Some one explained to me my bike has no power.

[dduelin]

Slow compared to virtually anything on the road, once you get above 60 miles per hour. It falls flat on its face, and anyone not willing to admit that is, well, lying to themselves.

It's not a bad thing though.... the bike makes torque down low and has power low in the rev range to do what it was designed to do very well -- commute at regular speeds, say 30 to 65mph, with enough passing power to get up to about 80 or so before it really starts to lack the ability to accelerate further.... and it does it all while having huge storage compartments and unbelievable gas mileage.

So, to answer your question, slow compared to what? My Chevy pickup is faster than my NC700x, as is my wifes Kia Optima the instant you get above like 40 miles per hour.

I did some research on this a year or two ago and found the 700X was faster in normal acceleration (zero to 60, roll-on from 60 to 90??? mph) than a BMW 335 or Acura TL. I posted it in the forum but I'm not up to searching for it right now. I doubt your truck or the wife's Kia is up to the task you describe.

To your point, 48 rear wheel horsepower from a 470 lb middleweight motorcycle is well below the output of other bikes in this displacement range like the Yamaha R6 or Honda CBR600RR race replica sportbikes. On the other hand, 48 horsepower is quite a bit more than 650-750cc v twin middleweight cruisers like the 530 to 600 lb Honda Shadow, Boulevard C50 (805cc), Yamaha V-Star 650 make and 48 is still more than the Harley Davidson 883 and Yamaha Star Bolt (942cc) manage to put to the rear wheel and people don't really go around describing these bikes as "underpowered" so let's keep underpowered in perspective.

Honda did not design this engine for output per displacement rather efficiency per displacement and it that light there is really nothing in it's class except perhaps the old BMW 650 single and the Honda is much more refined and a much nicer rider experience. Even the BMW F650 wasn't described as underpowered. It's a 650 thumper and you don't compare that to higher revving triples and fours.

I've had motorcycles with lots less than 48 hp and some with a lot more. They are all fun even if they weren't the top performers in their classes.

 

[Antarius]

All good points Dave. I was being a bit facetious, but all in all it is a slow bike.

As you said, it was designed for efficiency, not power output, and in that it is far more impressive than most out there - and considering there's nothing to win and only everything to lose on the street - it is more than fast enough.

 

[jggassert]

I've had some people ask it my bike is electric...despite the stock exhaust can. They are like, that's really quiet. Had a chat with a guy who runs a small engine/motorcycle repair shop, and he was like..."that's the perfect bug out vehicle".

I find that there are a few groups of riders--Harley Snobs (that just had $30,000 laying around and wanted something to do on the weekend), Speed demons (who think they can ride because they can go fast in a straight), and the purists (doesn't matter what you operate, as long as it has two wheels and it gets you closer to the world around you.)


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Deleted member 1183]

I've had some people ask it my bike is electric...despite the stock exhaust can. They are like, that's really quiet. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I must admit the almost silence is my only issue with the NC. It is too quiet. When I got it first I was stopped at traffic lights one day and I couldn't hear it running. I actually had to check the tacho to ensure that it had not stalled .

 

[johnakay]

OK its a slow bike you say ..well try and jump off with out hurting yourself.
some of us are old enough to remember that back in our younger days if you had a bike that could genuinely top over a ton you had a bloody fast bike.
and as far as I'm concern the NC is plenty fast enough.
when did you last frightened yourself at a much lower speed..
yeah so imagine making the same mistake at over a ton ..
the question is would you survived with out any injuries???

 

[Antarius]

Did ya even read my post? Lol.

 

[SergeantChuck]

I'm not gonna lie. There have been plenty of times I wish this bike had more power. Primarily when I am in very heavy downtown interstate traffic. Any other time I could care less. There have been several instances where a little more juice would have come in handy but its not there so I alter my riding to compensate. No worries. I knew that when I bought this bike so it is what it is. It makes up for the lack of power with its nibleness while riding through downtown Little Rock. Nimble enough to throw around so I can fight my way through traffic. The nibbbleness makes up for the lack of power and the storage is a major plus for me. I accept it for what it is and the bike is very useful for me as a commuter. At this time I can't see myself riding anything else.

