So what did you do TO your NC700 today.

[L.B.S.]

My OEM Honda heated grips and additional bits to install them arrived yesterday, (I thought) but confound it! They *still* were missing a rassin frassin dagnabit component to make them work! Grrrrrr! :frowny face:

I ordered them off eBay for a semi-decent middle of the road price, because they said: "includes Relay kit" "includes Mounting kit".

What they didn't say, or make the tiniest mention of anywhere, and I didn't know despite thinking I did, lol, was you *still* need a bloody "Sub Harness kit" Jeebus! Could Honda have made this any more stupid to try and piece together? Ridiculous.

So I fired off a semi passive-agressive email to the Seller, thanking them but moaning that the only reason I bought from them, was their saying "Includes" yadda yadda. I mean why only include two out of three things you need? If they would have just said: "Sub Harness sold seperately" Fine! I would have happily forked over the cash for that too!

If they said: "Includes everything needed to install grips except the Sub Harness, but sorry we don't sell those", Fine! I would have still happily made the purchase, and simply made another transaction wherever else I needed to, to aquire the damnable thing at the same time.

I don't expect anything from the Seller, of course, other than maybe a feeble and insincere "sorry" generic e-reply. Had to get it off my chest though.

Now, I sit disgruntled, having to wait more week/s to source and pay for a stupid Sub Harness thingy, when I expected to be cruisin' in style wif warm 'n fuzzy finners this weekend.

 

[mike5100]

it's no consolation for you but the same happened to my Honda dealer (who has been a H dealer for 40 years). It meant I had to wait 6 weeks before eventually all the bits got to him. Also happened with the rear rack which needs other parts ordering to make it work.
I was sort of slapped down in other threads for implying that a company like Honda should be getting their act together on things like this.
Mike

 

[L.B.S.]

it's no consolation for you but the same happened to my Honda dealer (who has been a H dealer for 40 years). It meant I had to wait 6 weeks before eventually all the bits got to him. Also happened with the rear rack which needs other parts ordering to make it work.
I was sort of slapped down in other threads for implying that a company like Honda should be getting their act together on things like this.
Mike

Misery loves company, so I appreciate the sentiment though mate, lol

 

[tabrady817]

Rode my bike to work this morning in the cold (37degrees),when I got home there were my upper & lower wind deflectors waiting on me! Kind of hope it's cold tomorrow so I can try them out!! Also received my Honda service manual. (purchased off of ebay $59.00,& free shipping).

 

[dduelin]

I did a IBA Saddle Sore 1000 today. 1064 miles in a bit less than 18 hours. Nice long ride.

 

[L.B.S.]

Also received my Honda service manual. (purchased off of ebay $59.00,& free shipping).

*perk*

Do tell!

My ebay-fu has let me down trying to find such a thing.

 

[AP1]

...when I got home there were my upper & lower wind deflectors waiting on me! Kind of hope it's cold tomorrow so I can try them out!!

Please report back when you've had a good chance to test your wind deflectors. I've read mixed results -- some say they work great, others say not so much. I hope they work well for you.

 

[Beemerphile]

If they said: "Includes everything needed to install grips except the Sub Harness,

I had the same character building experience. I found out about the sub-harness in the handgrip instructions while attempting to install them. Relay kit as well.

 

[Beemerphile]

I did a IBA Saddle Sore 1000 today. 1064 miles in a bit less than 18 hours. Nice long ride.

Congrats on the saddle sore. Your first?

 

[mlh]

I made new center links, Dog bones, and instaled them. That lowered my bike about 1.5 inches. Then I had to shorten the kick stand so the bike wouldn't fall over. Then I lowered the front about 7/8 inch. Now to get rid of that POJ Honda calls a seat.
MLH

 

[dduelin]

Congrats on the saddle sore. Your first?

No, I did an official one in 2007 on an ST1300 and other "unofficial" ones I did not bother with documenting.

I had previously planned a route so it was just a matter of getting up and going. With Hurricane Sandy offshore and creating a strong NE to NW flow I reversed the route so the last 1/3rd was headed south or southeast with a following or quartering tailwind. I route planned gas stops at 190 to 210 miles. The wind made a large difference in MPG. Going into the wind at 70 - 75 mph the mileage was in the mid 50's and with the wind at my back it was in the mid 60's. Winds overall tended to be 12 to 20 mph with gusts to 25+ mph.

