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Honda NT1100

If it has a shaft drive and cruise control, I might just start obsessing over it instead of the FJR1300ES
 
I've said many times a NC1000X with a definite street bias and adventure tour styling would hit a sweet spot for me. Still sounds like pie in the sky right now. One can always hope. I really don't want another chain drive touring bike though, no matter how easy they are to take care of.
 
If it has a shaft drive and cruise control, I might just start obsessing over it instead of the FJR1300ES
I just did a little looking. If you like shaft drive, Honda may not be your brand. It looks like with the ST and the VFR now gone, only Goldwing, Fury, and Shadow models currently use shaft drive. (If I missed one, let me know). CVT belt drive scoots the scooters
 
It's got my attention. 100 hp horizontal narrow twin with bags. Possibility of cruise control. Shouldn't be much heavier than the NC. If they get the styling right like the photos. (White). Now if they do something with that supercharger patent!
 
More rumor but updated rumor if that counts.

The sketch shows a chain outline and front sprocket outline....
 
If you don't ride a lot, it really doesn't matter how your bike is powered and MOST motorcyclists ride about 2500-3000 miles a year. In their case, a chain and sprockets or belt will last longer than they own the bike probably. At least 10 years.

But lets say you ride a lot. 20-25,000 miles a year or more like some of us do. A chain and sprockets will last a season MAYBE 2. I average about 24,700 miles a year. The original chain and sprocket set on my CB 1100 lasted 36,000 miles at which time it was $400 parts and labor to replace. I've now ridden 25,000 miles on the second set. So if it lives as long as the first set I have about 11,000 miles to go before it needs another $400 repair... or $800 in 75,000 miles.

Lets compare that to the shaft drive on my ST 1300 and my FJR. I put 110,000 miles on the ST and 38,000 miles on the FJR (before trading it in) and my cost to repair for 148,000 miles was $ ZERO.

There is some maintenance with both systems. With the chain it's adjustment and lubrication. With the shaft it was changing the rear end oil. If you ask me which one I prefer doing, it's changing the rear end fluid on the shaft. It's like changing the oil on the NC only skip the filters part of the process. Pull a drain plug, drain the fluid, replace the drain plug, pour in 7 oz of 80/90 wt oil once a year, twice if you're anal.

All that said, the CB 1100 should be chain drive, if nothing else for looks and tradition. I have no gripe with that.

But a sport touring bike like the NT 1100 designed with fairing and bags to go cross country and back really should have a shaft.

The AT in my opinion should also have a shaft, because it's designed to compete with the shaft driven GS BMW and the shaft driven Yamaha Super Tenere' meant for cross country riding

Going with chains on bikes like these is really cheap on Honda's part, who used to make shaft drives available on bikes as small as 500cc. (my one grandsons Yamaha 50 is shaft drive)

I wish my NC750X had shaft drive like the 80's CX500/650 and CB650/700 Nighthawks (and cruise since it already has fly by wire throttle.. and while I'm at it, also hydraulic lifters)
 
I prefer the weight saving offered by chain drive. Most of us relish a bit of bike maintenance too so changing a chain is no hardship, I owned a FJR for years and I cannot deny when riding through sleet, snow and rain I got a nice warm glow inside knowing I had a shaft drive. However a chain drive with a good oiler is not far off offering the same level of maintenance free reliability. I would hate my NC to have shaft drive. It can barely pull the skin off a rice pudding now, so a power sapping shaft would turn it into a real dead slug.
 
I prefer the weight saving offered by chain drive. Most of us relish a bit of bike maintenance too so changing a chain is no hardship, I owned a FJR for years and I cannot deny when riding through sleet, snow and rain I got a nice warm glow inside knowing I had a shaft drive. However a chain drive with a good oiler is not far off offering the same level of maintenance free reliability. I would hate my NC to have shaft drive. It can barely pull the skin off a rice pudding now, so a power sapping shaft would turn it into a real dead slug.
The NC isnt about power....my Suzuki C50 Boulevard is shaft drive, weighs 100 pounds more than the NC700, only has 42 BHP and still moves....The NC700 would be perfect with shaft (didnt the NT700 come with shaft drive.....)...Honda could change the gearing and go to shaft drive without losing HP or the speed it has.....hydraulic lifters....not sold on them....HD has hydraulic lifters and every single time I stop at the HD shops, someone has a bike in getting the upper or lower or both rebuilt on their engines...cruise control,,,meh....I like the setup I have and probably would never use it....my Interstate commute for work in my car is 80 miles round trip and never use CC.....only time I use CC is long trips to Florida (about 1% of the time).......anyone wanting speed, go buy a crotch rocket,,,,,anyone wanting CC, go buy a Gold wing....all this wish list things would increase the price of the bike, and it barely makes it own in its class now....
 
Each to their own. I own a NC750S and like it a lot but it is only just powerful enough in my opinion. A 750 with 50 odd hp takes some explaining.
 
..HD has hydraulic lifters and every single time I stop at the HD shops, someone has a bike in getting the upper or lower or both rebuilt on their engines.

Poor engine design, inadequate cooling, and low oil pressure cause HD hydraulic lifters to leak down, and cause all kinds of problems.
How come Indian has no issues with their hydraulic lifters?
 
Each to their own. I own a NC750S and like it a lot but it is only just powerful enough in my opinion. A 750 with 50 odd hp takes some explaining.
The explanation is simple. The NC is designed to be efficient as possible while still delivering easygoing fun. There are plenty of bikes which are geared towards speed if one needs to reach felony speeds a second or two faster.

As far as I'm concerned Honda knocked it out of the park on those counts.
 
I really don’t buy the NC is designed to be as efficient as possible, if you mean Honda did something special with the engine. If you rode a Fireblade at the same speed as a NC you would get similar fuel economy. I did over 70 mpg on a ride on my FJR once, in terrible weather so low speed. You get great economy from an NC because it is slow. I own one, I like it.
 
I really don’t buy the NC is designed to be as efficient as possible, if you mean Honda did something special with the engine. If you rode a Fireblade at the same speed as a NC you would get similar fuel economy. I did over 70 mpg on a ride on my FJR once, in terrible weather so low speed. You get great economy from an NC because it is slow. I own one, I like it.
70 mpg one time is meaningless. Track your mileage over multiple tanks and you’ll be able to present accurate data. Honda went to some length to reduce internal friction and improve volumetric efficiency compared to similar displacement twins. You are not the first to make the inaccurate claim that low rpms is the only reason for high mpg.
 
Over 70 mpg once on the FJR does not directly compare with my NC’s 76 mpg over 51,000 miles, and high tank of 94.5 mpg.

Read up on the NC engine design and how Honda reduced friction and reduced the number of moving parts to improve efficiency.
 
I definitely prefer shaft over chain. I'm one of those anal guys that has to clean and lube the chain every 500 miles. On the dot. Even if I'm in the middle of a ride. And then log it in my bike log when I get home. Don't judge.
 
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