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DCT "DRIVE mode" shifts poorly in traffic

Tao

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Hi members,
I bought a beautiful 2013 Honda NC700x DCT with 7,500 miles on it a few weeks ago, I love the practical frunk to carry stuff and the DCT to manage gear shifting like a big scooter.
most of my commute is in the dense urban area of Miami Beach with lots of traffic lights and stop signs every few blocks.
In D mode the DCT shifts quickly at 2000 RPM, first 3 gears seem to be OKAY then engine lugs as it shifts to 4,5 and 6th gears, the higher the gear the worse it gets.
At 38 MPH the DCT shifts to 6th gear and the engine makes a horrible sound from 38 - 45, if traffic flow is between 38 - 45 then engine suffers the whole time until higher speed.
Shifiting is quick and smooth, but the engine RPM seems too low for the gear.
Sports mode seems to be working fine, but is too jerky in very slow traffic

I have done the following so far

drive chain slack adjustment with the aligment tool, I noticed a few links with slight kink and plan to replace it with OEM chain and sprockets, torqu the rear wheel nuts to spec

both OEM tires seem to be good

DCT initialization DDNCD, " DS - "went away a few seconds after restarting the engine not 3 minutes as metioned. I have noticed the process didn't shift through all it's gears like the Honda Goldwing DCT initialization video on youtube

Throttle cable free play is 5mm within the spec

break pads are good

fuel economy is poor, on 2 separate full tank refill I only manage 156 miles on the trip odometer

engine revs beautifully when in neutral

Please share your thoughts
 
From my experience, that's the way the 2013 DCT works in D mode. I'd suggest using Sport mode, or if that is not acceptable, use manual mode so that you can shift it when you want it to shift.

I would expect twice the life from an OEM drive chain, but if yours is already kinked, replacement may be your best option. Your sprockets should not need replacement at 7500 miles, but I'd suggest a better chain than OEM, perhaps a DID VX2.

You might want to "read" your spark plugs, not at all to see if the plugs are bad, but to see if the fueling is the same on both cylinders. Both plugs should look off-white to light tan, identical to each other, and not wet or fouled. 7500 is low mileage for a 6 year old bike. Perhaps it sat a long time.
 
Hi members,
I bought a beautiful 2013 Honda NC700x DCT with 7,500 miles on it a few weeks ago, I love the practical frunk to carry stuff and the DCT to manage gear shifting like a big scooter.
most of my commute is in the dense urban area of Miami Beach with lots of traffic lights and stop signs every few blocks.
In D mode the DCT shifts quickly at 2000 RPM, first 3 gears seem to be OKAY then engine lugs as it shifts to 4,5 and 6th gears, the higher the gear the worse it gets.
At 38 MPH the DCT shifts to 6th gear and the engine makes a horrible sound from 38 - 45, if traffic flow is between 38 - 45 then engine suffers the whole time until higher speed.
Shifiting is quick and smooth, but the engine RPM seems too low for the gear.
Sports mode seems to be working fine, but is too jerky in very slow traffic

I have done the following so far

drive chain slack adjustment with the aligment tool, I noticed a few links with slight kink and plan to replace it with OEM chain and sprockets, torqu the rear wheel nuts to spec

both OEM tires seem to be good

DCT initialization DDNCD, " DS - "went away a few seconds after restarting the engine not 3 minutes as metioned. I have noticed the process didn't shift through all it's gears like the Honda Goldwing DCT initialization video on youtube

Throttle cable free play is 5mm within the spec

break pads are good

fuel economy is poor, on 2 separate full tank refill I only manage 156 miles on the trip odometer

engine revs beautifully when in neutral

Please share your thoughts
The shift points are entirely normal for your bike, the bike will absolutely shift into 6th at 37 mph under light load. The lugging feeling is somewhat subjective with some owners ok with it and others besides themselves with fear of damaging the engine. The owners manual will give you the same or similar uncommonly low shift points for both manual and DCT transmissions. What you feel is valid and has been discussed since this bike was introduced in 2011. However, as described I’m going with “it’s normal”.

