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What initial gear to buy?

Hellsbain

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Hello to everyone here. I have decided to purchase a 700x (Manual). I have $8,000 to get the bike (New or Used) and another $2,000 for initial gear purchase.

With that out of the way, I am looking for you experienced NC700x's to give me real world advice on some of the first things to purchase.

What I have planned so far (Feel free to tell me I am bonkers for this list)

1. Crash Bars - SW-MOTECH $230

2. Foot Pegs - SW-MOTECH $153

3. Communication - Sena SMH10R Bluetooth Headset - Dual Pack - $300 (one for me and one for my buddy)

4. Hand Guards - Barkbusters Storm $164

5. Saddle Bags - Everything is really expensive here and I looking for a direction on tough, functional, and non-flashy containers. I plan on using the bike to get me up dirt roads, and mountains for camping.

This will be a commuter bike for me 6 days a week. About 600-800 miles a month. Plus Trips to Big Sur and the like for camping.

Thank you in advance for your time and input.
 
Do you have gear for yourself yet? Jacket, gloves, pants, boots, etc...

Protect yourself before you protect the bike.

I have an SMH10 pair, they are great (though I've never really used the intercom feature.... apparently my wife wasn't serious when she said "I'm serious if you get a motorcycle I'll ride with you on it." or she didn't understand what a motorcycle was at the time...)

I have stock footpegs, and no engine guards, I just got my luggage (givi trekkers with the sw-motech racks, and it would eat up most of your budget)

Barkbusters seem expensive, others have posted cheaper options (like less than 1/3rd the price) I'm in the process of scouring the forums for to figure out what I want for hand guards myself...


Before you go off spending $100's of dollars on accessories ride the bike for a while and see what really irritates you... you might find that hand guards will be secondary to a new seat, or windshield after being on the bike for a hundred miles, and every one is different as to what their priorities are.
Also poke around on the forums when you are thinking about getting something, there are a few folks here who have fabricated things, or found things through sellers on ebay that are in my opinion superior to some of the options you'll find at the big online retailers.
 
Rox 2" risers and a taller windshield. I really like my Cee Bailey 22", but I haven't anything else on but the stock shield.
 
Maybe an airhawk seat pad if you are going to spend alot of time on it. I commute on mine and that pad is the best compromise between the stock seat and the pretty expensive aftermarket replacements. Enjoy the bike!
 
I advise riding the new bike at least 1000 miles before you buy any accessories (other than safety gear). Then you will know where the priorities are.
 
Hello to everyone here. I have decided to purchase a 700x (Manual). I have $8,000 to get the bike (New or Used) and another $2,000 for initial gear purchase.

With that out of the way, I am looking for you experienced NC700x's to give me real world advice on some of the first things to purchase.

What I have planned so far (Feel free to tell me I am bonkers for this list)

1. Crash Bars - SW-MOTECH $230

2. Foot Pegs - SW-MOTECH $153

3. Communication - Sena SMH10R Bluetooth Headset - Dual Pack - $300 (one for me and one for my buddy)

4. Hand Guards - Barkbusters Storm $164

5. Saddle Bags - Everything is really expensive here and I looking for a direction on tough, functional, and non-flashy containers. I plan on using the bike to get me up dirt roads, and mountains for camping.

This will be a commuter bike for me 6 days a week. About 600-800 miles a month. Plus Trips to Big Sur and the like for camping.

Thank you in advance for your time and input.

