Sat on a Honda Deauville and made "vroom, vroom!" noises

[sagerat]

Local Pro Caliber (formerly Bend Recreation) got a Deauville in last week and today I went down and sat on it, circled it, sat on it, crawled under it, opened the bags, and sat on it some more.  Bike was silver version.

Looks much better in person.  Admittedly, it looks like the love child of an ST1300 and Pacific Coast, especially from the back, but overall a good-looking bike.  Ergos were very comfy, easy reach to the bars,, my knees matched the cutouts in the gas tank, windshield was below my eyeballs even in highest setting, seat was fine, dash was laid out in a very clean and logical manner, mirrors were excellent.

One drawback is the bags are really small.  I don't have the exact size handy, but the Hepco Beckers on my Breva 1100 had I'd say probably at least double the capacity as did the stock clamshell bags on my GS.  I wasn't impressed by the cutout between the bags, either, as normally I am not running around with a bagette of bread.  You can get a trunk for the Deauville; don't know about larger bags.  

As a solo tourer, the NT looks really promising, but for two-up, I'd opt for the ST13.    

[sagerat]

ENOUGH WITH FUCKING BULLSHIT ADS ALREADY!  

Take your Butt Buddy ads and shove it.

[mugwump58]

Yeah, when did that start?

[ianbh]

ENOUGH WITH FUCKING BULLSHIT ADS ALREADY!  

Take your Butt Buddy ads and shove it.

?? Ian, Iowa

[county]

So, how'd it stack up against the Sportster?

[D-Mac]

It reminds me of a V-Strom 650, but with shaft drive. They're marketing it as a commuter bike (makes sense), and it could be a great small tourer. Side cases are pretty small though.

I hope it sells. Its listed for about 1-2K too much I think.

[sagerat]

So, how'd it stack up against the Sportster?

Much smoother and quieter.  Oh, wait, the engine on the Deauville wasn't running.  

[IrishFazerBoy]

I sat on one at the IMS in NYC.   Very nice ergos.    I believe the bags can be fitted with larger lids to increase volume.   Honestly though, I think this bike is more of a suburban commuter than a tourer.  

[atadaskew]

Looks much better in person.  Admittedly, it looks like the love child of an ST1300 and Pacific Coast, especially from the back, but overall a good-looking bike.   

Combining 2 ugly bikes = 1 good looking bike?

[jfurf]

ENOUGH WITH FUCKING BULLSHIT ADS ALREADY!  

Take your Butt Buddy ads and shove it.

Bandwidth doesn't pay for itself. That said, Butt Buddy is, um, an interesting product choice for ST-N.  

[JamesG]

I think the approprate noises for a Deauville is "Muuuuuum, Muuuuuum"

[chornbe]

As a solo tourer, the NT looks really promising, but for two-up, I'd opt for the ST13.    

Sitting on the machine in the dealer I loved everything about the bike except the price. I could even be happy with the apparent lack of power for 1-up riding. It's putting out sportster-type numbers, perhaps slightly less, and I never see to have trouble.

[dorklord]

I looked at this bike yesterday at IMS (ok, I'll be honest, I looked at basically every non-cruiser at the show, sat on many of them, drooled on a few of them, and 'defiled' everything at the Ducati booth).

Ergos were good, the basic layout of the bike made 'sense', but I was surprised at how small the room was when you opened the bag. It was more like opening a briefcase than a hard bag. I guess I can see the concept with the non-removable bags (like the Pacific Coast) and I understand they were trying to keep the bike narrow, but one really cool thing about the PC was the HUGE storage compartment, and there is simply no way to think of the NT's bags as huge, or even large. If there are deeper lids, that would make a nice difference, but I wonder why they aren't just a bit deeper to begin with.

[JamesG]

The large lids more than doubles the width of the cases. to the point where a full face helmet fits supposedly. Of course they tack on about $1K more to the bike...

[sagerat]

So between the larger lids (which my local dealer didn't know about) and ABS, the price goes up another $2K.

