Breaking News - NEW HONDA ADV in the US -- NC700X

[Rincewind]

Back to the topic at hand, here is the UK brochure on the bike - http://www.honda.co.uk/motorcycles/_assets/downloads/brochures/motorcycle/nc700x.pdf

Does anyone have info on the valvetrain yet?  Complexity, frequency of checks, etc?  For a bike billed as commuter-friendly, I hope it's something straightforward and not labor intensive.

I checked with my dealer today - they are expecting these not until summer.

[zrx4me]

sat on one at bikertoberfest today.really nice bike,I was impressed.huge storage in front of rider and felt good sitting on it.this may be my replacement for my DRZ400SM commuter bike.

[Kraz]

I'm pretty impressed with the accessory list.  For the money, this looks like an awesome bike.

http://powersports.honda.com/2012/nc700x/accessories-gallery.aspx

[Papa Lazarou]

somebody on  Brit forum has bought one. I keep reminding him to write up a review...

[atadaskew]

If I had the garage space I'd buy an auto one.

Here's why...  as it is a low revving engine the auto transmission would be better suited to it as it would shift at the optimal points, which would be much lower than we (sporty bike riders) are used to.
It makes much more sense in a bike like this - mellow, fun, low revving, practical ride - than the VFR12 which is a really powerful, high revving bike that wants to be ridden in anger.

[Zerosum]

I saw this on Honda's website:

Honda’s new NC700X is a real breath of fresh air in today’s world of specialized motorcycles, a new concept in streetbikes, and one that puts the FUN in Functional. During the week it’s an awesome commuter. On the weekend it lets you go exploring in the country, or carve up a twisty canyon road.

Yeah, a new concept... FOR HONDA.  Nevermind that the V-Strom 650 has been around for 8 years, and the Versys around for 4.  

[Rincewind]

The NC700X was supposed to be here in June.  It's mid-June - has anyone seen one in the States?  There are five pages of them for sale on Cycle Trader, but maybe those are just deposits on bikes not yet here because none of the ads seem to include real pictures.

[sammyseaman]

I saw this on Honda's website:



Yeah, a new concept... FOR HONDA.  Nevermind that the V-Strom 650 has been around for 8 years, and the Versys around for 4.  

If there was any way Honda could blow just a little more sunshine up their own ass they would. Unfortunately they can't.

[Rincewind]

I was fortunate to get a test ride on a new NC700X at my local dealer.  He just got it a couple days ago.  It was 10 minutes till closing, so I only rode it a few country miles.  It was enough to give me a very favorable impression of this new Honda.

Sitting on the NC700X, it feels rather compact and sort of sleek.  Like other Hondas it has a sort of marine mammal feel to the design.  The short screen and minimalist instruments make it feel like a fatter Hypermotard than a tall adventure bike.  The seat is shorter than my Tiger but I didn't feel cramped.  It was a hot day and I felt no untoward engine heat (unlike my Tiger 800).

The front storage compartment is downright cavernous and a really excellent feature.  With the fuel tank under the seat and the parallel twin engine laying nearly flat, the balance of this bike is nice and low.  It's very easy to maneuver and handles curves well.

The parallel engine has nice grunt and guttural sound to it.  The power is linear with the revs ending at 6500 rpm.  It felt slightly buzzy in some mid rev levels, but its not bad.  I felt is was a more responsive engine than the single cylinder BMW GS.  With the low rev ceiling and linear power, the engine was slightly reminiscent of my dad's old 883 Sportster.  It's an amount of power that is ideal for riding an even pace.

The engine does not have the same sporty feel as other middleweight, multi-cylinder adventure-style bikes that I have ridden, such as the 796 Ducati, 800 Triumph, 750 Aprilia, and 650 Suzuki.  It's not as fast as them either, but it's still adequately quick and appears to achieve consistently higher mpg efficiency than those sportier competitors.

For a commuter or single-person sensible tourer, I think Honda has a good option here.  If you can subscribe to a less-is-more philosophy (less power, more efficiency), than the Honda 700 seems great as a whole package.  I wasn't turned off by it, but there are many things that I prefer on my Tiger 800 such as the larger front wheel, larger chassis, ABS, and more ferocious power delivery.  The NC700X felt somewhat tame in comparison, but was still capable of a fun and spirited ride.  

The dealer is a dual sport enthusiast and wants to make it into an adventure bike with a larger diameter front wheel, knobbies, and skid plate.  That should be interesting.

