Badger
New Member
Have ridden both for extended period. Found the DCT to be the choice anyday.
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DCT or not?
- Thread starter go.duesouth
- Start date
Mi_ka
New Member
If you succeed back-to-back riding, please report your view since you are dirt oriented.
I hopefully guess Honda is working on a NC based off road tourer for the near future. So in your shoes I would get a cheap used bike that I would swap to that possible future off road tourer. When such use is intended, resale values goes down in dirt dust so a cheap used bike looks a better choice and chances are it would be a standard and not a DCT. Ask Christian7 with his long past of long range off road touring and his recent experience on the DCT what he suggests.
This is so as to save guys switching bikes from declutching instead of panic-braking.If you insist I guess getting the Integra brake configuration should not be a hard modification...
skully93
New Member
I chose the DCT because 1) I'm used to my auto scooters and 2) I spend the vast majority of my commutes in traffic that is pretty dense. Even though I don't own anything that is totally manual since ditching the car, I understand why people love them. Mine was also the same price as the standard version because it had been on the floor for a few months.
searsboy
New Member
I test drove both and decided on the DCT...mainly because I've been riding 40 years on a lot of different bikes, but never an auto. It was fun to ride! During each extended test drive I found very little difference in power,handling and characteristics.
I've got about 12K miles on her now. At first it took a little getting used to not using left hand or foot for controls and for slow speed manuevers without having a clutch to feather. Lately I have been venturing more and more on unpaved roads and so far the DCT does very well. It's so EZ to change gears while standing on the pegs! A skidplate is about the only accessory that I had a hard time finding. I'm planning an offroad ride next week to some fairly challenging riding that I will report on upon return.
I've got a couple of videos from some of the unpaved riding. They're in the video section or PM me if you're interested.
happy
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Looks like the DCT on this Honda has no serious issues, so it is a recommended model to buy.
soggybottom
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It looks like older long time riders like myself choose DCT all for similar reasons, we've all owned lots of bikes of all segments over the years and like to try the latest and greatest innovations. I like the 6 speed auto shift mostly for the fun of it but @ 64 I'm having some trouble with hard to pull clutches so its ++ for me.
To the OP, I am thinking of selling my NC700DCT in favor of the CTX700DCT, my NC is at my home in NC if you are anywhere near there but I won't be out there till mid April.
I like the CTX for the low and wide seat for all day comfort but when I sit on it feels kinda wimpy, so I'm in the "should I" stage of buying, I really like the new CTX1300 but is not being offered with DCT.
To the OP, I am thinking of selling my NC700DCT in favor of the CTX700DCT, my NC is at my home in NC if you are anywhere near there but I won't be out there till mid April.
I like the CTX for the low and wide seat for all day comfort but when I sit on it feels kinda wimpy, so I'm in the "should I" stage of buying, I really like the new CTX1300 but is not being offered with DCT.
TechFrog
New Member
DCT vs Standard
I'm not sure if you got the answer you were looking for or not yet, but I'll chime in as I have ridden both, and have also logged about 500,000 miles on various motorcycles over the years.
First point to note, you really can't tell the difference in power. You may know by now the DCT model is a bit heavier, but when you have a bike with such a good wide band of torque, and with a low center of gravity, the weight and power differences is negligible. I own the DCT, and did buy it before riding the standard, but then rode my friend's standard (that he rented) and we switched back and forth for a few hours. I think we logged about 200 miles or so that day.
Standard...
Pros:
Less expensive to purchase, easy to adapt to riding since you are likely familiar with clutch/gear etc.
Technically it's lighter, but as I've said, it's completely negligible.
Cons:
It's easy to hit the 6500 rev limiter until you are familiar with the bike and get used to shifting earlier than you're used to. (I didn't have a problem with it)
Then the obvious one, sore clutch hand if you have to deal with any stop-n-go traffic.
DCT...
Pros: Transmission! You never have to worry about the rev limiter. Also, when you take off in traffic on a fresh green light, there is almost no bike that can bolt across the intersection quicker. Green light = Twist and that intersection is a memory! A Standard would have to be waiting in 1st gear, holding the clutch in, and most people don't wait the entire time in 1st.
There is a slight misconception amongst riding "purists" that having an automatic takes the fun out of it, or diminishes what biking is all about. I'll explain why this argument doesn't apply. First off, you have three driving modes. Drive, Sport and Manual. When I ride on mountain twisties, I'm either in Manual or Sport mode, depending how lazy I decide to be. When in Manual mode, it's every bit as fun as with a standard bike, but with a benefit; You don't need to take your hand off the throttle to shift. Dual clutch means seamless and quick, even under full acceleration. When in manual mode, you are in full control of your power-band at all times and it's quite fun.
Drive mode is for everyday easy riding and is great in traffic.
Another pro, at least here in the States is, only the DCT model gives you ABS braking. ABS saved me from going down ONCE back in about 2008 on my VStrom 650. From that point, I try to have ABS on everything I buy, if possible.
Last positive is the parking brake. Because you can't park in gear, Honda includes a fantastic parking brake. In my opinion, now being spoiled with it, I think even standard bikes would benefit from it. Once, idling on a hill, waiting for a long light to turn green, I put on the brake (still in Drive mode) and was able to take off and fix my glove, all in about 15 seconds. I would have had to pull over or stop the engine on a standard bike.
