First Ride Report... I Love this Bike!

[WingMan71]

Well, she finally got here. (Had to have it shipped to me.) Had my first ride this morning at 8:00 AM when it was still nice and cool outside.

I LOVE THIS BIKE!

Got rid of my 1999 Kawasaki Concours ZG1000 late last year. It was just too tall and too heavy for me anymore, particularly for mountain riding with its steep parking lots, gravel roads and side-leaning stops. Been looking for a replacement since, and the NT7000V looks like it will be perfect for me.

It's about 90 pounds lighter, much less top heavy and, with the Corbin seat, I can flat-foot both feet at stops even with my 30" inseam! Can even paddle it around like Fred Flintstone in a parking lot if I have to. Couldn't do that with the Concours!

Got to flip the bike around some twisties for a bit on some back roads near me. Very light handling, goes right where you look, and is easy to ride the twisties fast if you want to. Got out on the highway for a bit and got up to 75 MPH just to see how it handled and how the wind protection was. Very stable at speed, and was turning 5,000 RPM at 75 MPH. I kind of expected that it would be turning much faster than that at speed. Not too much vibration, but a little. I did learn that it really doesn't like to run at much less than 3,500 RPM in any gear or there's not much torque available.

It's got 2" handlebar risers on it, which I find really helps with my riding position. My days of riding leaning way forward with weight on my arms and wrists are long over, so my old back really appreciates them!

Regarding the Corbin seat: The significantly lower seat height makes all the difference for me compared to the stock seat. I can flat-foot at stops with a bend in my knees! I normally don't like Corbin seats since they've always seemed very hard to me with little padding, and I've got very little "natural padding". But, this one is going to be OK. The rider's portion has a good curve to it and it kind of nestles your butt comfortably in place.

I gave the bike a once-over when it arrived yesterday. It's in great shape, and has been well cared for by two previous owners. It just had $1,200 worth of scheduled service done to it last Spring. I've got all the maintenance records back to when the bike was new. Nice to have those.

I was surprised to see how much some of the plastic was sun-faded, particularly the side covers, fairing side covers, and fairing pocket covers. Based on the bits of those that are covered by other pieces and not exposed to sun, they were all originally black. Even the rear fender is sun-faded quite a bit. It's gray, but underneath the license plate it's nice and black. I've read on this forum that the best way to deal with that is to just paint them with Krylon Fusion paint for plastic. I've used that paint to paint body panels before, so I think that's what I'll do with these pieces.

So, bottom line: I love this bike! (It will serve my 2-wheeled riding needs just fine for when the wife isn't going along on the Gold Wing trike.) It's a keeper!

Will probably be looking to add some farkles as I have more time with it.

 

[Sunny]

Looks gr8 ...

1) Pl share some pics of 2inch risers, I got them for my NT and plan to install them soon.

2) For faded plastic, I treid the heat gun method and it is a good success, just don't allow the heat gun to touch the plastic or get too close and try to do it evenly ...

 

[WingMan71]

Looks gr8 ...

1) Pl share some pics of 2inch risers, I got them for my NT and plan to install them soon.

Here's some pics of my bar risers:







PS) The green thing is my SAE USB power port.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Wing Man, I'm not surprised to hear you're falling in love with the NT! Your experience sounds like mine. I had two '99 C-10s. I rode the 1st one (named Tumbleweed due to being pounded by tumbleweeds on a ride, plus a propensity for dropping it!) 115K before I wadded it up one night in the mountains. It took me about 2 months before I bought another one, almost identically farkled. I rode that one (named Tumbletoo) for 50K miles. I had gone to Germany to attend the Euro version of a Concours National Rally and saw and sat on my first Deauville, an '08. When Honda decided to bring the NT to the US, I bought my first NT in March of '10. After my 2013 "Epic Post-Retirement Ride" I can tell you that it cruises comfortably at 85-90mph. I learned that going across southern California, AZ, NM, and west Texas on I-8 and I-10. You get run over doing 75 out there! 85mph = 6Krpm and 90mph = 6.4K. You don't have very rapid acceleration past that point. The fastest I've been on mine has been 106 or so. I don't need to do that very often. I rode "Dudley," my 1st bike, 139K miles before trading it on "Horse," my 2nd NT last July. Horse is 16 serial numbers older than Dudley, but only had 22K miles when I bought him.

