![]() The Honda’s modest 800mm seat height helps too. This is all helped by ergonomic excellence, giving a vivid sense of control and oodles of rider confidence. The NC is easy to flick through urban congestion or usher gracefully down a cascading A-road, and with reserved geometry and an ample wheelbase it’s always surefooted. The chassis pivots beneath you like one of those posh Dyson vacuums with the ball. It swings about with the sort of easy-rolling balance that only Honda seem able to achieve, hiding most of its 214 kilos with weight all seemingly carried between your ankles. For a seven-grand bike the balance of ride comfort and handling control is about cock-on.Īnd the 750 is a doddle to ride. Don’t be fooled into attaching the lazy ‘budget’ tag – the spring rates and damping of the Showa ‘dual bending valve’ forks and preload-adjustable rear shock are set perfectly for all-round use, the Honda as happy absorbing a pock-marked lane as swanning smoothly on a dual carriageway. This doesn’t mean the NC750X is bum basic, though. And despite being part of Honda’s adventure line-up the NC hasn’t the wheel travel or ground clearance for real dirt-based shenanigans. You won’t find forks bristling with adjusters, a remote-reservoir rear shock from a certain gold-loving Swedish outfit or enormous brake calipers with an impressive-but-meaningless model code. We also didn't like the new screen on post-facelift models.Īfter you've read this review and our owners' reviews, you could join the community at either the NC owners' club or the Honda NC Forum. We found it practical, likeable and fun, but a little too grown up in some ways. Honda NC750X long-term testĭuring late 2016 and early 2017 we ran an NC750X as a long-term test bike, riding it all over Europe and giving it a thorough going over. ![]() This bike was replaced by the 2021 Honda NC750X. The NC750X was given a mild facelift in 2019, adding Honda's latest adjustable traction control system (HSTC) along with minor tweaks such as a 900rpm-raised rev limit and very slightly altered styling. It’s also better looking and fits in nicely with the rest of the Honda adventure bike range. Key changes to the suspension, the Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT), front brakes, exhaust internals and silencer along with the styling all added up to a comprehensively improved bike that remained easy to ride yet quite a lot more fun. In 2016 the NC750X was given a thorough makeover. Ownership pleasure easily makes up for any shortage of excitement. Once you realise that you ride at the same sort of speed regardless of the size or power of the bike you’re riding, the NC’s versatility and value make enormous sense. And turning it into the gruntier, better suspended and more refined NC750X in 2014 again put the humble Honda onto the best-sellers list. In fact, it was a huge success across Europe. These points caused grumbling by some blinkered sports-biased journalists when the bike was launched as the NC700X in 2012 however, the NC’s affordability (it was £5950), sheer usability and ability to be a painless commuter, capable distance tool or cheery sunny-evening plaything saw it outsell the evergreen Fireblade in the UK. Its engine doesn’t rev very high or make masses of power, there’s a single disc brake and ground clearance isn’t exactly measured in fathoms. Obviously the 750 wouldn’t be first choice for a summer track day. And with built-in storage bikes don’t get much more practical. The twin-cylinder engine is flexible and extremely efficient, and with optional DCT (dual clutch transmission) it makes a great pillion bike. Ergonomics are superb, with the NC doing that cunning Honda thing of being comfortable regardless of your build. Handling is effortless, with an agile chassis that swallows up any road surface. Remember the time when you’d buy one bike and use it for everything? These days many machines are constructed for a specific niche or carefully defined purpose, but the adaptable 2014-2021 Honda NC750X embraces a pleasing, old-school, do-it-all status. ![]()
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