Looking for input, taking the NC700x off road

[Fmarquette]

Hello from the PNW,

I love my CB1100 2013, her name is Ruby. Sadly for her, I'm going to move down to NM this year and I'm looking for a bike that's more adventure oriented. I do not have a background with dirt bikes, all my riding has been done on the street but I do have a love for hiking/camping. Looking to try to get a NC700x and make some changes to take it off road, possibly do the discover trail in WA before I leave the state. Looking for some shared lessons learned. What are my dos & don'ts? Should I even try to be doing this. I don't really want to spend more than 10K on a bike so that knocks out the African Twin & most the BMWs. Thoughts?

-Fred

 

[drdubb]

If you are serious, get the Africa Twin, or keep the 1100 and get a WR250 or a DRZ or DR650 for the dirt. There's a nice couple from Rhode Island wandering all over that territory on TW200's.

Go to you tube and look up Vman13's videos.

 

[belrix]

Hello from the PNW,

I love my CB1100 2013, her name is Ruby. Sadly for her, I'm going to move down to NM this year and I'm looking for a bike that's more adventure oriented. I do not have a background with dirt bikes, all my riding has been done on the street but I do have a love for hiking/camping. Looking to try to get a NC700x and make some changes to take it off road, possibly do the discover trail in WA before I leave the state. Looking for some shared lessons learned. What are my dos & don'ts? Should I even try to be doing this. I don't really want to spend more than 10K on a bike so that knocks out the African Twin & most the BMWs. Thoughts?

-Fred

How offroad are you wanting to go? I honestly feel with a few upgrades the NCX is a very capable dual track machine.

I have setup my NCX with a TKC-80 up front and a Mitas E-07 on the rear, along with a skid plate, crash bars, bark busters for protection and a Madstad 20" windscreen, bar risers, dropped foot pegs and new seat for comfort.

With this setup I can comfortably ride the local gravel roads and tackled all the minimum maintenance roads I can find! Plus I have made a couple couple trips to Arkansas and the NCX handled the fire service roads just fine.

My girlfriend also rides a NCX similarly equipped and we started motorcycle camping last year, the NCX's handled everything just fine.

Can a NCX compare to an Africa Twin or a true dual sport on the really gnarly stuff. no it can't. But in my humble opinion it can be setup to handle dual track just fine, has enough wind protection to handle long highway trips and is very affordable.

With a $10,000 budget you should be able to pickup a NCX and get it setup to handle light trails.

Plus the NCX has a frunk!!!

belrix

 

[Hank]

This video is me on mainly pasture, a few rocky spots. Street tires.
There is a video on there of my mods, too. Crash bars, handguards, skid plate.

YouTube

 

[ld_rider]

I'm looking for a bike that's more adventure oriented. ....<snip>......Thoughts?
-Fred

I still have no idea what an "adventure" bike is supposed to be. I'm starting to warm up to the idea it is simply a marketing term that represents a "style" of a motorcycle rather than the actual design or mission statement. I mean 17" cast wheels?, a radiator hanging in the breeze? Virtually no protection from rocks? Anyway, I digress ;-)

You can modify a NC to go anywhere you want, just like you can modify just about any streetbike (which is what the NC is) to go anywhere you want. I've taken my GL1800 on 300+km gravel road trips to the Arctic Circle and my Sportster on dirt roads without much problem.

You state you are thinking of going "off road". Do you mean that literally as in <no roads> or figuratively as in no pavement or blacktop but still a road?. The big drawback (to me) with the NC is the itty-bitty front wheel which can get squirrely in sand or deep gravel and the ABS (mine is a DCT). You would probably have no problems on most unpaved roads with minor (tires maybe?) modifications. I'm talking about your normal packed gravel roads, maintained campground and fire roads.

If you really want to go off road get the right tool: I would want a smaller (lighter) motorcycle that comes in less than a quarter-ton and has tires/rims and protection designed for off road riding. With a $10k budget you have a LOT of options that are probably much better suited for actual "off road". Otherwise, the NC with a few minor mods will be as good as any other streetbike when riding on unpaved roads.

 

[L.B.S.]

Fred, if you haven't done any dirt or gravel roads period on a motorcycle, there are easier bikes, and there are harder bikes to do this on, lol. You can whip down a logging road no sweat on an NC700. When you come to a branching sign that says: "Deactivated Road" on the fire/forest/logging road you've been happily zipping down, well. Then you may discover a lack of ground clearance, a rather small 17" front wheel, not inconsiderable weight, and very basic suspension with not very much travel will either end your further continuation, or make for a very character building experience.

For me, an NC700X is about the best compromise around to do a little bit of everything, but not too much of one thing. My DR350 was good enough off road to get me in real trouble far away from the beaten path, but utter misery on any kind of trip to get there.

Anything less capable than the NCX represents, would cause more suckage for a novice rider off pavement I believe, and be possibly a bit frustrating for a very good rider, wishing to navigate more gnarly obstacles. An Africa Twin would kick an NCX's butt off road, but it's even heavier than our bike (and $$$). That alone personally keeps me from considering one, as picking up my fully loaded X face down in the mud after a gruelling day's trail riding, is my limit for "fun" things I want to do with any kind of frequency, lol.

In my mind, off road of any kind equals falling down, slipping in mud, rolling backwards down a hill you've not made up, face planting when a vine or tree branch caught your leg or foot peg, and so on. Just part of the deal when you make that decision to go where some other vehicles might not venture. IMHO The better a bike is off road, can sometimes let you get further into a scenario you didn't really have any business going in the first place, unless you are fully prepared for that and willing to go for it.