I would check the fuel mileage a tank or three to ascertain the actual miles per gallon. I’m speculating the low fuel indicator came on at 156 miles and there is still 1 plus gallons remaining in the tank with mpg around 60 which could be low or normal considering how the bike is ridden, loaded, or filled. Relying on the indicated mpg readout or long hand mpg calculated on 1 tank could give errors. Give yourself some more data points.

What you can do is ride it in Sport (S) mode to raise the shift points or manually override D to keep rpms over 3000 where the engine throbs less.
 
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5mm throttle slack on this system doesn't help. I almost completely eradicated the throttle slack on mine while ensuring that the throttle action didn't become stiff as a result. That makes for smoother throttle modulation. I also lubricated the twistgrip barrell with some light silicone grease. That also helped. The EFI can be slightly abrupt off idle on these bikes so everything one can do to relieve that helps.

On the gear shifting I generally use S1 on mine in conjunction with manual shifting override as required for normal riding. If in very slow trickle traffic I then use D only, but switch between D and S1 depending on traffic speed. Again manual overriding is used as required. After that it was a matter of training my right wrist/hand to be smoother in reaction to any given situation.
 
On the gear shifting I generally use S1 on mine in conjunction with manual shifting override as required for normal riding. If in very slow trickle traffic I then use D only, but switch between D and S1 depending on traffic speed. Again manual overriding is used as required. After that it was a matter of training my right wrist/hand to be smoother in reaction to any given situation.

To avoid confusion on the terminology, Griff uses S1 to refer to one of the 3 sport modes available on later model 700/750 DCT versions. The 2013 US spec NC700X has just D and S modes, hence no S1, S2, or S3.
 
From my experience, that's the way the 2013 DCT works in D mode. I'd suggest using Sport mode, or if that is not acceptable, use manual mode so that you can shift it when you want it to shift.

I would expect twice the life from an OEM drive chain, but if yours is already kinked, replacement may be your best option. Your sprockets should not need replacement at 7500 miles, but I'd suggest a better chain than OEM, perhaps a DID VX2.

You might want to "read" your spark plugs, not at all to see if the plugs are bad, but to see if the fueling is the same on both cylinders. Both plugs should look off-white to light tan, identical to each other, and not wet or fouled. 7500 is low mileage for a 6 year old bike. Perhaps it sat a long time.

My 2013 only had 8300 miles on it. My 2014 Harley Street Glide I just sold had 7500 miles on it when I bought it a few months ago. Those are average miles for someone that doesn't have as much time to ride as others, and can't use for a commuter. Doesn't necessarily mean it has sat for a long period of time, just longer intervals between rides and for shorter rides. But it could also mean it sat for a long time too...Lol.



To the OP:

I find D mode pretty useless in my 2013 and ride in S mode 90% of the time. The only time I use D is if I am cruising in S mode around 55ish and it keeps downshifting to 5th gear, I will pop it in D so it will remain in 6th until I need to pass a car or slow to a stop, then I will manually downshift or put it back in S and go again. Only a minor inconvenience, doesn't bother me at all. Pretty pleased with it actually.

As for miles to a tank, please explain what you mean 156 miles per tank. Is that immediately when the last bar on fuel gauge starts flashing? If so, that's about what mine gets. See my other thread (What an idiot.....Road trip) to see that I ran out of gas on mine this past Saturday at 197 miles on that tank, which put mine getting 53 mpg. The reason this happened, was the last time I put gas in it, the last bar just had started flashing and I put 2.8 gallons in it, meaning it had another 0.9 gallons til completely empty, so I figured it had another 50 miles in it before running out, but I guess I just cut it too close that morning. LOL. Now I know.

I don't see anything out of the ordinary with what you describe about your bike when compared to what I have experienced with mine over the past few weeks of owning it. I don't ride in city traffic often like you do, so I can see where that could get frustrating. Maybe you will figure out what works best for you. Maybe manual mode?
 
Thank you all for the great advices.
I saw a post about the boosterplug can it make the NC700X run smoother ?
 
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