Adventurer
Gentleman Dog
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2006
- Messages
- 17,108
- Reaction score
- 4
- Location
- Kempen Germany
- Bike
- KTM 1290 Super Adventure
There has been quite a bit of speculation regarding the new Honda NC 700, I have not ridden the manual version, but had the opportunity to ride the Auto version, I was impressed.
During my time with the Honda I commuted as much as possible, and did the E-Toll protest ride, I found the NC 700 ideal, it has sufficient power, it is very zippy off the mark, handling was good, braking was excellent, the Auto has ABS as standard equipment.
All of you are aware of manual riding, but I’m sure not many are aware of how easy an Auto is to ride, the gearbox is 6 speed, and gives you any gear selection option you can think of, full auto,(D) just twist the throttle and go, Sport (S) where you also just twist and go, but if you pin the throttle it will go to redline before changing, and will gear down as you decelerate, effectively using engine compression to slow down as well, you can also select manual, where you need to change gears yourself by pressing the + or -.
Sanral very kindly caused a major traffic jam on the N1 highway, giving me the opportunity to lane split for a few kilometres, it was excellent, like driving an Auto car in stop start traffic, except you go faster, one of the pleasures of biking, twist and go, you are never in the wrong gear, your left hand has very little to do, no clutch cramp, and the wide handlebars give you good control, the only frustration being you can’t rev your motor at some imbecile texting instead of giving you a gap.The left handlebar controls are quite busy, but once you get used to them you won’t have a problem finding the hooter .....
Instruments are very informative, your gear selection is clear, digital speedo and bar graph type rev counter are easy to see on the move.
Another feature I found very handy was the ‘under – tank’ cubby hole, a lockable compartment which will swallow a full face helmet with ease.
And the handbrake, how many of you have a handbrake on your bike? Auto bikes need this because they cannot be safely parked on an incline in gear.
Then the fuel consumption, the NC 700 is very frugal, I hear of riders getting 28 – 35km/l, fuel range of over 400km on a 14L tank, depending how you ride. The NC 700 has been designed around low rev torque rather than outright power, essential for an Auto gearbox. I took my wife out as pillion, 150km/h was no problem, (don’t tell the cops) and I was not flat out, it has a claimed top end of 180 km/h. I would definitely fit the optional Honda higher screen though; the standard version was way too low for me. Other Honda options available are panniers, topbox, crashbars and driving lights, the NC 700 is not just an excellent commuter, kit it out with luggage and the horizon is your limit.....
During my time with the Honda I commuted as much as possible, and did the E-Toll protest ride, I found the NC 700 ideal, it has sufficient power, it is very zippy off the mark, handling was good, braking was excellent, the Auto has ABS as standard equipment.
All of you are aware of manual riding, but I’m sure not many are aware of how easy an Auto is to ride, the gearbox is 6 speed, and gives you any gear selection option you can think of, full auto,(D) just twist the throttle and go, Sport (S) where you also just twist and go, but if you pin the throttle it will go to redline before changing, and will gear down as you decelerate, effectively using engine compression to slow down as well, you can also select manual, where you need to change gears yourself by pressing the + or -.
Sanral very kindly caused a major traffic jam on the N1 highway, giving me the opportunity to lane split for a few kilometres, it was excellent, like driving an Auto car in stop start traffic, except you go faster, one of the pleasures of biking, twist and go, you are never in the wrong gear, your left hand has very little to do, no clutch cramp, and the wide handlebars give you good control, the only frustration being you can’t rev your motor at some imbecile texting instead of giving you a gap.The left handlebar controls are quite busy, but once you get used to them you won’t have a problem finding the hooter .....
Instruments are very informative, your gear selection is clear, digital speedo and bar graph type rev counter are easy to see on the move.
Another feature I found very handy was the ‘under – tank’ cubby hole, a lockable compartment which will swallow a full face helmet with ease.
And the handbrake, how many of you have a handbrake on your bike? Auto bikes need this because they cannot be safely parked on an incline in gear.
Then the fuel consumption, the NC 700 is very frugal, I hear of riders getting 28 – 35km/l, fuel range of over 400km on a 14L tank, depending how you ride. The NC 700 has been designed around low rev torque rather than outright power, essential for an Auto gearbox. I took my wife out as pillion, 150km/h was no problem, (don’t tell the cops) and I was not flat out, it has a claimed top end of 180 km/h. I would definitely fit the optional Honda higher screen though; the standard version was way too low for me. Other Honda options available are panniers, topbox, crashbars and driving lights, the NC 700 is not just an excellent commuter, kit it out with luggage and the horizon is your limit.....