[Rincewind]

[X1Glider]

Went to the Honda shop yesterday looking into a GW windshield vent for my Stelvio.  Saw the 700X and had a nice long sit on it.  I thought it was comfortable, good ergos, narrow and seemed light enough to respond well, moreso as it's CG is really low (leaned it over really far and could easily pick it up).  Good fit and finish.  I like the storage as well.  Everything you need on it, nothing you don't and the price is nice.  I think this is probably the smartest bike Honda has built the last 7 years and is only one of 2 that they make I would ever be interested in..the 700X and the CBR250R.  Both of which I'd be happy to own.

Now, if they built an adventure version of the 700X with 5 gallons of fuel, 1 1/2" more travel and a 19" front wheel, this would be a serious competitor in the Wee Strom segment.  Cuz I really like the look of the decked out Euro version posted above.

[Davy F.]

My local dealer had been waiting on a new shipment of NC's arriving. I called in yesterday and there was four X versions and two of the naked type just out of their crates..

All sold and to be prepped for their new owners. They're selling like hot cakes here and there's actually a waiting list, so Honda have definitely hit the nail on the head at least on these shores.

[smackdoogle]

My dealer here in town has recieved two and both have been sold prior to delivery.  One of them that sold was waiting for the new owner in the showroom.  Looks nice.  Not sure I can give up my VFRs for one though.

[dduelin]

The dealer I bought mine from has received two pairs a couple weeks apart and they all sold within a few days. I put a deposit down on a manual transmission model in early July. He is ordering all Honda will let him have which isn't as many as he wants. Lots of interest in the bike.

[Rincewind]

The dealer I bought mine from has received two pairs a couple weeks apart and they all sold within a few days. I put a deposit down on a manual transmission model in early July. He is ordering all Honda will let him have which isn't as many as he wants. Lots of interest in the bike.

Any pics of your NC700X?  I hope you're enjoying it.  

My dealer has two in stock now as well, but neither appears to have been sold.  He is having second thoughts about trying to convert one for dual-sporting.  

[sammyseaman]

Any pics of your NC700X?  I hope you're enjoying it.  

 
I haven't been excited by a Honda in a long, long time. I think the drought is officially over  

[dduelin]

Any pics of your NC700X?  I hope you're enjoying it.  

My dealer has two in stock now as well, but neither appears to have been sold.  He is having second thoughts about trying to convert one for dual-sporting.  

I am enjoying it, about 1400 miles in two weeks. Really fun to ride, getting high 60's to low 70's mpg.






One owner review after 1000 miles

    I rode my NC700X on a 525 mile ride yesterday. This was a day ride on roads I had been on before, the idea being to see how it worked for the back road traveling I really prefer to do but also nearly 200 miles on the interstate because sometimes I just have to get across several states in minimum time in order to get to a rally or ride at the other end. I also wanted to ride tank to tank at least once to see if the seat can do it and what kind of mileage the bars on the fuel gauge represents. I packed my road kit of tire repair tools with air compressor in the "not a tank" storage compartment, added my favorite tank bag, a small tool kit, a sheepskin seat cover (just in case the seat is a 60 minute seat), and two bottles of water and shut the lid. This is a very convenient feature for commuters and for a day ride.

    Running back roads at an aggressive pace was a pleasure. The bike really corners and holds the road really well. It changes direction as easily as thinking about it and flinging it into corners both fast and slow is fun stuff. Twice I was in a little hot and these times when you have to push the lower bar harder and just make the corner the bike was confidence inspiring. In the early morning the roads were damp in places from quick rain showers and I had to tiptoe at times around wet debris on the pavement. It handles really well and the Metzeler tires seemed to work just fine for me. Despite the budget suspension, bumps in corners don't upset the chosen line and the line is easily changed if needed. For comparison I weigh about 152 pounds in street clothes, about like the ideal Japanese rider. I guess it could be better but the suspension is not a limiting factor for me. Since it does not have the upper rpm range (read horsepower) to propel you out of fast corners you have to carry speed to apex and be low to midway in the power band to accelerate out of the corner. Just like my old airhead. I had no problem with this but riders accustomed to wringing a bike's neck to get down the road will bump the rev limiter often. The front brake is very strong and progressive enough to feel comfortable trail braking. Mine buzzes under hard braking. Engine vibration is pleasant, of low frequency, and never intrudes. The mirrors remain sharp across the rev range. I never noticed a lack of wind protection and what there is is quiet and does not cause buffeting to my helmet. Adjusted for exact mileage this tank delivered 63.6 US mpg running an aggressive pace on rural roads. Aggressive just to reinterate Aggressive. The last fuel bar lit up blinking red/black at 185 miles and at 196.5 corrected miles the tank took 3.088 gallons leaving another 40 miles in the tank. That is nearly 240 mile range bombing back roads. The seat worked fine for me and was not an issue but I was stopping and getting off the bike at least once an hour for this or that during this part of the day. The bars are high and wide and the seating position works well.

