike the bike can’t be stopped there because it takes both feet to choose first gear from a stop in neutral. This restriction of stopping locations is just accepted by a clutched rider without thought but DCT breaks this paradigm and opens up more places to stop safely while using left or both hands. Until I owned a DCT bike I never would have seen this value in a parking brake beyond it’s obvious designated use.

I would think releasing a parking brake with your left hand whilst increasing revs with your right hand would be a easier skill than simultaneously releasing a front brake and increasing revs with the same hand.

Thanks for the tip on the latter though, I'd never heard or thought of it in 35 years of riding manual bikes but it's one I shall be practising.

 

[Virgil2014]

Here's what I will install.
It has a clock that requires mounting to unswitched power if you want to retain the time when the ignition is turned off.
I didn't bother for 2 reasons.
My bike already has an accurate clock that doesn't drain the battery when the engine is shut off.
This one will, of course.
How many mAH will it draw? Anyone's guess.
So when I turn on the bike, I press the big button once to show battery voltage, and another press brings up ambient temp.
Nice bright large red LED readout.
Mine will be mounted by velcro right on top of that removable black plug above the triple tree.
Haven't installed it yet, as too lazy right now to pull the left front side cover to connect it to my fuse block.
I did check its operation on a bench power supply, and it works well.

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I just installed the same unit exactly as you described.
Even with my old eyes, I can read it quite well.

 

[bigbird]

I just installed the same unit exactly as you described.
Even with my old eyes, I can read it quite well.
View attachment 45839

I really like the little meter. I was going to post pics of it as well, but now that you’ve done it, pointless for me to duplicate. I originally installed it using heavy duty velcro, but it wasn’t secure enough. I used the clip mount that it came with, and drilling the thin plastic below the dashboard was not problematic at all.

 

[Bossenbumsen]

I would think releasing a parking brake with your left hand whilst increasing revs with your right hand would be a easier skill than simultaneously releasing a front brake and increasing revs with the same hand.

Thanks for the tip on the latter though, I'd never heard or thought of it in 35 years of riding manual bikes but it's one I shall be practising.

I gees it’s not trail braking u used to do, when going to the twisty roads. U only use 2 fingers on the lever, an it’s only a few try’s to get it working. Just fiddling with the lever on your rides, so you only put on the brake lights. U know just were it give the click noise, then it’s just to apply more pressure and getting the feeling of the throttle and lever at same time.
just try it out and it’s going to be an easy task to get started on a hill, or keeping your line in the twisty road. And whit fingers on the front brake and settled forks u can much easier stop if’s something is happening when you are cornering.

 

[Oldbear]

Thanks for your reports, I currently have a Tiger 800 and solo riding is fine but I have a long trip planned next year to the French/Spanish Pyrenees Mountain range with the Mrs on the back. Two up on the top heavy Triumph is worrying for someone of my build in some situations such as Hill starts and tight hairpins with oncoming traffic.

The new NC750 DCT will help in not stalling which would be a lot safer for me but how would it fare with hill starts when two up I will need two feet on the floor and one hand on a brake lever, will I roll back the second I release the brake lever?

Thanks in advance.

Coddy, I always just put my left foot down and keep the right on the brake. Roll the throttle as you release the rear brake and you’re good to my. The NC balances nicely (a lot easier than my Tiger did). If you’ve got one foot down flat you shouldn’t have any issues .