New member from Madison Wisconsin area

[Madison Sully]

Hi all, just joined up as I bought a 2012 DCT a few weeks ago.

About 5 years ago or so, I got into scooters, and currently between my wife and I we have a Vespa GTS 250, Piaggio MP3 250 and Piaggio MP3 500. I have been commuting ~65 miles each way during decent weather (the definition of which has gradually widened to include torrential rain) on my MP3 500, but wanted to get something with some more power, especially since the Interstate had its speed limit increased from 65 to 70 MPH. The MP3 500 cruises nicely at 65-70 ish but at 70-75 just doesn't have any more oomph to give.

So I bought the NC700 DCT used from a guy. ~7,500 miles when I got it, ~8,300 miles already now. Unfortunately it had been laid down (hard) on its right side, and there remain some repairs to do. Right mirror got broken off (replaced it), right side plastic engine cover got cracked (meh), brake lever got bent (replaced it).

It came with engine guards, auxilliary 12V outlet, Honda top case, and larger wind screen (OEM). Which is good; the MP3 has enough storage to hold my work laptop and a full lunch box inside.

I found my right hand got numb after about half hour of riding, so I put on some grip puppies. Still goes numb, but now ~40 or so minutes, so better. It wasn't until just a few days ago I noticed that the handlebar is also bent. I'm hoping the new bars put my hand in a better position and solves the numbness.

Anyway, I'm hoping this forum is useful to me as modernvespa.com has been for some time now.

I'm looking to add footpegs, and see there have been some posts about them. Anyone with experience have any current suggestions?

Also, I'm going to change the chain and do some other things during the coming winter. So what are popular chains, tires, and generally good parts dealers online?

Cheers all,
Sully

 

[potter0o]

Welcome, for chains and sprocket: Sprocket Center is popular

 

[Nofear2trek]

Hi all, just joined up as I bought a 2012 DCT a few weeks ago.

Welcome from Oregon and congrats on your acquisition. Enjoy!

Ray

 

[Ryan-Wi]

Welcome from Milwaukee

 

[GlennC]

New member myself, have to say Hi, and I have some history with scooters as well. A good friend had a Vespa GTS 250 which I rode quite a bit, and was revelatory to me, so smooth and quiet. Quite a few problems with the mechanicals, unfortunately. I had a Vespa 200, which was frankly disappointing, a Honda Elite 250, which seriously surprised and ticked off some angry car and truck drivers off the line at stoplights, and a Honda Elite 150, which was the best of them all.

The NC-X is unique in that it can match the fuel economy of a small scooter with the handling and performance of a motorcycle. I hope it will serve you well.

 

[Madison Sully]

OK, so I have ridden the NC around 2,000 miles, and so far while I am impressed by the highway speed (cruised at 85-90 one day), I still had the numbness (even after installing grip puppies). It wasn't until one day just poking around the bike that I discovered the right side of the handlebar was bent. Apparently the 'drop' I was told about was rather more severe than I had thought. And, the bend was one that, after I discovered it, was right out obvious. So I bought a new set of bars with all the attendant rubber isolators and weights. After a 30-40 minute test ride it does seem better. Probably my wrist was put at a bad angle and caused the numbness. We'll see on my commute next week.

I did find that there is a tight spot on my chain as I rotate the wheels, which may or may not line up with a specific spot on the rear wheel. Any help with this? Is it common to have stiff link, or more worn link on a chain that causes this? I have already decided to put on a new chain, I guess what I'm looking for is whether general opinion would be to replace either or both sprockets. And how urgent it would be; given choice I lean toward this being a winter thing when I also replace the tires.

One more thing; the right fork tube has some pits, probably stone strikes, and there is a little bit of oil on that tube after I ride. And I have found some tiny, really small bits of oil on the engine guards. I read there is about a pint of oil in each leg. And about the process for changing the oil. Has anyone here replaced one of the chromed tubes? Difficult job? I assume you would replace the bumpers and seals inside at the same time. And probably best to refresh both sides at the same time (another reason to do it in winter)....

Anyway, thanks all.

Cheers,
Sully

 

[670cc]

If your bike has around 9000 miles now, even the relatively cheap OEM chain should not be worn yet. However, they do tend to fail with tight links more so than from wear ("stretch"). I wouldn't get overly excited about a tight link. Just make sure the chain is adjusted to the looser side of spec (because they last longer that way, in my experience). Properly lube it and just go ride and have fun.

At the mileage you have now, the sprockets should be fine. Mine are still original at 34k miles.

For the fork tube, you might consider just replacing the seal and oil, and polishing off any raised areas on the fork tube. Then see how it goes before actually changing the tube. It's not a difficult job, but it depends on your mechanical abilities. If you change the seal you've already done the work needed to change the tube, but it's a matter of the expense of the part.

 

[Madison Sully]

If your bike has around 9000 miles now, even the relatively cheap OEM chain should not be worn yet. However, they do tend to fail with tight links more so than from wear ("stretch"). I wouldn't get overly excited about a tight link. Just make sure the chain is adjusted to the looser side of spec (because they last longer that way, in my experience). Properly lube it and just go ride and have fun.

At the mileage you have now, the sprockets should be fine. Mine are still original at 34k miles.

Thanks much. I'm going to replace the chain for sure, as several of the o-rings have fallen out and they were all quite cracked. Almost like someone used a strong degreaser to clean the chain and the o-rings suffered for it. That, and there is some fair amount of rust on it. A 2012 with only 7,000 miles on it when sold isn't exactly a daily rider.

