5th gear or 6th gear and rpms at highway speeds

[melnc]

Hello all from South Texas. I’m new to the NC700X world and I am liking this bike pretty good but I am curious about something. I usually do not shift gears from 5th to 6th until I hit 60-65 mph otherwise 6th gear is sluggish and there is very little roll on power. is this a normal shifting pattern for the 700x? Texas highways are usually 75 mph. running 70-75mph the rpms are running about 4k which I don’t think that is a problem. bike seems to like it in that rpm range. I have yet to hit hit the rev limiter when shifting gears but it is on my to do list.Bike is a 2013 model manual transmission

 

[670cc]

Hello all from South Texas. I’m new to the NC700X world and I am liking this bike pretty good but I am curious about something. I usually do not shift gears from 5th to 6th until I hit 60-65 mph otherwise 6th gear is sluggish and there is very little roll on power. is this a normal shifting pattern for the 700x? Texas highways are usually 75 mph. running 70-75mph the rpms are running about 4k which I don’t think that is a problem. bike seems to like it in that rpm range. I have yet to hit hit the rev limiter when shifting gears but it is on my to do list.Bike is a 2013 model manual transmission

If you’re happy with how it runs at those RPMs, it sounds like you’re doing it “right”. I’m not sure, though, why you would want to hit the rev limiter. Shifting before that makes more sense. On the ‘13 model, the power output begins to drop off before the rev limit. There is nothing to gain by hitting the limiter.

 

[melnc]

If you’re happy with how it runs at those RPMs, it sounds like you’re doing it “right”. I’m not sure, though, why you would want to hit the rev limiter. Shifting before that makes more sense. On the ‘13 model, the power output begins to drop off before the rev limit. There is nothing to gain by hitting the limiter.

did not know about the power dropping off right before redline on the 700x. other metric bikes i’ve owed hits peak horsepower right before redline. thanks for your input

 

[the Ferret]

Looks like peak horsepower is at 6140 rpms and peak torque at 4680 rpms from an old Cycle World Dyno chart

Honda NC700X - ROAD TEST

Senior Editor Blake Conner tests Honda's new innovative NC700X in this Road Test review.

www.cycleworld.com

 

[melnc]

Looks like peak horsepower is at 6140 rpms and peak torque at 4680 rpms from an old Cycle World Dyno chart

Honda NC700X - ROAD TEST

Senior Editor Blake Conner tests Honda's new innovative NC700X in this Road Test review.

www.cycleworld.com

thank you

 

[davidc83]

Hello all from South Texas. I’m new to the NC700X world and I am liking this bike pretty good but I am curious about something. I usually do not shift gears from 5th to 6th until I hit 60-65 mph otherwise 6th gear is sluggish and there is very little roll on power. is this a normal shifting pattern for the 700x? Texas highways are usually 75 mph. running 70-75mph the rpms are running about 4k which I don’t think that is a problem. bike seems to like it in that rpm range. I have yet to hit hit the rev limiter when shifting gears but it is on my to do list.Bike is a 2013 model manual transmission

Yep, all is normal. Nothing to get by hitting rev limiter (which you can't hit in 6th anyways). I have a 2013 nc700x also. 4000 rpms at 75mph is right.

 

[FIRE UP]

Well OP,
It's your bike so you can run it as you see fit. The research and design of the NC's engine is such that it's PERFECTLY FINE in running at lower rpms for just about any given situation, including but not limited limited to freeway running. The lower freeway rpms is a boasting selling point for this motorcycle. They designed it to run at lower rpms. You are most certainly NOT BOGGING that engine by running 6th at even 50 mph, not even close to bogging. Unless you simply LIKE paying for extra gas to get from point A to point B by running higher rpms for absolutely NO REASON, you're wasting fuel.

Especially with the DCT version, Honda's engineers programmed the shift points at given times in the rpm range based on multiple inputs but, even that transmission is into the top gear way before most of us think it should be. But, even as one is entering a freeway, based on medium throttle position which, may or may not be enough for the given traffic conditions, those engines PULL quite well at lower rpms. While I certainly don't like lugging an engine either, it's just not in my DNA to try and blow it up just to hear it. Your choice here Partner.
Scott

 

[lootzyan]

...The NC was not designed like other metrics. The engine design was evolved from the automotive world.

