NEW Honda - NC700X

Cabrito

I come in Peace
Interesting. Is Honda getting into the adventure tour business?

Is this their competition to the V-Strom and the Tenere?

It's got sort of a small gas tank. Only 3.7 gallons.

I like the storage space where the gas tank would normally be.

I like how it looks even if it does sort of look like a GS800...

Can't wait to see the real reviews.
 

goodtimes

Expedition Poseur
It's a decent looking option, with obvious cues from BMW's F650GS (twin).

Likely less power than the BMW, and almost certainly to return less fuel economy - but with similar suspension specs/braking specs, and a ~$3000 advantage on price, it will likely win some business.
 

Schattenjager

Expedition Leader
A careful read of the specs will show that this is designed as MPG winner - low torque in the RPM range - peak between 2-4K where most bikes live will certainly make for a pleasurable, easy ride.
 

robert

Expedition Leader
Ugly (and I ride a V-Strom so I know ugly). One of the British bike magazines compared it to a jet ski with a whole review and pictures that were pretty funny.
 

Christophe Noel

Expedition Leader
I can't decide if I love it, or hate it. Value-wise, I think it looks like a no brainer. I think the KLR is about as ugly and unrefined as a motorcycle has ever been, but you can't deny the popularity and utility of that bike. I think this looks like a nice option for a lot of people.....maybe not me.

If I had to buy this bike or the newer V-Strom 650, I'd get the V.
 

Schattenjager

Expedition Leader
I'm going to wait for a test ride before passing judgment on this, till then I' would be merely speculating on something I've only read about. Looks like there will be three variants of the bike - the NC700 S looks pretty sweet as well.
 

aerozeta

New member
Agreed, looks like a Versys. It's got an ugly face, but looks ok overall. I like the storage which replaces the gas tank.
 

Clutch

<---Pass
I surely miss the days when Honda was cool and exciting, now they just keep on rolling heaps of boring...what is up with all the beaks on the new bikes?

All of the power and money of their R&D....and that is what we get, not to mention that 320 POUND 250cc dual sport bike they just released...Three Hundred and Twenty pounds! Good lord!

Honda what happened to you?

Now this is exciting....

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/84828-US-Highland-might-be-up-and-rolling-again
 
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jcbrandon

Explorer
I'm going to wait for a test ride before passing judgment on this, till then I' would be merely speculating on something I've only read about...

I got to spend a week with the NC700X recently. I really like it.

Honda and Cycle World Magazine put together something called the Cycle World Adventure Challenge. They invited four average-joe type riders to Southern California and had us ride the new bike on a lot of different sorts of roads and under different conditions. The idea was to show off some of the bike's features and benefits, get our impressions, and encourage us to talk about the experience. I had a great time and I've been talking about it a lot since I got home.

Disclosure: Honda and Cycle World paid our travel expenses, treated us like rock stars, and hooked us up with a bunch of cool new riding gear. They showed us a good time. But they never told us what to say. They did encourage us to talk about what we liked and didn't like about the motorcycle.

The NC700X is really fun to ride, very affordable, has some very cool features, and looks to be quite well made. It's not a high-performance motorcycle, it's not a great choice for dirt roads, and it won't make you look like Jonah Street or That Star Wars Guy. If you like big, powerful motorcycles, this probably isn't the bike for you. If you want a dual-sport bike to ride some trails it's not the best choice. If you are able to own several bikes optimized for different kinds of riding you probably won't find a reason to buy this one.

If you want a bike that can fill several different roles pretty well, won't be riding any dirt more technical than a hard-packed two-wheel drive Forest Service road (or perhaps some well-maintained gravel), and don't want to spend a lot of money, then this new Honda is definitely worth a look and a test ride.

Before this event I was a bit concerned about riding in LA freeway traffic. Where I live we don't really have any freeways and I hadn't ridden under those conditions before. I also don't have much experience riding in stop-and-go commute traffic. The Honda worked great in LA, especially the dual-clutch version with the paddle shifters and the option to let the bike shift gears for you.

We did one very long day of more than 370 miles riding along the ocean, through some twisty canyons, across the Central Valley, and then up into the Sierra. The bike is comfortable for a long day and didn't wear me out the way the same ride would have on my KLR650. I would happily take this thing down Mex 1 all the way to Cabo San Lucas and back, or across the US.
 

zombiekilla

Zombie Killa
Agreed, looks like a Versys. It's got an ugly face, but looks ok overall. I like the storage which replaces the gas tank.

I checked this bike over the weekend. It really offered a full size helmet storage within the bike. They moved the gas tank to the bottom of the seat. Side by side to a Versys, it looks much better. Enduro style bike share the same styling anyway.
 

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