New NT emerges?

Hopefully it will come out stateside. I might seriously consider it. 40 extra horses over the NT700 would be welcome. I'd take a DCT as well. It probably won't be styled to my taste, but if wind protection is decent I can easily forgive the grumpy angular looks that plagues modern motorcycles.

This and probably the Aprilia RS 660 are the only new twins I would consider.
 
Well. It's a motorcycle. It doesn't particularly look like it would check any of my boxes. It's got a chain drive (and I know modern chains aren't much of an issue); it's got panniers, but they don't look very big; it's weather protection doesn't look like anything I'd want to ride behind in an all-day soaker; it looks tall to me. I guess 40 hp more would be OK but they're not anything I need.
 
Click bait. "It may look something like this." Really? The only news here is that a trademark has been applied for.
I am not dissing Cycle World or any other magazine that has been declared a non-essetial business in their state and told to shut down.
They will do anything they have to ..to keep in business and survive....
One of my mags is operating illegally to keep in business.
I just want some honesty. My mag put out a letter from the publisher in the magazine saying what they were doing to try and keep alive and why. I like that.

I still wonder about Honda's US market research....but hey, its their company. I like my Hondas.
 
They don’t have to do much research. Just see over time what models are selling and from what categories. That will pretty much tell them what they need to know. I am sure they also survey their dealers as well. None of that is rocket science and doesn’t cost much if anything.
 
Well. It's a motorcycle. It doesn't particularly look like it would check any of my boxes. It's got a chain drive (and I know modern chains aren't much of an issue); it's got panniers, but they don't look very big; it's weather protection doesn't look like anything I'd want to ride behind in an all-day soaker; it looks tall to me. I guess 40 hp more would be OK but they're not anything I need.
Exactly my thoughts. It looks similar to the current bevy of Honda/Yam/Suz/Kawa 'sport tourers' out there. Chain drive is a non starter for me. I ride about 20K a year and tensioning and oiling a chain every 2K miles is boring. Replacing it at 15K is even more boring (and expensive). With 65HP, the NT has plenty of power... it ride with a group that is all 1200GSes and have absolutely no issue staying in the pack. I always think that if I had 100+HP, I'd just get myself into trouble. "I'll open it up just this one time and...." Kerpow!
 
Seems like old news to me.
2022-honda-cb1100x-motorcycle-review-specs-adventure-bike-cb-1100-1.jpg
 
Exactly my thoughts. It looks similar to the current bevy of Honda/Yam/Suz/Kawa 'sport tourers' out there. Chain drive is a non starter for me. I ride about 20K a year and tensioning and oiling a chain every 2K miles is boring. Replacing it at 15K is even more boring (and expensive). With 65HP, the NT has plenty of power... it ride with a group that is all 1200GSes and have absolutely no issue staying in the pack. I always think that if I had 100+HP, I'd just get myself into trouble. "I'll open it up just this one time and...." Kerpow!

Replacing a chain at 15K? You'd have to be doing something seriously wrong. I regularly get twice that in the neighborhood of 30K, and I'm certainly not the most dedicated with chain maintenance.
 
Replacing a chain at 15K? You'd have to be doing something seriously wrong. I regularly get twice that in the neighborhood of 30K, and I'm certainly not the most dedicated with chain maintenance.
I am meticulas about chain maintenance. People laugh at me....and yes, I had better get 30,000 out of a chain.
 
Seems like old news to me.
View attachment 17363
I love this photoshop pic! Look where the pax foot pegs are....great for hobbits! :rofl1::rofl1::rofl1::rofl1:
Look out for Jordon Valley OR. its a speed trap
 
I love this photoshop pic! Look where the pax foot pegs are....great for hobbits! :rofl1::rofl1::rofl1:

Chris, the article stated that the pictures were guesses about what this bike would like. This quote was in the Cycle World article: "Although it’s not certain, it seems likely that the backbone-style chassis may be the one to be used on the NT1100, as Japanese sources say the machine will take its styling cues from the CB4X concept bike that was shown in 2019. That machine was based around the frame and engine of the CB650R, but the computer illustrations created by Japanese magazine AutoBy and reproduced here show how the look works when wrapped around the Africa Twin’s engine."
 
Are you guys talking old school non-O-ring chain? 30K is what I expect from decent quality 530 O,X,XW-ring chain combined with OEM style sprockets. I don't play around with lightened aluminum hybrid sprockets. I just replaced chain and sprockets on one of my bikes at 20K of my own mileage. Based on the odometer when I acquired the bike a year ago, I estimate the final drive set already had 10K on it. 30K is also what I've gotten in the past on other bikes in that model family with 530 O-Ring chain.

