kebrider
Active Member
One of my reasons for buying the NC700x was to do some light touring to Florida and Maine this year from my home in Knoxville. My reasoning for the NC instead of using my Tiger 800, VFR, Versys, or buying a purpose-built long haul machine was the combination of reduced running costs/maintenance, the bike's comfort potential and the laid back handling and mechanical presence of the bike. Like any vehicle purchase there are several unknowns but I did enough research to be well informed on what I was buying.
After my first 3,000 miles, which included a 2,000 mile trip to Florida, I now know I bought the bike I wanted. I ran the bike to its full potential during a 400+ mile romp through the mountains including the tail of the dragon, the Cherohala Skyway and various roads near North GA and the bike proved fun and relaxing at the same time. It has less pure sporting potential than any of my other bikes (VFR, Tiger 800, Versys) but it is no less fun to ride.
I did primarily interstate to Florida and back and the bike handled it with ease. A simple airhawk seat cushion, technically their passenger model I think was all I did for comfort. 740 miles on the way to Florida and I never squirmed once. I did put Buell pegs which really opens up the seat-to-peg dimension. I am just over 6’1” and in my mid 50’s and I never had any knee issues, amazing. I have lowered pegs on all my bikes except the Tiger 800 but the rearset angle and lower position from the Buell pegs makes the NC my comfort king.
I installed the Honda heated grips and they were life savers as the ride down and back was in the 40’s with rain most of the way. I have a Givi V46 top box and I also fastened a large tail/tank bag to the rear seat with quick connect straps that only added a little time to gas stops. I averaged 75 to 80 MPH for speed and 60 MPG with one 56 MPG tank where I did some top speed runs (triple digits sustained) and never got much below 80mph for any time. Normal highway cruising with traffic I will figure 60 MPG with a correction for headwinds. I usually gassed up at 160 to 180 miles and I usually took less than 3 gallons so around a gallon left for safety.
While in Florida I averaged near 70 MPG. After 100 miles I would take under 1.5 gallons to fill up while my friend’s V4 Tuono would take over 3 gallons. Tire wear was excellent with only mild flat spotting. Any of my other bikes would have worn their tires to at least half way and burned at least another 8 gallons of fuel for the same trip so the bike fulfilled its promise of lower running cost.
So I rode around on impulse power instead of warp drive all week and had one of the better midrange trips in recent memory. Took a nice cruise this weekend and had a blast on the back roads. A versatile bike and great fun as I anticipated. I got a ton of questions from mostly older riders during my trip. Employees of other manufacturers working the demo rides were very curious about the bike. I felt like captured the essence of the bike when I would tell them the bike doesn’t hold you back from having fun.
Most of my friends are very surprised I bought one because I have always gravitated toward more sporting rigs but this bike has enough sporting potential for any sane street ride and it has a unique feel for a 650 class bike. My only complaint is the front suspension so I will be upgrading the forks with the Cogent drop in damper mod and that should help with their harshness.
KEB
After my first 3,000 miles, which included a 2,000 mile trip to Florida, I now know I bought the bike I wanted. I ran the bike to its full potential during a 400+ mile romp through the mountains including the tail of the dragon, the Cherohala Skyway and various roads near North GA and the bike proved fun and relaxing at the same time. It has less pure sporting potential than any of my other bikes (VFR, Tiger 800, Versys) but it is no less fun to ride.
I did primarily interstate to Florida and back and the bike handled it with ease. A simple airhawk seat cushion, technically their passenger model I think was all I did for comfort. 740 miles on the way to Florida and I never squirmed once. I did put Buell pegs which really opens up the seat-to-peg dimension. I am just over 6’1” and in my mid 50’s and I never had any knee issues, amazing. I have lowered pegs on all my bikes except the Tiger 800 but the rearset angle and lower position from the Buell pegs makes the NC my comfort king.
I installed the Honda heated grips and they were life savers as the ride down and back was in the 40’s with rain most of the way. I have a Givi V46 top box and I also fastened a large tail/tank bag to the rear seat with quick connect straps that only added a little time to gas stops. I averaged 75 to 80 MPH for speed and 60 MPG with one 56 MPG tank where I did some top speed runs (triple digits sustained) and never got much below 80mph for any time. Normal highway cruising with traffic I will figure 60 MPG with a correction for headwinds. I usually gassed up at 160 to 180 miles and I usually took less than 3 gallons so around a gallon left for safety.
While in Florida I averaged near 70 MPG. After 100 miles I would take under 1.5 gallons to fill up while my friend’s V4 Tuono would take over 3 gallons. Tire wear was excellent with only mild flat spotting. Any of my other bikes would have worn their tires to at least half way and burned at least another 8 gallons of fuel for the same trip so the bike fulfilled its promise of lower running cost.
So I rode around on impulse power instead of warp drive all week and had one of the better midrange trips in recent memory. Took a nice cruise this weekend and had a blast on the back roads. A versatile bike and great fun as I anticipated. I got a ton of questions from mostly older riders during my trip. Employees of other manufacturers working the demo rides were very curious about the bike. I felt like captured the essence of the bike when I would tell them the bike doesn’t hold you back from having fun.
Most of my friends are very surprised I bought one because I have always gravitated toward more sporting rigs but this bike has enough sporting potential for any sane street ride and it has a unique feel for a 650 class bike. My only complaint is the front suspension so I will be upgrading the forks with the Cogent drop in damper mod and that should help with their harshness.
KEB
