Honda NC700S

[stoinkythepig]

This bike is quite interesting to me. They went out of their way to make a very inexpensive bike that looks decent, has decent low end torque, and gets great gas mileage. The bike does not appeal to me (yet) but I just love the concept. Deliberately making a motorcycle engine with fuel consumption a priority over power is a great idea with gas approaching 4 bucks a gallon. They made the engine a long-stroke design with a low red-line and fitted it with a modern cylinder head (great flow and burn) that actually has easy to adjust (screw and lock nut rockers) valves. The low red-line means mild cams and light valve springs; that should yield long intervals between valve adjusts (despite the 12,000 mile clearance check interval) and long valve life. The long-stroke design should also yield really long engine life in general. I can see European commuters getting 250,000+ miles easily from one of these.

I can see a bike like this appealing to the very practical among us as basic transport. I wish it was offered with ABS and a manual transmission though. If you want ABS, you have to opt for the automatic gear box. That said, perhaps the automatic is a good idea considering the boring power delivery. I do like that the auto is a twin clutch design.

Any one else take note of this bike?

[Chippertheripper]

I've seen it, it's among the many adv/naked sport touring (here's lookin at you bubba) bikes that I wish were actually overgrown dirtbikes...
It's not, which takes away some of the appeal, but reading it from your angle does, I admit, bring some of the appeal back.
I doubt it'll end up in my garage though.

[Doc]

It is a Baby Boss Hoss (car motor in a bike).

[SVenpointsixtwo]

I can't speak to the NC700S, but up in Labrador, Markbvt and I ran into 3 riders on Honda-supplied NC700Xs that were shooting an episode about the Trans-Lab for a Canadian TV show. At least one of them was a professional Dakar rider, and really enjoyed the Honda and how easy it was to ride. I rode one around the campsite and was immediately struck by how light and peppy it felt. Low center of mass means very easy to maneuver and the clutch (this was the regular model, not DCT) was extremely forgiving; one of the camera crew, who had never been on a motorbike in his life, was able to do laps around the site on his first try!

[01xj]

Isn't it offered with a DCT and standard transmission? I saw one at IMOC and it looks better in person than it does on paper in my opinion. The storage compartment where the fuel tank would normally be is also a very nice design.

[stoinkythepig]

Isn't it offered with a DCT and standard transmission?

Yes, but you cannot get ABS with the manual gearbox.

[RocketPunch]

iirc Honda don't sell the S version in USA, only the X version.

[xxaarraa]

Yet another great motorcycle from Honda that is forgettably styled. Sigh.

[nhbubba]

I've seen it, it's among the many adv/naked sport touring (here's lookin at you bubba) bikes...

Ataboy! Except I think you are talking about the X, not this S. (I had too google the S, didn't know it existed.)

We've talked about the X. I haven't seen it or ridden it, but I think it just isn't good enough. It's cheap, but the specs are so far from awe inspiring that.. well, I think it just isn't good enough. On the $/oz of fun spectrum this thing reads like a real dud.

As we've discussed here before, very few of us here in the US ride everyday, everywhere to save money or whatever. Most of us ride for fun. A bike with these kinds of specs just isn't enough fun in my book. At least not compared to the rest of the market.

I think a used SV650 TROUNCES this 700S. I don't care if the Honda engine lasts forever twice over. The Suzuki will be a shitload more fun and last long enough for me to get tired of it.

The only market I see this thing doing well in is in urban areas in warmer climates. Places where parking is at a premium and where riding can be done year round... like much of Europe. Basically it competes with scooters.

[mzdagrl]

Ataboy! Except I think you are talking about the X, not this S. (I had too google the S, didn't know it existed.)

We've talked about the X. I haven't seen it or ridden it, but I think it just isn't good enough. It's cheap, but the specs are so far from awe inspiring that.. well, I think it just isn't good enough. On the $/oz of fun spectrum this thing reads like a real dud.

As we've discussed here before, very few of us here in the US ride everyday, everywhere to save money or whatever. Most of us ride for fun. A bike with these kinds of specs just isn't enough fun in my book. At least not compared to the rest of the market.

I think a used SV650 TROUNCES this 700S. I don't care if the Honda engine lasts forever twice over. The Suzuki will be a shitload more fun and last long enough for me to get tired of it.

The only market I see this thing doing well in is in urban areas in warmer climates. Places where parking is at a premium and where riding can be done year round... like much of Europe. Basically it competes with scooters.

FWIW, if the S was available here, I would consider it for a new street bike, and track the SV. Two different bikes for two different purposes.

And you know how much I love my SV.

[gregp]

I am seriously thinking about buying one of these "New World Eco Bikes" next year. The NC700X has received great reviews, not as a performance bike, but as a real world street bike. Folks who have ridden it pretty much all say how nicely it rides, and how nimble, yet solid it is. For Bang for the Buck, it is at the top of the heap.
I also may look into finally selling my trusty KDX200 and getting a CRF250L, simply because it is quiet, smooth, capable, and gets great mileage.
Our Ninjette, however, would probably only get replaced by a new 300, and not the CBR250, although I can not count it out of the running.

[dontpanic]

I am seriously thinking about buying one of these "New World Eco Bikes" next year.

Me, too, except for one thing: Linked brakes. Automatic no-go for me. I want to be in charge of which end does what.

[nhbubba]

Ninja 650r
SFV650
Burgman 650
this Honda

Which would you rather ride?

[Chippertheripper]

Probably the versys.

[jasnmar]

Me, too, except for one thing: Linked brakes. Automatic no-go for me. I want to be in charge of which end does what.

While I understand the comment, I will say that since I "restarted" riding about 6 years ago I've only been on Honda's with linked brakes. This is something that in my opinion they actually have figured out.

