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NC700 evolved from the Super Cub

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ChuteTheMall

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I found this info on Wikipedia, and it reminded me that the NC700XDC had it's roots in the 1950's:

A plastic fairing ran from below the handlebars and under the footpegs, protecting the rider's legs from wind and road debris, as well as hiding the engine from view. This design was like the full enclosure of a scooter, but unlike a scooter the engine and gearbox unit was not fixed to the rear axle. This had several benefits. It moved the engine down and away from the seat, detaching the rear swingarm motion from the drivetrain for lower unsprung weight. It also made engine cooling air flow more direct, and made it possible to fit larger wheels.[12] Placing the engine in the center of the frame, rather than close to the rear wheel, gave it proper front-rear balance.[13] The fuel tank was located under the hinged seat, which opened to reveal the fuel filler inlet. The 17 inch wheels, in comparison to the typical 10 inch wheels of a scooter, were more stable, particularly on rough roads, and psychologically made the motorcycle more familiar, having an appearance closer to a bicycle than a small-wheel scooter.[12]


The sequential shifting three speed gearbox was manually shifted, but clutchless, without the need for a clutch lever control, using instead a centrifugal clutch along with a plate clutch slaved to the footchange lever to engage and disengage the gearbox from the engine. While not intuitive to learn, once the rider got used to it, the semi-automatic transmission, "took the terror out of motorcycling" for novice riders.[23]
Click to expand...

wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Super_Cub

I was reading about the prolific Honda Super Cub on Wikipedia when the similarities to the NC700 jumped off the page at me, from the scooter-like frame with hinged seat hiding gas tank to the clutchless gearbox and the 17" wheels.

In continuous manufacture since 1958 with production surpassing 60 million in 2008, and 87 million in 2014, the Super Cub is the most produced motor vehicle* in history.[2][3][4][5][6] Variants include the C100, C50, C70, C90, C100EX and C70 Passport.

The Super Cub's US advertising campaign, You meet the nicest people on a Honda, had a lasting impact on Honda's image and on American attitudes to motorcycling, and is often used as a marketing case study
Click to expand...
 
When you said Super Cub, I thought you meant one of these. We used to joke that a Super Cub would barely go fast enough to kill you. Same could be said for the NC700...

supercub.jpg
 
The only links I would have to say regarding the Super Cub and the NC700X is the technical innovations that Honda is well known for. Honda has developed many new technologies and their applications when if comes to motorcycles. The "Semi-Automatic" clutch that you are referring to helped bring the ease of riding a motorcycle to the masses and exploded in the US back in the 1960's. Using this example, Honda has gone full circle with the introduction of DCT to the market.

Honda was not been immune from failed technologies that did not receive market acceptance. The 1976 Honda CB750A Honda-matic comes to mind as a fine example of this. Then then the introduction of the DN-01 boasting an improved technical improvement of the fully automatic transmission in the early 2000's.

Honda's did not always have a good marketing track record. Many models were introduced that dealers could not give away, such as the GB500, GT650 and VTR250 to just to name a few. These bikes are highly sought after now. These bikes and others like it were introduced before their times and were marketing flops to say the least...

The color schemes of the 1990s were the worst, white backgrounds with pastel colored graphics. That had to come out of a Cocaine introduced trip.

In the beginning here in the US, Honda was not as successful as we know them as today. Honda's Humble Begins .

Honda has come a long way. They still need to grow and continue to learn from their failures marketing and otherwise.

In my option, Honda does listen to the people that use their products. They create things out of their own arrogance and force it upon on the masses.

This is true of all large corporations these dates. All that matters is the $$$, not the product or the people that uses them.

I will get off my soap box now...
 
Beemerphile said:
When you said Super Cub, I thought you meant one of these. We used to joke that a Super Cub would barely go fast enough to kill you. Same could be said for the NC700...

View attachment 26598
Click to expand...

This is what he meant...

1280px-Honda_super_cub%2C_1st_Gen._1958%2C_Left_side.jpg


Here's a 2014 or 2015 version...

honda-super-cub-110-05.jpg
 
marotajo said:
SYM sells the Symba in the US:

Video - Symba 100 | SYM USA - Distributed by Alliance Powersports
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I do recall that a friend of mine said to me that Honda did have a relationship with Symba many years ago and decided to severe that relationship. Now that Symba is it's own company without the Might Honda looking over it's shoulder. It is hard to say if there will be a change in the quality of their bikes. It sure does look a lot like the Honda. Time will tell if it can hold up like the Honda.
 
Beemerphile said:
When you said Super Cub, I thought you meant one of these. We used to joke that a Super Cub would barely go fast enough to kill you. Same could be said for the NC700...

View attachment 26598
Click to expand...
My son's first job out of college was teaching aerobatics for a company selling aerobatic airplanes. Students started in a Cub to get a tail wheel certification. My son was 22 and the students were mostly experienced airline pilots who could afford a quarter million dollar aerobatic airplane as a toy. Some of the students had a hard time taking instruction form a pilot the age of their own children. That was a few years ago. Today my son is one of the airline pilots flying 757s part time and high performance planes like the F-22 as another part time job. For fun he flies old war birds for a museum. He also occasionally flies air shows in his own YAK-50
 
Beemerphile said:
When you said Super Cub, I thought you meant one of these. We used to joke that a Super Cub would barely go fast enough to kill you. Same could be said for the NC700...

View attachment 26598
Click to expand...

Man, I was right there with you, Beemer! Of course, having gone through high school and in to college on a Trail 90 I might have made the connection. But then again, I don't ever remember anyone calling them Cubs back then. They were always just Honda 50s or Honda 90s, or whatever.
 
Old Can Ride said:
The Greatest Motorcycle Ever!
Click to expand...

I'd have to agree. There were many variuous of this engine starting at 50 cc up 110 cc in the US. They all were indestructible. I had a CT70 with worn out rings and the engine would still start up and carry me down the road when I was 15 years old.

Great engine design. There's no surprise that this engine is still produced today in one for or another.
 
My sister had one back in '66, She was living in a Apartment in K.C. and it got stolen so she didn't have it for very long.

Here's a photo of me on my 250 Suzuki, my sister on the Honda 50, and my little brother on a bicycle in front of our parents house. The '51 Ford in the background is the car I learned to drive in. My sister never got another motorcycle or even rode one as far as I know, my brother now has a Harley Electra Glide.
img216.jpg
 
I don't know… I think of the NC700 as the motorcycle for everyone. That's pretty much how the early CB350s were marketed. And it's even RED and black!

cb350.jpg


1971 with ~5000 miles and 100% original. Owned it for about a dozen years.
 
If we're going with the Cub, this is what I think of when I hear "Cub."

pipercub.jpg


I snapped this picture of a friend preparing to take off after I had signed him off for his biennial flight review. It was a borrowed airplane and we were flying it out of the plane owner's 1200 foot grass strip. 1200' isn't much of a problem for a Cub--even here in Colorado where the field elevation is approximately 5000' MSL. Also of note is that the guy getting ready to solo was 82 years old. This was one of his last flights and I was honored to be the last person to have signed his logbook.

The airplane buffs among you will note that this isn't a J3, but a less common "observer" version with the greenhouse glass and solo from the front seat.
 
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