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Just bought 2012 NC700x, what should my order of modifications be?

I'd say be careful adding weight. I'd also say be careful with adding modifications that don't actually do anything. Radiator guards for on-road bikes are probably close to useless. They look cool. They weigh only a few ounces. But how many road riders actually have had a radiator saved by such a guard? A few ounces here, a pound there, all of a sudden you have a 600# motorcycle. No need for that. I pretty much have mixed feeling about engine guards. I think most are decorations. They add weight. Really they might protect your plastic bits if you drop your bike in a parking lot, but if you skid the bike down a highway its probably totaled if you have and engine guard or if you don't have one. I think 90% of the engine guards are put on bikes simply to hold Aux Lights.

Look for simple functional additions. My bike is modestly modified, as a light touring bike. The key is I made this bike for me. For what I do. You need to make your bike for you, for what you do.

  • Madstad Windshield (awesome for touring)
  • Hepco & Becker GOBI 37liter side boxes, and 42liter top box (I love these boxes, tough, light, waterproof, impact resistant, easy to remove, even the rack can be removed in about 60 seconds, mine are spray painted to color match my bike with Duplicolor spay paint)
  • Nemo2 chain oiler (cheap, works well, very simple)
  • Corbin seat (my butt thanks me daily)
  • Honda BikePro cargo rack to replace the rear seat (great for holding luggage)
  • Denali DRL LED lights on the front fork for visibility (worth the high $, they don't light the road, they make me visible to oncoming traffic)
  • Generic Amazon LED lights on the rear for added visibility (cheap but NOT visible in sunlight)
  • Custom Dynamic LED license plate frame (has stop, running light, and turn signal functions in addition to lighting the license plate, about $100, lights are bright enough to be seen in sunlight but the lights are not very big, I'm not thrilled with it, but it works. Lights ARE brighter than the generic LEDs I added to the luggage boxes)
  • Atlas Throttle Lock (expensive but my favorite style so worth it to me)
  • Grip Puppies (foam pads for the grips, cheap & comfortable on long rides)


Full bike photo. The H&B cargo boxes are virtually bomb proof. I love them. The brand is not common, and not cheap. But I looked at Shad, Tusk and others, I also own Givi, but I love the H&B Gobi boxes!
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Madstad touring windshield. You order the size based on your height. Works great, some people don't like the look. Its very functional. You will notice a BEELINE navigator in this photo mounted on a Ram arm. Do not buy a BEELINE. My experience is that BEELINES are junk and not suitable for motorcycle use. That very same Ram arm holds my iPhone in a Quadlock mount. RAM arms are great. It is also mounted high enough, when the iPhone is attached, so I can watch the road AND simultaneously see the turn-by-turn navigation on the phone screen. Look even closer, that the Ram mount is a locking style. Most Ram arms can be stolen by simply twisting the adjustment knob, just pointing out that they also sell a locking version, its a few bucks more, worth it if you ride in unfamiliar areas.
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Cheap Amazon LED running and turn lights added to my luggage. Looks great as long as its not a bright sunny day. I will say this, with LED lights, you often get what you pay for and they are not all equal. Some will disagree. I'm not hear to argue.
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Atlas throttle lock. Over $100. Worth it for me. Others will suggest a GoCruise for about 1/4 of the price. Choose what works for you. The padded foam over the grips are the "Grip Puppies" I mentioned. I love them for their added comfort.
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Corbin seat. Honda BikePro rear seat rack. Neither is cheap. Both are great for touring. Heck both are good most every day. But the rear seat rack means you will not have a passenger riding on back.
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Definitely a centerstand, and then storage of some sort. In 46 years of riding, storage was always a priority for me, probably because I use bikes for transportation, not just as a hobby. Headlight modulator is a must for me, yes, they are annoying, but people see you!
Since I use the bike for commuting, and pleasure rides, a "cigarette lighter" type plug is a must, for powering a phone charger or GPS, as is an SAE style plug, easy to get to, to hook up a charger. I prefer the Battery Minder, can just leave it on, and it desulphates when it reaches a full charge.
I may be in the minority here, but I like a set of loud horns too. I prefer Fiamm Highway Blasters, very durable, and easy to mount- they need a relay to be 100% loud though. Good for warning cagers you're around.

