Gixus
Active Member
Hi. Thanks for having me on the forum. As stated I just took my new 2021 NC750 out for its first ride. I have a few questions and observations that I hope you members can help me with.
My background is that I’ve basically always owned sport bikes. In recent years I’ve owned 3 gsxr1000s, an SV1000, and traded in a 2018 gsx-s1000f to buy the NC. My other bike is a 1995 VFR750. I sold the gsx-s1000f because apart from being a superb hooligan bike, it was totally impractical for everyday use, and I was plain fed up with one dimensional bikes. Hence the NC750.
I test rode an NC750 at a demo ride years ago only because it was the only bike available for a ride. I was surprisedI and really impressed with what it was, and what it could do. I found it peppy, and smooth riding, which will bring up one of my questions later.
2021 Impressions.
On taking off I found that the seating position for my 6’2” height is good and reasonably comfortable. The seat could be further back for my legs, and the rear of the seat a little flatter. The seat itself is very hard. I like hard seats having a Corbin on my VFR, but it could definitely be wider. Something I may have to change at a later date, as on my VFR the Corbin allowed me one day to ride 1400 kilometres in 13 hours. Very much doubt the NC right now could do that for me.
Not having ridden an NC since the initial demo ride, but remembering it, I was surprised that the engine didn’t feel the same. The 700 had felt smoother in delivery and you didn’t feel that you could count every pulse as you can on the 2021. Other than that, even running it it, I found it peppy and somewhat hard to keep the revs down. It wanted to rev. I have no doubt that I will enjoy running it through the gears when I’m able to. It’s a manual, and I don’t find gear changing bothersome.
The transmission is as slick as anything I have ridden in the past. Kudos to Honda. The only irritant I found was that when trying to rev match when changing down, the sluggish engine characteristics required a big handful of gas to do so. I know it has a slipper clutch, but old habits die hard.
The electronics. Well, that’s going to take me a while to get used to. When reading the manual I found it very confusing as Im not a big fan of electronics on bikes and having to fiddle around with settings. Sure I like some of the things you can do such as traction, power modes etc, but most of it just leaves me cold. It will definitely take me a while to learn what I can do, and how to do it.
The suspension. This is by far my only real complaint about the bike. The rear is slightly too soft for my 200 lbs. No problem I’ll play with the preload. If that doesn’t work for me I have an Ohlins which I took off the gsx-s1000f, and see if I can modify that to fit. The front. Right now the front suspension is possibly the worst I’ve ever encountered on a bike. I’m hoping it’s just a question of being new, and needs to wear in a bit. It’s fine, but not great, at going over slight bumps, but just going down a smooth road it feels as if the suspension is not compressing at all over slight ridges and the bars just hop. It’s not smoothly compliant. I see that there’s a lot of stiction in the forks. I’m hoping that lubing the fork seals will cure this problem. If not, then Ill see about upgrading them.
That’s about it. Can anyone advise whether my complaint about the front fork is unusual for the NC, or is it a common problem. Your assistance will enable me to decide what if anything to do about it.
My background is that I’ve basically always owned sport bikes. In recent years I’ve owned 3 gsxr1000s, an SV1000, and traded in a 2018 gsx-s1000f to buy the NC. My other bike is a 1995 VFR750. I sold the gsx-s1000f because apart from being a superb hooligan bike, it was totally impractical for everyday use, and I was plain fed up with one dimensional bikes. Hence the NC750.
I test rode an NC750 at a demo ride years ago only because it was the only bike available for a ride. I was surprisedI and really impressed with what it was, and what it could do. I found it peppy, and smooth riding, which will bring up one of my questions later.
2021 Impressions.
On taking off I found that the seating position for my 6’2” height is good and reasonably comfortable. The seat could be further back for my legs, and the rear of the seat a little flatter. The seat itself is very hard. I like hard seats having a Corbin on my VFR, but it could definitely be wider. Something I may have to change at a later date, as on my VFR the Corbin allowed me one day to ride 1400 kilometres in 13 hours. Very much doubt the NC right now could do that for me.
Not having ridden an NC since the initial demo ride, but remembering it, I was surprised that the engine didn’t feel the same. The 700 had felt smoother in delivery and you didn’t feel that you could count every pulse as you can on the 2021. Other than that, even running it it, I found it peppy and somewhat hard to keep the revs down. It wanted to rev. I have no doubt that I will enjoy running it through the gears when I’m able to. It’s a manual, and I don’t find gear changing bothersome.
The transmission is as slick as anything I have ridden in the past. Kudos to Honda. The only irritant I found was that when trying to rev match when changing down, the sluggish engine characteristics required a big handful of gas to do so. I know it has a slipper clutch, but old habits die hard.
The electronics. Well, that’s going to take me a while to get used to. When reading the manual I found it very confusing as Im not a big fan of electronics on bikes and having to fiddle around with settings. Sure I like some of the things you can do such as traction, power modes etc, but most of it just leaves me cold. It will definitely take me a while to learn what I can do, and how to do it.
The suspension. This is by far my only real complaint about the bike. The rear is slightly too soft for my 200 lbs. No problem I’ll play with the preload. If that doesn’t work for me I have an Ohlins which I took off the gsx-s1000f, and see if I can modify that to fit. The front. Right now the front suspension is possibly the worst I’ve ever encountered on a bike. I’m hoping it’s just a question of being new, and needs to wear in a bit. It’s fine, but not great, at going over slight bumps, but just going down a smooth road it feels as if the suspension is not compressing at all over slight ridges and the bars just hop. It’s not smoothly compliant. I see that there’s a lot of stiction in the forks. I’m hoping that lubing the fork seals will cure this problem. If not, then Ill see about upgrading them.
That’s about it. Can anyone advise whether my complaint about the front fork is unusual for the NC, or is it a common problem. Your assistance will enable me to decide what if anything to do about it.
