Sagittarius
Guest
Here in Marin County the weather has been pretty cold, but otherwise clear roads and you just have to wait for the morning thaw to get the ice in the shady spots. It was about 50 degrees this morning when I took my NT out of the garage and did the pre-trip inspection. No surprises being brand new, but good habits are hard to break.
Today's ride was from my home out to Limantour Beach at Point Reyes National Seashore and back - about 60 miles round trip. The trip consists of all kinds of road conditions and traffic - city streets, open country roads with twisties, patches of wet canyons with redwoods, and lots of steep grades for rewarding views at the top. For a casual three hour ride it had just about everything to test out the NT's handling and performance.
Picture #1 is me geared up on the bike - Santa got me a new Olympia Phantom riding suit for Christmas and the Mrs. is thrilled my visibility factor has gone from dark to eyeball-burning neon yellow. As I set out in town it was obvious *everyone* saw me coming - preliminary impressions of the suit are fantastic and I'll cover it in a separate review.
From town the road goes west through cows and rolling grassy hillsides. Here the NT began to demonstrate its Honda pedigree with typical understatement. Low end torque was good with 4th and 5th dropping to down around 2k before it started to suggest downshifting. Nice, smooth acceleration with nothing jumpy into the curves, and the highway stop at the Pt. Reyes Petaluma Road intersection was an effortless downshift range before a vertical stop and left foot down - the motorcycle was nimble and I felt in control the whole time.
Next comes the twisty section - rated 45mph with a fast right uphill then a quick left with a steep downhill into an open valley below. The NT's 560 pounds of weight hugged the road with a good center of gravity and using 'S' patterns through the curves downhill it was a solid ride.
You can go left now to Nicasio or keep going to a really nice open road experience along the reservoir. I chose the latter and this was the first time I opened up the NT to really flex its muscles. Pickup was good from 40 to 55, with 60 a sweet spot for some reason. I briefly punched it higher and noticed the ride was starting to feel a little labored so I backed off. Now was not the time to open it up so in fairness it could have been anything and I didn't pay a lot of attention to it.
Turning right at the painted bridge, you go back into a meandering hilly area with heritage oaks and good blacktop with the occasional pothole and surprise slick of crack patching. 45-50 through here is conservative and the NT cruises like a sewing machine with strong throttle gain coming out of curves. A few more of them and it was arrival at the small town of Pt. Reyes Station.
Picture #2 is freshly parked in front of the bakery after driving the last half hour - so far I've ridden 22 miles and the NT has been running good with the temperature gauge staying just below center, which for a lot of torque being put on the engine in steep climbs and downhills was nice to see - the cooling system seems well built. The trip meter put MPG at 41 - while rated at 49 I considered that reasonable considering the conditions.
From here you travel south on highway 1 to Olema just down the road. Everything was closed and the large parking lot at the bottom of Sir Francis Drake was a welcome stopping point to adjust my suit. Picture #3 is the parking lot in the back of the Olema Farmhouse (good steaks for you meat eaters). The built-in fairing pockets are pretty cool! Camera at the ready, sunglasses, good stuff.
The last leg of the ride was west out to the open Pacific ocean at Limantour beach. The road starts flat but quickly winds through the marsh into a sweeping climb into the mountains. This was where I got to test the ABS and handling on wet slippery pavement (it did very well). I've been on roads like this riding a Yamaha in the past and the Honda was exceptionally reassuring with its handling over slick spots to the point I eventually accepted the bike had things under control.
At the top of the mountain the road does a radical downhill series of twists by the hostel then immediately recoils with a steep climb requiring fast downshifting and control. I was coming downhill around 20mph and the immediate uphill was a good stab of throttle and the NT literally scrambled to the top before I knew it - impressive lower gear power and I never felt like it would stall on me.
Finally down to the beach parking lot - now 31 miles from home. Picture #4 is the NT parked for a break to take in the magnificence of creation and appreciate what my trusty steed has just done for me. After a quick visit to the can, it was the return leg with the roads reversed and the NT taking it all in stride.
The whole ride round trip was three hours and 64 miles. The NT was driven in low gear, mid-range, and high end conditions with lots of shifting, breaking, and hard torque through mountains, valleys, ravines, and city streets. My overall impressions were the Honda NT700V is a well-built motorcycle, handles like a dream in conservative driving, and doesn't pretend to be something it's not with a speedometer pegged at 130 and a scooter-looking rear end. It is, simply, a great bike and I am very pleased with it.
