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Question Presentation and question about upgrades

ernestbunbury

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Hi

I am going to acquire a NC 700 X.
Probably a 2012 model with 20000-30000 km.

I live in Europe and will ride it in the city (30-50 km/h) and in the countryside (80-90 km/h). Once in a while on the highway (130 km/h).

I am 180cm tall, weigh 100kg and my wife is 160cm for 50kg.
I will ride the bike half the time alone and half the time with my wife as a passenger.
Usually 1-3 hours trips, with luggage.

This is what I plan to upgrade fairly quickly:
- adding crash bars and adding led lights on them.
- Auto Chain Lubrication System
- hand protectors and heating grips for winter.
- wind deflector/screen/shield
- top case (with passenger back rest) and side cases
- improved driver and passenger seats for comfort
- better tyres for security (I don't know which ones yet)

Should I also upgrade the front and rear suspensions ? For comfort and security for two people. If yes could you advise ?

I'm looking for any advice on best upgrades.

Thank you all

PS: I am posting this both as a presentation and as a request for advice.
 
You don't mention your expected total weight, but I think you'll probably have to. I would judge that based on a trial ride first.
Here's thread about rear shock replacements:

The rest sounds fine, I might exchange heated clothes (with gloves) rather than heated grips
 
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Although the 2012 has a weight capacity of 430 pounds, the rear suspension will sag when riding double, or even single with loaded luggage. I have an Ohlins rear shock on my 2012, but as the link in post #2 suggests, there are multiple options for aftermarket shocks. A front suspension upgrade (Racetech, for example) will cost less than the rear, and primarily can offer a better ride over sharp raised bumps, where the stock forks react poorly.

I prefer handguards and heated grips over heated clothing/gloves. It will depend on your preference and what temperatures you plan to endure.

There are many luggage options. I recommend aftermarket over OEM, due to more choices, portability to other bikes. You need to decide what luggage capacity you need, top or side opening side cases, overall styling.

If you're not doing serious sport riding, most any modern tyres should perform well.
 
Thanks for your answers.

So I will change both front and rear shocks.

Racetech in the front.

I guess I should change for variable shocks right ?

At least the rear ones.

The total load will vary between 100kgs (only me) to 190 (me, my wife, the bags). Any stocks can accommodate this range ?

About tyres I will stick to standard roads and not "serious sport" riding but I will ride under the rain and in the cold. So maybe some tyres are better than others in this regard ?

Precision: in changing the stocks I'm looking for more 1. Security 2. Comfort.

What are the advantages/cons of heated gloves vs heated grips ? Apparently not everybody agrees...
 
Once you know your weights a good shop will recommend & respring the shock to match. It's better to get a rebuildable shock. I would go with a touring tire 100%. Michelin Pilot Roads are a top choice for all weather. I personally like Bridgestones for their balance of quality and price. Heated grips only benefit the person in the front, while heated gear (including gloves) will keep your passenger happy too. A very important factor for cool weather riding.
 
Thanks for your answers.

So I will change both front and rear shocks.

Racetech in the front.

I guess I should change for variable shocks right ?

At least the rear ones.

The total load will vary between 100kgs (only me) to 190 (me, my wife, the bags). Any stocks can accommodate this range ?

About tyres I will stick to standard roads and not "serious sport" riding but I will ride under the rain and in the cold. So maybe some tyres are better than others in this regard ?

Precision: in changing the stocks I'm looking for more 1. Security 2. Comfort.

What are the advantages/cons of heated gloves vs heated grips ? Apparently not everybody agrees...
The Racetech, or similar, cartridge emulator is a modification to the front forks, not a replacement. I don’t know exactly what you mean by variable shocks. My Ohlins aftermarket rear shock has a ride height adjustment, as does the stock NC shock. The Ohlins has no damping adjustments. No shock with a coil spring can provide any way to manually change the spring rate, but you can have the spring rate initially chosen for range of weight you expect to carry.

