NC700X - Does it Matter What Year to Buy?

[Sonny]

The bike I tested and had some niggles with was a 2014. Among the weird things on the test bike was, it was presented as having 4400 miles on it but it looked quite worn for 4K miles. The exhaust pipe was sooty and the front of the can discolored brown, new tires were fitted, and the ignition switch and plastics around it were very worn indeed. The key would barely work in the ignition after a lot of fiddling.

2014 was the year the instrument cluster was replaced for customers who encountered a trip counter random reset issue. It was not a NHTSA safety recall so never required. But when it was done the installing dealer was required to place a sticker on the frame indicating the mileage racked up before the cluster (and odometer) was replaced.

The bike I tested had the sticker, and the accumulated mileage was stated to be zero. Well that didn't look right. AFAIK, Honda didn't replace the clusters in the field before the new bike was sold, because the problem only came up on certain bikes. That, combined with the evidence that the bike had a lot more than 4K miles on it, had me passing on it and walking away. Plus, the bike had been originally bought and owned in New Mexico and I am in Texas, so it was going to be hard to figure out what had happened.

There are a fair number of 2014s available used, and all have to be checked for the odometer issue. If, that is, you can get to the bottom of it... otherwise you don't know how many miles the bike might actually have on it. There was definitely something fishy about the one I tested.

 

[showkey]

The front of the stainless muffler can turning brown or straw color is normal. Several posts on the forum on the topic.........some choose to polish the discolor other think of it as a feature.

Several report wear on tires at 4000 miles. Very dependent on the OEM tire brand and the type of riding. Our friends in Canada reported one brand of tire with wear issues at 2000 miles.

 

[Majessty85]

Sorry but I must bump this thread, since I am in the market for an NC and it helped answer my question.

Shout out to the person who asked the question and all those who've chimed in.

I am a bigger guy, 6'3, 300lbs.

I owned a 2014 NC, purchased in 2019 (stolen in 2021.

I loved the bike, and had no issues whatsoever besides some braking tweaks and chain replacement.

The main thing for me was the fact that people said that I looked like a giant on the bike, which I despised.

In recent times, I've been in the market for another NC, and during my "window shopping" phases, mainly online, I noticed the 2016 versions seemed bigger in the frontal frame than older versions, and thanks to the the info on this thread I now know the reason (bigger frame and frunk).

That being said, I am now in the market for a 2016 version and in a few months I plan to be riding one.

Again, I thank you guys for the valuable info.

 

[670cc]

Sorry but I must bump this thread, since I am in the market for an NC and it helped answer my question.

Shout out to the person who asked the question and all those who've chimed in.

I am a bigger guy, 6'3, 300lbs.

I owned a 2014 NC, purchased in 2019 (stolen in 2021.

I loved the bike, and had no issues whatsoever besides some braking tweaks and chain replacement.

The main thing for me was the fact that people said that I looked like a giant on the bike, which I despised.

In recent times, I've been in the market for another NC, and during my "window shopping" phases, mainly online, I noticed the 2016 versions seemed bigger in the frontal frame than older versions, and thanks to the the info on this thread I now know the reason (bigger frame and frunk).

That being said, I am now in the market for a 2016 version and in a few months I plan to be riding one.

Again, I thank you guys for the valuable info.

Good luck in your search.