 

[tabrady817]

Curious about the about the Saddle Sore, both bike and body !How well did each perform ?? I'm wanting my NC700X to take the place of my ST1300 ultimately. It seems to cruise 80-85mph OK and revs slightly lower but I haven't taken it for a high milage run yet! I know I'll regret letting the ST go, I just wanna know how much, It gobbles up highway so well its almost boring, I swear I sometimes take a nap(I mean this in a good way).Like you, I think little of doing 1000 miles a day, some trips I rarely do less daily,but I find its not till you do, do the little things start to manifest themselves, a little wind protection here,a rubbing seam there,throw in a little bit of ergo issues,buzzing...etc. Let us know both positive and negative.thanks

 

[tabrady817]

L.B.S. >>Every couple of day's I'll take a quick look at ebay for NC700 related items, that was the first time I saw a manual,so i gobbled it up,said it was used,but I found it to be in new condition,binder wasn't even "cracked"....happy!

 

[treybrad]

Washed her yesterday, and today I prepared for winter by getting my Gerbing plug wired in.

trey

 

[duk2n]

Changed the headlight bulb:

http://nc700-forum.com/forum/nc700-mods/984-headlight-osram-bilux-vs-philips-xtreme-vision.html#post10538

 

[L.B.S.]

L.B.S. >>Every couple of day's I'll take a quick look at ebay for NC700 related items, that was the first time I saw a manual,so i gobbled it up,said it was used,but I found it to be in new condition,binder wasn't even "cracked"....happy!

Ah, thanks!

So it was just from a random private seller, and not a "company" type thing, where a supply of them are available I guess?

Cheers

 

[dduelin]

Curious about the about the Saddle Sore, both bike and body !How well did each perform ?? I'm wanting my NC700X to take the place of my ST1300 ultimately. It seems to cruise 80-85mph OK and revs slightly lower but I haven't taken it for a high milage run yet! I know I'll regret letting the ST go, I just wanna know how much, It gobbles up highway so well its almost boring, I swear I sometimes take a nap(I mean this in a good way).Like you, I think little of doing 1000 miles a day, some trips I rarely do less daily,but I find its not till you do, do the little things start to manifest themselves, a little wind protection here,a rubbing seam there,throw in a little bit of ergo issues,buzzing...etc. Let us know both positive and negative.thanks

I profess I am not a long distance rider that rides LD often and for pleasure. I wanted to do it to get the first NC700X listed in the IBA accomplishments and I knew I could easily do it after riding several 500 mile rides so far. I do like to ride and ride a lot for pleasure and I think that is key for me. In order to ride 1000 miles or more in a day you have to "ride up" to it by doing lots of 500+ mile days. That is my opinion anyway. You can have the most comfortable seat, bars, etc., there is and if 100 miles is the longest ride we usually do then attempting 10 times that is is likely to be difficult.

My bike did just fine and was comfortable for me yesterday. I considered getting a few hours sleep and getting 500 more for a Bun Burner 1500 but my wife was kind of mad at me for being gone so long yesterday so I did not want to aggravate that situation by riding all day today. I did tell her Friday night I was going on a "long ride tomorrow" but I was not completely forthcoming about my plans so when I came in at 9 PM last night I had a little explaining to do. (To be fair I did text her at lunch time and told her I would not be home until 9 or 10 PM. By then the GPS was giving me the exact time of completion and I had plenty of time in hand to manage stops) When I left the house at 0315 Saturday I was going to go west for a while and judge how things were going weather wise before committing a turn to the north and another 700 miles. My concern was the squeeze between strong high pressure system and Hurricane Sandy might create higher winds over AL and GA than forecast but the forecast was unfolding as accurate. I could have done it again today it was that easy.

