Owners Chat (with pics!): Honda NC700X

Hi all
I am Joe.

I see only 2 threads regarding Honda NC700X, a brand new Honda from the ground up design. These 2 threads addresses mainly curious people who have yet to take up ownership of this little wonderbike.

I am a happy owner of this and would like to share information with fellow NC700X owners via this thread.
Do you own this bike, and have you any stories or questions to share?

~Joe

good idea! Let's see 'em. I wish I had one to share...

Hi
I am Joe. From Switzerland.

By chance I also started a new thread:
http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=815958

I'm a new owner as well (been participating in the LONG thread so far), but following your lead, would like this one to be for questions, suggestions, etc about the bike, vs the other one that was mostly speculation, and in part due to me, ventured off into discussions of helmets, insurance, etc. :)

One thing that I just posted in that thread is that having had this bike less than 1 week, I've had 2 instances of the check engine light come on (as well as the display stop showing MPH). All it takes is to turn the key off, and turn back on and it rights itself. Curious if any other owners have seen this. Going to take it in this weekend to have them look at it, just sucks that the service dept doesn't take appt's at this dealer. Think I'm going to give them a LARGE dose of guilt so I can be at the front of the line seeing as I don't even have 100 miles on this bike yet...

Also--how do we post pics here?

Can't wait to hear how you like that screen! Once I figure out the screen and what top case I'm going to put on, this bike will be just about perfect for me!

I'll let you know tomorrow. After that, the bike goes back on the lift to have the front forks removed for a trip to RaceTech for re-valving and re-springing. I'm looking for a plusher ride over rough pavement with enough progression in the springs to prevent bottoming on hard bumps. The character will be more towards an off-road set-up than corner carving. This is consistent with how I plan to use the bike. I like to explore, and my corner carving days are behind me.

Ready to leave the dealer.



First was a ram ball for my Garmin then I fashioned a clip on the left handlebar for my iPod. The clip is bare aluminum and really isn't as shiny as the picture - the flash reflected brightly.



I bought a used Givi E460 top box from a friend and now I am waiting on the Givi Monorack arms to mount the base plate for the top box. I am not going to put bags on the 700 for a while, if ever.

Hey ....

With the low pipe ... they fit tight to the bike ...looks good

Thanks for posting the pictures ...

Managed to get all this is the front storage tonight on my way home from work :

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I will be curious to see what adding side bags does to the mileage. Think it will drag it to the low 50's at an 80mph highway trek?

I would expect an 80 mph highway trek to drag it into the fifties without the bags, but I don't plan to test it. If I want to cruise at 80 I will take the BMW. My normal cruise on this bike will be 60-75 mph. As far as wind drag, the bags are aerodynamically shaped, unlike many of the square "adventure" bags. They hang out farther than the OEM Honda bags but they hold 35 liters each instead of 29 liters. For the size, I think they tucked them in as well as could be expected. Also the shape of the Honda bags seems to be more aligned with commuter duty and seems limiting for a normal touring load when compared to the Givi. As Popeye says: "Ya pays ya nickel and ya takes ya choice." I am satisfied with mine.

A topcase could add storage without adding to the wind profile, but I do not like topcases because of the negative effect on CG and handling. It is exactly the wrong place to put a load on a motorcycle.

not an owner, just a fan - man that Givi set up looks great!

oh yeah, and I love my topbox!

Well, after all the well-deserved praise for Givi's sidecases, I think their halo slipped into a noose on the engine guards. The basic product is sound and well constructed. They attach to the four main engine mounting bolts and clamp mid-way of a very substantial frame member, however, they re-use the stock engine mounting bolts. In the case of the sidebag mounts, they provided longer bolts to make up for the thickness of their brackets. In this case, they did not. An economic decision probably, as these are rather expensive grade 10.9 bolts, but I think it is a big issue here. The four engine bolts pass through flanges on the frame and thread into tapped bosses cast into the aluminum engine. Givi apparently assumes that the fastening points are strong enough with 5.3 mm less thread engagement, even though they will now potentially be called on to absorb an impact force for which they were not designed. With aftermarket crash protection, there is always a possibility that an ill-designed engine-saver can be turned into an engine-destroyer. This was often the case with BMW airhead cylinder protectors. They transfer the force to the frame, thereby often bending it. Without them, only a new valve cover is often all that is needed because the cylinders are hell for stout. So I ran my airheads with only sliders on the valve covers and I now question EVERY "crash bar" design before it goes on my bike.

In this case, I think the engine guard and the mounting points are fine, but I disagree strongly with re-using the stock engine bolts. I figure the Japanese engineer stayed after work calculating the load on the engine mounts in determining the thickness of the threaded aluminum attachment points without knowing that an Italian was going to come along later and add impact forces to it. The Italian probably didn't calculate anything and wanted to leave work early to try to pick up a hot redhead at the bar. Nothing wrong with that, but it isn't his bike. So, I plan to allow NO LESS than the original amount of thread engagement as it represents the best that we can do. All four of the threaded attachment points are open to the inside, so a bolt longer than necessary will do no harm so long as there is sufficient length of thread to get to where the threaded portion starts. I will install somewhat longer than necessary bolts so that I have some reserve in case I add a later accessory, such as a skidplate, that wants to mount to the same place.

Here are the numbers for the engine bolts. All are grade 10.9 M12-1.25 hex washer head bolts.

