Honda NC700XA

Thought i would give one of these a go as the donkey / commuter, very early days only 56 miles up so far. No real running in apparently, just tyres (BT023's) and pads, Filled up (14 ltrs)and am interested to see what i get to the tank as 250 mls has been mentioned.
All good so far.

Is that Auto ? be interested how it goes

I like the look of those, be interested to hear your thoughts as you get some miles on it....

I'd certainly be interested to hear how you get on Den, it's really a common sense choice of machine. I've had a peek in the flesh and it looks great.( unlike the cross tourerwhich I found dissapointing.
I had a 1.4 Jazz and loved it to bits, pensioners love it because it's so tractable, pull away in 3rd. I loved it because it flew when you used all the revs.

I wonder how this 'half a Jazz' will go. The surprise in this package is the helmet storage!

Stay safe

Keep us posted. I like the look and idea of these but will wait a year for the prices to go down and for some real world riding reports.

Stopped alongside ...

... the scooter version the other day; looked a bit odd with the same size wheels as the bike, and the 'scooter gap' was vestigal to say the least but the rider seemed pleased with his choice

I was on my T-Max and the Honda seemed much slimmer.

interesting bike - lot of road tests etc.

pretty cheap as well

Sounds like they take some getting used to - only rev to 6500 ?

I bet a normal rider could get nearer 100mpg

F800 can do 80mpg ridden sensibly

looking forward to a 'real rider' review

Well 94 miles up, bit of motorway but mainly commuting, 1st bar on the fuel gauge dropped out @ 92 miles, i suspect it will be one of those that is slow to 1/2 tank then drops like a brick
Riding position is spot on for me @ 6 ft, the little screen in the high position does reduce the wind but i have ridden without earplugs for the 1st time in a decade and its as good as the S10 with them in
Shorter riders may find the seat height a challenge, my mate sat on it last night @ 5' 10" and was on tiptoes (S version is lower)
Suspension is defo budget, not looked at it yet but bit bouncy having said that i have somehow managed to hit 18 stone so i am giving it a hard time
Brakes are just coming online, too early to say but i have had to plan well in advance upto now.
Seat is comfy, its has the Honda switchgear layout like the VFR12's ie horn and indicator swopped out.
If you have a lid in large or with external vents etc it will not go in the "trunk" i have a Shoei XR1100 and its wont go in, there is a wire in the toolkit and rear pillion seat / fuel tank hatch has a helmet hook underneath.
The "trunk" is bloody massive even with the toolkit in there, i bought a new camera yesterday, that in the box with my bag plus gloves and jacket liner went in no probs.
No centre stand its an option, £90 i think, did look at Honda topbox and fitting kit £285 which is a bit strong , the smaller box on its own in "basic" black is only £90 which sounds cheap for the big H. I think Baglux will be out due to the trunk and Givi/SW Motech will struggle with the layout of the rear subframe as not too many options for mounting.
Mine is the manual and there is a 6 week waiting list now i am told, not seen a DSG yet but they are £6500 i think with the scooter coming in @ £7500 , i have checked out the scooter and although it looks very trendy i am not too sure about the practicality and why would you when the DSG 700X is a grand cheaper
Mine is shod with BT023's but think they are Jap versions which look like they will last but feedback is not too good as yet.
600 service has to be paid for but then its 8k services with plugs @ 32k, no real running in as such just tyres and brakes.
Redline is just over 6k and there is no power up there anyway its all between 3-5k, i have been short shifting between 3-4k which makes decent progress, well i say short shifting but that would be more relevant to a bike that revs to 10-14k so on this its just normal riding i suppose. Mine is 48bhp think the DSG is 51bhp, if it is 1/2 a Jazz engine with such a low rev limiter it should last. I cruised on the demo bike @ 90 mph for a mile or so just to see what it would be comfortable at for me and the bike and its fine so capable of distance travel if you need to make progress
More to follow, particularly what i get to the 1st tankfull, i will findout what its like in the wet later as its started pissin down here
Dash is adequate with fuel/revs/speed/clock and two trips, no temp gauge which i find annoying.

My thoughts.

I picked the bike up from my local Honda dealer (Belfast Honda) and headed out of the city to get the feel of the NC. Immediate impressions, despite the claimed weight of 481 lbs, is how light it felt. The weight must be carried very low, no doubt aided by the position that the engine takes within the frame. Combined with the narrow profile, this machine feels like a much smaller bike and more akin to something half the size.

And speaking of the engine, as most know by now, this new parallel twin lump is basically half of the engine fitted into the Honda Jazz. It has been modified, but it also explains why the rev limit is so much lower to what we have become used to these days. There is little vibration, certainly none that would bother you and once you get used to the low revving nature, which I quickly did as I tend to short shift anyway, the Honda zings along with gusto down country roads and it doesn't really feel like it is lacking in power. And in the real world, being honest, we ride mostly between 40 and 85mph for most of the time on the road which is where this bike excels. I had no problem cruising along at a steady 75mph and the small screen worked amazingly well deflecting the worst of the wind away from my torso. I was also wearing my Arai TourX lid and even up to an indicated 85, there was no real turbulence to complain about. Certainly, the optional taller screen may be a worthwhile addition, but I was more than happy with the stock offering in front of me. Overtaking traffic was easy with the torque available and only when sitting at 60mph and going for an overtake did I feel the need to drop a gear for safety reasons. Apart from the usual clunk into first, I found the gearbox to be very nice with smooth shifts through to sixth gear. I never hit a false neutral and I'd love to try out the dual clutch transmission version when it becomes available.