My bike has been lowered about an inch and I've got the Russell Sport Seat which is about the same height as the stock seat but much more comfortable. Other farkles that have been on both bikes have been cruise control and throttle locks, the wind deflectors, top boxes, big pannier lids, the OEM undercowl, GPS, SPOT tracker, heated grips, driving lights (the first Denalis on Dudley, Clearwater Darlas on Horse), Triumph fork gaiters, and a bunch of other little things.

Dudley:


Horse:


Keep on enjoying your bike!

 

[WingMan71]

Hello Phil,

Is that a National Cycle V-Stream windshield?

If so, how do you like it? I wouldn't mind a little bit more wind protection at speed on the highway than the stock windshield offers. But, I've read some posts that said the V-Stream wobbles around a bit at high speeds. Is that true?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Hondafan]

Phil, it looks like Dudley is still looking for a good home.
2010 Honda NT700V ABS Honda NT700V ABS - motorcycles/scooters - by... (craigslist.org)

 

[harryhendo]

Well, she finally got here. (Had to have it shipped to me.) Had my first ride this morning at 8:00 AM when it was still nice and cool outside.

I LOVE THIS BIKE!

Congratulations on the new bike. It looks fantastic. Enjoy!

 

[karl]

Enjoy your new ride.

 

[Sunny]

Here's some pics of my bar risers:

PS) The green thing is my SAE USB power port.

Thanks. Can you check and see if you are using longer cables ... that is my main concern ... I am plan the swap this weekend ...

Interesting that the original owner decided to put the bigger black riser cover lower down ... I was thinking of putting it on top and the smaller riser covers at the bottom.. this would leave a bigger hole .. and may be give a falter surface to mount that SAE USB charger.

Vstream: its good, I too have it, and it has awesome weather protection and till 50mph, I don't need ear buds and can ride with my helmet open ... not much wobble .... but a bigger flexible surface area at higher speeds is inherent more shaky ...

only challenge is many have had cracking near the mount ...

 

[WingMan71]

Thanks. Can you check and see if you are using longer cables ... that is my main concern ... I am plan the swap this weekend ...
Interesting that the original owner decided to put the bigger black riser cover lower down ... I was thinking of putting it on top and the smaller riser covers at the bottom.. this would leave a bigger hole .. and may be give a falter surface to mount that SAE USB charger.

Yes, this riser came as a kit that included a longer brake hose from the brake reservoir to the splitter down under the triple tree. The throttle cables did not need to be replaced. They were long enough to reach.

The black top clamp has to go back in its original position for this riser. It is required to clamp on to the shafts on each leg of the riser. That's what holds the riser in place on the original handlebar riser-clamp assembly.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Hello Phil,

Is that a National Cycle V-Stream windshield?

If so, how do you like it? I wouldn't mind a little bit more wind protection at speed on the highway than the stock windshield offers. But, I've read some posts that said the V-Stream wobbles around a bit at high speeds. Is that true?

Thanks for any advice.

