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Honda Powersports 2019 Model News Releases

The fuel tank size has hashed and rehashed ..........but the unwritten standard is 200 miles before “reserve”. The NC can do that. Think range not tank size.

Big ADV bike, touring and sport touring bikes can often do 300 miles while many sport bikes or duel sport often don’t make 150 miles. VFR1200x will do 200 miles using 4.5 gallons of a 5.7 tank.
So many people here use their NC700/750x bikes for non-intended purposes. Honda designed these as "commuter" bikes and for that they excel. A 200 mile + range for a commuter bike is plenty. But throw on luggage boxes, camping gear, weight in those boxes, add a touring windshield and the fuel economy drops ... as does the range.

Now it could be suggested that those of us who modify our bikes with aluminum or plastic boxes and big pieces of polycarbonate should choose a different bike, but there are compelling reasons why we chose the NC7--x and its not unreasonable to WISH for something like a bigger fuel tank. Doubt that will ever be built into the bike unless there is a complete re-design.

Honda gave us a mild-mannered adventure bike. Exactly what many of us were looking for. But as with hard core adventure bikes, we modify them and wish for more. Given the number of forum members carrying extra fuel in MSR bottles on these bikes I suspect that we will never see the end to the beating death of this dead horse.
 
Motorcycles similar to the NC7-0X with larger fuel tanks are always missing an important feature, the frunk. As much as I’d like more fuel range, I wouldn’t give up the frunk to get it.
 
As a commuter bike, it excels. My commute is 11 miles each way. With running errands and various other jaunts, I fill up once a week. I can go two weeks if I don’t take the long way home.

I took a trip from Michigan to Montana this summer on my ST1300 (300 mi range). One guy had a Yamaha Bolt with a 3 gallon tank with about 140 mile range (with highway speeds and head winds). He carried a MSR bottle as insurance. We also had a siphon hose to pull from the larger bikes if needed. Funny thing is that the larger towns are all spaced about 100-120 miles apart through North Dakota and Montana on US-2. So we timed our gas stops based on the map. It worked out ok because the group was ready to stretch legs and use the restroom every two hours anyway due to fatigue fitting the winds across those flat lands.

We did hit construction on US-2 in the middle of nowhere, Montana. The detour would have added many, many miles to our route. There were signs warning motorcycles to take an alternate route. We figured that if an 18-wheeler could get through, it should be passible by motorcycle. Luckily we got through the 20 miles of gravel ok. Otherwise, we would have had to use the MSR and the siphon hose to get all six bikes to the next available fuel.

I plan to take a MSR fuel bottle with me on the NC when I travel any distance. My old camping stove used the MSR bottle so it was normal to pack along. My new stove uses the backpacking propane/butane canisters, so the fuel will be an extra item I’ll need to remember to pack. I’ve helped other riders on the side of the freeway more times than I have had to use the extra gas myself.

One downside is that those MSR bottles are a real pain to refill at the gas station. Much easier to refill at home from the 1-gallon lawnmower gas can.

JT
 
The absolute worse mileage I have recorded on the NC was ~45 mpg running 85-90 mph into a stiff headwind on a cold day (40 degrees, yeah I know). The bigger, faster and more capable bikes I own or have owned barely exceed that tank range at that speed. I think for most riders it's just a thought exercise, they aren't riding anywhere that needs more range, and don't ride anything tank to tank to tank. For those that are then modify or equip for it to do so.
 
I'm headed to the big IMS show in Long Beach on Saturday. Hopefully a new NC750 will be there. Even better, if they have one in the fleet of bikes that Honda will have for demo rides!
BMW will be there too for the first time in my memory.

Where I live the past week has been traffic hell. With PCH being closed because of the fires the commuting cagers have all decided to try to use side streets instead of the 405 freeway. Normal residential streets are clogged, intersections blocked- all because they either won't use public transportation or because they don't ride a motorcycle.
I feel Honda salespeople should stand on the street corner near me and hold up a photo of the bike and a sign saying "60+ mpg city and lane splitting".
 
If one goal is new riders, Honda should offer the DCT in the 300 and 500 bikes.
 
If one goal is new riders, Honda should offer the DCT in the 300 and 500 bikes.

Plus, it tees up buyers of bigger, upgraded bikes with DCT. Given the absence of other manufacturers using DCT, Honda can “bake in” a customer base to some degree.


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If one goal is new riders, Honda should offer the DCT in the 300 and 500 bikes.

As far as small automatics go, the Forza 300 is highway capable, passenger capable, fully faired, fuel injected, and fully automatic, but apparently it did not interest buyers as the last model year made was 2016.

