Ride back to San Diego from Lowell, OR on the new NT

[Sojourner]

I assume that I might be the high-mileage member referred to above.

Thanks, Phil. I've seen a couple of you high-milage-ers, but don't know folks on this forum enough by name yet.

So were the splines destroyed and slipping/spinning, or just worn into such large/wide grooves that there was just excessive play, and this is what then destroyed the final drive gears?

 

[Phil Tarman]

were the splines destroyed and slipping/spinning, or just worn into such large/wide grooves that there was just excessive play, and this is what then destroyed the final drive gears?

The splines weren't destroyed and slipping, but they were worn down and had large grooves that allowed excessive play. The final drive gears weren't gone (if you're talking about Honda's parts diagram calls "Gear Set, Final"). The splines that were worn show up on the parts diagram of the rear wheel as "Flange Set, Final Driven." The bolts holding the cover on the cush drive were nearly gone, too.

 

[mikthebik]

The JB Weld fix on my broken rear left side pannier latch is now super solid. After that fix had fully set, I noticed the forward latch had a crack around one of the screw holes, so made the same type repair to it with a small fiberglass cloth reinforcement. The latches now do NOT flex the lid as they did before and the closure is a solid clunk, instead of a wimpy out of sync double snick as before. Job done, for now. External latches arrived today and will be held in reserve for now.

Wondering if anyone has any stories, good or bad, re: the Hepco & Becker engine guards. They're installed on my bike, but charming they are not.
I may remove them at some point to return the NT's sleek looks, but am open to experiences, or reports thereof, that might affect this purely aesthetic decision.

Just finished ordering a set of Dunlop Roadsmart III tires from Revzilla. I had a $10 Credit from them and with the $75 rebate, cost is just over $200. They should be worlds be better than the original rock hard B020s, where the rear of the two is dead at 5500 miles.

 

[Brillot2000]

Wondering if anyone has any stories, good or bad, re: the Hepco & Becker engine guards. They're installed on my bike, but charming they are not.
I may remove them at some point to return the NT's sleek looks, but am open to experiences, or reports thereof, that might affect this purely aesthetic decision.

I have seen this guard before and it does look good on an NT, especially a silver one.

I have done a lot of work to my bike NaTalie and I can tell you have to take off almost all the bodywork on this bike to work on it. I am certain that guard would have to come off almost everytime you need to do service on the bike that requires the removal of the large 2 side panels, which is typically 80% of the time you need to work on this bike.

Another issue is that this guard is over $380 at Moto Machines - Engine Guard - Honda NT 700 V Deauville. This makes it quite costly for more people, including for present company. I would like to try one out for awhile, but I cannot justify that amount for this item and for what it is. I have not spent that much on a single item that I purchased and installed into Natalie. I can tell you that I purchased a lot of accessories and parts for this bike and installed them all myself.

Its currently in place and you ride the bike with it on there for now. If you start finding yourself working on the bike quite often and bodywork is coming off and on constantly, then you might consider removing it and leaving it off.