A channel for the discerning motorcyclist. Videos with content based on first hand experience. we cover modern classics of all styles. The channel has humour at its heart. with a range of guest contributors. we have a regular flow of videos and welcome requests on any biking subject which you'd like us to cover. There will be a new full episode each week with some shorts inbetween to keep you ticking over. Motorcycling is becoming not only a way off life but more over a lifestyle choice for new and old riders alike, which can only be a good thing for the industry. Never has the choice of bikes and styles been so large. The time of the motorbike has come, long live the bike.
Nice review. I wish BSA would finally establish a distributor here in the 'States. Royal Enfields have sold quite well here, but they no longer have the 500cc Bullet, nor do they seem to plan a replacement for it.
Only two bikes I am considering for my next bike. The CF450 and the Reiju 500. There is no need to pay more and I dont want the weight or size of an Africa twin or big BMW GS.
I’ve got a 22 DCT version, ride almost every day all through the year and I absolutely love it. Low revving relaxed engine, upright comfortable riding position, unreal fuel economy (80 plus mpg) and built in storage. The only issue I have is the suspension. As a very light rider (under ten stones/64 kg) it’s very harsh particularly on the front. I’m in the process of modifying the forks to make them a bit more compliant and I’ll be fitting a Hagon shock as soon as they’ve finished their prototype work for this version. I’ve no plans to change this bike at all.
I sure wish Enfield would up the ante a bit with a 750 or 850. Nothing against the 650, it's a good value if you don't want something larger. They've created many bike style variations around the 650 engine but nothing at the level of the larger Triumphs. Sure, you can get big bore kits, cams, change the mapping, etc. But for that layout, why not just buy a second-hand Triumph in the first place?
I Have a 24 NC DCT, and it fits my needs perfectly. I have periferal neuropathy in both feet as a side effect of immunotherapy treatment, and simply cannot change gear with my foot. The DCT is fantastic, and suits the engine very well. However, having come from an MT09 SP, I find the suspension absolutely appalling, particularly the front, which has way too hard high-speed compression damping. Every small feature of the road is transmitted to the bars as a wrist breaking crash! The rear is perhaps not quite as bad, but has no adjustment. To be fair, the bike is built to a budget, and this is shown by the cost - £8770. Handling is OKish, but tight hairpins are a nightmare, the bike understeering with a vengance. I've just done the National Rally, 770 miles for the weekend, so the next job is a front fork cartidge upgrade, and hope that will improve things!
The "Frunk" should be called a "Frank" as we don't call anything a trunk over in UK so as its a where the Tank is, and the play on words is Front Trunk for USA = "Frunk" The UK version should be Front Tank AKA "Frank" Just been pedantic and English! Best wishes!
I have had the BMWs the GS series and I do love them. I have the 450NK now and it’s the same motor and transmission, they are fantastic on the interstate and I can ride it all day long. For the money in the size, I don’t think you can beat the MT in any fashion so far you just have to get past the mental stigmas but for the price and the quality and 53 years of writing, I’ve never seen anything any better at this point, but that’s my opinion I’ve been into Honda and Yamaha my whole life and I think these are actually better made having owned all 3 of the others I mentioned. I will have the MT when it comes here as well. I’m new here and I like your opinions. I think they’re very fair.
My Tuareg 660 is just 10kg heavier wet weight, with twice the power of the 450MT. I don't think the 450MT is the "Unicorn" , "Swiss Army knife" etc. I think the KTM 790 based MT-X, when it's released, could be if they price it aggressively enough.
Purchased the 22 model two years ago, I went for hyper pro front springs, cost about £100, bar risers, touring screen with deflector. Comfort wise, I do tour a bit so purchased a cheap piece of Gel off Amazon, took off the seat and cut the Gel to size, re fitted the seat. Perfect. My only criticism is the side stand, it could have been a bit longer and robust, like my street triple. The rear spring is adequate. The bike I ride the most is the NC, 9 times out of 10
As a 70 year old I just completed a 950k day ride. My problem is more about hips and knees, the seat is not great but is fine, with my personal padding!
