new NT 700!

[Johnashea]

hey all, picked up my new bike, 400 mile ride back from Virginia to New York. Pretty happy with the bike, but I have to admit things were a little crampy... I would like to get some opinions on some modifications, particularly with ergonomics. I am used to riding V4 magna cruiser, so I would qualify as a sit up and beg writer.
here's my wish list-feel free to chime in, I am looking for as much advice as possible before double bunch of money for the bike and would like to limit my mistakes!
-C Bailey +4 windshield
-bar risers-in particular, the helibars with the 2 1/2 up and 3 1/2 inch back look appealing, especially with the RAM ball and the 12 V outlet, motorcycle Larry also looks pretty good
-Peg Lowering-motorcycle Larry?
-Cruise control-is a bunch out there, Ronald Meister looks good, as do the simple go- cruise (and cheap to!). Any thoughts on Kaoko throttle lock?
-K&N air filter, possible deflectors for the handgrips, tank pad and knee pad on the wish list as well

help, my head is spinning!
thanks all, John

 

[Johnashea]

one more thing on the new bike-has anybody had a problem with sun fading the vinyl trim? Mine looks terrible, all kind of washed out and gray! ugly....

 

[Johnashea]

hey Rick,

Thanks for the detailed reply!!!! great information for a newbie, and thanks for the information on your Russell seat as well-my last post on that thread queried how much I could expect to spend on the seat with the back rest? I'm looking forward to getting all the mods done within a month or so, heading out to bike week in Ohio 1st week of June. good advice on the cruise control, I do use a cramp buster on my magna, but seems like my fingers get a lot more numb with the NT. maybe it's the vibration, not sure-might also be the more forward position than the cruiser has. thanks again!

 

[RedLdr1]

John,

You might want to check out all the Reviews and How-Tos here before buying your farkles... That is easy to do, just click on Reviews or How-To's "Buttons" on the Blue bar at the top of the page...then find the ones you're interested in and read up on them...

 

[Chuck 500]

I second most (if not all) of Rick's suggestions. Bear in mind:

1. The wind deflectors were optimized for the stock bar height. Moving the handle bar will affect the efficiency. 1" up and 1" back should work fine. I have the MCL rise, 1" up and the defelcors work well.

2. If you move the bar more than 1" up and 1" back you will need longer cables. Some of the kits come with the modified clutch and brake cables, one reason they are so expensive. If you stick to the 1" risers and want a longer clutch cable, the ne for the Honda Tansalp is a direct fit.

3. When transitioning to the NT riding postion of leaning slightly forward, try to support yourself with your trnk muscles and minimize leaning on the bar. (Easier said than done) I find that if vibration is becoming an issue, it is usually because I have reverted to leaning all my weight on the bar. I too like to sit up staight so i tend to be a tank hugger. (May ahve to get the 1" / 1" back risers from Twisted Throttle)

Keep the shiny side up,

Chuck

 

[Phil Tarman]

John,

I'm in the group that farkles for comfort. I had ridden my two Kawasaki Concours about 165,000 miles and knew the position I wanted, so I had ordered things before I picked up the NT:

Bar risers, peg lowerers from MC Larry. I've had five knee replacements and needed just a little less bend. Whatever bar position you get when you add a 1 1/4" bar riser and then rotate the bar back just a bit works great for me.

The wind deflectors will chap you just a bit because of the price. My guess is that the price is justified by the wind tunnel time. I can't imagine not having them.

Cruise controls: I'd love to have the $1000+ electronic one from Australia, but I settled for a $100+ Throttlemeister and it works great and I like the looks. Both the Kaoko and the one Rick uses came out after I'd already spent the bucks for a Throttlemeister. I like the knob (at least in theory) on the Kaoko and I had an interesting conversation with the manufacturers when they were deciding if the NT could use the ST-specific Kaoko. They're in South Africa and got a Deauville from Honda SA to test with. Even got one with heated hand grips since some people have had issues with the heated hand grips and the Throttlemeister (I have not had those issues, BTW).

Russell saddle. I don't have the backrest, have never needed one, and love my Russell. I wish it hadn't lifted me another inch or so into the air. My stubby little 29" legs could have used that inch, but I have adapted.

I've got the European big pannier lids to keep my storage capacity close to what I had on the Connies. I've also got a 46-liter CooCase Astra top case. I use a $12 Walmart duffle in the top case and purchased the bag liners from England when I bought the big lids. Now, I know that the Bestem liners that show up on Flea-Bay work just fine and seem to be the identical item.

