New Owner from the Big Apple (NYC).

[SilverNT]

Hi all,

I am Stephen from New York, I am not sure if I made a good purchase, but since I am a honda FAN I bought myself a SALVAGE 2010 Honda NT700V ABS with 30k on the odometer, the previous owner bought it SALVAGE with 10k miles.
The bike looks and run good I thought I may have paid a bit much with the price tag of $2300. However; there were several buyers waiting for me to back out, but because I was the first one who sent Cycletrader.com an email I had the first bid plus being in NY I took off work the next day and made the 90 mile trip to Connecticut. I was about to take delivery of a use '03 Suzuki cruiser, but because I wanted to stay away from carb engine I was excited to stumble on the NT700V with ABS, Fuel Injected, Shaft drive, Windshield, Trunk box and the thought of having a REAL fuel indicator were too much to pass. So my question to you guys is, did I make the right decision? What do I need to know about this machine? I can do the engine and final drive shaft fluid change, but what else stuff like valve clearance? cooling?
I forgot to mention that I already have a 2006 Suzuki Boulevard 650 (Savage) with 4500 miles, nice cruiser.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Stephen, as far as I'm concerned you done good. I've got a '10 NT with ABS. Some of the Superior Silver 2010s had ABS, some didn't. I've got 137K on mine now and even though I've had more issues than most NT owners it's been a great bike for me. I had ridden two '99 Kawasaki C-10 Concours for 165K miles over 10 years when I decided that after five knee replacements, I needed something lighter. I'd seen and sat on an '08 NT700V in Mannheim, Germany in 2008 when I'd been in Europe for the Euro equivalent of the Concours Owners Group National Rally. I liked it and when Honda decided to import it in '10, I decided it was the bike for me. Mine has been heavily farkled (Russell Day Long saddle and Rostra electronic cruise control [which isn't working right now, but is probably either fixable or replaceable, and I've got a brand new one that was given to me] are my two favorites; I've got Denali LED driving lights, a Givi top box, SW Mototech tank bag, V-Stream windshield, big pannier lids, OEM undercowl, wind deflectors, a Throttlemeister throttle lock plus a bunch of other smaller items) , and I've had the bike lowered an inch. For a while the decision to lower the bike was a mistake because my sidestand wasn't shortened enough. When I'd get on the bike, I'd start to compress the suspension before I could get my right foot on the ground and unless I'd been very careful about where I'd stopped it was way too easy to drop the bike. But then I got the sidestand shortened some more and now I mostly don't drop the bike.

 

[SilverNT]

Stephen, as far as I'm concerned you done good. I've got a '10 NT with ABS. Some of the Superior Silver 2010s had ABS, some didn't. I've got 137K on mine now and even though I've had more issues than most NT owners it's been a great bike for me. I had ridden two '99 Kawasaki C-10 Concours for 165K miles over 10 years when I decided that after five knee replacements, I needed something lighter. I'd seen and sat on an '08 NT700V in Mannheim, Germany in 2008 when I'd been in Europe for the Euro equivalent of the Concours Owners Group National Rally. I liked it and when Honda decided to import it in '10, I decided it was the bike for me. Mine has been heavily farkled (Russell Day Long saddle and Rostra electronic cruise control [which isn't working right now, but is probably either fixable or replaceable, and I've got a brand new one that was given to me] are my two favorites; I've got Denali LED driving lights, a Givi top box, SW Mototech tank bag, V-Stream windshield, big pannier lids, OEM undercowl, wind deflectors, a Throttlemeister throttle lock plus a bunch of other smaller items) , and I've had the bike lowered an inch. For a while the decision to lower the bike was a mistake because my sidestand wasn't shortened enough. When I'd get on the bike, I'd start to compress the suspension before I could get my right foot on the ground and unless I'd been very careful about where I'd stopped it was way too easy to drop the bike. But then I got the sidestand shortened some more and now I mostly don't drop the bike.

Thank you for the quick reply. I am 5'8" and for some reason I am one of those with longer limbs than torso LOL!.. So both of my feet touch the ground comfortably when I stop. Who knows my new rider's butterflies cause me not to really notice it.

 

[Sunny]

congrats ... if you are in NY city, how about we catch up on a socially distanced ride to Hwaks Nest some day ... would be good to meet another NT owner ...

 

[SilverNT]

congrats ... if you are in NY city, how about we catch up on a socially distanced ride to Hwaks Nest some day ... would be good to meet another NT owner ...

That would have been great, but I just moved upstate to Goshen.

 

[ARKNT]

Welcome. The NT is solid. If you decide to do valve adjustments they are screw and locknuts. The pannier latches are weak, be gentle. Many here have replaced the latches with external ones.
Enjoy.

