2014 NC750 confirmed by Honda

[buckshot]

If I did stuff a set of 750 pistons in my S I wouldn't do it without getting some sort of FI programmer on the bike. I'm not worried about heat. These bikes run very lean from the factory, and a tuner will add more fuel, which will cool the burn down. At least that's how I see it. I also doubt Honda would go to the trouble of re-doing the cases just for an extra ~70cc. When the parts fiche for the new bikes come out I'll do some part number comparisons for the internal parts. If things like the rods & crank are the same I don't see why the bigger pistons wouldn't work. The only other parts I think that might need changing are the injectors, but I doubt it.

 

[MZ5]

Does Honda still use Nickasil (or whatever their word for it is) in their motorcycle engines? If you bore the cylinders, you'll eliminate the nickasil that I assume/believe is employed from the factory. That's DRASTICALLY reduce the engine's lifespan.

FWIW

 

[buckshot]

I've read that the 700 pistons have some sort of coating on them (resin coating?), but I don't know if the cylinders are coated. I expect the 750 pistons will be treated the same way. I thought Nikasil was used on aluminum cylinder bores. I'll have to check and see what the cylinder bore material is on this thing, but considering the budget nature of the bike I'm leaning toward steel liners of some sort.

 

[Goose]

Plenty of companies can re-plate the cylinders after they are bored, it is done all the time.

However, the new engine is very different from the NC700. It has a new crankcase, two (instead of one) counter balancers, a new transmission ratios, etc.

NC750

I want to add: If the brain damaged goons at Honda NA don't bring the NC750 into the US I can guaranty one potential sale will be lost to the competition, mine. I can't understand why anyone would buy "last years bike" when a bike that has addressed the old model's weak points has been released.

Goose

Does Honda still use Nickasil (or whatever their word for it is) in their motorcycle engines? If you bore the cylinders, you'll eliminate the nickasil that I assume/believe is employed from the factory. That's DRASTICALLY reduce the engine's lifespan.

FWIW

 

[davidc83]

I don't want the 750x. I rather have the 5 extra mpg than the 5 extra hp. The extra mpg on the 750 is being reported on the S model, which wont come to USA anyways (even if they bring the 750x model).

 

[dduelin]

Plenty of companies can re-plate the cylinders after they are bored, it is done all the time.

However, the new engine is very different from the NC700. It has a new crankcase, two (instead of one) counter balancers, a new transmission ratios, etc.

NC750

I want to add: If the brain damaged goons at Honda NA don't bring the NC750 into the US I can guaranty one potential sale will be lost to the competition, mine. I can't understand why anyone would buy "last years bike" when a bike that has addressed the old model's weak points has been released.

Goose

I'm always curious when people say stuff like this. There really isn't any competition to the NC series. It is so different in execution than other bikes in this displacement class that I doubt if Honda really cares about losing sales to the folks that want or need as much power as similar sized bikes.

 

[Goose]

To each his own. I found the NC to be a great but but a little short on power. I went to the trouble and expense to spend two nights in hotels and rent an NC700 for a day. I think that make me a serious potential buyer. You can read my report of my adventures here NC Ride

I think the NC700X is a really nice bike, it is just that the 750 address my only serious problem with the 700. If you read my report pay attention to the situation I get it with a truck fighting for my piece of the road. If the bike barely got me in front of the truck with just me and a small bag on the seat, what would have happened with saddle bags loaded with camping gear? The 700 has, in my opinion, marginal power for American road conditions. Please keep in mind I weigh 235 pounds before I put on my gear (and at 6' 4" I'm not really low drag either) so your experiences may vary.

What I really don't understand is why Honda thinks someone would buy the 700 when we all know Honda will either drop the NC altogether or go to the 750 in the near future. Honda Japan in't going to keep building an old design for one market forever. More power and (claimed) better milage sound like a no brainier to me.

You're right the NC is unique, I wouldn't have spent the money, time and energy to rent the bike if it wasn't. I also wouldn't be making a post this long if I wasn't passionate about what the NC represents. On the other hand, I'm cheap and I'm not spending my hard earned money on a bike I'm going to want to replace next year when the 750 comes to the USA. I know how I feel, I have to wonder how many people will buy the 700 with the 750 released outside the US. I'm going to predict (yes, I know could very well be wrong) that NC700 sales will fall off a cliff in 2014.