    After lunch I turned for home and got on Interstate I -10, setting the "cruise control" on 75 mph. I used the 90 cent O-ring for a throttle lock. I will eventually install a Throttlemeister but I read about the O ring and I used it for this ride. A rubber O-ring of 1 inch ID with a 1/8" cross section works well on my bike. I kept it on the bar end and it easily rolled into place with a gloved hand. If you haven't used one it jams the throttle grip against the bar end and holds the throttle open to wherever it is set at although you can over-ride it easily if necessary. (Just like my $160 Throttlemeister, do I really need the TM?). I wanted to ride this tank out and see if I could sit on the bike for 3 hours at 70 to 80 mph. I did not make 3 hours because I got home in about 2 hours 45 minutes. The speed was 70 to 80 except for a couple of places where I rode through rain showers. I can manage 2 or 3 hours on the seat easily enough though and that was a big question mark for me - and this was late in the day after I had already ridden 325 miles on back roads. The problem was with wind management, not the seat. As the day wore on an easterly breeze came up and it was right in my face. With the speed of 75 and a 10 or 15 mph wind I was battling 85 to 90 mph winds. If the air was clean it was bad enough but dirty air buffeting from cars and trucks was tiresome. The ease with which the bike makes direction changes works against in turbulence and crosswinds. It moved around a lot. My other bike is a ST1300 so I am not used to getting blown around like that. I will have to install an aftermarket windscreen to travel long stretches on the interstate. They are available of course. At 65 to 70 mph the wind management is adequate as is but tiring at the higher interstate speeds. There is no buzz or unpleasant vibration in the seat, bars, or mirrors. You know you are riding a motorcycle but the single counter balancer does a good job of delivering the right amount and the right kind of vibration to the rider. This tank dropped to the last bar (there are 5) at about 172 miles. I filled up at 193.9 miles and the tank took 3.34 gallons US for 58 mpg. There was only 21 miles left in the tank so the range at interstate speeds, though battling a good headwind, was 215 miles. I think in better conditions the range is easily 230 miles at 75 mph, making 200 miles between stops with a good reserve.

    For the 90% of the miles I put on my bikes, non-touring miles that is, I am extremely pleased with my new Honda so far. I did not buy it as a tourer and that is asking a bit much from it although it will deliver with a little farkling. I will add a rack and top box for light touring. For the fun of riding on weekends and the pure pleasure of running cross country little roads on long weekends I think it will do just fine. Aside from this one long ride, ride fuel mileage has been in the 60's and 70's so far. It is not hard to achieve 70+ mpg and this is not dawdling along at 45 mph in top gear. Normal highway riding at 55-65 mph gave me 71 mpg during break-in. Time will tell if it delivers Honda reliability and ease of ownership but I have owned many Hondas in 40 years and none let me down in this respect. The fit and finish is very good and the usual maintenance items appear easy to get to. I have changed the oil once and that was straight forward. The filter is easy to access and the bike does not get oil on itself when draining sump and filter.

[olderigetfasteriam]

I am enjoying it, about 1400 miles in two weeks. Really fun to ride, getting high 60's to low 70's mpg.






One owner review after 1000 miles

    I rode my NC700X on a 525 mile ride yesterday. This was a day ride on roads I had been on before, the idea being to see how it worked for the back road traveling I really prefer to do but also nearly 200 miles on the interstate because sometimes I just have to get across several states in minimum time in order to get to a rally or ride at the other end. I also wanted to ride tank to tank at least once to see if the seat can do it and what kind of mileage the bars on the fuel gauge represents. I packed my road kit of tire repair tools with air compressor in the "not a tank" storage compartment, added my favorite tank bag, a small tool kit, a sheepskin seat cover (just in case the seat is a 60 minute seat), and two bottles of water and shut the lid. This is a very convenient feature for commuters and for a day ride.