UPPER LEFT: 35mm long bolt with 7mm from face of frame flange to start of thread
UPPER RIGHT: 45mm long bolt with 17mm from face of frame flange to start of thread
LOWER LEFT: 80mm long bolt with 46mm from face of frame flange to start of thread
LOWER RIGHT: 55mm long bolt with 30mm from face of frame flange to start of thread

The stock bolts are not exactly flush with the exit of the bosses, so the numbers above don't clarify that the thickness of the threaded bosses are between 25 and 27mm thick. I don't want to reduce it by 20% and add potential impact forces. I hope the Italian met a hot chick at the bar, but I have abandoned the install until I can get some longer bolts from Fastenal. I publish them here so that you don't have to do the research. In order to keep the engine in position, you have to remove, measure, and reinstall them one at a time. Since they are open on the inside I plan to get bolts 10mm longer so long as the distance to start of thread is adequate.

ETA (8-12-12): I could not find these bolts in washer head, but +10mm will allow enough length to add a washer under the head. The upper right bolt can be re-used on the upper left. I purchased three new bolts in 55mm, 70mm (65 was not available), and 90mm length with grade 10.9 washers from:

www.boltdepot.com

Fastenal only had the super-fine metrics in black oil finish. These are zinc plated and less expensive.

OK gang, here's my mini-review...

The Givi is about 6" taller than the stock shield and about 3" wider on each side. It is made of acrylic resin, which in my view, is the best choice for a windscreen. The stock Honda unit is polycarbonate, which is harder than acrylic but significantly less scratch-resistant. The tall Honda shield is said to be made of PVC in the ad that I saw for it. I hope that this is a misprint and it is actually polycarbonate because PVC is a poor choice of resin for this application.

Some have suggested that they prefer the Honda tall screen to the Givi because of the metal support tubing that the Honda unit has. I did notice a slight fluttering of the top edge of the Givi at 70-75 mph, but it was not extreme and since the top of the screen was well below the line of sight, it was not objectionable. However, I could stop the fluttering with gentle hand pressure indicating that the Honda screen with the tubular support bar will probably be flutter free - especially considering that the Honda screen is an inch shorter and possibly narrower at the top.

I am 6'-2" tall and have been riding on an additional inch or so of inflated AirHawk to separate me from the vinyl crucifix that Honda calls a motorcycle seat. Even so, the Givi shield was somewhat noisier than the stock Honda short shield. If I raised my head by two inches, I was in the undisturbed air and the noise level was equivalent to stock. If I crouched down behind the screen emulating a shorter rider, the noise got much worse in a hurry. I'd estimate that a 5'-9" rider with no AirHawk would be looking for the jet airplane that he was hearing. I don't think it is going to be acceptable in delivered form to anyone much shorter than I am.

SOME THEORY: At a given angle and distance from the rider, for a tall shield to be quieter than a very short one, you just about have to be looking through it, which I think is a bad idea. With a very short shield, your helmet is in undisturbed full flow air. With a very tall shield that you look through (as is especially popular with the Gold Wing crowd), your helmet is in reasonably undisturbed still air. Both are quiet. In the middle is a zone of turbulence that increases to some maximum and then begins to diminish. Ignoring edge effects, the steeper the angle of the shield, the greater the zone of turbulence. The Holy Grail would be a shield low enough to look over but one that put your head in quiet, still air. To do that requires a shield close to the rider with a steep angle of inclination to deflect the air over his head. This is usually accomanied by creating a vacuum behind the shield with enough backdraft to make an open visor fall down. Lots of edge gadgets have been marketed with claims of eliminating the turbulence or throwing the airstream up by a mighty amount. Minor improvements are achievable but very large improvements can be filed alongside the 200 mpg carburetor. Aerodynamic cockpit fairings (my favorite) like the bikini fairing on a BMW R90S or the Hannigan on my BMW R1150R with a shallow angle of incidence to the airflow have a narrow turbulent zone that ends barely above the windshield with a fast return to full flow undisturbed air. With the Hannigan fairing on my BMW, my full body is out of the wind and weather, but my head is in full-flow undisturbed air.

With all that, what's the bottom line on the Givi shield? The main improvement that I think it makes is in the width of the protective zone. If you are comfortable with the task of cutting the height down to what is best for you, then I think you can make a noticable improvement in wind blast while maintaining acceptable noise levels. Whether the improvement is worth $125 and the time and effort of modifying it (not to mention the risk of ruining it in the process) then it may be worth a look. I will probably keep it and cut it down by two inches so I don't have to strain my neck up or over-inflate my AirHawk to get to the acceptably quiet zone. It increases comfortable cruising speed by about 5 mph. For wind blast, 70 mph now feels like 65 mph before. What's that worth?

If your goal is quieter than stock, IMHO, save your money.

Well crap, I literally just pulled the trigger on that Givi screen! Will be here in about a week...might call to see if I can cancel...still wanting to try that MRA screen but it's on backorder til mid September

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If you bought it from Revzilla, it can be returned within 30 days. It is a two-minute four screw install. Save the packaging and don't pull the warning stickers off of it until you try it out. I think I would test it first since it is already ordered. Nothing really to lose but return postage.

No... Bought from the dealer where I bought my bike cause they gave me a discount. Not that it's small money, but yeah ill probably try it out and see how it feels compared to stock.

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Here are some pics of the Garmin Zumo 665 GPS mounted on my NC700x. The mount adapter was a universal crossbar mount from Enduro Engineering. The mount is a Touratech MVG lockable designed for extreme vibration. It is overkill for this application, but I had it as a take-off from my Husqvarna TE-610 when it sold.

Tagged!
If I could get a extra set of seat pans I would send one set to Russell day long.

I was up early and needed the practice. You can always PM a mod, they are listed at the bottom of the main RW page.