The riding position is very nice with a comfortable stretch to the wide handlebars. There's good enough leg room and I didn't feel my 5' 11" frame was at all cramped. The only complaint initially was that the seat felt rather slippy and I felt I was moving about too much. I've read of others complaining about the same thing, so it isn't just me. After a while I did wish that the bike came equipped with span adjustable levers as my short fingers didn't feel quite comfortable enough, but it's not a major problem and you have to remember that this bike is built to a budget. And bear in mind, it is built in Japan and not some subsidiary factory elsewhere which I believe shows how important this bike is to Honda. And even saying it is built to a budget is slightly ungenerous as the quality is very very good. The dash layout is simple and easy to understand and is fully digital with the rev counter situated horizontally along the top of the read out.

The roads I rode on were pretty smooth mostly and the NC gave a comfortable ride. I then headed towards a roller coaster road I know well to give the suspension a real work out. On this very bumpy road, the ride got a bit bouncy and I could feel that in these conditions, the suspension was a bit underdamped and choppy. The single front disc was powerful enough and I did try to get the ABS to kick in which took an almighty pull on the lever to achieve and I'd sum up the braking system as being very safe. Overall, the bike handles exceptionally well and I really have nothing but praise for how the NC does its stuff.

Around town, I kept thinking why would anyone spend over £2k more on the likes of the Yamaha T-Max super scooter ? With the capacity of storing a helmet (not a TourX tho') in the bikes 'tank', I'd prefer the feeling of riding a 'proper' motorcycle over a scooter any day. But maybe this is the target where Honda hope to get plenty of sales from ? As a cheap to run working motorcycle, the NC700X has a lot going for it and with service intervals 8000 miles apart and being very thrifty on fuel, maybe we're starting to see a whole new trend in motorcycles. OK, it's not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but I believe Honda have struck the nail on the head and in many European countries where bikes such as this are part and parcel of their transport infrastructure, they'll sell the NC buy the bucket load. It's also a good looking motorcycle and with the many accessories that Honda will supply (and other companies will no doubt design), I think they'll do well enough to reap the benefits of their investment.

All in all, a very surprising motorcycle and as I've said, it may be the fore father of a more fuel efficient breed of low revving bikes than we've been used to of late. With ever rising petrol prices, who's going to bet against it ? Will it become a good choice as an everyday bike, one that you use to get around on while keeping your sportsbike/sports tourer etc for sunny days or foreign tours ? If so, I'll take one in white please.

Oldrat said:

I had a 1.4 Jazz and loved it to bits, pensioners love it because it's so tractable, pull away in 3rd. I loved it because it flew when you used all the revs.

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I hate ours... perhaps I should use more revs? It is tractable though, pulls up hills in 3rd/4th without changing down. It's the bloody awful electric power steering I can't get used to - no self-centreing, and no feel or feedback. Yuk.

As for the bike, I wondered if it would suit dyed-in-the-wool twin-cylinder riders rather than 4-pot jockeys, as it's all about torque rather than revs?

214 miles of motorway/ commuting to red on the fuel gauge, topped up 11 ltrs so 3 ltrs still in there. 250 would be a possibility but i will be happy with 200 between fills
And i was right about the gauge, 2 bars when i set out and 9 miles up the road after a firm brake and the red is flashing pull away and back to 2 bars, few mls further and red again
Looking on the forum the red still means 40 odd mls to empty

Nice one Den

That works out at

88.43mpg for carrying a lightweight about

i know i am only 18 stone

Thanks Den.

Following with interest
Chatted with a chap at Liverpool docks (on the TT trip) with one of these, he loved it.

The NC forum seems to think they get better after 1K mls, just nudging 300 so a way to go yet.
Spotted a ixil can yesterday for it, trying not to look
R&G hugger arrived yesterday too

Den,

How do you think it would be on a 250 mile London to Newcastle jaunt if it was mostly motorway, not it's true habitat i realise but would be interested in your thoughts

If you keep to legal'ish speeds then you should do it in 1 tank, once you get over 80 it would be close but 75 mpg x 3 gal = 225 doable I would think

Big Den said:

If you keep to legal'ish speeds then you should do it in 1 tank, once you get over 80 it would be close but 75 mpg x 3 gal = 225 doable I would think

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Cheers Den,

im not really interested in consumption more about comfort and ease on a long motorway journey at say 80mph

Seat i find pretty comfy, wind blast is bearable certainly not as bad as a CB1000R, most seem to change the screen for a taller one to move the wind from chest to lid but i am waiting for the test pilots to finish evaluation before i dive in