Looks like you have a good start. At a HU (Horizions Unlimited Gathering) many had soft luggage. I retired from a downtown CC and I preferred the GIVI Trekkers for security as I always had stuff in them and siting outside for 8 hours unsupervised (I also have 10 years with a GoldWing and it has hard luggage so habits hard to break) . Doubt it was really necessary and the GIVI's on sale was 605.00 .... The top box (Bestem 929 (has lights) was really all I really needed but the givi rack to mount it on and etc was another 189.00... I was reckless with my money ... The better wind shield (4 me a GIVI 119.00) and Dan's windshield nuts (do not have $ but best money I spent) and a fender extender $39.00 made riding in rain a little better. I'm still debating on whether the hugger really helps (129.00) but the Admore light bar really helps keep me visible to cagers day or night and one thing I will not remove. I do love the SW-Motech Crash bars and Foot pegs. The kuraykin hwy pegs attached to the SW-Motech bars kept the damage to 0% when I dropped the bike on shale in CO. The PIAA 76501 500Hz Slim Line Sports Horn (Amazon 50.00) sure gets better attention than the OEM beep beep but then I do not use it much as I try to ride defensibly. I added a bead seat (58.00) to the stock seat that is sitting on top of the OEM hook (holds seat in place in front) and I added a new holder to it so my seat is 3/4" higher and I do not slide forward. The 2" rok (sp handle ) risers give you lots of freedom to adjust riding position.... Now I have been riding for years and have multi helmets and lots of protective riding gear and I assume you have similar. All that I purchased above and more all came from looking in the forum of tech and mod items the group suggested and many have bigger pockets than I have but then you do not need everything at the beginning. The one wonderful thing is that the X is allowing me to renew my love for riding in all situations with a bike that can just about go anywhere with the right desire and training. Research and spend you funds wisely and maybe miss a meal or two or maybe cut back elsewhere so you can farkle like the best. Being retired (two months) I found that I can cut back on some things really not important to me so I can farkle more and ride more. Enjoy.
 
5. Saddle Bags - Everything is really expensive here and I looking for a direction on tough, functional, and non-flashy containers. I plan on using the bike to get me up dirt roads, and mountains for camping.

I have these cases Honda NC700X 35 Liter Caribou Side Luggage Pannier System installed on Hepco Becker side racks. You want tough, (these are extremely tough) functional non flashy cases that will do the job. They're water proof and inexpensive as well. My logic for these boxy side cases are, if they take a hit, they're inexpensive to replace and will protect your bike as well. I can't say with certainty, but I also think they'll eliminate, or at least lessen the need for crash bars. At about $100.00 apiece to replace, I can't say that about any other hard bag. I'm also averaging about 70 mpg, so they don't seem to affect the efficiency of the bike. I also have the taller Honda screen now, which is much better than stock and a little better than the Vario screen I took off. You mentioned camping. If you can find one, the Krauser rack I have on my bike is perfect for tying down gear and mounts easily to the Alurack from Hepco Becker or SWMotech,(can't remember which) I like that rack so much, I removed it from my Multistrada before trading it in. This is a photo of the bags and rack installed, along with the Axio rear seat bag.

Axio 1.jpg
 
I have the SW-Motech crash bars and they have taken a few licks so I recommend them.
I have the Sena SMH10R and recommend it.
For handguards I have Cycle Gear Tracksides. TRACKSIDE - Aluminum Handguard Kit with Shields - Hand Guards - Other Parts - Parts - Cycle Gear. Cycle Gear frequently puts them on sale for ~$45. They have worked well.
Footpegs……….I’d give the stock ones a go for a while before swapping them. If you going to be standing a lot then I would swap to an off-road peg. I originally swapped to a lowering street peg for more leg room (long legs). Then I went with the Sw Motech which I like a lot. The rubber insert is nice on the road and easy, 1 bolt, to remove for off-road. I’m currently running Knight Design Motorcycle and Auto Aftermarket Parts Lowered trakker tread pegs. They don’t have the NC listed for these pegs but I emailed them and it was no problem for them to make a set. They are a little lower than the SW-Motech. Here is a thread on peg measurements http://nc700-forum.com/forum/nc700-mods/5434-lowering-pegs-measurements.html

Bags……I went with Sw-Motech racks since they have the most flexibility in what bags they work with. I use the bestem 929 topbox on road and an aluminum plate similar to Cyclerosis with a soft bag for off-road which is a bright yellow one I picked up at Gander Mountain. Pannniers has been a tough choice for me. So many options and so expensive. I finally decided on going soft and am waiting for these to hit full production Mosko Moto Home. Here is their thread on adv Mosko Moto Soft Bags for Offroad & Dualsport - ADVrider. If I had gone hard I was leaning toward the Caribou.

I’m a Rox Risers advocate. Bars need to be higher for standing plus I like them for sitting.

Depending on where you are riding you may want to get more off-road capable tires.

Power ports, USB and/or Cig style are a must.

Depending on where you are riding a skid plate can be a must. I have a Dale(hondabikepro) plate, he is in the vendor section, but there are 2 other options. I also have a Dale made folding gear lever.
As others have suggested, I’d ride the bike for a while so you can see what is priority.
 