 

[CobraJet]

I must admit the almost silence is my only issue with the NC. It is too quiet. When I got it first I was stopped at traffic lights one day and I couldn't hear it running. I actually had to check the tacho to ensure that it had not stalled .

It's quotes like this that make me think that there is something seriously wrong with my bike. When I pulled away from the dealership for the very first time, and stopped at a light, I swear the engine sounded like it had a rod knocking. And my bike is S-L-O-W! Am I running on only one cylinder? I put a Yoshimura R77 can on it so I could hear the exhaust over the clacking. It sounds like a big single. Have I got a lemon? I'm going to reinstall the stock muffler and post a video...

 

[StratTuner]

OK its a slow bike you say ..well try and jump off with out hurting yourself.
some of us are old enough to remember that back in our younger days if you had a bike that could genuinely top over a ton you had a bloody fast bike.
and as far as I'm concern the NC is plenty fast enough.
when did you last frightened yourself at a much lower speed..
yeah so imagine making the same mistake at over a ton ..
the question is would you survived with out any injuries???

Help out a yank, here, John. What does "top over a ton" mean? I can't remember the last time I went faster than 2000 LBS ???

Slow bike: It's not a speed bike, but we all knew that when we bought it. I've never ridden anything that counts a s a speed bike, so I don't miss that kind of action. I do agree with SeargentChuck who said he sometimes wishes for a bigger burst of speed.

Sound: I sometimes joke that if I could buy a bike that made no noise, I would. The reason for that is all those unpleasant moments, when I'm just about to fall off to sleep, when a speed bike rattles my windows screaming down a nearby street. I hope never to do anything like that to other people, and I probably couldn't -- even if I tried-- on the NC.

 

[itlives]

It's quotes like this that make me think that there is something seriously wrong with my bike. When I pulled away from the dealership for the very first time, and stopped at a light, I swear the engine sounded like it had a rod knocking. And my bike is S-L-O-W! Am I running on only one cylinder? I put a Yoshimura R77 can on it so I could hear the exhaust over the clacking. It sounds like a big single. Have I got a lemon? I'm going to reinstall the stock muffler and post a video...

I'm pretty sure you'd know if you were running on one cylinder. I too, think the top end has some funny noises. I've gotten used to it and just RIDE (with ear plugs in).

An easy way to check your engine is pull a spark plug wire while it's idling.

 

[CobraJet]

I'm pretty sure you'd know if you were running on one cylinder. I too, think the top end has some funny noises. I've gotten used to it and just RIDE (with ear plugs in).

An easy way to check your engine is pull a spark plug wire while it's idling.

This bike is full of contradictions! To one rider it is smooth as silk, to another it shakes like a dirt bike. To one rider it has "more than enough power", while another rider (ME!) thinks it's pitiful. "It's comfortable for long rides"... "kills my butt after 10 feet"... It's fast... It's slow...

I saw a YouTube video of an NC700X after installing a new exhaust can, and I could clearly hear the top end clatter, so from that I assumed by bike was normal. I guess it is, and some riders no longer notice, or came from something horrendous, and think the NC is silent.

I guess it all depends on your biking history. Mine has recently been inline fours with aftermarket exhaust. I didn't hear the top end rattling on them.

I like the Yoshimura R77 sound. Maybe I should get some ear plugs to drown out the rockers.

 

[johnakay]

Help out a yank, here, John. What does "top over a ton" mean? I can't remember the last time I went faster than 2000 LBS ???

a ton means 100 mph here. so any thing that goes over a ton is fast.
____________________________________________________________________



its not the top speed we're talking of here what we need at times me inc is that little more ooomph (to you yanks accelleration)and torque.
the easy way around that is to fit a bigger sprocket but then no doubt economy would suffer .
so you might as well go and buy a FASTEEEEEER Bike.

 

[davidc83]

I did some research on this a year or two ago and found the 700X was faster in normal acceleration (zero to 60, roll-on from 60 to 90??? mph) than a BMW 335 or Acura TL. I posted it in the forum but I'm not up to searching for it right now. I doubt your truck or the wife's Kia is up to the task you describe.