    Running back roads at an aggressive pace was a pleasure. The bike really corners and holds the road really well. It changes direction as easily as thinking about it and flinging it into corners both fast and slow is fun stuff. Twice I was in a little hot and these times when you have to push the lower bar harder and just make the corner the bike was confidence inspiring. In the early morning the roads were damp in places from quick rain showers and I had to tiptoe at times around wet debris on the pavement. It handles really well and the Metzeler tires seemed to work just fine for me. Despite the budget suspension, bumps in corners don't upset the chosen line and the line is easily changed if needed. For comparison I weigh about 152 pounds in street clothes, about like the ideal Japanese rider. I guess it could be better but the suspension is not a limiting factor for me. Since it does not have the upper rpm range (read horsepower) to propel you out of fast corners you have to carry speed to apex and be low to midway in the power band to accelerate out of the corner. Just like my old airhead. I had no problem with this but riders accustomed to wringing a bike's neck to get down the road will bump the rev limiter often. The front brake is very strong and progressive enough to feel comfortable trail braking. Mine buzzes under hard braking. Engine vibration is pleasant, of low frequency, and never intrudes. The mirrors remain sharp across the rev range. I never noticed a lack of wind protection and what there is is quiet and does not cause buffeting to my helmet. Adjusted for exact mileage this tank delivered 63.6 US mpg running an aggressive pace on rural roads. Aggressive just to reinterate Aggressive. The last fuel bar lit up blinking red/black at 185 miles and at 196.5 corrected miles the tank took 3.088 gallons leaving another 40 miles in the tank. That is nearly 240 mile range bombing back roads. The seat worked fine for me and was not an issue but I was stopping and getting off the bike at least once an hour for this or that during this part of the day. The bars are high and wide and the seating position works well.

    After lunch I turned for home and got on Interstate I -10, setting the "cruise control" on 75 mph. I used the 90 cent O-ring for a throttle lock. I will eventually install a Throttlemeister but I read about the O ring and I used it for this ride. A rubber O-ring of 1 inch ID with a 1/8" cross section works well on my bike. I kept it on the bar end and it easily rolled into place with a gloved hand. If you haven't used one it jams the throttle grip against the bar end and holds the throttle open to wherever it is set at although you can over-ride it easily if necessary. (Just like my $160 Throttlemeister, do I really need the TM?). I wanted to ride this tank out and see if I could sit on the bike for 3 hours at 70 to 80 mph. I did not make 3 hours because I got home in about 2 hours 45 minutes. The speed was 70 to 80 except for a couple of places where I rode through rain showers. I can manage 2 or 3 hours on the seat easily enough though and that was a big question mark for me - and this was late in the day after I had already ridden 325 miles on back roads. The problem was with wind management, not the seat. As the day wore on an easterly breeze came up and it was right in my face. With the speed of 75 and a 10 or 15 mph wind I was battling 85 to 90 mph winds. If the air was clean it was bad enough but dirty air buffeting from cars and trucks was tiresome. The ease with which the bike makes direction changes works against in turbulence and crosswinds. It moved around a lot. My other bike is a ST1300 so I am not used to getting blown around like that. I will have to install an aftermarket windscreen to travel long stretches on the interstate. They are available of course. At 65 to 70 mph the wind management is adequate as is but tiring at the higher interstate speeds. There is no buzz or unpleasant vibration in the seat, bars, or mirrors. You know you are riding a motorcycle but the single counter balancer does a good job of delivering the right amount and the right kind of vibration to the rider. This tank dropped to the last bar (there are 5) at about 172 miles. I filled up at 193.9 miles and the tank took 3.34 gallons US for 58 mpg. There was only 21 miles left in the tank so the range at interstate speeds, though battling a good headwind, was 215 miles. I think in better conditions the range is easily 230 miles at 75 mph, making 200 miles between stops with a good reserve.

    For the 90% of the miles I put on my bikes, non-touring miles that is, I am extremely pleased with my new Honda so far. I did not buy it as a tourer and that is asking a bit much from it although it will deliver with a little farkling. I will add a rack and top box for light touring. For the fun of riding on weekends and the pure pleasure of running cross country little roads on long weekends I think it will do just fine. Aside from this one long ride, ride fuel mileage has been in the 60's and 70's so far. It is not hard to achieve 70+ mpg and this is not dawdling along at 45 mph in top gear. Normal highway riding at 55-65 mph gave me 71 mpg during break-in. Time will tell if it delivers Honda reliability and ease of ownership but I have owned many Hondas in 40 years and none let me down in this respect. The fit and finish is very good and the usual maintenance items appear easy to get to. I have changed the oil once and that was straight forward. The filter is easy to access and the bike does not get oil on itself when draining sump and filter.

Excellent write up. Sounds like you enjoy it.

[Rincewind]

Thanks for the excellent review, dduelin.  Good luck with it.  

[HipGnosis]

So where do you put gas into this thing?!?