Goose

I'm always curious when people say stuff like this. There really isn't any competition to the NC series. It is so different in execution than other bikes in this displacement class that I doubt if Honda really cares about losing sales to the folks that want or need as much power as similar sized bikes.

 

[Mike Cash]

I don't think Honda is building two different designs (670cc and 745cc) for different markets.

I think they're using the North American market to clean out their remaining NC700 stock, whether that be completed bikes they had on hand or more bikes they're assembling out of components left on hand at the factory. We're essentially talking about a different engine and a different instrument panel....on a bike with an engine that should have a good long lifespan. So would it make more sense to shelve surplus 670cc engines when the demand for complete replacement engines may not be that great and give every market the 745cc engine.....or to pump out one last model year to get rid of the engines and put them out in a market where you know consumers can't easily import a 745cc?

As I said elsewhere, I think Honda is feeding the US table scraps for 2014. When the market has cleaned up all the scraps, then you may have the NC750.

 

[Old Can Ride]

Bingo, we have a winner. - Mike Cash.

 

[Mike Cash]

Bingo, we have a winner. - Mike Cash.

2014 Honda NC700X = Warehouse Clearance Model

They couldn't pull this crap on a European country.

 

[Goose]

Mike,

That is pretty much what I both fear and hope. I'll feel sorry for the people who buy a 2014 700 not knowing the 750 is coming but, assuming the price gets bumped a bit for the 750, it will give people who don't want or need another 5-7 HP a chance to get an NC for a little less.

(Added later) I went back and reread my report on my ride on the NC. My writing isn't good enough to give the rest of you the feeling but for me it was a trip back to the perfect Saturday morning. Perfect bike for the day, perfect road (SR38), perfect weather (cool and crisp but sunny), well rested, man, that morning just couldn't have been any better. I really, really hope Honda brings the NC750X into the US. I need more days like that one! (end added later)

Hoping for a "2014 and a half" NC750X in the USA,

Goose

PS I love your thumbnail. I'm an old movie fan and Mike Muzurki is one of my favorite character actors of his era.

I don't think Honda is building two different designs (670cc and 745cc) for different markets.

I think they're using the North American market to clean out their remaining NC700 stock, whether that be completed bikes they had on hand or more bikes they're assembling out of components left on hand at the factory. We're essentially talking about a different engine and a different instrument panel....on a bike with an engine that should have a good long lifespan. So would it make more sense to shelve surplus 670cc engines when the demand for complete replacement engines may not be that great and give every market the 745cc engine.....or to pump out one last model year to get rid of the engines and put them out in a market where you know consumers can't easily import a 745cc?

As I said elsewhere, I think Honda is feeding the US table scraps for 2014. When the market has cleaned up all the scraps, then you may have the NC750.

 

[Mike Cash]

PS I love you thumbnail. I'm an old movie fan and Mike Muzurki was one of my favorite character actors of his era.

You're the first person who has ever recognized the man in the avatar.

 

[SergeantChuck]

My dad was big into old westerns. Actually still is. I recognize him from a movie that is played often called "Requiem for a Gunfighter". Willing to bet I saw him in some of the gangster movies too. Dad like those too.

 

[dduelin]

2014 Honda NC700X = Warehouse Clearance Model

They couldn't pull this crap on a European country.

Because of the flood of grey market cars imported into the US in the late 1970s and 1980s the US acted through legislation to stop the importation of vehicles not originally certificated for importation into the US. The USA has specific vehicle identification numbers assigned to US market bikes at the time of manufacture and the VIN is stamped on the headstock. If Honda was sending new old stock to the US that was originally destined for other countries the old VIN would have to be ground off and a new US one assigned after Honda went through the process to create an original Manufacturer Statement of Origin that would allow the vehicle to legally enter the USA. Aside from tampering with the frame Honda would have to type-certify through the EPA and FDOT the bikes meet all US requirements in order to create clean MSOs, all of which would add some cost to the bike plus expose Honda to the risk the bikes would not be allowed to enter or have to be destroyed or exported back out of the country if already here.

It is highly unlikely Honda is dumping new old stock in the US.

