I’ve been to Deals Gap numerous times on sport bikes, and I hope to take the NC there in the not too distant future. I’ll enjoy the trip riding there. In the hands of a skilled rider the NC would be a lot of fun there. The limiting factors at the gap are how much you want to pay for your ticket, and avoiding roadblocks ie Harley Davidsons.
If I'm not mistaken EVERY National Park/Parkway has a 45 mph or less speed limit. I've been to a lot of them and don't remember any higher than 45
Your assumption is incorrect; the bike is likely to be in top gear. My 700X manual runs smoothly in 6th gear at 45 mph as long as the load is light (no steep hill or strong headwind). I don’t know how the (your) ‘21 750X behaves in similar conditions.
I have a manual NC700X, so I ride it in any gear I want. But by comparison, the DCT model of the same vintage will automatically shift into 6th gear at light throttle in D mode at around 39 mph, if I remember correctly. I ran some numbers (because I was comparing mine to the Ferret’s model) and I think my ‘12 manual and a ‘21 auto have about a 3% difference in overall top gear ratio, so not a significant difference.
Id say my Nc750 is right at the point of ceasing to lug at 45 mph in 6th gear, and as you say, when the load is light it seems to handle it. The difference in gas consumption between running 45 mph in 4th as opposed to 6th gear isn’t much from what I can see and gives better response when accelerating.
While there aren’t specific answers to your questions here, there are some hints in this article from 2012 around the time of the NC700X’s debut. http://www.ashonbikes.com/content/honda-nc700x
Long stroke engines have more torque at low RPM than short stroke engines (assuming the same RPM for both engines). The moment arm (lever) of the crankshaft allows for more torque.
I understand what you are saying, and seeing as I have a manual Nc I can see that as an automatic (DCT) your bike will feel different to mine. While I would have to change down manually to get some decent acceleration which takes time, yours would much quickly do the same thing. I didn’t take into account the differences between the manual and the DCT. Can’t disagree that Honda would definitely make sure in the DCT that the engine wasn’t lugging at any speed.
I don’t know exactly about ‘21-22 models, but on the original ‘12 model, DCT and manual transmission top gear overall ratios were nearly identical (3.893 vs 3.918, approximately 0.6% difference). In lower gears the manual’s gearing was slightly lower, so the manual has a slightly wider spread of gear ratios to work with. First gear overall ratio was 13.08 manual vs 12.48 DCT.
That's right and I like that idea a lot. From what I read I like everything about it except for maybe the mode defaulting back to standard every time you shut it off. Still waiting for the bike to arrive, and I put a deposit down 4 months ago.
It’s interesting that according to the 2012 and the 2022 X owner’s manuals specifications, the overall ratio for first gear on a ‘22 DCT is 12.35, which is actually slightly taller than first gear on a ‘12 DCT, which was 12.48. So much for lowering first gear for better acceleration. Honda marketing is likely comparing 2022 to a 2020 DCT, where at 11.75 perhaps they decided they had erred and made first gear too tall, so they put it back pretty much where it was before and called it an improvement. Nonetheless, the ‘12 had a lower first than the ‘21-22, but of course the ‘12 made a few less peak horsepower.
I've owned both manual and DCT NC700Xs. I've said before and still believe the NC700X engine was designed with the DCT in mind. I rode the manual one generally at higher rpms in each gear because it did not seem natural at lower rpms that the algorithms choose. I didn't even use Drive (the most sedate or low rpm shift points) for a long time when I got a DCT bike. I have since learned to use D most often and just override shifts when I choose to.