As for hand heat, the heated clothing/gloves requires that you bring those items along, and wire the clothing to the motorcycle with external cables to power the heating elements. Ultimately, heated gloves can offer more warmth than heated grips, especially to the back side of the hands. For heated grips, they are always installed and available on the motorcycle; no preparation is needed at the start of the ride. You just operate the control to turn on grip heat. That means if there is a brief or unexpected cold period during the ride, you always have the heat available when needed.

An important note: Don’t put the cart before the horse. I recommend buying the bike and riding it awhile before making some of your modifications. You may find some of the stock characteristics to be just fine as is, or the need for modification not as great as you originally thought, while other things you hadn’t thought about need attention.
 
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The Racetech, or similar, cartridge emulator is a modification to the front forks, not a replacement.
Oh OK. And what do they bring to the table ? Cartridge emulator ?

Edit: I did some research. It appears to add the possibility of tuning the damping to the front shock.


I don’t know exactly what you mean by variable shocks. My Ohlins aftermarket rear shock has a ride height adjustment, as does the stock NC shock. The Ohlins has no damping adjustments. No shock with a coil spring can provide any way to manually change the spring rate, but you can have the spring rate initially chosen for range of weight you expect to carry.
Yeah sorry English is definitely not my mother's tongue. I understand that on some shocks you can modify some characteristics.
- firmness (??) By opening or closing a valve
- buffer (??) Where the shock starts so with a tool you can modify this depending on the weight.
Sorry I don't know the exact terms.

Edit: I did some research, please see my post below for my understanding of the adjustable shocks.

An important note: Don’t put the cart before the horse. I recommend buying the bike and riding it awhile before making some of your modifications. You may find some of the stock characteristics to be just fine as is, or the need for modification not as great as you originally thought, while other things you hadn’t thought about need attention.

I will definitely follow this advice. Specially for security elements like shocks. Thanks
 
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I looked into the exact English terms and this is my understanding of adjustable (I used "variable") shocks based on what I saw on my friends bikes.

Both rear and front shocks can be adjustable.
Three parameters can be adjusted.

Rebound dampening. (I used "firmness") Can be adjustable in my garage. It is the bouncyness or mushyness of the shocks. You test it by pushing on the fork. You adjust them by limiting the amount of oil.

Preload. (I used buffer) Can be adjusted in my garage. I guess I need to adjust this every time the weight on the bike changes significantly like for example when I add a passenger.

Compression. Needs to be tested on bumpy roads and adjusted then. This is how fast the shock moves.

So now I can ask my follow up question with the correct terms :
Which ones of these 3 adjustable setting do the shocks that you recommend have ?
I am not sure about compression but I guess because the total weight can vary greatly for my use cases, having the ability to adjust preload and rebound dampening on both the front and rear shocks is a must.

PS: I'm looking to maximise comfort because both my wife and I have back pain. So from what I read on this forum, I should also increase the height of the handle bars and change the location of the pegs/levers.
 
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on my 2015, the biggest single improvement to the ride was putting an Ohlins shock on the rear, and replacing the fork springs with Racetech springs and a little heavier fork oil ... I did not put the emulators in. Very noticeable improvement in the comfort, handling, and responsiveness of the bike. I'm about 105kg in street clothes, and not counting loaded bags. I don't ride with a passenger. But the Honda is not designed for folks our size (I always say the Honda was designed for a 140lb Japanese man ... I am much taller and much heavier than that, so i needed to change the suspension).

I started out with heated grips (Oxford), but you'll want hand guards (e.g., Barkbusters) if you go that route to reduce the wind on your hands even with the heated grips. I now have heated gloves (actually glove liners, and a jacket liner) and I'd heartily recommend going that route -- as was mentioned, the heated grips do a nice job of heating your palms, but not the back of your hand and fingers.

I think suspension is a necessary improvement. For other stuff, as mentioned, ride the bike a bit to see what else you may want. A better windscreen improves wind management if your riding for a few hours, or at higher speed (Madstad screens are a favorite, but there a many brands out there).
 
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