 

[Mike Cash]

Because of the flood of grey market cars imported into the US in the late 1970s and 1980s the US acted through legislation to stop the importation of vehicles not originally certificated for importation into the US. The USA has specific vehicle identification numbers assigned to US market bikes at the time of manufacture and the VIN is stamped on the headstock. If Honda was sending new old stock to the US that was originally destined for other countries the old VIN would have to be ground off and a new US one assigned after Honda went through the process to create an original Manufacturer Statement of Origin that would allow the vehicle to legally enter the USA. Aside from tampering with the frame Honda would have to type-certify through the EPA and FDOT the bikes meet all US requirements in order to create clean MSOs, all of which would add some cost to the bike plus expose Honda to the risk the bikes would not be allowed to enter or have to be destroyed or exported back out of the country if already here.

It is highly unlikely Honda is dumping new old stock in the US.

I don't doubt that a bit. But there is still the matter of having leftover stuff in the manufacturing process which has not (or had not) made it far enough through the process for that to be a factor. What do you do with it all? Make another model year of it and foist it off in the market which geographically and bureaucratically is least capable of circumventing the scheme by just individually importing the NC750 strikes me as the most plausible scenario. With the crappy treatment of the US market that characterized the rollout of the bike to begin with (color choice, DCT/ABS choices, availability, etc), I don't think the 2014 NC700X Table Scraps Edition is implausible.

 

[Goose]

Let give Honda some credit, they've known the 750 was on the way long before we first heard about it. I'm sure the product planners have been working out how many bikes to build by market to make the transition to the 750 a smooth one. On the other hand, there is always a guess factor in these kind of projections. It wouldn't surprise me at all if Honda had a small "buffer" bikes in the build schedule that were not "numbered" so they could go to any market. Since the existence of the 750 came out months before Honda intended I'll guess the sales of 700s was lower than expected so this buffer may have not been needed. Now that the 750 is out of the bag these bikes could be assigned US VINs. I'm just guessing, no facts.

The really sad part is what this says about how Honda views the American consumer. The even sadder part is they are probably right. In my limited experience our brothers and sisters in Europe, Asia and Australia do more research on major purchases and act more rationally, most or at least many Americans buy on impulse.

JMHO,

Goose

I don't doubt that a bit. But there is still the matter of having leftover stuff in the manufacturing process which has not (or had not) made it far enough through the process for that to be a factor. What do you do with it all? Make another model year of it and foist it off in the market which geographically and bureaucratically is least capable of circumventing the scheme by just individually importing the NC750 strikes me as the most plausible scenario. With the crappy treatment of the US market that characterized the rollout of the bike to begin with (color choice, DCT/ABS choices, availability, etc), I don't think the 2014 NC700X Table Scraps Edition is implausible.

 

[max cooper]

No matter what Honda decides to do, I'm keeping my 700x "till it's worn out. I've allowed myself to get caught up in the " Keeping up with the latest model " syndrome in years past. I feel it was money wasted as you can never keep up really. I'm not criticizing anyone, it's just a lesson I learned for me personally. To be honest, if and when the 750x hits the show room floor, the used market might allow me to pick up a low milage red 700x. I would like another, and farkle it out a different way , creating another unique ride. That's how much I like the overall design . For my use, the 700x lends itself very well to tailoring it to my personal likes and needs. Maybe I'm just getting old and easier to satisfy. In any event, I'm not going to lose a bit of sleep over it. Too many other issues these days to worry about. Time for another bottle of Angry Orchard. I'll just sit here and let you fellas keep things stirred up. LOL !

 

[max cooper]

You're the first person who has ever recognized the man in the avatar.

Mike, my father was born in 1913 and remembered all the old actors. I think he told me many years ago that Mike Muzurki started out as a boxer. Is that true to your knowledge ? How about you Goose ? Have you heard that from ur dad ?

 

[davidc83]

Mike, my father was born in 1913 and remembered all the old actors. I think he told me many years ago that Mike Muzurki started out as a boxer. Is that true to your knowledge ? How about you Goose ? Have you heard that from ur dad ?

Actually he was a Pro-Wrestler, even during his acting career. All you want to know about Mike Muzurki: Mike Mazurki - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sorry about the hijack.

 

[Goose]

Max,

Just my opinion but I think you are in danger of becoming wise. An NC700 in the garage is worth 2 NC750s at the dealership.

My position is I don't have an NC yet, from here it makes sense to wait for the 750. If Honda doesn't bring the 750 in the US I'm not sure what I'll do.

Enjoy your bike,

Goose