Compared to the ST1300 the NC700 is much windier of course. The wind protection is adequate with my National Cycle windscreen and Probend hand guards, no more. The simple motion taking a hand off the bar and resting it on the tank or in my lap affects wind against the upper body on the NC as the arms are outside of the bubble of protection behind the screen. Move an arm and the bike changes direction as body pressure is turned into pressure on one handlebar. Manageable of course and predictable but something that wouldn't nudge an ST1300 off course one bit. The temps dipped into the low 50's and I was glad I took my heated jacket with me. 50's on the ST1300 would not have been a problem but I did get chilled on the NC with all the extra breeze. I was looking often down at my legs and the radiator area visualizing where the airflow needs to be to protect legs and feet. The Honda ones look like they are too small to work well but I don't know. Lee might be on to something with his home made ones. The NC is probably more stable in a straight line at 75 mph than the ST is due to wheelbase length and steering geometry but because it is 250 lbs lighter is is blown around more by gusts of wind and from dirty air from trucks and vans. I would not replace my ST with a 700 if I had a choice in the matter - they are chalk and cheese. I was riding the NC a tank of fuel at a time or about 3 hours and a tank-to-tank on the ST can be 4 plus hours. I have a place in the garage for both.

I was surprised at the fuel gauge dropping quicker than expected during the first leg. I was counting on getting 62-65 miles per gallon at up to 75 mph and preplanned stops at no more than 10 or 15 miles into reserve. On the first leg the last bar started blinking at about 155 miles or about 30 less than I thought it would. I started doing the calculations in my head and figured I could just make the first planned stop but it would be with less than .2 gallons and I had never tested Honda's claim of 3.71 usable gallons. It was windy and blacker than a witch's nightgown and I did not want to blow the whole attempt by walking to a gas station at 6 o'clock in the morning so I stopped early and this caused all the other planned stops to go out the window but fortunately there are so many gas stations available on the interstates I winged it the rest of the way OK. The 15 to 25 mph winds were a quartering headwind and cut into my anticipated mileage. I did not anticipate this - instead of riding 75 mph it was like riding 85 to 90 and the mileage was affected. The ST is so flexible in this regard - it is not so limited by fuel range like the NC is plus the wind management and integrated luggage make it the superb tourer that it is. The NC isn't meant to challenge the ST at this game but it was a fun day and a comfortable ride.

 

[Rocker66]

Impresive tale. I know what you mean as I only sold my Pan European (ST1300) due to its weight and my dodgy left knee

 

[mike5100]

Thanks for the write-up Dave. Some useful info in there.
I haven't done even a 500 yet but I did do a 400 miler last weekend and a 334 miler the week before. The 334 was actually the more arduous as it was nearly 10 hours in the saddle with just2 5 minute petrol stops and a 15 minute stop for food. Both of these runs were around roads where the average speed is close to 35 mph because of their twistiness (western Scotland and north west Ireland).
But like you I found the NC700X perfectly capable of dealing with these long times on the road. And I could have ridden for several hours more if I had too.
On these trips I have been getting better mpg - 75 in Scotland and 82 in Ireland - these are UK gallons so knock 20% off to compare with your own.
Getting to Scotland for me is mainly on roads where I can do 72-75mph and my warning light also comes on at 155 miles - this equates in UK terms to about 67mpg
I carry 1 litre of fuel in one of these Berup.com in the bottom of the not-tank. It's amazing how much more relaxed it makes you feel when you know you've got about another 15 miles if you have to put it in.
Mike

 

[FrankQC]

Please report back when you've had a good chance to test your wind deflectors. I've read mixed results -- some say they work great, others say not so much. I hope they work well for you.

I installed them both (upper and lower) yesterday. Couldn't wait the recommended 72 hours rest time... I went for a 30 minutes ride this morning, which is a pretty windy day. I tried several types of roads, including freeway. I'd say that they do not achieve the results I expected. They do not really change the wind direction, but mostly create some kind of turbulence. They won't keep you dry on a rainy day, that's for sure. To gain any kind of advantage from them, you need to squeeze your legs on the bike as much as you can humanly do, but don't expect too much. Is that worth it ? Maybe some will say yes, some will say no. As for myself, I'd say yes, just because they look cool once installed on my black NCX, but maybe that single aesthetical benifit is not worth the price tag. I will probably build DIY acrylic deflectors myself once I receive my engine guard.

I'm sure I haven't helped at all in your decision !! Again, YMMV.



__________________
FrankQC

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