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100,000 mile review

Gigs

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Well i bought my NC700x new in feb 2013. Its been almost 9 years, countless sets of tires, chains, sprockets, oil changes and a few batteries and light bulbs. With the exception on wear parts like brakes and tires, all i have done is regular maintenance. Nothing has failed.
The NC700x is such a cheap bike to own and operate, yet its reliability is basically unwavering. Ive broken a chain, my own fault, had 2 rear punctures that I safely stopped and repaired and hit a deer, a small deer.
Still have the original clutch that works great. I ride to work most days 75ish miles each way mix of freeway and back roads, a lot of time as fast as it will go.
I cannot say enough good things about how stout this bike is, never lets me down. Sure, its not the fastest, loudest, prettiest or most capable. It is fuel efficient, reliable and cost of ownership is sooooo low. I will continue to ride it doing standard maintenance and logging 15k/yr these days. I dont see it quitting on me anytime soon.
 
Like 8.5 sets of tires, 6 or seven chains. 5 or 6 valve checks usually have on valve just slightly out.
That illustrates the higher maintenance needs of motorcycles vs cars. For 100,000 miles on my car, one, maybe two sets of tires, no chains, no valve checks. It is what it is with motorcycles. I play the game too, the high maintenance, but it seems like there’s room for improvement from motorcycle manufacturers.

At only 58,000 NC miles so far, I had to fix a manufacturing flaw with my swingarm, shim up the side stand pivot, replace a leaking rear shock, and I lost a rear wheel bearing. I’m glad your NC has served you well.
 
Have you found a brand/type of tires, brakes chains or sprockets that you think outperform the others?
It will take me a LONG time to put that many miles on my NC, so your experience is very valuable.
I’ve been driving classic Volkswagens all my life, oil change and valve adjustments at 3,000 miles, so maintenance at closer intervals isn’t that big of a deal for me, I actually enjoy it.
 
That is so cool Gigs, thank you for sharing that with the rest of us! I am so impressed you have received that kind of service from yours and i am looking forward to so many more "Smiles per gallon" from mine! I logged over 35k on my 12' 700x and now am up to about 8k on my new to me 18' DCT. Like you mentioned, i enjoy the "Over-all" low maint of the NC's and spend the rest of the time riding it hard and fast hahaha! I need to update my fuelly as i know my mpg's are way closer to 65mpg with the way i have been riding it so hard this year haha! :{P
 
Have you found a brand/type of tires, brakes chains or sprockets that you think outperform the others?
It will take me a LONG time to put that many miles on my NC, so your experience is very valuable.
I’ve been driving classic Volkswagens all my life, oil change and valve adjustments at 3,000 miles, so maintenance at closer intervals isn’t that big of a deal for me, I actually enjoy it.
I have used Bridgestone Battlaxe, contimotion pro and Michelin Road 5. I think the Road 5 is about the best sport touring tire out there. Great life and I hit something in the road and put a hole in the tire and was able to safely get to the side of the interstate with zero air in the rear tire. I use did x-ring chains and JT steel sprockets. They are pretty inexpensive and last a good 16000+ miles. With valve checks I usually do it once a year and oil about twice or so. Always used Honda Gen4 oil and honda filter because mother honda knows best.
 
Another long distance testament to a great motor. Thanks for posting.

On the failing wheel bearings mentioned above, I have a theory. I always grease the axle on both wheels when I have them off for tyres. Yet I still find that some small amounts of moisture have gotten past the seals and can be accumulated in drops around the bearing areas. For years that puzzled me. I now believe I know how it is happening. The seals (unless badly worn) operate against the wheel spacers. As long as they are in good condition they will work well. If you shine a light behind the axle adjuster plates You will see the bare axle protruding from the spacer. That spacer is not a tight enough fit on the axle to prevent water ingress and that is where the moisture is getting in. As a result I have taken to spraying a waxy sealer behind the adjuster plates after every wheel removal to seal up the Axle/Spacer interface and this seems to have done the trick.

PS. I also keep an eye on the seals in case they have dried out. If so I spray a drop of silicone grease on to the sealing area and spin the wheel.
 
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Another long distance testament to a great motor. Thanks for posting.

On the failing wheel bearings mentioned above, I have a theory. I always grease the axle on both wheels when I have them off for tyres. Yet I still find that some small amounts of moisture have gotten past the seals and can be accumulated in drops around the bearing areas. For years that puzzled me. I now believe I know how it is happening. The seals (unless badly worn) operate against the wheel spacers. As long as they are in good condition they will work well. If you shine a light behind the axle adjuster plates You will see the bare axle protruding from the spacer. That spacer is not a tight enough fit on the axle to prevent water ingress and that is where the moisture is getting in. As a result I have taken to spraying a waxy sealer behind the adjuster plates after every wheel removal to seal up the Axle/Spacer interface and this seems to have done the trick.

PS. I also keep an eye on the seals in case they have dried out. If so I spray a drop of silicone grease on to the sealing area and spin the wheel.
Spraying the waxy sealer around the adjusters sounds like a good practice. I agree that the axle shaft does not fit tightly through the spacers, collars, and bearing hubs, and that water could enter that space. But since the spacers, collars and bearing hubs are all firmly packed in a stack, and compressed by torquing the axle nut, any water in the space surrounding the axle still cannot reach the rolling surfaces of the wheel bearings.