I've got a 4" Cee-Bailey and like it. I'd probably like Rick's Vario, too, but I've had experience with CeeBailey.

Heated grips and a Warm & Safe heated Jacket + a Warm & Save jacket controller make a huge difference (and not just in the winter). I used them both on low settings tonight riding home from Denver even though the temperature was about 58-60 most of the 100 miles.

I also have the OEM undercowl (another accessory available only from England/Europe). I think it keeps my feet a tad warmer and drier in the wet.

Larry Buck's Tailbrights and a Back-off brake modulator, when working in conjunction with the Admore lighs I put in the CooCase enhance visibility from behind in the dark.

And I've got Denali D-1 LED driving lights from Twisted Throttle. They create a distinctive triangle that even most of the blind, texting brain-dead cage drivers see most of the time. BTW, I passed a woman driving a Suburban down I-25 at 80mph this afternoon (I was doing 82 to keep up with traffic) and she was writing in a spiral notebook.

Some will say that the NT is just fine the way it comes from the factory and some others will say that if you need to do this much to it, you ought to have bought something else. I love the bike and I'm glad I farkeled it to my satisfaction.

 

[Johnashea]

Phil, thanks very much for the detailed comments and reviews-great advice. And thanks to everybody else with a helpful hints on how best to set up the ergonomics!

after researching a lot of the information on the forums here, I think I will go with the heli bars, but I'm really not quite made up my mind yet, because motorcycle larry's look pretty appealing to. I think I'm going to go with the 4" C Bailey windshield, and the throttle meister. That will tap my budget for this year... but maybe my next trip out to California, I'll see about hooking up with the Russell seat. I think I'll take the air Hawk seat cushion for my magna and use that as my butt start to get a bit sore! motorcycle Larry's peg lowering kits... hmmmm. I'm going to see how everything else works 1st

Aaron, to answer your question-the NT 700 is in a league of its own. It's pretty much the only light weight touring bike out there these days. I also own a CBR 1100 blackbird, which gets 0 miles on it now because it's just too painful to ride. And I know that I could be easily tweaked for sport touring with most of the same kind of considerations and modifications, but, quite honestly, it's too much of a bike for me these days. I'm really not interested in riding any of these behemoths that the companies are producing these days. There really aren't very many choices outside of the 1300 to 1700 cc range (that is, designated for sport touring-I know, pretty much any bike can be adapted or modified)

I'm nearing 50, and my body has pretty much been through the blender, so I'm looking for as much comfort as possible that can be tweaked into a light weight, durable, dependable motorcycle. The NT 700 pretty much is the only thing out there that fits that bill. I know lots of people like the v Strom, but, quite frankly, I sat on it and it just didn't work for me. my other bike is a magna,(Best bike ever!!!) but that also would take a lot of tweaking to get it set up as a touring motorcycle, and I'd rather have it as is for round town cruising. oh yeah, and I got a great deal!

 

[tawilke46]

It only gets better from here! Farkle away!

 

[karl]

There are a number of ways to make your plastic trim look better. What made me happy was some Turtle wax brand trim restorer. It made the origionaly black parts black again and the gray bits (center section by your legs ) grey and shiny.

Your Magna is a Hot Rod and a very different bike than your new NT. The buy your way to happiness crowd here will diss me for this. Spend some time with the bike as it is. You may find that it works better than you first thought. There are lots of things out there you can use to adapt the bike to your requirements when you need/want to. Just give yourself some time to adapt yourself to the machine and then polish the apple.

Enjoy your ride, hope you enjoy yours as much as I am enjoying mine.

 

[Bear]

To answer Aaron's question--There is no bike built that will fit everybody unless we were all the same height and weight. I see this in my bicycle shop all the time. The three most replaced items on a new bicycle--whether it is a $900.00 or $4000.00 bike are Stem (Bar risers), Seat, and Pedals (foot pegs). We are assuming the person bought a bicycle the right size--same applies to a motorcycle. The seat height most frequently decides the sale of the bike. Modifications to the ergonomics are relatively inexpensive. All others are a bit more pricey and have nothing to do with the fit of the bike. Those are items that an individual owner may choose--eg. lights, panniers, cruise control, hand warmers, and the list goes on.

 

[karl]

On a bicycle you are the power plant. Not quite the same interface as with a motorcycle. Yes the idea is to become one with the machine...