I own a 2024 manual NC which has just covered 612 miles and is now due it's first service. In standard mode between 58 mph and 70mph this MC will return 76 mpg and up to 98 mpg at the lower speeds, depending on how you ride it and in sport mode around 75 mpg. Interesting, I tested the DCT version of this model prior to buying the manual version, and did not like it at all. Some, including MC magazine test riders have criticised the front and rear suspension and single disk brakes and lablled it boring, this in my opinion is nonsense, just ask NC owners what they think. With the NC's low down torque and handling, it's pretty much the pefect Mc for touring and every day use. Regarding the screen I have the Givi touring screen and handguards fitted, as for the missing USB port this can be fitted insde the frunk or you could just place a small charged up power bank inside it. Honda's NC, new concept is one sorted Mc. 😎
I test rode the DCT and the manual versions, preferred the manual so thats what i bought. Manual is also 10 kilos lighter, slightly easier servicing and no isuues with DCT resetting that has affected some models. Had mine a year now from new and i'm still very happy with it. Much more so than the CB500X i previously had. I dont consider it an adventure bike though, it has 17" wheels and road suspension with little ground clearance. But i bought it purely as a road bike and for that its excellent. I bought some screen brackets to make the screen adjustable and set it higher, much better now. Fitted Fenda Extenda which is a must on that short oe mudguard. The NC is pretty comfortable for me, just not as comfortable as my Suzuki V Strom 650. Being 6'1" i have more leg room on the Strom. Oh, and the battery has moved to the rear of the frunk on this gen 3 NC.
I have had a 2018 NC750S and now have a 2022 NC750X. Both DCT. Can't see the point of this bike in manual. The DCT compliments the bike perfectly but take that away and it's a pretty average low powered bike. In manual, there are much more alluring bikes to ride. Each to their own tho..
I've recently bought one of these with the DCT to replace my 2018 Africa Twin Adventure Sports as my daily rider. The AT is a fabulous bike, but it's not for the faint hearted. It's big, tall and very top heavy. If you can accept that and your skills can handle it, they're fabulous. I've used mine for the past 3 years and really enjoyed it. But the NC just fits my current needs so well. I do a lot of urban riding for work and it's just unbeatable. So well balanced and the DCT is a dream in heavy traffic. I picked up a good 2023 model with a few options. Had to add the USB connection however (why Honda, why??). I'll add bars and aux lamps but apart from that it's an absolutely fantastic machine. Pulls like a train. Sounds fantastic. Great suspension and super comfy. No regrets at all.
I had a 22 plate dct, I only roadtested a manual as couldn’t get a test drive on the dct. Sold dct after 3 months . Manual much much better imo. Got a vstrom 650 and better than both imo.
Why doesn't anybody ever mention the lack of any functioning mudguards on modern bikes? Do people enjoy being covered in whatever happens to be on the road? Or has motorcycling sunk to such a low level that nobody rides in the rain any more?
No, you should absolutely not have to push on the dash in order to read it. Otherwise, they are great bikes but the seat is worse than sitting on a 2x4
ha yes , i think the dealer had had the dash of just before they gave it to me, it was annoying but not end of world, just one of those problems to fix on the hoof lol. i certainly think the seat was better than my 2015 model but im sure a fleece or pad could be needed. thanks for watching.
thats a good point, plus i thought but forgot to mention that if the frunk opened the other way it would be better for quick access say for grabbing drinks phones, papers for crossing borders etc if you get my drift. thanks for the comments
I previously ran a 2015 NC750X-DCT. I sold it due to the issue it had sticking in 6th gear. I went on to own a number of different bikes but couldn't get away from how enjoyable the NC was to ride. So last year I bought a stunning blue 2017 NC750X but this time with a manual gearbox. I love it. Last week I did 2 trips from Warwickshire to Swanage and back. On the second trip I left mega-early as I was up early and as such I settled into a disciplined 60mph all the way to my first stop at Tot Hill Services on the A34 near Newbury. Glancing at the 'ave fuel economy' I was amazed to see '108.4mpg' I reset the trip as I fueled up there, and when I got to Swanage (stop/start through Bournemouth) I had still achieved an incredible 98mpg. The only things I would like to see on an NC would be the addition of cruise control and shaft drive. Yes, I know shaft drive would use more fuel but at 100 to the gallon I'm sure losing 10mpg would be worth the price.
Hey mate, interesting video but sorry to disagree with you, I have a RE Himalayan and I think for adventure riding (which to me means country lanes, puddles, grass/gravel/rocks) it is much a better option than the nc750x: much lighter, with a 19 inches front wheel, much more ground clearance and, to be honest, so inexpensive (you can buy a decent used one for less than 3 grand) that you will not care every time it will fall on the ground (and if you do adventure it will happen). But if you just want to cruise on your bike, yes then the 750x is 10 times better and more reliable (but the himmy is still much fun...).
