NC700X 1000km review

So I finally finished the 1000km running in period. Just like a woman, only after you spend a substantial time with her, only will you get to see her true colors.

In a true male-griping-about-their girlfriend-to-their-buddies fashion, I'm gonna gripe about the bike.

The parallel twin doesn't perform very well at ultra slow speeds below 20km/h. Granted that other bikes do not really do so that well either, the weakness is too obvious. The bike judders around like a handicapped man trying to complete a 100m sprint. The first gear is too short and the second gear is too tall. The only way to work around this is to pull in the clutch and potter around in half clutch to smoothen out the movement at low speeds.

At high speeds there is not much usable torque above 100km/h, but I already discussed that in the earlier entry.

Other than speed issues, there's not much that I can complain about. I've been getting a consistent 27-30km/L fuel consumption at speeds below 110.

The super four profile (spec 1 onwards) size tires inspire confidence when cornering. I had bridge stones on my previous super 4 as well. The tire is grippy enough even on wet days.

The headlight is blindingly bright, it'll leave you with double vision for quite awhile if you stare at it longer than ten seconds.

The horn on the other hand is a bit disappointing; it emits a weak squeak of a honda wave. The pillion seat support arm also feels cheap, it's made of stamped metal parts with dangling washers and springs.

Like a good lady, she does what she does best with minimal fuss; getting from point a to b quickly and in style. It's a bonus that she looks good to and attracts the admiration of bikers and non bikers alike.

Although some might be tempted to have a mistress (a more powerful bike) for the weekend blast of excitement, this bike is a keeper.

Honda NC700X: One week review

As you know (or might not know, depending on who's reading this), my 18 year old super four had another major defect. I did my sums and realized that if I got it repaired again, the total cost of repairs would exceed the value of the bike (taking into account all the major defects I had rectified over the course of the last 2 years). 

So i decided, fuck it, I'm pushing this bucket of bolts (the said bucket of bolts actually brought me many places and I'm eternally grateful for its service. Read about that here) in for a brand new shiny NC700X. 

Can you smell the new bike showroom smell through this picture?

I've been planning to buy this bike for the longest time actually. It's just that my current bike was in danger of having a major breakdown (again!), therefore i decided to put my money on this. Think of it as planning for a child after marriage, but you "diao kia" (had an 'accident' and ended up with a kid earlier than expected). Needless to say, my enthusiasm was a bit muted as some of my friends noticed. 

That's not me. 

It's been one week since I collected this bike and I am a rider who clocks mileage on a daily basis, here are my thoughts on this machine during my one week of ownership. 

Engine

The concept of this engine is very interesting (read more in detail here). In summary, it is based on half a Honda Jazz engine. It is a low revving (redline at 6.5K) parallel twin with a very low piston "sleep" angle. The engine whirrs quietly as it goes about its business. 

Coming from a super 4 previously, I thought this bike is overpowered. When i cracked open the throttle on the first ride, this red rocket shot out like a bat out of hell from under me. The feeling of torque is totally different from an inline four, the power just comes at you in one big lump instead of a linear steady delivery in the super 4. I smile like a maniac when i shoot off from every traffic junction, leaving everything else behind in my wake. 

The engine is the happiest at low RPMs, specifically below 3K RPM. Most of the usable power lies within that range. If I try to push beyond 3.5K, the power just tapers off, I can feel the engine spinning up but the bike doesn't move much faster. 

Trundling around in the city below 70km/h is a real pleasure. The throttle response is crisp and instantaneous, the bike goes about its business with minimal vibration and fuss. 

On expressways, the bike performs equally as well. The engine torque encourages you to short shift up to six very quickly and remain in six cruising along at 90-100km/h (it cruises at 90km/h at 2.5K RPM). Here the vibration starts to get more pronounced, but its hard to notice when you're hanging on to the handles for dear life as a 90km/h/h wind hits you in the face and chest. 

Needless to say, the tiny kacang puteh (peanut) windscreen just helps to keep my speedometer protected from the wind while my upper body gets buffeted around mercilessly. 

Beyond 100 km/h is where the bike's biggest weakness lies. It takes forever to gain any speed above 3 digits.  It is possible to reach speeds of up to 140-170km/h, but you must be patient while the bike builds up speed. If you are looking for insane acceleration to catch up with your big bike class 2 friends, you should look elsewhere. This bike is not tuned or designed for eye-watering, environment distorting, time travelling speeds. 

Handling

The handlebars are wide and puts you in an upright seating posture just like a motard. You feel that you are perched on top of the bike as opposed to inside the bike. This gives you a good view of all the traffic in front and around you. 

The suspension is good and stiff, it soaks up everything in one bounce and returns to its original position very quickly. 

This bike is also incredibly agile, point it in any direction and the bike just goes. It's also highly "flickable", push on the handlebars lightly and the bike goes down. Cornering becomes simple task of looking at where you want to go, and the bike goes! 

That's...... also not me. 

As opposed to most high performance bikes, the NC700X only comes with one disc brake on the front and rear. It doesn't handicap the bike in any way, the machine stops instantly, even a bit better than my old front double disc super 4. I'm guessing the petal shape big disc helps in the stopping efficiency. My model also comes with combined ABS, but I've yet to use it, thankfully. 

The body

The mirrors are decent modern "sharp" edged mirrors, they don't suffer from vibrations that much. 

Headlight is a standard H4 bulb that is actually pretty blinding. The throw angle and distance is quite decent in pitch darkness. 

The horn and indicator buttons are reversed, I find myself giving a short blast of the horn when I want to cancel my indicator. 

Pillion grab rails comes as standard on this bike.

Fuel Consumption 

I can't tell you much about this yet, I've yet to finish my first tank of petrol. I've traveled 250km and I have 2 bars left out of 5. The capacity of the underseat fuel tank is 14 litres. Honda claims an impressive 29 - 33km/L. We will see how it goes. 

The best part

What makes this machine so unique is probably the front trunk storage. Remember me mentioning the low piston "sleep" angle? This frees up space above the engine for a storage compartment, something never done before on a motorcycle. 

Carries your helmet, packets of food and drink and whatever you choose to throw inside. 

I find this incredibly handy, I can leave my helmet inside the trunk and just carry my raincoat around without putting a top box. It creates a storage solution while keeping the look of the bike clean and tidy. 

I'll add a box soon............ soon. 

So far it has been an absolute joy to ride this bike. It's incredibly friendly and easy to use. It makes me actually look forward to riding around aimlessly in my free time.