So, that's why I like my NCX. It is very capable and comfy for me on the long pavement trips to go somewhere, where it then self limits me to stay sane in my choices of where to go off pavement hahaha

Cheers, and best of luck with whatever choice you decide on. (maybe keep Ruby and get a smaller dirt bike, like ld_rider suggests?)

 

[Ruggybuggy]

The NC is a street bike. My KLX351 is my true dual sport bike. Sure you can take a NC off road but you could also take a Harley off road but it's simply not the right tool for the job.

 

[rippin209]

Fred, if you haven't done any dirt or gravel roads period on a motorcycle, there are easier bikes, and there are harder bikes to do this on, lol. You can whip down a logging road no sweat on an NC700. When you come to a branching sign that says: "Deactivated Road" on the fire/forest/logging road you've been happily zipping down, well. Then you may discover a lack of ground clearance, a rather small 17" front wheel, not inconsiderable weight, and very basic suspension with not very much travel will either end your further continuation, or make for a very character building experience.

For me, an NC700X is about the best compromise around to do a little bit of everything, but not too much of one thing. My DR350 was good enough off road to get me in real trouble far away from the beaten path, but utter misery on any kind of trip to get there.

Anything less capable than the NCX represents, would cause more suckage for a novice rider off pavement I believe, and be possibly a bit frustrating for a very good rider, wishing to navigate more gnarly obstacles. An Africa Twin would kick an NCX's butt off road, but it's even heavier than our bike (and $$$). That alone personally keeps me from considering one, as picking up my fully loaded X face down in the mud after a gruelling day's trail riding, is my limit for "fun" things I want to do with any kind of frequency, lol.

In my mind, off road of any kind equals falling down, slipping in mud, rolling backwards down a hill you've not made up, face planting when a vine or tree branch caught your leg or foot peg, and so on. Just part of the deal when you make that decision to go where some other vehicles might not venture. IMHO The better a bike is off road, can sometimes let you get further into a scenario you didn't really have any business going in the first place, unless you are fully prepared for that and willing to go for it.

So, that's why I like my NCX. It is very capable and comfy for me on the long pavement trips to go somewhere, where it then self limits me to stay sane in my choices of where to go off pavement hahaha

Cheers, and best of luck with whatever choice you decide on. (maybe keep Ruby and get a smaller dirt bike, like ld_rider suggests?)

I agree it's more of a jack of all trades master of none but I would add with the radiator costing over $500 and a radiator guard costing less then $50 and a fender extender costing $35 even if you don't plan on going off road at all I would recommend buying them to avoid road debris

 

[bamamate]

I'm in the same camp as Belrix and LBS. For me the NC is a good jack-of-all-trades master of none bike. I commute on her, take trips, ride gravel, FS, and 2 track. I've done the COBDR on the NC, along with 2 BMW F800s, and she did great. My riding is mostly rocky terrain in AR. The only sand I've done was the bit on the BDR which she made it through fine. For off-road the 17" front isn't near as good as a 21". The cast wheels have proven to be pretty strong but yes they can be damaged. I’ve bent and chipped one but I got home on it. I have to go slower at times than the other big bikes but she gets through. Speed isn't my thing. I like to ride more like a tourist. I have the usual crash protection and have upgraded the suspension front and back. Also installed fork extenders which give me a little more ground clearance.

Any bike you get is going to be a compromise. $$$ played big into my decision. The NC is at her best commuting around town. She is good for long trips but not great. She is good for gravel roads and as things get rougher she does need to go slower. On the other hand the instant low end torque is incredible and she is very easy to balance at slow speeds for a big bike making it easy to pick your way through. There are times I have it easier than other big bikes and times they have it easier.

Having 2 bikes, if possible, is the way to go. I also have a CRF250L for riding hard stuff but, for me, I only use it for riding hard stuff. The NC is just better in any other circumstance. I haul the CRF to the trails even though it is street legal whereas I ride the NC to trails. Riding and camping, like on the BDR, is easy on the NC. She can easily handle all the gear I want to take. I’d have to rethink my gear if I took the CRF.

Due to an injury I haven’t ridden much in the past year but I have some video of past rides and part of the BDR.
This one was probably my hardest ride. They didn't have a big bike route so I went with the smaller dual sport bikes and it was a wet muddy ride. I’ve never tried to take a Harley off pavement so I don’t know if it could have done this.

[video=youtube;UfTmbF7ysUQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfTmbF7ysUQ&t=551s[/video]

 

[OldJeff]

9:57, at least you didn't fall in one of those lakes you were swimming in

 

[OneGun]

I'll echo what others are saying. If you put enough money into an NC, it becomes more capable "off road", but "off road" can mean different things to different people. Different suspension and some knobbies increases your non-pavement abilities, but since you already have a street bike and you're interested in hitting "trails", I don't know if the NC is the route I'd go. As has been said... it's really just a street bike no matter how much many of us wish it wasn't.

My advice is to get an XR, KLR... something like that and hit the trails with confidence.

 

[frozenpoet]

I'd only be worried about the tougher single tracks and of course sand.

 

[Deleted member 5383]

One thing that improved my Yammie WR250R was installing a G2 Dirt Tamer throttle tube/cam system (probably available for CrF250L as well). this uses a non-linear cam to make the transitions at low throttle smoother and more gradual, thus making low speed technical riding maneuvers easier, with less jerkiness in throttle application at near-idle and less chance of stalls. Definitely worth the price and install. I checked to see if they have a NC700X fitment yet. Apparently they do now, though it's listed as a Street Tamer. Same principle, using a cam to give finer granularity at the low end of the throttle application, and increasing throttle opening quicker as you get up into the midrange. I'd recommend this to anyone looking for better off-road control.

http://www.g2ergo.com/store/g2-street-tamer-throttle-tube/