Out of curiosity, I laid out the old chain next to the new one as I usually do. I didn't see any appreciable stretch from wear and loosening of rollers and pins. O-Rings were still intact and lateral play between links was still ok. I think a good bit of the slack the develops over the miles is due to wear of the small countershaft sprocket. This last one was shark finning somewhat, but that's to be expected. I've heard of people flipping or replacing just the front sprocket mid way through a chain's life.

I don't use a Scottoiler, and there's nothing special about what I'm doing. 2,000 mile intervals as mentioned by harryhendo is way too long for chain maintenance intervals, IMO. That's possibly why he's seeing toast chains at 15K. Cleaning and lubing should be done in the neighborhood of 500 mile intervals. Every few hundred miles or less depending on riding conditions I will spray the chain down with degreaser. I will then pop on a 360 degree TIROX brush (a somewhat recent invention) and run the chain through a few rotations. Flush with some more degreaser if it's really nasty. Chain then gets wiped with paper towels or a shop rag. Then gets a coat of Dupont Chain Saver. The whole process only takes a few minutes. The most annoying aspect is putting on and removing the TIROX brush, it takes a little finesse. I don't mind though, it's lasted way longer than the 3-sided "grime minister" chain brushes I've used in the past.
 
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I agree that the photo & story have much to do with motorcycle magazines which have mostly become online blogs trying to somehow stay alive until things return to normal, whatever that may be? When I was still working at corporate, we'd all get a good chuckle about some of the latest Honda rumors in the enthusiast press so that sort of stuff is not new. :)

Warren - I'm sure you're correct as regards market research for the US. In the late-80s, US dealers clammored for a low-cost, inline 4, 750 and had a lot of input into the final configuration of the 750 Nighthawk that was introduced around 1990. Many of them hoped it would recreate the buying frenzy that occurred when the original 750-4 was introduced in 1969. The promised astronomical sales numbers never materialized and the 750 Nighthawk usually collected dust on a showroom floor. They were good bikes except few people were interested in buying one. :(
 
At 15K on my Honda CB500X, the chain tensioner consistently moves into the red "replace" zone marker. That's with the good X ring chain. That's my experience. You can all say I am doing something wrong, but I am not. Bottom line is that cleaning and greasing a chain is a messy and unenjoyable job. I like to enjoy my bikes.
 
Would now be a good time to mention how nice it is to own a shaft drive NT?

Sure, but then there's the rigamarole of pulling the rear wheel for tire replacement. It's a trade off. I need to do chain maintenance on my other bikes but the rear wheel comes off on those with just 4 lug nuts and the brake caliper+disc, sprocket, axle stays put on the bike. A chain will see me tear through 4 - 5 rear tires before it needs to be replaced. Wheel comes off in minutes, tire changed, goes back in a few minutes. There's no caliper to remount or old moly paste to dig out of drive hub splines.

I find removing the rear tire on the NT is quite a bit more annoying then a 5 minute chain degrease, brush, wipe, and lube every few hundred miles.
 
I owned for several years what I called "the better Ascot," the VT500F, which was powered by a v-twin engine and not the 500 single. It had shaft drive and unfortunately a tiny tank that always had me searching for a gas station at 80-90 miles. I believe the tank size was 1.8 gals or something close. The seat had a definite forward slope which often seems to be a Honda hallmark so I got a Corbin seat and that made it much better....once I got the seat because doing business with Corbin can be very trying to say the least. And I replaced the overly-stiff shocks with a set from Progressive that made it 100% better. The shock springs were for a 350 lb person or someone who carried a passenger all the time and that common gripe also fit a lot of Honda bikes of that era. With the standard shocks/springs, pushing it off the centerstand I always heard a "thud" because the suspension didn't move! With the Progressives, the drop was silent.


The tiny tank was the killer for me because I was just starting to stretch my legs as regards touring so I ended up buying a '97 PC800 and lived happily ever after. :)

As regards police cars, the LEOs and state police switching to SUVs is mostly related to the lack of 4-door sedans with the trunk and backseat space they need. A lot of depts were flummoxed when Ford announced the end of production of the Crown Victoria which for well over a decade was THE police car because it did everything they wanted.
 
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Well. It's a motorcycle. It doesn't particularly look like it would check any of my boxes. It's got a chain drive (and I know modern chains aren't much of an issue); it's got panniers, but they don't look very big; it's weather protection doesn't look like anything I'd want to ride behind in an all-day soaker; it looks tall to me. I guess 40 hp more would be OK but they're not anything I need.
My sentiments exactly...
The demise of the (Sport)Touring motorcycles...
ST, Deauville, VFR (as well as Crossrunner & Crosstourer)... all discontinued...
Only the GL around, not really an option for (too) many reasons...
 
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