Today's ride was from my home out to Limantour Beach at Point Reyes National Seashore and back - about 60 miles round trip. The trip consists of all kinds of road conditions and traffic - city streets, open country roads with twisties, patches of wet canyons with redwoods, and lots of steep grades for rewarding views at the top. For a casual three hour ride it had just about everything to test out the NT's handling and performance.
Picture #1 is me geared up on the bike - Santa got me a new Olympia Phantom riding suit for Christmas and the Mrs. is thrilled my visibility factor has gone from dark to eyeball-burning neon yellow. As I set out in town it was obvious *everyone* saw me coming - preliminary impressions of the suit are fantastic and I'll cover it in a separate review.
From town the road goes west through cows and rolling grassy hillsides. Here the NT began to demonstrate its Honda pedigree with typical understatement. Low end torque was good with 4th and 5th dropping to down around 2k before it started to suggest downshifting. Nice, smooth acceleration with nothing jumpy into the curves, and the highway stop at the Pt. Reyes Petaluma Road intersection was an effortless downshift range before a vertical stop and left foot down - the motorcycle was nimble and I felt in control the whole time.
Next comes the twisty section - rated 45mph with a fast right uphill then a quick left with a steep downhill into an open valley below. The NT's 560 pounds of weight hugged the road with a good center of gravity and using 'S' patterns through the curves downhill it was a solid ride.
You can go left now to Nicasio or keep going to a really nice open road experience along the reservoir. I chose the latter and this was the first time I opened up the NT to really flex its muscles. Pickup was good from 40 to 55, with 60 a sweet spot for some reason. I briefly punched it higher and noticed the ride was starting to feel a little labored so I backed off. Now was not the time to open it up so in fairness it could have been anything and I didn't pay a lot of attention to it.
Turning right at the painted bridge, you go back into a meandering hilly area with heritage oaks and good blacktop with the occasional pothole and surprise slick of crack patching. 45-50 through here is conservative and the NT cruises like a sewing machine with strong throttle gain coming out of curves. A few more of them and it was arrival at the small town of Pt. Reyes Station.
Picture #2 is freshly parked in front of the bakery after driving the last half hour - so far I've ridden 22 miles and the NT has been running good with the temperature gauge staying just below center, which for a lot of torque being put on the engine in steep climbs and downhills was nice to see - the cooling system seems well built. The trip meter put MPG at 41 - while rated at 49 I considered that reasonable considering the conditions.
From here you travel south on highway 1 to Olema just down the road. Everything was closed and the large parking lot at the bottom of Sir Francis Drake was a welcome stopping point to adjust my suit. Picture #3 is the parking lot in the back of the Olema Farmhouse (good steaks for you meat eaters). The built-in fairing pockets are pretty cool! Camera at the ready, sunglasses, good stuff.
The last leg of the ride was west out to the open Pacific ocean at Limantour beach. The road starts flat but quickly winds through the marsh into a sweeping climb into the mountains. This was where I got to test the ABS and handling on wet slippery pavement (it did very well). I've been on roads like this riding a Yamaha in the past and the Honda was exceptionally reassuring with its handling over slick spots to the point I eventually accepted the bike had things under control.
At the top of the mountain the road does a radical downhill series of twists by the hostel then immediately recoils with a steep climb requiring fast downshifting and control. I was coming downhill around 20mph and the immediate uphill was a good stab of throttle and the NT literally scrambled to the top before I knew it - impressive lower gear power and I never felt like it would stall on me.
Finally down to the beach parking lot - now 31 miles from home. Picture #4 is the NT parked for a break to take in the magnificence of creation and appreciate what my trusty steed has just done for me. After a quick visit to the can, it was the return leg with the roads reversed and the NT taking it all in stride.
The whole ride round trip was three hours and 64 miles. The NT was driven in low gear, mid-range, and high end conditions with lots of shifting, breaking, and hard torque through mountains, valleys, ravines, and city streets. My overall impressions were the Honda NT700V is a well-built motorcycle, handles like a dream in conservative driving, and doesn't pretend to be something it's not with a speedometer pegged at 130 and a scooter-looking rear end. It is, simply, a great bike and I am very pleased with it.