It's hard to explain how well it works.

[nhbubba]

Yeah, people keep telling me that about automatic transmissions too.

[jasnmar]

3 of 4 non-motocycle vehicles in my family right now are not just Automatic, but CVT. The 4th is "traditional" automatic.

10 years ago, I'm driving a stick, and couldn't imagine not driving one. Change is hard to accept. That doesn't mean it's bad.

"If you don't like change, you're going to like irrelevance even less.”—General Eric Shinseki

[Wislon]

Not every bike has to be a rootin' tootin' performance machine. This Honda just might be a great first bike for a lot of people new to two wheels.
Americans can't seem to smarten up and buy a 250 to learn on, preferring a "real" bike of 600, 750 or, Gawd help me a 1000.
Maybe the Honda will be big enough to be acceptable. All the while being cheap, easy to ride, and I expect reliable.
A long time ago Honda did the same thing, introducing bikes to a USA dominated by "real" bikes that could only be ridden by real riders. They started "meeting the nicest people" and before they knew it Honda outsold the competition combined.
Linked brakes are better than you think. Just have to get used to them. My old Guzzi with Brembos linked in a fairly crude way gave the early eighties Japanes bike riders fits! Below "expert" speeds linked brakes are good for beginners

[dontpanic]

Linked brakes are better than you think. Just have to get used to them.

Yeah, despite what I wrote above, I still think I'm going to try to wrangle a test ride.

[gregp]

"Not every bike has to be a rootin' tootin' performance machine. This Honda just might be a great first bike for a lot of people new to two wheels." - I am *far* from "new to two wheels". I just am at an age where I want something that is as reliable as a Toyota Corolla, has some convenient storage, can carry a passenger in some comfort, looks decent, and yet still feels like a motorcycle - all at a fair price. These Honda NC's fit the bill quite nicely.
I am pretty certain that I could "undo" the linked brakes if I really wanted to, and I would be looking at the standard transmission model only.

[e30addict]

Ninja 650r
SFV650
Burgman 650
this Honda

Which would you rather ride?

The SV.

These Honda's look pretty neat though. They're so different they have the potential to reach a pretty varied group of riders.

Personally, I think you pay too much for what you get in this package. Most of us here are looking for something different in a bike than I think the group of people Honda has in mind.

[nhbubba]

That is the one upside to these things; price. They undercut the V-Strom and even the Versys with the NC700X. I bet the -S would be priced accordingly. I just don't think it is cheap enough to justify the crappy spec sheet.

If I rode it everyday and were looking for the beige camcord of motorcycles, yeah. But I don't ride everyday. I ride for kicks. Just like most Americans. And it just gives up too many compromises in my view.

Regarding displacement. Is this ~700 enough for Americans? No way! Look at the HD lineup. The 883 gets called 'half'a harley' and is nearly the ultimate put down. In the sport-bike world most aspire to own a liter bike. A 250 is a girls bike and these 6-700cc bikes are starter bikes. Right or wrong, that's what it is. I constantly get "that small huh?" from people when I confess to riding a 650.

This isn't Europe and that thing won't sell here. That's my prediction. And for once I side with the masses.

I'd rather have an SV or a Ninja 650r. And I'd gladly pay more for it. Both at the dealer and at the pump. Really, ~50 MPG is pretty farkin' good. And ~70 isn't that much better.

[nhbubba]

As for the automatics. I really don't understand them, especially on a bike. I confess I'm probably the minority here as I refuse to buy a car with an auto (or CVT) either. My wife is the polar opposite really. But more often than not the reasoning is multitasking. "How am I supposed to drink my coffee while shifting!?!" (Yeah, yeah.. I know. )

Meanwhile sports-car purists are at least somewhat more likely to side with me. And I think those are the types that monopolize the motorcycle market. The rest want cup holders and therefore aren't interested in motorcycles to start with.

That's my angle anyway.

[mzdagrl]

Hey, Bubba, no one said you had to like it, but it is another option, and frankly an option that gets almost 80mpg with an engine large enough to weigh the bike down enough to have to be a comfortable highway bike would make a sizable portion of America happy right now. I could do my entire round trip commute to work on just over one gallon of gas on that thing (I use three gallons in my decidedly fuel-efficient car every day). I loved getting 85 mpg on my 250 but the bike was shit for commuting (bad ergos and a sail on a windy day). With gas prices in CA topping $5/gallon right now (for example), I think a whole lot more Americans would look at a motorcycle as an everyday commuter if there was something fuel-efficient with a motor that didn't make them feel like they were riding a bicycle. Is it underpowered for how we northerners ride? Yeah, probably. But the rest of the country doesn't hibernate for 7 months out of the year.

[gregp]

I am 51, and have no problem riding our 15 year old Ninja 250 almost every day. It is just fun to ride. It even says "I ride like a Girl" on the back - it is my daughter's bike. It makes me work for speed, and it is very easy to maintain. I also have a DR650, but the little Ninjette is more fun. I do not ride with other people very often. I am an experienced dirt bike rider, and most of the people I work with, and my friends, know that, so nobody ever gives me any crap for riding it. IMO - They do not know what they are missing. There are a few HD guys at work, but none of them knows a connecting rod from a swing arm, and they stay away from "bike talk" with me. I wonder why...
Anyway, as I said, I am seriously considering one of these NC's. They look like just the bike for a guy like me. I do wonder, though, if there will be any discovery's of ways to squeeze more power out of them...... The last article I read indicated that it had a "cast in" exhaust manifold (like the Fit, and Civic) that would make adding any kind of performance exhaust very difficult, if not impossible. I do bet that it will wheelie, stock, though. :-)