I really like this bike, i did own the S version a few years back but should have bought the X. Always had manual geared bikes, never tried a DCT but so many who have usually say they'd never go back to a manual. Perhaps i should try one, especially in black which looks really nice.
I have a 24 plate Manual and love it now I have put 4500 miles on it. Did the Daves Day (600+ miles) no problem except....... for my butt, the seat is awful. I have made it useable by adding a Motocoverz sheepskin which really helps. Just wish makers would focus on seat comfort, especially for commuter bikes. USB C is a quick and easy addon. Wishing you well.
An objective view and in some points I agree. I personally think that you need to look at it a different way especially in terms of weight. All the bikes you advised for touring are heavy and that alone can be fatiguing. I look at it as 1). Cruising at speed on these bikes after being re-geared will be more relaxing and I have already seen and heard how much of a difference it makes on the CF Moto and it is definitely acceptable. 2). The speed on the CF Moto for overtaking is far better than you think it is because that little engine is an absolute peach. Touring with heavy luggage will be a different thing and we all know that when you tour you should pack light anyway. 3). Accessories are easier to make than bikes and as long as they have the man power, they not only have the smaller dealer network but also KTM so I don't see this being an issue at all, only for the present as the bike has just come to market. To be honest the major players still take their own sweet time with accessories even at this point considering their established longevity. 4). Expense plays a major part in too. As much as I love big capacity adventure bikes, I would rather a small to mid instead due to weight and cost. The costs will be far lower. Yes, servicing is more but that's what you pay for. It's based more on a scrambler engine than anything else. If you buy this bike to do 10k miles per year and expect low service intervals in a bike in this range you clearly are not doing your research however, if you intend to do 5k then it will end up being a yearly service. 5). There is also the issue of rider weight. Lots of bikers who buy these types of bikes are typically overweight for what they are designed and instead of trying to loose weight, they try to increase the capacity of the bike instead of looking at bigger capacity bikes so, it's a change in mindset which needs to be applied for some riders too. You chose a good topic to discuss and I do like that. It was a very smart decision to get people's comments below. Well done! This is the first time I have viewed your channel and look forward to more good topics of discussion in the future. Keep up the good work and God bless. 👍🏿
2 and a half minutes in. Here's the point "adventure bikes" started off as small(er) 500, 600 650 cc bikes. Basically scrambler versions of road bikes., until we have the over priced, overweight, current crop like your AT and the BMW et al which really only replaced the sport tourer segment. As someone who weighs 160lbs soaking wet I don't want to pick up one of those bloated turds even once. I was itching for a CRF 300 Rally but Covid and wait and wait until the supply chain fixes itself happened. I have now ordered a CFMOTO 450 MT. I am not bashing your bike have at it. What irritates me is all this bigger and more powerful BS used by manufacturers to sucker us into buying something we don't need or can really handle off road. The same thing has happened to the car industry where everyone has to have a wan*ing big SUV for that one time in a year they may need to pull a trailer. It's all BS. FWIW I toured all over europe in the late 70's early 80's on an RD350.
Fellow CRF1000 owner (2016) bought a KTM 390 Adv to do a RTW trip in a few years time. I could pick up the Honda once a day when dropped off road, but if I was to drop it repeatedly or get it stick in deep mud, it would kill me. The lil KTM is much easier to manhandle. Done the Stella Alpina Rally on the 390 last year, 3000 mile round trip, and all round Scotland. The Honda is relegated to fast road riding duties with my mates, when I go on tour, it's the 390 every time. I don't target a cruising speed, I target a cruising rpm. I aim just to be entering the powerband, and keep it at the lower end of the power range. That's 6-6500rpm, which is 70-80 mph. Another 3000rpm and 15 comfortable mph to play with for overtakes. Fast enough to get speeding tickets anywhere in UK or Europe. Even coped surprisingly well on the Autobahns of Germany.
ive done same... sold my nc700x and have bought the barcelona blue model with mag wheels....the Hondas was a good bike.. but i started to feel like i was on a mx bike..and the rear saddle was a bit high for the missus...the nc typical honda..well made but lacking bitta character..i also missed revving an engine out a bit.. i actually like the RE Hunter... but me and her are a bit chunky.. ive gone for the 650 interceptor we dont go over 70mph now i dont enjoy the noise from wind etc.. i did almost get same as yours.. but the mag wheels are peace of mind i hate being stuck in the gutter with a puncture...weekend is too short for that... i suggest a tin of tyre weld in those panniers for emergency..its got me home before when i had a harley...
