So when I went back to my bike to leave Twisted Throttle's open house in May there was a card on my bike saying "Loan us your bike, get $100." The card had a list of 15 or so bikes they wanted to borrow for R&D.
So I contacted them a few weeks later and arranged to let them borrow my Tiger Explorer for the $100 store credit. As they're almost three hours from me, I told them I'd need a loaner bike and they said that's not a problem.
I dropped my bike off this past Saturday. I was hoping my loaner would be a Super Tenere or a 1200GS - but I was given an NC700X (non DCT). Wish they did have a DCT model because I'd really like to try that out.
Upon leaving, as I hopped on to start the ride home of course I immediately felt cramped - the bike seemed light, tiny, and cheap - but that's comparing it to my Explorer with a Russell Day Long which is basically a cadillac in comparison so I had to shake that frame of reference to judge the NC700X more fairly.
After the first hour I have to say I was more impressed than I thought I would be. The seat is absolutely terrible and I was in pain after 30 minutes. I took 4 hours to ride home and the seat essentially ruined the entire thing, but I took away a favorable response of the engine and the way the bike handles. The seat angled me slightly towards the tank - more than I am used to on the Explorer.
It must have a slightly longer rake than my bike as it wants to straighten a little bit more, and requires just a tiny bit more effort to initiate turns. But it was a nice balance. I liked the way it felt coming out of turns. And while it has no acceleration compared to the 137 horses I'm used to, I found it just fine for what the bike is. It shifts very confidently and smoothly. The lower gears of my Explorer "snap" into gear much rougher compared to this (but into 4th 5th and 6th mine is more smooth). The gearbox was more smooth than I remember the NT to be. While the already lowered pegs were still not low enough for my legs and the shifter was up to high for my tastes, all that is adjustable.
The 6th gear seems VERY tall. I tried it at various speeds and f you shift into 6th at 60mph the engine is almost bogging. At 70 or 75, the bike runs at a lower rpm than my Explorer. The NC700X engine is very smooth and happy in the 3k range. I don't think I ran it more than 4.5k (it redlines at 6.5k). I think for most people this is just fine. Especially so for newer riders. I wouldn't mind trying it in some twisties and riding it in the higher rpm's to see what that's like but I bet it's just fine.
The bike is super light and very easily moved around the garage. The front storage area is different - and I think I like it. With the tank lower and in the middle, it keeps the weight down lower. It's not top heavy. I feel like I could prevent a SAD with this bike even if my foot fell an extra foot.
TT's NC700X was decked out a little bit with an MRA screen and wind deflector, barkbuster handguards with admore lighting directionals on them, lower cowl, mirror wideners, bags-connection semi-rigid sidecases, oxford heated grips, denali dm's, engine guard, among other things. The topcase in the pics is mine (well, soon Fieroguy's).
I'm not really adding any new information about this bike than has already been covered, just thought I'd share my thoughts as well. It strikes me as a good bike. A little too small for my tastes, but a smooth, confident ride for the 4 hours I was on it. It was very predictable. It seems very much worth it's low msrp. After adding a few thousand in farkles, seems like a very worthy little adv touring bike
Here's a couple pics of the bike:
So I contacted them a few weeks later and arranged to let them borrow my Tiger Explorer for the $100 store credit. As they're almost three hours from me, I told them I'd need a loaner bike and they said that's not a problem.
I dropped my bike off this past Saturday. I was hoping my loaner would be a Super Tenere or a 1200GS - but I was given an NC700X (non DCT). Wish they did have a DCT model because I'd really like to try that out.
Upon leaving, as I hopped on to start the ride home of course I immediately felt cramped - the bike seemed light, tiny, and cheap - but that's comparing it to my Explorer with a Russell Day Long which is basically a cadillac in comparison so I had to shake that frame of reference to judge the NC700X more fairly.
After the first hour I have to say I was more impressed than I thought I would be. The seat is absolutely terrible and I was in pain after 30 minutes. I took 4 hours to ride home and the seat essentially ruined the entire thing, but I took away a favorable response of the engine and the way the bike handles. The seat angled me slightly towards the tank - more than I am used to on the Explorer.
It must have a slightly longer rake than my bike as it wants to straighten a little bit more, and requires just a tiny bit more effort to initiate turns. But it was a nice balance. I liked the way it felt coming out of turns. And while it has no acceleration compared to the 137 horses I'm used to, I found it just fine for what the bike is. It shifts very confidently and smoothly. The lower gears of my Explorer "snap" into gear much rougher compared to this (but into 4th 5th and 6th mine is more smooth). The gearbox was more smooth than I remember the NT to be. While the already lowered pegs were still not low enough for my legs and the shifter was up to high for my tastes, all that is adjustable.
The 6th gear seems VERY tall. I tried it at various speeds and f you shift into 6th at 60mph the engine is almost bogging. At 70 or 75, the bike runs at a lower rpm than my Explorer. The NC700X engine is very smooth and happy in the 3k range. I don't think I ran it more than 4.5k (it redlines at 6.5k). I think for most people this is just fine. Especially so for newer riders. I wouldn't mind trying it in some twisties and riding it in the higher rpm's to see what that's like but I bet it's just fine.
The bike is super light and very easily moved around the garage. The front storage area is different - and I think I like it. With the tank lower and in the middle, it keeps the weight down lower. It's not top heavy. I feel like I could prevent a SAD with this bike even if my foot fell an extra foot.
TT's NC700X was decked out a little bit with an MRA screen and wind deflector, barkbuster handguards with admore lighting directionals on them, lower cowl, mirror wideners, bags-connection semi-rigid sidecases, oxford heated grips, denali dm's, engine guard, among other things. The topcase in the pics is mine (well, soon Fieroguy's).
I'm not really adding any new information about this bike than has already been covered, just thought I'd share my thoughts as well. It strikes me as a good bike. A little too small for my tastes, but a smooth, confident ride for the 4 hours I was on it. It was very predictable. It seems very much worth it's low msrp. After adding a few thousand in farkles, seems like a very worthy little adv touring bike
Here's a couple pics of the bike:
