Just joined wanted to say hello

nealv2

nealv2

Joined
Jan 16, 2021
Messages
13
Location
Eastbourne
Hi folks just joined a moment ago my name is Neal I live in Eastbourne on the coast .I am a Long distance Coach driver often away a lot on tours use to drive HGVs as well still got the licenses
Anyway I recently had a St1100 pan ,before that 2 transalps a Fazer and VFR V tec. It must be an age thing but I had to get rid of my ST 1100 pan,as it was getting a bit heavy for me .So after dropping it back in the spring of last year I thought that was it.
So I’ve got myself NT 650 Deauville it’s a 2001 model got it really cheap. Only paid £850 including delivery it’s a bit of a project so I am getting back up to a condition so it’s presentable
Bit of a mess when it arrived but mechanically it was sound and serviced and had an MOT.
So I thought I better get on here
Thanks
 

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Hi, Neal! Welcome to NT-Owners.org! It's great to have another member from the UK. I can sympathize with your reason for buying your Deauville -- I didn't start riding until I was in my mid-50s when I bought my first bike, an '83 Honda GL650i Silverwing. After a year, I bought my first new bike, a '99 Kawasaki GTR (or as we called them here in the US, a Concours). I rode Connie #1 for 7 yrs and put 115K miles on it, but then rolled it up into a little ball one night, suffering a slight concussion, some bruised or broken ribs, and some other bruises. Three months later, I bought '99 Connie #2 from a friend who had equipped it almost exactly my first one. It had 65K miles and I rode it for a little over four years and put another 50K miles on it.

I had had both knees replaced in '03, and then had them both replaced again within a year due to infections. I had my right knee replaced again in '07 and by '10. The Connie was getting heavy by then. I had been aware of the Deauville 650s and thought they looked like a great bike for my riding style, but they were never in the US. I had been to Europe in '08 to attend the GTR Club Europe's Rally and seen and sat on an '08 Deauville 700 in Mannheim. When Mother Honda decided to import the '10, I thought I'd probably buy one. In March of '10, when I needed new tires on the '99 Connie, I decided I might as well spend that money on an NT. I bought mine in March and rode it until July of '20, when I traded it on NT#2. #1 was actually newer than #2 (Serial number 00079 vs SN 00063) but #2 only had 22K miles and #1 was at 139K miles. Since I'll be 78 in a couple of weeks, I'm reasonably sure that this will be the last bike I own. I'll ride it until one of us either can't ride or be ridden.

IMG_0042 (2).JPG

I'm still waiting to see my first 650NT. I hope you know about the Deauville Forum in the UK. There's also a Deauville/NT Riders group on Facebook. We're always glad to have someone from the UK, but most of us in the US know only slightly more than nothing about the 650s!
 
Welcome! Lots of info on this website ...lots of years experience. If we all came over, would you drive us all around Normandy? ;)
 
Not a problem as things go we are selling up and moving across the channel to France a place called DomFront which is near lower Normandy we have family over there already
They are just waiting on us now
Can’t do anything at the moment because of this fucking virus 👌
 
rc_heli_nut said:
Interesting how different the bodywork is on the 2001 model versus the ones we got here in USA
Click to expand...

It's not just the bodywork -- the Deauville 650 was manufactured from '98-'05 with some major revisions happening in 2002. Its engine had 3 valves and 1 spark plug, 55hp and 41 ft/lb of torque. The Deauville 700 was introduced in 2006, and is the 3rd generation that is essentially like our bike (which, as far as I can tell, were all made in either 2009 or 2010, and marketed as 2010 and 2011 models, with some left-over '11s being sold as '12 models). The adjustable windshield was probably the biggest change during the life of the NT700V. At some point it went from 2 positions to our 5-position version. There were a lot more accessories sold in the UK (and Europe) than Honda ever made available here. It's too bad that it wasn't marketed very well in the US and, apparently, didn't fit the desires of the American market. It was perceived as being overpriced, but compared to its competition, by the time you modified them to have the touring features of the NT, it wasn't that far off IMNSHO.
 
rc_heli_nut said:
Interesting how different the bodywork is on the 2001 model versus the ones we got here in USA
Click to expand...
Mine is a 2001 model as you can see in my picture once you open it up I had the larger fairing cases they were available as an option and Honda charged for the privilege
They also improved the lighting on the 700 model
I have had to do a headlight upgrade as the original was so poor
Also in addition I have ordered a lower fairing kit which will cover the engine side casings and front exhaust downpipe
Again Honda charged you big bucks for the kit
I am fitting one to mine because it saves all your engine and exhaust getting exposed to our wet weather over here in the uk rust being the culprit
I’ve got the kit from EBay for £159 Honda would charge double that
It will be worth doing and I stick a picture up once it’s done I think it will complètement the look of the bike once fitted
 
It was perceived as being overpriced, which it may have been here in the US, based on currency exchange rates at the time. Any extra money spent buying the NT versus something else, I've long forgotten about those $$. What I'm left with is the best bike I've ever owned, sounds like a win-win for us NT owners.

Brad
 
The Deauville over here in the uk has had mixed reviews
At the time motorcycle journalists were very critical they earned the name of Dull ville
But to me there ideal for touring on a budget ok they struggle a bit performance wise with a passenger
But what’s not to like full luggage and shaft drive all thrown in and they are reliable,it will happily sit on the motorway all day at 70mph
As I said I previously had a ST1100 Pan European fantastic machine.It just got a bit to heavy .This Deauville is the next best bike similar to the Pan just that bit smaller and more manageable
 
Neal, that's the way I felt about my NT700V after 11 years of riding a pair of '99 Kawasaki Concours (what you chaps call the GTR in the UK and Europe). The Connies were too heavy and the NT was just that bit smaller and more manageable. I wasn't sure if I'd made the right decision for about the first 30 miles on my way home from the dealer the day I picked it up. But by the time I had 80 miles on it I knew I was going to be happy and I still am, 140K+ miles later.
 