If Honda took a CB300F or a Rebel 300 and put a DCT on it with a $700 upcharge, would dealers order any? Could they sell them? I don’t know. Going to the trouble of designing the 300cc DCT model may depend on what the rest of the world market wants, as it’s been pointed out that the US market is a tiny piece of Honda’s motorcycle business.

As a side note, CanAm chose to go with CVT automatic as the only transmission choice on their new mid size Ryker three wheeler, presumably to attract new riders.

For low end motorcycle models, either CVT, or a centrifugal clutch and clutchless shifting as on the new Super Cub might be a more cost effective design than DCT.

Plus, it tees up buyers of bigger, upgraded bikes with DCT. Given the absence of other manufacturers using DCT, Honda can “bake in” a customer base to some degree.

GregC has a good point though. A larger Honda dealership manager told me that the goal with selling small machines like the Grom to beginners and returning riders was to have them return a year later and purchase a larger bike.
 
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The general gain is that the 19 inch will roll over bumps and rough roads better than the 17 (your AT sports a 21 inch front for that reason). More dual sport/adventure tires sizes may also be available.
Yeah, but in reality though, when exactly does a 19" wheel trump a 17" wheel? I've had my NC700X on some fairly rough roads and haven't noticed a huge difference. What are people rolling over on their CB500X's that they need 2 more inches to make it? If its just marketing, then I get it. People think they need it to be ADV.

VFR1200x will do 200 miles using 4.5 gallons of a 5.7 tank.
How? My VFR shows completely empty (on miles left to go) at 170 miles and takes 5.3 gallons to refill it at that point.

If one goal is new riders, Honda should offer the DCT in the 300 and 500 bikes.
Does anyone have any real, hard numbers on DCT sales? I'm curious how well they actually do.
 
My thoughts too.

My biggest gripe is the size of the fuel tank. It should be larger, by at least 1 gallon.

A more 'adventure' oriented suspension would be nice too, but I can live with what they have or buy some aftermarket.

Not a commuter bike for me. I actually like the concept of a tame adventure style bike that can be easily adapted to travel, is nice and maneuverable for riding locally but has easy road manners and is comfortable on highways.

Let kids have loud bikes and let the accountants and dentists in their mid-life crisis periods buy H-Ds. I'll take a practical bike with good manners and a quiet muffler.

I suspect it may be offered for sale in the USA for as long as it is popular in Europe and other parts of the world. As long as production numbers are high enough globally there will be some version of the NC700x/750x offered.


Hey, I am an Accountant and have never owned a Harley. I had 1 BMW and the rest have been Hondas and Kawasaki’s. I do agree with your pint though.
 
Yeah, but in reality though, when exactly does a 19" wheel trump a 17" wheel? I've had my NC700X on some fairly rough roads and haven't noticed a huge difference. What are people rolling over on their CB500X's that they need 2 more inches to make it? If its just marketing, then I get it. People think they need it to be ADV.

How? My VFR shows completely empty (on miles left to go) at 170 miles and takes 5.3 gallons to refill it at that point.


Does anyone have any real, hard numbers on DCT sales? I'm curious how well they actually do.

I don’t know, but in looking at the 2018 Goldwing forums it seems everyone is buying the DCT model.


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Yeah, but in reality though, when exactly does a 19" wheel trump a 17" wheel? I've had my NC700X on some fairly rough roads and haven't noticed a huge difference. What are people rolling over on their CB500X's that they need 2 more inches to make it? If its just marketing, then I get it. People think they need it to be ADV.

A 21” wheel is used on all the bikes with a strong off-road focus. The larger wheel allows it to roll over obstacles easier. It also runs on sand better rather than sinking into it. The 19” is a compromise between road and trail capabilities.
The CB500X with a 19” wheel will out perform the NC700X when the road really gets nasty.

JT
 
Yeah, but in reality though, when exactly does a 19" wheel trump a 17" wheel? I've had my NC700X on some fairly rough roads and haven't noticed a huge difference. What are people rolling over on their CB500X's that they need 2 more inches to make it? If its just marketing, then I get it. People think they need it to be ADV.
An important factor is that there a lot more options for off-road rubber in 19" sizes and almost none for 17". If you can ride a 17" on street tires down a dirt road than, yes, it's not that much of a difference between a 17, 19 or 21". When the going gets a little more difficult the larger wheels come into advantage and can mount 80/20/, 70/30, or 50/50 tires that aren't available in 17".
 