This is a 13-year-old joke that started with a response from one of Honda's engineers to the media's question about how the engine for the NC series of motorcycles was created. He said they cut the Honda Jazz (Fit) engine in half. This was enough of an explanation for many motorcycle "specialists" in the media. As we can see, this will remain as a technical "fact" probably forever.

 

[melnc]

Well OP,
It's your bike so you can run it as you see fit. The research and design of the NC's engine is such that it's PERFECTLY FINE in running at lower rpms for just about any given situation, including but not limited limited to freeway running. The lower freeway rpms is a boasting selling point for this motorcycle. They designed it to run at lower rpms. You are most certainly NOT BOGGING that engine by running 6th at even 50 mph, not even close to bogging. Unless you simply LIKE paying for extra gas to get from point A to point B by running higher rpms for absolutely NO REASON, you're wasting fuel.

Especially with the DCT version, Honda's engineers programmed the shift points at given times in the rpm range based on multiple inputs but, even that transmission is into the top gear way before most of us think it should be. But, even as one is entering a freeway, based on medium throttle position which, may or may not be enough for the given traffic conditions, those engines PULL quite well at lower rpms. While I certainly don't like lugging an engine either, it's just not in my DNA to try and blow it up just to hear it. Your choice here Partner.
Scott

I too like running as low rpm’s as possible without lugging the motor. With this bike when in 6th gear at 50-55 mph if I twist the throttle it lugs. Of course this is with a 10-20 mph headwind. I’m 5’9” 210 lbs.

 

[melnc]

I too like running as low rpm’s as possible without lugging the motor. With this bike when in 6th gear at 50-55 mph if I twist the throttle it lugs. Of course this is with a 10-20 mph headwind. I’m 5’9” 210 lbs.

Still learning this bike

 

[dduelin]

Sounds about right. Fairly often a thread comes along with a concern about how the NC engine feels at certain RPMs or speaking to fears of lugging the engine. Honda engineering did a good job and in 12 years we don't have threads about engine problems caused by asking too much out of the engine at too low RPMs. If you think you are lugging the engine then one should choose a lower gear but with the DCT version you come to realize what we think is lugging really isn't most of the time because the DCT will not downshift to a lower gear in response to the situation. Good engineering has designed the shift parameters to avoid damage from lugging. Now in practice, we will often override the DCT by thumbing a downshift because it doesn't feel good or we want more acceleration but the DCT's computer is programmed to allow it if left to it's own.

 

[FIRE UP]

I too like running as low rpm’s as possible without lugging the motor. With this bike when in 6th gear at 50-55 mph if I twist the throttle it lugs. Of course this is with a 10-20 mph headwind. I’m 5’9” 210 lbs.

melnc,
Well Sir, ANY engine running in ANY vehicle or even a motorcycle running at the rpms lower than peak HP will not have neck snapping instantaneous throttle response when cruising along at peak gas mileage for a given speed and you suddently try to accelerate. If you want instantaneous neck snapping throttle response, that's what GEARS are for! With the DCT version, a movement of about a half inch with your left thumb will grab as many lower downshifts as needed for the intent. Obviously with a manual, there's a bit more body (human) parts that are needed for a downshift to accelerate in the intended manor. But the point is, be happy with what that engine can do for you at those lower rpms for freeway speeds. Things like pretty high gas mileage and while about 99.99999999999% of the NC owners would never reach this point, the lower the rpms for all your longer distance runs )freeways and looooong country roads (and even short darts here and there too), the longer that engine will last before premature wear makes one rebuild it.
Scott

 

[dduelin]

This is a 13-year-old joke that started with a response from one of Honda's engineers to the media's question about how the engine for the NC series of motorcycles was created. He said they cut the Honda Jazz (Fit) engine in half. This was enough of an explanation for many motorcycle "specialists" in the media. As we can see, this will remain as a technical "fact" probably forever.

While the "half a Jazz/Fit engine" story did come out of a joke the NC project team leader shared with a room full of motorcycle journalists there is some substance to the story behind the offhand comment. For the first time in known Honda Motor Co history, that motorcycle project team met regularly with a team from the automotive engine division for two years during the NC development. The shape of the NC's consolidated intake tract, the nearly identical cylinder bore & piston stroke, combustion chamber shape, siamesed compact exhaust ports and placement of the catalytic converter directly downstream of the block are fundamentally the same as the 1.5 liter auto engine and had not been seen before in motorcycle engines but are common in Honda automobile engines. The late Kevin Ash wrote his NC700X first look review reporting these design details after attending that Honda product release and hearing the joke first hand. These years later the only thing that people remember is the joke and not the design details behind it.