Cons: The only real cons is that the DCT is not perfect. You can get around the imperfections just fine, but I'll stress, the imperfections are minor. First thing is, in some situations, Drive mode shifts too quickly while Sport mode takes to long to shift. A lot has to do with throttle input, but I would prefer that it had a mode right smack in the middle. I would call that middle mode Drive, the current Drive mode would be called economy and Sport mode would stay as it is. That being said, it's minor because once you get used to riding the different modes, you can seamlessly make any mode work fine. In the city, I found Sport mode used up a little too much fuel running at the higher RPM (logical), but it's nice in heavy traffic and mountains. Drive mode works with most every other situation, and as I've said, Manual works at anytime you feel to take control.
As a side note, all modes are idiot proof. Even Manual mode with downshift if you forget since the engine isn't going to run at 500rpm or whatever.
Take what I've said with a grain of salt. Everything is subjective and for me, the pro's for the DCT outweigh the very minor con's and I am very happy with it. If and when the NC750X arrives Stateside, I will most definitely get a DCT again.
I do some off-road, but not enough to change my mind about the transmission. If I did a lot of it, say, 40%-50%, I might favor a standard, but as someone noted, if you can find a way to disengage the ABS, you might be better off, but that actually wouldn't be a deal breaker for me.
In closing, go with what you feel is best for you. I'm sure most people in this group will agree, you won't be unhappy with either choice. Also, let me add, in a 190 mile ride from station to station with me on my DCT and another friend on his standard, the DCT got 70mpg to his 68mpg on the very same trip (I don't know his shifting habits). This trip included a 5000 foot elevation gain too! I detailed this on another thread, but let's just say MPG should not enter into your buying decision.
Cheers,
Jim
I'm not sure if you got the answer you were looking for or not yet, but I'll chime in as I have ridden both, and have also logged about 500,000 miles on various motorcycles over the years.
First point to note, you really can't tell the difference in power. You may know by now the DCT model is a bit heavier, but when you have a bike with such a good wide band of torque, and with a low center of gravity, the weight and power differences is negligible. I own the DCT, and did buy it before riding the standard, but then rode my friend's standard (that he rented) and we switched back and forth for a few hours. I think we logged about 200 miles or so that day.
Standard...
Pros:
Less expensive to purchase, easy to adapt to riding since you are likely familiar with clutch/gear etc.
Technically it's lighter, but as I've said, it's completely negligible.
Cons:
It's easy to hit the 6500 rev limiter until you are familiar with the bike and get used to shifting earlier than you're used to. (I didn't have a problem with it)
Then the obvious one, sore clutch hand if you have to deal with any stop-n-go traffic.
DCT...
Pros: Transmission! You never have to worry about the rev limiter. Also, when you take off in traffic on a fresh green light, there is almost no bike that can bolt across the intersection quicker. Green light = Twist and that intersection is a memory! A Standard would have to be waiting in 1st gear, holding the clutch in, and most people don't wait the entire time in 1st.
There is a slight misconception amongst riding "purists" that having an automatic takes the fun out of it, or diminishes what biking is all about. I'll explain why this argument doesn't apply. First off, you have three driving modes. Drive, Sport and Manual. When I ride on mountain twisties, I'm either in Manual or Sport mode, depending how lazy I decide to be. When in Manual mode, it's every bit as fun as with a standard bike, but with a benefit; You don't need to take your hand off the throttle to shift. Dual clutch means seamless and quick, even under full acceleration. When in manual mode, you are in full control of your power-band at all times and it's quite fun.
Drive mode is for everyday easy riding and is great in traffic.
Another pro, at least here in the States is, only the DCT model gives you ABS braking. ABS saved me from going down ONCE back in about 2008 on my VStrom 650. From that point, I try to have ABS on everything I buy, if possible.
Last positive is the parking brake. Because you can't park in gear, Honda includes a fantastic parking brake. In my opinion, now being spoiled with it, I think even standard bikes would benefit from it. Once, idling on a hill, waiting for a long light to turn green, I put on the brake (still in Drive mode) and was able to take off and fix my glove, all in about 15 seconds. I would have had to pull over or stop the engine on a standard bike.
Cons: The only real cons is that the DCT is not perfect. You can get around the imperfections just fine, but I'll stress, the imperfections are minor. First thing is, in some situations, Drive mode shifts too quickly while Sport mode takes to long to shift. A lot has to do with throttle input, but I would prefer that it had a mode right smack in the middle. I would call that middle mode Drive, the current Drive mode would be called economy and Sport mode would stay as it is. That being said, it's minor because once you get used to riding the different modes, you can seamlessly make any mode work fine. In the city, I found Sport mode used up a little too much fuel running at the higher RPM (logical), but it's nice in heavy traffic and mountains. Drive mode works with most every other situation, and as I've said, Manual works at anytime you feel to take control.
As a side note, all modes are idiot proof. Even Manual mode with downshift if you forget since the engine isn't going to run at 500rpm or whatever.
Take what I've said with a grain of salt. Everything is subjective and for me, the pro's for the DCT outweigh the very minor con's and I am very happy with it. If and when the NC750X arrives Stateside, I will most definitely get a DCT again.
I do some off-road, but not enough to change my mind about the transmission. If I did a lot of it, say, 40%-50%, I might favor a standard, but as someone noted, if you can find a way to disengage the ABS, you might be better off, but that actually wouldn't be a deal breaker for me.
In closing, go with what you feel is best for you. I'm sure most people in this group will agree, you won't be unhappy with either choice. Also, let me add, in a 190 mile ride from station to station with me on my DCT and another friend on his standard, the DCT got 70mpg to his 68mpg on the very same trip (I don't know his shifting habits). This trip included a 5000 foot elevation gain too! I detailed this on another thread, but let's just say MPG should not enter into your buying decision.
Cheers,
Jim
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