Brad

 

[karl]

Welcome and enjoy your "new" bike.

 

[Sunny]

That would have been great, but I just moved upstate to Goshen.

goshen is not far ... Bear Mountain is mid-way

 

[SableAble]

Congrats on the new bike. Most maintenance can be done with a set of metric wrenches, 1/4 and 1/2 inch drive socket set, and metric allen head sockets.

A manual will help. Just learn to take the plastics off in order and replace them in order. LOL.

Have put 23k miles on mine so far. adjusted the valves twice. Great bike.

 

[andycintsa]

Hell you guys.. you really do maintain your bikes well. I'm ashamed to say I haven't adjusted my vaves for nearly 75,000 kms 50000 miles for the unconverted among us, and my dear bike doesn't miss a beat. As a matter of interest , i'd love to know if you actually ever find you valve clearance in need of adjustment???

 

[Phil Tarman]

Andy, I've never adjusted my own valves on the NT. I did all my own maintenance on my two '99 Kawasaki Concours (GTR to you guys outside of the US), but have never done any except for one oil and filter change on the NT. My only excuse for that is increasing age and decreasing flexibility. My first NT lasted me 138K miles (220km for the "converted" among us. ) and I was told by mechanics that one or two at a time were out of adjustment by tiny amounts. My guess is that they were mostly making me feel that I needed to keep doing valve adjustment checks. The last one I had done cost me $600+ for valve adjustment, oil and filter change, and inspection of the bike.

 

[rc_heli_nut]

That's been my experience with the valve adjustment, they hardly changed at all between checks. Maybe .001" at the most, so you will find if you do your own valve adjust, it's more of a minor tweak than an adjustment.

Brad

 

[Brillot2000]

Welcome Aboard and Greetings from So Cal.

Valve adjustments are quite a labor intensitive task due to that you have to dismantle half of the bike to gain access to both the cylinder head covers. Any work on this bike requires the removal of all the bodywork to even get to a point where you can gain access to just about anything on this bike. I just want you to be aware of this fact.

The weakest link on this bike the pannier latches. They break easily and can be near to impossible to repair. How and where they broke is the determining factor regarding the difficulty of repairing them.

I went down on my this past Wednesday the 9th due to a diesel spill across the entire intersection that I made a left turn through. I low-sided and the bike slid on it's left side for 30 feet or more. All the bodywork got pretty messed up and will need to be replaced. All the OEM bodywork from the dealer retails for about $1,750 MSRP. I am currently on pins and needles worrying if the total damages of about $2,400, not including dealer labor. I fear that the insurance company will "Total" the bike and pay me off in peanuts for the bike.

 

[harryhendo]

Welcome to the forum. You'll love how nimble the NT is in NYC traffic. It is apparently a favorite of London motorcycle couriers because it is not very wide due to the integrated cases. I think you got a good deal because the NT is a unique bike with its V-twin engine, fuel injection, shaft drive, and a full set of analog instruments. It isn't gimmicky and doesn't look like an angry kingfisher. I am always getting compliments on the bike from folks who always say "that's a beautiful bike". I just bought mine two months ago and already have put 3000 miles on it, and it puts a smile on my face every ride. The MPG average meter says 70.1.

There's a guy who publishes videos on Youtube about the NT. They are well worth viewing, especially the one about how the side cases work.

 

[Phil Tarman]

The MPG average meter says 70.1.

Harry, the average mpg shown on the dash is almost always quite a bit more than you're actually getting. I've tracked my mileage on Fuelly.com for about 110,000 of the 140,000 miles that I've ridden. Dudley, my first NT, averaged 47.1 mpg with 84% of that being highway mileage. Horse, my current NT, is at 47.2 mpg for the 1260 miles I've got in it. 99% of Horse's mileage is on the highway. A goodly percentage of that highway mileage on both bikes has been at speeds between 75-85 mph. Back east of the Mississippi, I've gotten about 5 mpg more due to lower speed limits.

 

[harryhendo]

At the pump, I am calculating that the bike gets between 62-64 MPG each fillup. The riding is fast challenging backroads riding, rarely above 55 mph, and no highway riding at high RPM. The riding type probably has the most influence on the MPG.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Harry, that's impressive. I've only gotten above 60 mpg once or twice, no matter where I'm riding or how I'm riding.

 

[Macka]

Mine is usually around 57-59 mpg US or 68-70 mpg Imperial.
I agree with Mike that it does not vary much, for me, despite conditions, except for a strong head wind.
The head wind makes a difference as I am usually fully laden with the top-box, a large seat bag behind me that protrudes out the sides and the screen usually at or near full height.
My riding style is very consistent and steady, though.

Macka