To your point, 48 rear wheel horsepower from a 470 lb middleweight motorcycle is well below the output of other bikes in this displacement range like the Yamaha R6 or Honda CBR600RR race replica sportbikes. On the other hand, 48 horsepower is quite a bit more than 650-750cc v twin middleweight cruisers like the 530 to 600 lb Honda Shadow, Boulevard C50 (805cc), Yamaha V-Star 650 make and 48 is still more than the Harley Davidson 883 and Yamaha Star Bolt (942cc) manage to put to the rear wheel and people don't really go around describing these bikes as "underpowered" so let's keep underpowered in perspective.

Honda did not design this engine for output per displacement rather efficiency per displacement and it that light there is really nothing in it's class except perhaps the old BMW 650 single and the Honda is much more refined and a much nicer rider experience. Even the BMW F650 wasn't described as underpowered. It's a 650 thumper and you don't compare that to higher revving triples and fours.

I've had motorcycles with lots less than 48 hp and some with a lot more. They are all fun even if they weren't the top performers in their classes.

Amen, I have the Honda NC700x and a Suzuki C50 Boulevard and the 'little' Honda will smoke my cruiser all day, any day, at any speed. I have made trips from Florida to Indiana doing 80-85 mph most of the way and had plenty of speed left. Now, it will get up to 90mph faster than the Boulevard, but it takes awhile for the Honda to get to 100mph (only did it once). The top end on the Boulevard used to be about 10mph faster, but with my luggage and big screen on it, the top end on both bikes are probably the same. Unless you are on an Interstate in Texas or flat track racing, you don't need a faster bike. The claim someone needs a faster bike to get out of trouble is baloney, no bike can go quicker from 0-60 (or faster) in a shorter distance than 60-0, not even the bmw s1000rr; slowing down, using proper braking techniques and watching all around you is better than trying to accelerate out of trouble...rant over.

 

[SergeantChuck]

The claim someone needs a faster bike to get out of trouble is baloney.

I would say "to get out of trouble". It is more like dictating a situation. These are my words. I came from a much more powerful bike. I would consider myself a more than aggressive rider. Used to be anyway. I have been tamed by the NCX. Anyway, I wouldn't want more power to get myself out of trouble but it would be nice to have when there is a squeeze play developing in front of me and I can accelerate through it before being closed in. Those are the times it would be nice. It just doesn't have the pull when downshifting and blast through stuff like that. No worries though. I know it was not built to be that way and I'm good with it. Just saying those are the times when power is handy but not necessary. All my comments are in dealing with heavy big city traffic. I’m not looking to go flying down the interstate at 110mph. Just miss being able to power through stuff. It all good though. I like my NCX.

 

[Antarius]

It's quotes like this that make me think that there is something seriously wrong with my bike. When I pulled away from the dealership for the very first time, and stopped at a light, I swear the engine sounded like it had a rod knocking. And my bike is S-L-O-W! Am I running on only one cylinder? I put a Yoshimura R77 can on it so I could hear the exhaust over the clacking. It sounds like a big single. Have I got a lemon? I'm going to reinstall the stock muffler and post a video...

No, that's what they sound like. Like a loud clackity twin. You can't hear the engine over road noise though, so to everyone else, the thing is virtually silent.

And FYI, I ride with earplugs.

 

[Skeleton]

anglachel:

As you noted, performance is not about horsepower, it is about a combination of torque and gearing.

COMPARISION

I recently bought my NC750. Before buying it, I wanted to see how it compared in speed performance of my two previous bikes: Yamaha FZ6 (600 cc) and FZ1 (1000 cc). I also wanted to compare its fuel economy with my Vespa GTS (300 cc).

Yamaha FZ6 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yamaha FZ1 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vespa GTS - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The FZ6 has an engine based on the older version of the R6. While the FZ6 has less torque than the NC750, the FZ6 does have almost double the HP once the engine revs up to the high end. The FZ1 has the engine based on the R1 2006 engine. The FZ1 has 50% more torque than the NC750 and triple the HP.