 

[670cc]

Thanks much. I'm going to replace the chain for sure, as several of the o-rings have fallen out and they were all quite cracked. Almost like someone used a strong degreaser to clean the chain and the o-rings suffered for it. That, and there is some fair amount of rust on it. A 2012 with only 7,000 miles on it when sold isn't exactly a daily rider.

Yep, it sounds like that chain was abused. Contrary to what some people think, a clean chain is not necessarily a healthy chain, depending on what was used to clean it. Often it's better off left alone.

 

[GlennC]

I did find that there is a tight spot on my chain as I rotate the wheels, which may or may not line up with a specific spot on the rear wheel. Any help with this? Is it common to have stiff link, or more worn link on a chain that causes this? I have already decided to put on a new chain, I guess what I'm looking for is whether general opinion would be to replace either or both sprockets. And how urgent it would be; given choice I lean toward this being a winter thing when I also replace the tires.

One more thing; the right fork tube has some pits, probably stone strikes, and there is a little bit of oil on that tube after I ride. And I have found some tiny, really small bits of oil on the engine guards. I read there is about a pint of oil in each leg. And about the process for changing the oil. Has anyone here replaced one of the chromed tubes? Difficult job? I assume you would replace the bumpers and seals inside at the same time. And probably best to refresh both sides at the same time (another reason to do it in winter)....Sully

Chains always seem to wear unevenly and develop tight spots, for me that's usually the sign they need to be replaced. Agree with others the sprockets can last through at least a couple chains IF the chains are replaced early enough.

The fork tubes can be lightly dressed with a file, a relatively fine one if available. You don't want to mar the chrome of course, but it will hit and remove any high spots from pitting easily.

If you're getting that kind of fork wear before 10k miles, you should probably look into some form of fork protection.

Having said that, normally I haven't seen fork seals leak noticeably from minor pitting. It may be more likely the seals themselves are going out. Usually for me that seems to happen during times of year when there's a lot of temperature variability - like recently, in Wisconsin, perhaps. If you keep getting enough leakage to land on the engine guards you'll probably want to plan on replacement.

 

[Madison Sully]

Thanks Glenn, looks like a new chain is in the works.
About that fork, what I mean by pits are ~1mm square and probably 0.25mm deep holes in the chrome plating. Like I said, like a rock strike. And one is within normal shock travel area, so will probably be both carrying oil out and ripping up those seals. I'm assuming at this point it was like this when I bought it. My riding so far is on I-90, and while there is some construction work going on I have a hard time thinking this happened on my watch. If it did I may need to replace fork tubes on an annual basis. I'll just have to hope the dings on the fork are from the PO dropping it.... Given the volume of oil coming out seems low I'll for sure wait until winter to do this chore. At most, I've lost maybe 1mL. It's just the chunk out of the chrome is going to be tearing up the seal I am sure. When I go to replace that tube, I'll probably rebuild the other side with new bushings and seals. Figure a 3-4 hour job for a first timer? I'm assuming there is a C-clip or something at the top that holds in the upper bushing, which when removed allows the chrome tube to pretty much fall out. Can anyone point me to a thread on fork rebuilding? I have seen the oil change threads, but it looks like I need something more comprehensive.

Cheers all.

 

[GlennC]

I think you're worrying too much about the pits in the forks. Just file them down gently and they won't trouble you. I've never experienced any oil loss from this type of minor pitting. You just want to make sure they don't additionally tear up the seals, or tear up new seals if/when you have to replace them.

 

[JackB]

Welcome from Two Rivers Wis
Enjoy your new ride.

 

[Lars]

Welcome Sully! Both my daughters went to college in Madison; great town. I had a lot of numbness in my right hand when riding both my NC and my KLR, and I greatly reduced it by putting on the fattest grips I could find, stretching Grip Puppies over them, and buying nerve protection gloves from these folks: Qwi Gloves For Hand Pain & Numbness: Qwi Motorcycle Gloves If you buy from them, a word of caution that their gloves run small. I bought 2 sizes up from what their chart said and they fit fine.

The numbness comes from compression of the median and ulnar nerves in the center of the palm, and these gloves have a "tunnel" in the padding that allows those nerves a little more freedom. The other things that have helped me are installing Rox Risers to bring the bars up and back a bit, as many on this forum have done, and using a throttle rocker so I can move my fingers around a bit without gripping the throttle tightly. I just got back from a 2800 mile trip, and had very little hand numbness.

 

[Madison Sully]

Thanks for the tips on grips Lars. I put Grip Puppies on a couple weeks ago, but what turned out to be the real culprit was bent handlebars. I should have seen it, but for whatever reason didn't notice. Anyway, new bars installed ($185 with all the weights and rubber dampers!?!?) and the problem is solved.

Alas, though, I picked up a nail sometime yesterday. While there doesn't seem to be any air coming out, I doubt the safety of riding enough that I'm going to sideline the NC until I have a chance to get new tires mounted. Which isn't a big deal, as I have commuted on my Piaggio MP3 500 for almost four years now (and kept it). I got a set of Michelin Power Road 4s coming. I have a Marc Parnes kit for balancing Piaggio and Vespa wheels. Question; what is a good (OK decent) home-shop sort of balancing kit for NC700 wheels?

While I am putting on new rubber I'll also be putting on a new chain, and new fluids all around. Got the chain and associated tools already on their way.

Gods this thing is getting expensive!