I think the part that many of us miss is that it appears that many people here that own an NC are not the typical motorcyclist. We aren't the people that the manufacturers are marketing to. It seems to me that many here have a niche that they feel the NC serves for their interests and are not in the boundaries of "normal" that the manufacturers are building bikes for or marketing to. So that part does have me a little concerned for the future of the NC. In a shrinking market, declining sales, and a bike that seems to appeal to a niche that is not a large portion of the consumer interest.

I too wish the NC had a bit more fuel capacity on board. It is a good all around bike that is under powered in it's market space. I am interested in reliability, fuel economy, and all around capabilities to load up the bike with mods and make it into a comfortable bike that I can go where I want and do most anything I would want to. And funny enough the reason I ended up buying the NC is because it isn't a popular bike sellers are more motivated to let it go for a deal to the new buyers if you catch someone who is motivated. So I was able to pickup the bike with low miles for a great price. Again not a good dynamic in the market place for the manufacturer.

If I were in the market for a bike right now I would probably be tempted to just wait. I think many people expect the Versys 400 to happen relatively soon since the Ninja was upgraded to the 400. I am not sure that Honda really "gets it" yet that they really should consider a 500cc AT or upgrade the CB500X to a full fledged ADV bike. It looks like others are waking up to the smaller ADV market. So that is probably the direction I would go next if I were in the market today. So I think patience will pay off right now because it appears more ADV in the smaller bike space are coming.

I was kinda hoping that the NC750 would come with a few more horses, and a little more fuel capacity. Not that I am in the market for a new one just yet, but at least it would make for an interesting upgrade option later on when I am ready to think about another bike.
 
A DCT 500 with 19” tires that weighed 400 pounds would be nice.
So would free beer.
 
An important factor is that there a lot more options for off-road rubber in 19" sizes and almost none for 17". If you can ride a 17" on street tires down a dirt road than, yes, it's not that much of a difference between a 17, 19 or 21". When the going gets a little more difficult the larger wheels come into advantage and can mount 80/20/, 70/30, or 50/50 tires that aren't available in 17".
I disagree somewhat with your assessment of "almost none". Shinko 705, Conti TKC70, TKC80, Avon AV54, Pirelli MT60RS, Scorpion Rally STR are all available in 120/70-17 front.
 
I have just had a short 45 minute spin (motorway, rough backroads and A roads) on the 19 CB500X. I have long had my eye on one of this model, but since the changes made for 2019 especially with the bigger front wheel, my interest has grown further. I now need to borrow the test bike again but for a day long ride. I currently have other bikes but my do it all bike (other than pillion work) is an X-Adv and that is a much liked motorcycle/scoot.

My initial findings are that the CB is a very good bike for the money. I found that the motor was smoother than the Rally Raid version that I had previously ridden. I took it on to really rough backroads because that is where I live on my bikes mostly. It was more comfortable than my X-Adv in such conditions. However it was a little skittish suspension wise on the rougher roads and the improved control of a better rear shock would probably help. To achieve the sort of performance that I like on such roads the motor was more than willing to rev freely and the gearbox ready to be well used. The tyres were not good with the rear slipping a little on a couple of occasions but that may have been due to their newness. However my experience has been that OEM tyres on Hondas generally are not good. I have no doubt that a set of Road 5's would make a huge difference. With 45 minutes to try this bike initially I did not get to find out everything about it but the overall impression was very good.

I am currently in my 69th year so pushing around a heavy bike is not ideal for me with wall to wall arthritis etc. However for now I can manage and thus I still have a Suzuki VStrom 1000 for touring duties with my Wife fully loaded. I have noticed though that over the past 3/4 years I have been going off big powerful motorcycles. When not in use two up the Suzuki stays in its berth. I hadn't ridden it for a while until recently when I took it out to ready it for a weekend trip. On that day riding solo I soon found out again that it goes way too fast in any given situation on just a whiff of throttle. In short big bikes make riding too fast far too easy. A smaller engine will make one work a lot harder to attain similar speeds and as such one is much more aware of the speeds one is doing on a small bike. Since obtaining a CRF250L two years ago for trail riding I have rediscovered the joy of riding small bikes. That little bike has given a very good account of itself (on the road) in the company of more powerful machines as long as the road is plenty twisty. A 500 is a nice compromise, hence my current interest in the little CB.

So, I now have a dilemma. What to part with to make room for a CB500X........:(
 
I'd jump at a CB500X with DCT if available.
Since Honda's Africa Twin CRF1000LD proved that DCT works well for off-road riding, I had hoped they would
follow suit with DCT options for smaller displacement bikes in their dirt models but after
seeing no DCT option for the 2019 CRF450L, I am losing faith that there will be any in the near future.
Which is fine with me since my AT keeps me thoroughly entertained for the time being. :p
 
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