New guy, looking at a 2011 700

mntony

Joined
Apr 30, 2025
Messages
6
Location
Minnesota
Bike
Nt700
It has 17k miles, 2600 dollars.
I never ridden one of these and seeing reports that they are top heavy and hard to ride at slow speeds. Is this true? Also anything else I should look for?
 
mntony said:
It has 17k miles, 2600 dollars.
I never ridden one of these and seeing reports that they are top heavy and hard to ride at slow speeds. Is this true? Also anything else I should look for?
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IMHO its a bit more difficult to ride /push at slow speeds but that should not deter you. You just have to be careful as with any top heavy bike like the C10 or FJR.
 
Honda dealer wants $600 to take the tires off the bike and put it on the road Tech ones. I would rather have them do it because I heard taking the rear wheel off as a pain in the butt. And also I don't have any torque wrenches
 
You could buy the torque wrenches, the service manual and take the wheels off your self and still save money. Also and added feature is you will be able to inspect and lube the final drive splines your self and know it is done right. It is not that hard, just time consuming at best. Take the chance and dive in. You will be thankful you did.

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Get Michelin Road 5/6 tyres way better wet weather grip. They also really suit the bike.
 
Depends how many miles you will put on per year. I put ALOT of miles per year, so I bought a motorcycle tire changer. No-Marr, so I do them in garage myself. Taking them off yourself does save you money, to just take wheel into dealership. Another vote for Michelin
 
To further muddy the waters, I have had very good service from Dunlop Roadsmart tires. They along with Michelin are the class leaders for longevity. Regardless of which tires you buy, or who installs them, make sure that the rear drive splines are properly lubricated with Honda Moly Grease or equivalent.


Mike
 
I almost always take the wheels off and take them and the new tires to the dealer. I cant remember if we all posted our tricks on taking off the rear tire but personally I did two tricks. One, I put the center stand on a 2x4 to give the wheel more clearance to get by the rear fender. Two, I didnt take the muffler completely off. I loosened it and jammed something to bend it a bit over to Starboard. Many bikes have rather complex torqueing sequences to especally front forks. I am a believer in Torque wrenches . People here laugh at me but I use them on tappet jam nuts to drain plugs. Make sure you lube the splines like Mike said. I wouldnt trust a dealer, personally.
 
Woodaddict said:
Depends how many miles you will put on per year. I put ALOT of miles per year, so I bought a motorcycle tire changer. No-Marr, so I do them in garage myself. Taking them off yourself does save you money, to just take wheel into dealership. Another vote for Michelin
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The Rabaconda street bike tire changer is the new king of manual changers. Well, not too new it's been out for a few years now. Like you, I chew through tires so I grabbed a Rabaconda after using irons for years.

The biggest advantage over the No-Mar is the Rabaconda doesn't require a dedicated install space. The whole thing breaks down in minutes stows in a small (included) duffel bag. That can be tossed in a closet or a vehicle if you're doing track days.
 
I was able to pickup a used cycle hill changer many years ago for 200 bucks. It has paid for it's self many times over. Folds up nice for storage against the wall. With three to four bikes at a time I would go thru tires on each about once a year. Now my riding has slowed down, I am a few years older, a bit lazier, and with some retirement money to spend I take the wheels off and take them down to my tire retailer to mount. Now I am doing a tire change about ones every two years per the three bikes that I have.

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