ACCELERATION

As an engineer, I quickly turned to Excel and ran the numbers. Acceleration is determined by torque/(gross weight of bike and rider). I looked at acceleration at two rpm levels: 1) when engine is under nominal load (I called it Acceler-Avg) and, 2) when engine is wide-open-throttle (Acceler-Max). IMHO, the Avg case is more relevant cuz that is where the engine will be when I want to crack it open. In my spreadsheet (attached) you can read (Line 42) that the NC750 has Acceler-Avg of 68% of the FZ1 whereas the FZ6 only has 58% of the FZ1. The NC750 will out-accelerate the FZ6. That is impressive.

TOP-SPEED

As most riders know, maximum horsepower is what determines top-speed. This is because
Power = Torque x Speed
[Power_W] = [Torque_N.m] x 2 x pi x [RPM] / 60

When bikes go fast, most of the power is expended in overcoming wind drag:
Force = 1/2 * rho * Cd * A * Speed^2
Power = Force x Speed
Power = 1/2 * rho * Cd * A * Speed^3

The NC750 has an impressive top-speed of 200 kph. But, the FZ1 can out pace it at a screaming 272 kph. The FZ1 goes 36% faster, but will need 150% more power than the NC750 just to overcome wind resistance. In fact, because of mechanical inefficiencies of the FZ1 engine, it needs even more power - 180% more than the NC750.

FUEL ECONOMY

Fuel economy of engines is determined, generally, by engine size and number of cylinders. Few the cylinders, for the same total engine displacement, the better for efficiency. This is because friction losses are less - based on displacement volume verses surface area exposed to frictional losses and heat losses. Smaller total displacement is also better. Rather, only have as much engine power as is needed to do the work at hand. So the most efficient engine is sized to provide maximum torque in top gear at the nominal riding speed.

By this simplified theory, the NC750 is much better sized for highway riding than either the FZ6 or FZ1. The FZ1 has terrible fuel economy, while its engine is screaming along even at slow legal speeds. The FZ6 is also terrible. However, the NC750 is still not the most efficient. My 300 cc Vespa had better fuel economy; it was backed by the theory as its smaller engine had a maximum top-speed of only 128 kph.

HONDA MADE IT GOOD

I applaud Honda's engineers for sizing the NC750. IMHO, the engine is perfectly spec'ed: twin cylinder, 270/450 degree crank, 750 cc. Together, it gives great torque for acceleration, impressively flat torque curve, and excellent fuel economy despite having exciting performance.

RACE BIKES FOR RACE TRACK

Eight years ago I stopped racing my bike on the local race track. It was a thrill racing over 200 to 240 kph along with friends on the track. But I have moved on. I want a bike that is designed for the streets and performs great of that environment. I don't want to ride a bike that was designed for the race track, then constantly need to reign it in on the streets.

 

[itlives]

Talking about getting out of trouble. I always told my girls it's easier to stay out of trouble than it is to get out of trouble.

I see someone or a group of DRIVERS jockying for position, I stay back and let them. They're probably going faster than I want to anyway. I did get caught up in that kind of group coming home from North Carolina. After 400-500 miles you kind of start keeping a faster pace.

I realized I was going too fast for MY comfort when I went around a truck doing 87 mph. I backed off to 75 and let everyone pass. I became calmer at that speed and started enjoying the ride....again. Enjoying the ride is where I'm at.

 

[calfinm]

I just had to have that "you need power to get out of trouble" conversation once again this week with some bozo at a bike shop.
Reality is recently I was riding on my 250 and an idiot not paying attention on the other side of the road ended up locking up his brakes after not noticing the stopped traffic in front of him. I knew that if he came off his brakes he was coming at me as his steering was hard locked my way. I really wanted to disappear with a twist of the wrist out of his path, it would have helped to be on a powerful bike for sure.

The juxtaposition of that though is I know the MANY times that having too much power has got me into trouble.

 

[maxwellian]

Yeah, it seems to me, that balance swings with skill level. The average squid, power causes far more trouble than it avoids, with an intermediate rider, maybe a bit more trouble than help, a very expert rider is going to be able to use more power appropriately.

 

[calfinm]

I agree mostly with that. Some of us however have come to accept that regardless of their "experience" level, their "restraint" levels are not as yet at a happy equilibrium.

You could be Casey Stoner ability wise but Charlie Sheen in the self control arena and 150hp gotta be worse for you in the "real world" than 15hp.