mr_et2
Member
Hi there! I'm Keith, and I'm obviously new here. I just purchased a new 2015 NC700XDA. Hard for me to believe that this beautiful bike sat on the showroom floor for 4 years! But I'm glad it did, because now it's mine!
Believe it or not, this is the first street bike that I've owned since 1995! Back then I had a 1977 Honda CB500T. I've been riding since I was 14, but it's been a few years since I've been on the street. I've had the itch for quite a while, and have bought a couple "project" bikes over the years... figuring that I'd fix them up over the winter and be able to ride in the summer, but then wasn't able to get to them. The last 2 projects that I had were a 1979 Yamaha XS1100 Midnight Special and a 1984 Honda VF1100 Sabre. Both beautiful, and both basket cases.
When I got my recent itch I decided to look at dealers and get something with a warranty, so I could actually ride it. I was looking online and saw a gorgeous looking Honda CTX700. I went and looked at it. WOW, I started drooling, lol. Then I sat on it. Holy crap...my knees hit the fairing, and it's soooo low. (I'm 6' tall with a 34" inseam). Disappointment set in. Then I started walking around the place. They've got over 200 bikes there, so I figured they'd have something that I both liked AND fit. The sales guy really wanted to get me on a huge cruiser... kept showing me bikes with tons of chrome. While they were all beautiful, that's just not my thing. Most bikes I've ridden were dirt bikes and dual sports... YZ's, CR's, XR's, etc.. Then I saw a CB500X. I loved how it looked. I sat on it. I loved how it felt. I asked the salesman how much. He told me "it doesn't matter because you're too big for it. You need a big cruiser". I am 270lbs, but seriously... you're going to say that to a customer? The Honda XR250R I've been riding off road for years never seemed to have a problem with my weight.
So off I went, to a different dealer. Right inside the door, there sat a beautiful matt black 2016 CB500X. As soon as I stepped in a salesman welcomed me with a big hello and a handshake. He asked me what brought me in and I pointed. Super friendly guy. Much smaller dealer, I doubt they had 30 bikes. I didn't look at anything else, I just wanted to talk numbers. $4700. Very nice price. I told him to write it up and I'd talk to my credit union. He gave me all the numbers and I walked away happy and excited.
When I got home I called my credit union. Got approved in seconds (Navy Federal is awesome). The guy at the credit union starts talking about bikes. He tells me he used to have a CB500X himself and thinks it's pretty great, except that "it felt a little under powered to haul my 260 pounds around on the highway". Well crap... Then he tells me he traded it in for a NC700X and it feels so much better, and "the frunk is awesome, you should check it out". He tells me I'll have the loan check and all the paperwork in the morning. I asked if he meant Monday, because it was after 8PM Friday already. He tells me he means tomorrow morning. He was right, Fedex dropped it off just after 8am Saturday! That's amazing service.
Anyway... I thought about what he told me about the CB500X feeling under powered on the highway for him. So I started reading and watching reviews. After lots of hours in front of the computer I decided to check out the NC700. I went back to the dealer on Monday and told the salesman I wanted to check one out. They had 2 in stock, one 6 speed and one DCT. I decided on the DCT since it also has ABS. After a lot of back and forth, I got it for $717 more than the CB500X would have cost me. I'm picking it up Saturday.
Believe it or not, this is the first street bike that I've owned since 1995! Back then I had a 1977 Honda CB500T. I've been riding since I was 14, but it's been a few years since I've been on the street. I've had the itch for quite a while, and have bought a couple "project" bikes over the years... figuring that I'd fix them up over the winter and be able to ride in the summer, but then wasn't able to get to them. The last 2 projects that I had were a 1979 Yamaha XS1100 Midnight Special and a 1984 Honda VF1100 Sabre. Both beautiful, and both basket cases.
When I got my recent itch I decided to look at dealers and get something with a warranty, so I could actually ride it. I was looking online and saw a gorgeous looking Honda CTX700. I went and looked at it. WOW, I started drooling, lol. Then I sat on it. Holy crap...my knees hit the fairing, and it's soooo low. (I'm 6' tall with a 34" inseam). Disappointment set in. Then I started walking around the place. They've got over 200 bikes there, so I figured they'd have something that I both liked AND fit. The sales guy really wanted to get me on a huge cruiser... kept showing me bikes with tons of chrome. While they were all beautiful, that's just not my thing. Most bikes I've ridden were dirt bikes and dual sports... YZ's, CR's, XR's, etc.. Then I saw a CB500X. I loved how it looked. I sat on it. I loved how it felt. I asked the salesman how much. He told me "it doesn't matter because you're too big for it. You need a big cruiser". I am 270lbs, but seriously... you're going to say that to a customer? The Honda XR250R I've been riding off road for years never seemed to have a problem with my weight.
So off I went, to a different dealer. Right inside the door, there sat a beautiful matt black 2016 CB500X. As soon as I stepped in a salesman welcomed me with a big hello and a handshake. He asked me what brought me in and I pointed. Super friendly guy. Much smaller dealer, I doubt they had 30 bikes. I didn't look at anything else, I just wanted to talk numbers. $4700. Very nice price. I told him to write it up and I'd talk to my credit union. He gave me all the numbers and I walked away happy and excited.
When I got home I called my credit union. Got approved in seconds (Navy Federal is awesome). The guy at the credit union starts talking about bikes. He tells me he used to have a CB500X himself and thinks it's pretty great, except that "it felt a little under powered to haul my 260 pounds around on the highway". Well crap... Then he tells me he traded it in for a NC700X and it feels so much better, and "the frunk is awesome, you should check it out". He tells me I'll have the loan check and all the paperwork in the morning. I asked if he meant Monday, because it was after 8PM Friday already. He tells me he means tomorrow morning. He was right, Fedex dropped it off just after 8am Saturday! That's amazing service.
Anyway... I thought about what he told me about the CB500X feeling under powered on the highway for him. So I started reading and watching reviews. After lots of hours in front of the computer I decided to check out the NC700. I went back to the dealer on Monday and told the salesman I wanted to check one out. They had 2 in stock, one 6 speed and one DCT. I decided on the DCT since it also has ABS. After a lot of back and forth, I got it for $717 more than the CB500X would have cost me. I'm picking it up Saturday.