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get your own protection gear first.

nice boots- $150-200
good helmet- not all helmet give you same level of protection- SHARP Helmets - THE HELMET SAFETY SCHEME this will run you $400 bucks, some are also quieter then others. do your research
jacket- $200- same here, not all jacket give you the same protection,
pants.

for just in gears for yourself is $1000
 
First off thank you for the info. I have hard time spending $40 on something with out a few days of research on something.

Yes I have some riding gear. I forgot to put in the post I have another $1,000 for more/newer gear. I have my old Shoei helmet from 2009, as well as the leather riding jacket I bought back then. I have my kids I plan on being around for a long time so protection is a must.

I am looking to get some new riding boots and pants. I have some research time put in, but I am waiting for a co-worker to come back from a leave of absence and get his input. He has been riding actively for almost 15 years. He seams to get new riding gear every year.

The boot will be the hardest part for me as I have a ridiculously wide foot. 10.5 x EEEE. And sometimes I still rip out the sides of my work boots. So I am going to have to make a trip to large dealer and try a lot on until I find a good fit.

I like the Caribou hard case. I find myself coming back to them in my research. And the SW-MOTECH carrier just has a insane number of good to great reviews.

As far as replacing the windshield or seat I think I will follow 670cc's advice and get a good chunk of miles on the wheels first. Speaking of wheels.....

The whole dual sport tires thing is new to me. The TKC 80's from Continental grab my attention right away but I will be commuting most of the time. The Karoo 3 seems like a good tire.
Oh and how common is it to run non-spec size tires on the Nc700x?

And again thank you for ALL of your help with this.
 
Also I forgot to ask about skid plates. I see a lot of pictures here on the forums but not manufactures for them.

I do not need tank armor, but something help me avoid scraping the bottom when cresting hills/rocks.
 
Hondabikepro makes a great skidplate. He is in the vendor section. Hebco Becker makes one and TCI products recently released one.

Tires, there is a thread on tires that fit. The tkc80 is a good knobbie. Front is great, rear wears quickly. Kenda Big Block is probably better for rear. Several people run Tkc80 front with K60 rear.
I went with the Full Bore tires front and back. They are basically the same thing as Shinko705s. The Full Bore version has slightly wider tread spacing. They are a good compromise tire. Work well on the street and great off road as long as you aren’t doing mud or deep sand. I compare them to all-terrain truck/jeep tires. You have to raise the front fender, $5 in parts from hardware store, for tire clearance.
 
First off thank you for the info. I have hard time spending $40 on something with out a few days of research on something.

Yes I have some riding gear. I forgot to put in the post I have another $1,000 for more/newer gear. I have my old Shoei helmet from 2009, as well as the leather riding jacket I bought back then. I have my kids I plan on being around for a long time so protection is a must.

based on the manual on helmets, they want you to replace the helmet every 5 years. that would be this year for you.

i dont know how much is that for safety or they just want to make more $
 
I have these cases Honda NC700X 35 Liter Caribou Side Luggage Pannier System installed on Hepco Becker side racks. You want tough, (these are extremely tough) functional non flashy cases that will do the job. They're water proof and inexpensive as well. My logic for these boxy side cases are, if they take a hit, they're inexpensive to replace and will protect your bike as well. I can't say with certainty, but I also think they'll eliminate, or at least lessen the need for crash bars. At about $100.00 apiece to replace, I can't say that about any other hard bag.

I looked at those panniers. How do you get replacements for $100 when they cost $600-$700. If that's the case I'll just buy the replacements in the first place!
 
The cost of the individual case is in the $100.00 range. When you purchase the entire kit from Caribou cases for 6 to 7 hundred, you're getting everything you need for the install. Pelican bags (which is what Roger at Caribou Cases uses) can be purchased inexpensively from a variety of places, Amazon, ebay, etc., and are easily mounted using the hardware that comes with the original kit. The design is also symmetric so there's no left or right side, until, you remount the hardware.
 
Every five years. That is going to cut into my budget a little.
MSR Xpediton - anyone seen these? I have seen a few youtube reviews and they seem ok. And @ $125 i can squeeze it in with no trouble.
 
I'm running Pirelli Scorpion Trails. Much greater street than offroad bias 95/5 or 90/10 but they have taken everything I've thrown at them including riding two miles through what was pretty much a flash flood down my gravel road to my house.
 
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