• A few people have been scammed on the site, Only use paypal to pay for items for sale by other members. If they will not use paypal, its likely a scam NEVER SEND E-TRANSFERS OF ANY KIND.

Is the NC700X a touring bike?

Joined
May 4, 2014
Messages
195
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Location
Williamsport, Pa.
Visit site
Hello everyone!

My wife and I took our NCX down to her family's farm on Memorial Day.

That is a 90 minute drive.

Both going down and coming back our back sides became sore as possible.

We do have the stock seat.

I know the stock seats have a rep as a ride killer.

But my question is, for you who have custom seats, is the NCX a touring bike?

Do the custom seats make it comfortable enough to make the 6 hour ride down to the shore?

My wife stated over her Sena to me on the ride back home "This is NOT a touring bike!"

What are your thoughts?

Thanks and God bless!!

Michael
 
This past weekend I rode 1400+ miles on Saturday/Sunday. I only have an Airhawk pad. Even though my backside did ache after I was done; it was more due to the miles than the seat. I think any bike can be set up as a touring bike, as long as you customize it to fit you.
 
Your Wife is most definitely correct from a pillion point of view. I have always maintained this although some on here do not agree.

However with more than one motorcycle in my shed I would put my NC at the top of the pile when it comes to solo riding over long distances on reasonably good roads. The bike I would put second to it as a solo bike in such circumstances is my Triumph 1200 Explorer. Only last week I covered 660 kms in a day on the NC. I have also done an 800km day aboard. I am still using the stock seat marginally raised at the front. It has softened a little over time and I can now spend a long time on the bike.

The Triumph should be better, and indeed it is over the rougher roads, as it is much better suspended. The Triumph is also a seriously good pillion perch for my Wife and She will not live with anything else, not even BMW's WC GS offering. However the Triumph Rider perch is too soft and becomes very uncomfortable after 400kms. I will have to do something about it but I will be leaving the NC perch alone.

So, in answer to your question the answer is a resounding Yes from a solo perspective, but not as a two up tourer.
 
I agree with Davidc83. I have an Air Hawk 2 cushion. It is the best seat "mod" you can do.
I have never had a passenger on my NC. I do think having the extra weight would help with buffeting - don't know though.
 
Touring bike? (opinion) (one continental crossing and 60,000 miles on the ODO.)

Solo: Yes, if you replace the seat with Corbin, Sargent, or just about any of the other after-market seats.

Two-Up: No. The rider and passenger are just too close together.
The combined weight of two riders and touring gear is too much for a 670cc engine.
 
I would add one more "no" argument to the thread: passenger has pretty terrible leg protection against water. Not too bad when it's sunny, but when it starts to rain...
 
no, it's dirt bike. Actually it is whatever you want it to be bike :)
 
is the NCX a touring bike?

If one tours on it, then the answer is yes.
If one doesn't or can't tour on it then the answer is no.

People tour cross-country on bicycles, others need a 4,000 lb luxury sedan to tour...

The real answer of course is this: No, the NC700x is most certainly not a touring motorcycle. More like a commuter bike that can tour if the rider is tough enuff ;-)
 
I've taken the NC solo to North Carolina and back from Illinois, twice. Also did a solo 9 day trip around Lake Superior. Yes, it definitely can be a touring bike but one needs to modify it for that purpose before touring. As a stock machine, no, it's not a decent touring motorcycle, neither is it marketed as one.

As a two person machine, I think it is inadequate. It's not so much the power output, but the passenger seat/pegs accommodations are pretty sad. I never have and never will carry a passenger on the NC700X, because I have another machine far more capable for that.
 
Last edited:
My wife has been with me to Illinois and back on my ST1300 but can't make 50 miles on my NC

Did you just let her off somewhere north of Houston? ;)
 
Power wise for 2 its plenty, my fiancée and I have ridden around a bit. I've got both front and rear Corbin seats on mine. Problem we run into is the length of the bike, I'm not a little guy, I'm 6'3" 230lbs, she's around 5'3" average build. I have the full set of trax luggage and the top case sits too far forward to use as a backrest, if it was back 4-6" it might work better for us, but short day trips. It ain't a goldwing!
 
Did you just let her off somewhere north of Houston? ;)
We trailered over to watch the Daytona 200 last year in our toyhauler. We stayed in St Augustine and took the NC down to Daytona. It was really the first time other than seeing how we fit on it to ride for any distance, about 40-50 miles I think, figured it would be a piece of cake with her experience. I do have a Givi 46 topbox which basically keeps us crammed together. She started complaining half way there and by the time we got there I was complaining also. I could hardly get off and same for her. I'm sure age has something to do with it, we are in our early 60's. 3 years before we rode to Illinois on my ST in 2 days, never heard a word from her in the over 2000 mile round trip.
 
Me and the woman just did almost 900 miles last week. The pillion is stock but didn't bother her too much, I did make sure to stop around every hour or so. Our biggest gripe was peg/foot space. Our feet were pretty much locked in one position with mine more forward than I like.
 
2 up on 500+ mile days might be pushing it for this bike. Especially when you add in all your gear.

1 up this bike can tour but just like any other bike, it needs to be tweaked to fit you personally. How much you should tweak it, depends on how much touring you are planning on doing. If you plan to tour allot, it is worth it to do a seat upgrade, put highway pegs on, add bar risers, taller windscreen to match your size, accessory outlet and Ram mounts for any electronic gear, and either bags or hard cases for your gear.

The Airhawk is a great low cost seat upgrade. If your not planning on doing major miles riding, it would be a good compromise over buying a quality custom seat. I have probably ridden 20k or more on mine, but now I have a seat concepts seat and I find I really don't need it as often unless I am doing 700+ mile days. Then it just is nice to have a change of feel in the saddle for a while.

The NCX is OK for two up for a while... I've ridden 2 up for about 300 miles a couple of times. It would have been more comfortable on something like an FJR 1300, but it wasn't too bad on the NCX. I don't think I'd want to do more than a 500 mile day with two up, and I don't think I'd really enjoy doing more than a couple 500 mile days in a row.

Just ask yourself how many miles and how often do you plan to travel on this bike... distance wise. The more you plan on riding the more it is worth the cost to upgrade for more comfort.

BTW, I got a 2nd airhawk off craigslist for $30 and the guy threw in a sheepskin pad with it at that price... so check on craigslist, you might get lucky like I did.
 
I'm a marshmallow and I toured 11,000 miles last fall over a two week period. I've had many bikes and tour every summer. What makes this a great touring bike? Comfortable seating position, great gas mileage, stable on the highway, and more storage than you will ever need. it's a good solo touring bike and an aftermarket seat is required.
 
what a load of bollocks.
of course the NC is capable of carrying two up AND that is why it has two seats.
I ride two up all the time and never had problems and I've ridden 300 miles in a day with no problems.
if you expect that the NC to perform like a pan european etc then you've got the wrong bike.
granted I've had the seat re-upholstered and that made a hell of a different.
I find this bike perfect,would I go touring two up on this YES.
 
Back
Top