It is the National Cycle V-Stream. I like it a lot. Colorado, Kansas, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Nebraska, where I do most of my riding has been known to have occasional breezes , and yes, the screen wobbles a bit. I've had two or three other brands of screen and all of them wobble a bit. I had the stock screen and two CeeBailey screens before I got my 1st V-Stream. All of them wobbled a bit, and I both CeeBailey's broke while riding. Cracks started out of the mounting holes. I stop-drilled those holes and that got me a bit more mileage out of them. The only time one of the V-Streams has broken was when a deer stuck his antlers though it. Some people have said that they want more wind in the summer, but I just lower the V-stream down to the first notch from the bottom in the summer and put it in the middle when its colder or wetter. I'm very happy with the V-Stream and recommend it highly. It's been much less prone to scratching.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Phil, it looks like Dudley is still looking for a good home.
2010 Honda NT700V ABS Honda NT700V ABS - motorcycles/scooters - by... (craigslist.org)

Hmmm.... I think Frosty had told me that it had been sold and I'm pretty sure that it wasn't on their inventory list in the middle of the summer.

 

[NewTo700V]

I was surprised to see how much some of the plastic was sun-faded, particularly the side covers, fairing side covers, and fairing pocket covers. Based on the bits of those that are covered by other pieces and not exposed to sun, they were all originally black. Even the rear fender is sun-faded quite a bit. It's gray, but underneath the license plate it's nice and black. I've read on this forum that the best way to deal with that is to just paint them with Krylon Fusion paint for plastic.

I prefer to use Trim & Bumper paint. I think it most closely resembles the look of the plastic before UV did its thing.

 

[NewTo700V]

It is the National Cycle V-Stream. I like it a lot. Colorado, Kansas, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Nebraska, where I do most of my riding has been known to have occasional breezes , and yes, the screen wobbles a bit. I've had two or three other brands of screen and all of them wobble a bit. I had the stock screen and two CeeBailey screens before I got my 1st V-Stream. All of them wobbled a bit, and I both CeeBailey's broke while riding. Cracks started out of the mounting holes. I stop-drilled those holes and that got me a bit more mileage out of them. The only time one of the V-Streams has broken was when a deer stuck his antlers though it. Some people have said that they want more wind in the summer, but I just lower the V-stream down to the first notch from the bottom in the summer and put it in the middle when its colder or wetter. I'm very happy with the V-Stream and recommend it highly. It's been much less prone to scratching.

I had the Vstream installed on my last 40 hour marathon west. At 90mph into the wind it started lowering itself. I set it all the way down for the remainder of the trip.

 

[Coyote Chris]

Congrats! I can name 3 of us that went from a Concours 1000 to the NT.
I loved the Connie but she was just too top heavy, required a pet Orangatan to put on the center stand, had hydrolock issues and fuel cap valve issues. But the bike lasted for 20 years on the market because of its good points. The NT/Deauville has lasted many years on the market in Europe because of its good points also.

 

[Brillot2000]

Hello Phil,

Is that a National Cycle V-Stream windshield?

If so, how do you like it? I wouldn't mind a little bit more wind protection at speed on the highway than the stock windshield offers. But, I've read some posts that said the V-Stream wobbles around a bit at high speeds. Is that true?

Thanks for any advice.

I have one too. It’s terrible for warm weather, does not allow for much air flow. Great for cold weather though. I only put mine on the bike during the colder months for my commutes prior to the pandemic. I didn’t put it on this past winter as I wasn’t going into work everyday like before.

 

[Brillot2000]

Congrats on you receiving your bike.

Sounds your first impressions are quite similar to mine after receiving my bike. As you are already aware of, I refused to let mine go after the insurance company total it.

Also, these bikes are quite rare in Southern California. I had to go to Crestline, CA to find mine. I hade to drive 80 miles one-way to both see it and to test ride it. this was the only one for sale in all of SoCal. Then go pick up about two weeks later to buy it and bring it back home in the bed of my truck.

 

[WVRider]

Well WingMan71 I had a feeling you would love the NT and that one looks amazing. I've been through too many motorcycles to count over the years and find the NT to be the best I've ever owned / ridden. Just got back this week from a 5 day 1400+ miles moto camping trip with a few friends and just plain enjoyed every minute. Rolled over 78K during the ride and the NT handled 28 miles of gravel road we got detoured onto. Enjoy the ride !