Welcome to the forum, and ride safe!
 
If you plan on riding off pavement, check and see if you can stand and ride. That might determine if you need bar risers.
Being in Maine, you might want to think about grip heaters in the fall and a port for a heated jacket.
 
Sargent Seats is running a special at this time. Promotion code: Roll20

Standard seat, regular $325, special at $260.
Heated seat, regular $524, special at $419.
 
of all the farkles I've put on my 2015 DCT, these are the ones I would do again without hesitation:
- Center stand
- heated grips (I ride pretty much year round)
- crash bars (I use SW Motech)
- larger windscreen (i use a CalSci)
- rear shock (I'm not the small Japanese man the bike is designed for - I put an Ohlins with proper spring for my weight and it was a huge difference in handling). I also upgraded the fork springs and oil ... it was an improvement but not as drastic as the rear shock.

I got the OEM saddlebags when I bought the bike, and that was a mistake. There are many, many options out there that I think are better (IMO) than the OEMs. this is one area I would wait on and see what you end up really needing.

as for "off road" - I ride about 80-90% on asphalt, but over the last year have been doing more fire road, forest service roads, packed gravel. The NC700 handles those perfectly fine ... i put some Pirelli Scorpion Trail tires on (a 90/10 tire) and they work great.
 
I largely agree with what everybody else said, however my most useful modification was certainly a dedicated frunk key. I use that thing non stop.
Next for me was a top Box for storage, as I use the Bike for commuting largely. Then I added a center stand, I like always having it with me plus it makes everything else that I do on the bike much easier. I Actually ended up giving away an old lift stand that I had for working on my last Bike… which was ages ago.
I added lots of other farkle's in between-lights for seeing and being seen, Barkbusters, heated grips ( Which are a total luxury to me, but I really do like them on these cool north coast mornings), but the next best improvement was grabbing myself An aftermarket windshield, the Madstad. I think I'll end up taking it off in the summer, but for the spring and fall it seems like it's unbeatable. I can't believe how quiet and still it is behind that windscreen.
It has been more than 15 years since I had owned a bike, and so I definitely spent, and spend, a fair amount of time on my close quarters maneuvering. I've always appreciated being able to have either a motorcycle or bicycle respond exactly as I want to to when I needed to. As a result, I laid down my brand new bike At least a couple of times doing such exercises/shenanigans. At a high speed crash, I don't know how useful they would be, but for a low speed and certainly maneuvering exercises those engine guards certainly saved me some plastic and potentially pegs as well, and the bark busters saved me the price of a replacement leve and provide coverage from the wind in the Spring and late fall. For that, the engine guards paid for themselves in the price of replacement plastics.
As someone else said, figure out what the bike is doing for you and travel in that direction.
Enjoy the ride, I love my bike
 
as for "off road" - I ride about 80-90% on asphalt, but over the last year have been doing more fire road, forest service roads, packed gravel. The NC700 handles those perfectly fine ... i put some Pirelli Scorpion Trail tires on (a 90/10 tire) and they work great.
If not for the weight itself, and the suspension (I'd say for many riders addressing the rear spring first would be a priority before even looking at a new shock), the fatter 17" tire is a problem here. When the gravel gets deeper or the hardpack gets a a little muddy at the surface that width is a impediment. That said, I sometimes ride unimproved roads and all that, but it's so much more fun and can be so much quicker on a 250 dualsport. I consider off-pavement riding on the NC a necessary evil to connect through rather than something to pursue ; }
 
It's really just simple, once you know what is available, to ride ride ride, and then buy the things that seem a priority to YOU.
 
Anyone know if suspension upgrades are needed for the bike if taken off road? I'm thinking that since I'm not super heavy that I should be fine with stock suspension as long as I take it easy.
 