My only theory on why the right bearing is most likely to fail is that it is the most exposed, and is presented especially to rain when the bike is on the side stand. I still don't understand how water gets past a good seal, but I can see where once the bearing starts to fail and wobble out the seal, it's a cascading failure.
 
Spraying the waxy sealer around the adjusters sounds like a good practice. I agree that the axle shaft does not fit tightly through the spacers, collars, and bearing hubs, and that water could enter that space. But since the spacers, collars and bearing hubs are all firmly packed in a stack, and compressed by torquing the axle nut, any water in the space surrounding the axle still cannot reach the rolling surfaces of the wheel bearings.

My only theory on why the right bearing is most likely to fail is that it is the most exposed, and is presented especially to rain when the bike is on the side stand. I still don't understand how water gets past a good seal, but I can see where once the bearing starts to fail and wobble out the seal, it's a cascading failure.

I agree that the spacers and collars are stacked in a pack. However I suppose two metal surfaces compressed against each other do not form a perfect seal and I suppose that is why gaskets are used when a seal is required. I assume that some heat in the hub during use from the compression of the Cush rubbers and other sources will also play a part. What I used to see on the bearing seals occasionally was more akin to condensation than accumulated water.
Eitherway my current regime as described above plus occasional spray grease on the seal lips seems to have put a stop to water ingress to the bearing areas.
 
AS to the higher maintenance of bikes vs cars - I just have to say - what?
Cars dont have drive chains,
Bike tires are made to be softer rubber for grip so they dont last as long as a car tire,
Car engines dont rev high so they have auto adjust valve lifters.
Sure you have a bit more to do than a car, but bikes are not high maintenance.
Yea any car now for the first 100,000 miles all you need to do is change the oil when the oil light comes on, and put on a set of tires after the ones you bought the car with only last 30,000 miles or less - (dont get me started on the tires they put on new cars!)

Problem is most bikes are bought and then spend most of there life in the shed/garage/under a trap,
and suffer damage from that storage and then have odd problems that most wont try to fix and sell them with the problems.
A bike that gets ridden a lot and has high mileage is why better than a 15 years old bike with 3000 miles on it!

AND if you do the prevent maintenance, and ride it, and dont just store it no reason to NOT get 100,000 miles and more!
Its really no surprise.
But congrats because you dont hear about that kind of mileage much!
 
I agree that the spacers and collars are stacked in a pack. However I suppose two metal surfaces compressed against each other do not form a perfect seal and I suppose that is why gaskets are used when a seal is required. I assume that some heat in the hub during use from the compression of the Cush rubbers and other sources will also play a part. What I used to see on the bearing seals occasionally was more akin to condensation than accumulated water.
Eitherway my current regime as described above plus occasional spray grease on the seal lips seems to have put a stop to water ingress to the bearing areas.
I do something similar. When assembling I coat the axle and mating surfaces of the spacers, bearings, seals, etc with waterproof grease. I also push grease between the seal and bearing then make sure grease is in the dip in the seal where it fits against the axle. That stopped water entering even with deep water crossings.
 
The car vs motorcycle cost per mile discussion is alive a well……..Google……..car vs motorcycle cost per mile:
Yields several 100 articles with all sorts of data points.
Cars usually win witha econo car vs commuting in F350 4x4

The same discussion occurs when buying a:

Bass boat to save money on fish
RV to save money on hotels
Motorcycle to save on gas
Things you tell wife or yourself in purchasing a fun toy and pretending to save money.

Bottom line if your young and take loan on the bike……..full coverage insurance in some areas is sky high Losing points big time.
If you can ride year round you may gain poInts. But this is a cost per mile issue.
If you commute gain some points.
If your paying the dealer or others for routine maintenance like tires, chain, brakes, filter, valve adj etc your losing points big time.
Tires at $300-$500 per set lasting maybe 10k is a real concern. Same for those early and often chain sprocket folks.

Bass boat, RV, motorcycle, ATV, UTV are toys for the vast majority of US population.

When you really look close cars can go 100k with 10 oil changes, two sets of tires and maybe two brake pad.
I have had many Ridgelines tires Michelin go *80k, brakes 80-100k, filters 40k, oil 8-10k.

*Newer Ridgeline with Firestone tires barely make 50k.
 
That illustrates the higher maintenance needs of motorcycles vs cars. For 100,000 miles on my car, one, maybe two sets of tires, no chains, no valve checks. It is what it is with motorcycles. I play the game too, the high maintenance, but it seems like there’s room for improvement from motorcycle manufacturers.

At only 58,000 NC miles so far, I had to fix a manufacturing flaw with my swingarm, shim up the side stand pivot, replace a leaking rear shock, and I lost a rear wheel bearing. I’m glad your NC has served you well.
Especially in the US where Maintenance Intervals are shortened to 3000-4000 mile instead of 6000-7000 miles in Europe for the same bike.
 
Especially in the US where Maintenance Intervals are shortened to 3000-4000 mile instead of 6000-7000 miles in Europe for the same bike.
Besides chain maintenance and routine tire and fastener checks (and the crankcase breather hose that never needs emptying), I can’t think of any 3000-4000 mile maintenance tasks recommended on any of my Honda motorcycles bought in the last two decades. What 3000-4000 mile maintenance intervals are you referring to?
 
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