Phil Tarman said:
Neal, that's the way I felt about my NT700V after 11 years of riding a pair of '99 Kawasaki Concours (what you chaps call the GTR in the UK and Europe). The Connies were too heavy and the NT was just that bit smaller and more manageable. I wasn't sure if I'd made the right decision for about the first 30 miles on my way home from the dealer the day I picked it up. But by the time I had 80 miles on it I knew I was going to be happy and I still am, 140K+ miles later.
Click to expand...
The bike I have here is now 21 years old believe it or not it’s covered 58000 miles it’s nothing for one of these
It was a mess as I said earlier but it didn’t take me to long to get to look like it does now
About 3 days and £150 that included a new battery and regulator /rectifier plus paint materials
The previous owner had bought a new fuel pump for it and left it in the top box for me
Which reminds me guys the fuel pump is a known problem with these bikes not so much the nt 700 version
If it does give trouble the bike will just stop suddenly
But be sure to check the fuel relay switch first which is under the seat , at the back next to the taillight assembly in the near side corner
It’s a 3 pin relay hope this is helpful to you all
 
rc_heli_nut said:
It was perceived as being overpriced, which it may have been here in the US, based on currency exchange rates at the time. Any extra money spent buying the NT versus something else, I've long forgotten about those $$. What I'm left with is the best bike I've ever owned, sounds like a win-win for us NT owners.

Brad
Click to expand...
I have found that if I am happy with a bike, and I am ALMOST always am....the purchase price is irrelevant. And over 8 years, its not the biggest cost of ownership.
 
nealv2 said:
Mine is a 2001 model as you can see in my picture once you open it up I had the larger fairing cases they were available as an option and Honda charged for the privilege
They also improved the lighting on the 700 model
I have had to do a headlight upgrade as the original was so poor
Also in addition I have ordered a lower fairing kit which will cover the engine side casings and front exhaust downpipe
Again Honda charged you big bucks for the kit
I am fitting one to mine because it saves all your engine and exhaust getting exposed to our wet weather over here in the uk rust being the culprit
I’ve got the kit from EBay for £159 Honda would charge double that
It will be worth doing and I stick a picture up once it’s done I think it will complètement the look of the bike once fitted
Click to expand...
I am on a Euro NT FB page and a VFR world FB page and I look at the corrosion on the engine parts on UK bikes and just shake my head. It must be the damp, road salt, and sea air that does it.
 
Coyote Chris said:
I have found that if I am happy with a bike, and I am ALMOST always am....the purchase price is irrelevant. And over 8 years, its not the biggest cost of ownership.
Click to expand...

Chris, I agree 100% about purchase price being irrelevant. I used Fuelly.com for all but 30,000 miles I rode on Dudley and I spent $6800 on fuel. Plus 13 sets of tires. Plus farkles ranging from top boxes to cruise control to LED lights to big lids to the OEM undercowl, and maintenance. Plus several helmets, several pairs of boots, two heated jackets, and two Aerostitch riding suits. I'm glad I didn't track everything I spent riding for the last 22 years!

I got my first bike NT for $9,499 ($1500 below list) and my 2nd one for only $4999 + the trade-in of my first bike (valued at $1500 for the sake of the deal). That money has been inconsequential.

Back in '69, when I tried to talk Wife #1 into buying a motorcycle, my #1 argument (that had no effect what-so-ever on her) was, "Gee, honey, just think of all the money we'll save!" I'm glad I never tried that one on Joanne -- she's a lot smarter than that. But she knows, God bless her heart, that the money I've spent is been worth every single penny.
 
Coyote Chris said:
I am on a Euro NT FB page and a VFR world FB page and I look at the corrosion on the engine parts on UK bikes and just shake my head. It must be the damp, road salt, and sea air that does it.
Click to expand...

I have noted the same thing about corrosion in British bikes. It does seem to be a fairly big deal that but it is rarely a factor here in North America - beyond relatively superficial surface rust and of course the dulling of chrome and the mung on the insides of fuel tanks.

Back to British bikes: while the sea air might be a cause, I believe that much of the corrosion is a result of the fact that many British bikers ride all year. I may be incorrect in this view, but it seems to me that British winters are juuuuussstt mild enough with little enough snow that it is feasible to do so. However, the road maintenance folks still spread salt on the roads and so British bikes are exposed to it for much of their lives.

In contrast, North American riders - except for those in the desert SW and sunbelt areas of the US, very seldom ride in the winter.

Even where I live in Windsor, ON - which is Canada's most southerly city - the bikes generally come off the road in the late November / early December timeframe and seldom go back on until mid-March. Yes, there are occasional periods of above 0C weather throughout the winter, but there is so much salt around that very few riders would expose their bikes to it. Personally, I haven't seen a motorcycle on the roads around here for at least a month. Having said that, a couple of years ago, I did ride at least one day in every month - mostly just to say that I had done it.

However, elsewhere in Canada and throughout the northern US states, it is simply too cold and the roads are too uncertain to ride in the wintertime - and so very few people do and that protects our bikes from the ravages of winter, for the most part.
 
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Mine goes into storage typically around 1st or 2nd week of December, and gets dragged out somewhere around Easter weekend. They salt the roads something fierce around here (Rockford, IL vicinity), so I usually wait until a few good rains have washed off the roads.

Brad
 
All of the above about British winters is correct and yes we mostly ride them all year round .......I don’t mine is wrapped up in a blanket in the log cabin with the heater on I never take my bike out in the wet 😂😂
If you was to bring your ride over here it would dissolve within a week 🤣
 
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