Someone mentioned frunk key....yes. best cheap mod.
I can't speak for the 750, but the 700 would rattle your teeth on sharp bumps. I replaced my rear shock with Cogent and used Cogent emulators/springs in the forks. Made a world of difference. I switched from street tires to Shinko 705s this year. I think in gravel, my old PR4's were better. The front tends to dig in on deep gravel. I won't use the 705's again. Not saying they are bad, just don't like them on the NC. (had them on my old DR650)
 
Someone mentioned frunk key....yes. best cheap mod.
I can't speak for the 750, but the 700 would rattle your teeth on sharp bumps. I replaced my rear shock with Cogent and used Cogent emulators/springs in the forks. Made a world of difference. I switched from street tires to Shinko 705s this year. I think in gravel, my old PR4's were better. The front tends to dig in on deep gravel. I won't use the 705's again. Not saying they are bad, just don't like them on the NC. (had them on my old DR650)

what are you using for tires now? Are they 80/20? Also roughly how much did the suspension cost?
 
Just got a 2012 NC700X just under 3000 miles. All stock no upgrades on it yet. I am going to fix some of the stock parts that are slightly damaged, get a taller windscreen and maybe change the headlights to LED's. (and get crash bars/cage, most likely from the guy in Russia)

My question is, as a primarily street rider but hopefully occasional dirt rider, what should my order of upgrades be?

Also I was wondering from some of you long time owners, what kind of trails can I expect to be able to ride without having to be a pro X-Games rider? Just gravel and smooth dirt roads? If it helps I live in Maine, just outside of Lewiston/Auburn but plan on taking the bike up to a camp in Aroostook which will require me to take it down some camp roads and probably logging roads. I know it's probably asking much, but I want a bike that I can take for long cruises or just around town but is also capable of tackling some terrain when I decide to do so for camping trips. Maybe Shinko 705 tires are my best bet?

TL;DR I just got a stock 2012 NC700x, what should my order of modifications be other than taller windscreen and LED lights? (also pretty sure I already have an O-ring chain so can check that off the list.)
One area that needs attention are the front forks. They can be incredibly harsh. If you are handy, they can be greatly improved for just the cost of some fork oil. The damping tube, which attaches to the lower fork leg via the allen screw in the bottom of the fork, has only 2 holes in it. Most Honda conventional forks have 4 or more. Remove the damping tubes and drill 2 more holes about 1" above the existing ones and 180 degrees to them. I am 170lbs. and put 5wt oil in one leg and 10wt. in the other. I raised the fork oil level by 1/4" to reduce dive. I have preload adjusters installed but don't think they are really necessary. After 4 attempts to improve the fork and retain the handling, the above is what I came up with. Mine is much better riding, and the front wheel stays in contact with the road better in bumpy corners. IMHO, fixing the front fork is the best mod you can do on the NC.
 
I don't know if anyone mentioned electrical outlets for GPS, and cell phone charging in the frunk. Much needed convenience items. Lots of posts on this.

Heated grips if you plan on riding in the cold.
 
I am really enjoying this post! This is the third summer I've had my NC, but as many suggested I've been adding modifications slowly as I find a need for them.

For me, I am using my NC as a daily commuter to/from work, grocery store, etc. so that my fiancée and I can share a single car. As such, it's optimized for safety, storage, and making it a viable alternative to a car.

I have an excel sheet of my fuel, maintenance, and mod costs, which you are welcome to view using the following link: https://bit.ly/2ZmxC18

Note that I had a crash shortly after buying the bike, and so this includes the costs of replacing scratched/damaged brake handle, mirror, muffler, etc.

Fall of 2018
- Center stand (so I can adjust and lube the chain)
- Handlebar RAM mount + magnetic phone mount
- Honda Top Box + Mounting hardware

Summer of 2019
- LED brake and turn signal lights
- Taller windscreen (I'm 6'2", the stock screen blows icy air directly into my neck)
- Dale's Nutplates™
- 2x USB Outlet in the Frunk (fuse/relay kit, 6P connector, etc.)
- Front fender extender

Summer of 2019
- Radiator guard
- Upgraded two-town horns (wire, spade terminals, etc.)
- Kaoko throttle lock (VERY expensive at $150+, but needed for highway driving. I like that the Kaoko model works like the friction lock on an airplane throttle.)
- Rear wheel hugger/fender
 
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