 

[lootzyan]

... For the first time in known Honda Motor Co history, that motorcycle project team met regularly with a team from the automotive engine division for two years during the NC development. ...

Yes, I remember that almost the entire summer of 2012, before my NCXD came to my dealer in August 2012, I read probably all these stories in the motorcycle blogosphere. Forum in the UK was already in full bloom. I was curious what this "New Concept" could be. After some time, after learning more about the design of NC and then CTX, I realized how much B.S. it was written by many "experts" on the subject. Only DCT was new in motorcycles. And this is when many car companies started to withdraw from the widespread use of DCT in popular models.
When it comes to the engine design in NC/CTX, I can ask myself what special things Honda motorcycle designers could have learned from their colleagues from the automotive industry? After all, Honda already had much more advanced engine models in use at that time, right? Without going into too much detail, the question is: why did the designers choose an outdated valve drive system that requires frequent adjustment? I performed this type of valve adjustment professionally in vehicles at the turn of the '70s and '80s. Later, in my '99 Nissan Altima, over 250,000 miles and 22 years, I have never adjusted the valves.
It would be better if someone from Honda said honestly: we chose such an outdated design to reduce cost, engine weight and ... blah blah blah B.S.

 

[Dan German]

75 mph on the highway? Ride comfortably in 6th, and drop to 5th if you need to overtake. Neither is doing any harm to the engine at that speed, and it’s why the gears are there.

 

[ElReal]

Hello all from South Texas. I’m new to the NC700X world and I am liking this bike pretty good but I am curious about something. I usually do not shift gears from 5th to 6th until I hit 60-65 mph otherwise 6th gear is sluggish and there is very little roll on power. is this a normal shifting pattern for the 700x? Texas highways are usually 75 mph. running 70-75mph the rpms are running about 4k which I don’t think that is a problem. bike seems to like it in that rpm range. I have yet to hit hit the rev limiter when shifting gears but it is on my to do list.Bike is a 2013 model manual transmission

Running on the flats at 2100 rpm 6th gear works for me. Maybe that's just because I was used to luggin' a HAWG

 

[dduelin]

Yes, I remember that almost the entire summer of 2012, before my NCXD came to my dealer in August 2012, I read probably all these stories in the motorcycle blogosphere. Forum in the UK was already in full bloom. I was curious what this "New Concept" could be. After some time, after learning more about the design of NC and then CTX, I realized how much B.S. it was written by many "experts" on the subject. Only DCT was new in motorcycles. And this is when many car companies started to withdraw from the widespread use of DCT in popular models.
When it comes to the engine design in NC/CTX, I can ask myself what special things Honda motorcycle designers could have learned from their colleagues from the automotive industry? After all, Honda already had much more advanced engine models in use at that time, right? Without going into too much detail, the question is: why did the designers choose an outdated valve drive system that requires frequent adjustment? I performed this type of valve adjustment professionally in vehicles at the turn of the '70s and '80s. Later, in my '99 Nissan Altima, over 250,000 miles and 22 years, I have never adjusted the valves.
It would be better if someone from Honda said honestly: we chose such an outdated design to reduce cost, engine weight and ... blah blah blah B.S.

I appreciate your opinion and don't disagree that there is a lot of BS in Honda marketing nevertheless one can't really dispute the commonality of the technology in this motorcycle engine and that of Honda automobile engines and that mix of low tech and high tech was the "special things" project leader Uchida's team incorporated into the NC. It's easy to forget the NC came to be during the Great Recession and came to market in 2011 at a very low price point compared to 600cc sport bikes and the other 650cc class standards already in Asian Big Four showrooms. It was going to be economical and not powered by hydrogen fuel cell technology. It's not a traditional motorcycle engine that produces power in the mid and high range at the expense of low down power where internal friction is the least. Instead of exciting journalists and riders by chasing 2 more horsepower and 20 less grams of engine weight compared to a previous model the NC engine goal was boosting fuel efficiency instead of boosting power density. Even the outdated screw & tappet valve train contributed to the goal of lowering internal friction by using roller bearings in the rocker arms. Aluminum roller rocker arms had never been used in motorcycles.