For that kind of coin, I'd pass.  Rather than paying around $12K for a 700cc shaft drive, I'd just snag either used ST13 or Beemer or get another Guzzi.

[atadaskew]

 It's putting out sportster-type numbers, perhaps slightly less, and I never see to have trouble.

Much much less.  40-ish rwhp, 40lbft torque.  But the weight of a Sportster!

[chornbe]

Much much less.  40-ish rwhp, 40lbft torque.  But the weight of a Sportster!

You're a full third low according to many of the sites I've been scoping.

Power:   64.77 HP (47.3 kW))
Torque:   66.20 Nm (6.8 kgf-m or 48.8 ft.lbs) @ 6500 RPM

http://www.bikez.com/motorcycles/honda_nt700v_deauville_2009.php

[surfsup]

$1k for a set of deeper lids - ehh

[atadaskew]

You're a full third low according to many of the sites I've been scoping.

Power:   64.77 HP (47.3 kW))
Torque:   66.20 Nm (6.8 kgf-m or 48.8 ft.lbs) @ 6500 RPM

http://www.bikez.com/motorcycles/honda_nt700v_deauville_2009.php

That is crank, not at the wheel.
I'm guestimating the rear wheel powah from motorcyclist's dyno of the DN-01, which is the same motor (butt of course different trans)

[chornbe]

All in all, a lot of money for a basic bike, but stripping away the $$$ issue, I continue to think the bike makes a lot of sense. It's a shame it's not give a bit more pep because the rider *and* pillion ergos are among the most comfortable out of the box I've been on - bar none.  

[jpaul]

I sat on it at the Cleveland show, and talked with one of the dealers about it. The top case and mounting brackets add about $600 to the price. I liked the ergos, but at that price, I keep thinking that I could get either a leftover Bandit 1250, GSXF650, or a VFR, and add luggage. The pass-through for the bags is designed & sized for a 2-man tent, but it looks a little small for the tent I use (Eureka Timberline 4 man). It would be an ideal commuter for me, but at the price, I'd be better off keeping my GS500 for commuting, and getting another bike for two-up travel and playtime.

[Liquidsilver]

I don;t see any Butt Buddy ads... I don't know what a Butt Buddy is... but YOU seem a great canditate!!  
 
 
 
I don't have any objection to skipper selling ads on his business here... like the other feller said... 'the bandwidth doesn't pay for itself.'
 
 

[sagerat]

Yew shure have a purty mouth.  

[Dunewar]

We've had the deauville for several years over here in europe. At first I was very convinced about getting one as my first motorcycle, but in the end i'm glad I chose the ZR-7s, since I like a little more sportier attitude. I've got a few friends that have one, and here are their experiences :

- get a 700 version. The newer 700cc version has that extra zing that the 650cc version lacked. It's never underpowered, but you're not going to keep up with a modern supersports bike.

- The larger lids make the bags really good, they can hold a fullface helmet on both sides (so for two up sight seeing, that makes for a good place to put the helmets away). There's also an opening between the cases, so you can put longer objects in (the wheel doesn't get in the way apparently).

- It's the perfect commuter. With the smaller bags, the bike is small enough to crawl through heavily congested traffic, which the ST1300/pan european isn't. It's fuel consumption is low, and the comfort is high.

- Don't expect too much : you'll keep up with any cruiser, and with any allround bike in normal speeds, but when the more sportier bikes get going you'll have to let them go. I could lose my friend on his deauville with my ZR-7s (somewhat modified). Half the people I know that have one say they would like more power, the other half says they don't miss it, so take a test ride before you buy it!

- it's not a ST1300. More like the baby ST1300.

-it's very very comfortable.

[MK96xj]

I believe the bags can be fitted with larger lids to increase volume.     

I spoke with a Honda Rep and he said that larger lids are in fact available albiet in Europe only at this time. The small case size was one of my initial concerns.

A little research and wala.

Check the following link to Honda UK accessories.

http://ww1.honda.co.uk/mcstatic/en/product/accessoriesPDF/2009Range/NT700VDeauville.pdf