Honda NC700S 2014 — Specifications

The NC 700 S isn’t planning on disappearing just yet. The 750 is gently pushing it toward the exit, but 2013 models are still on display. However, even though the 700 is perfectly suited for the A2 license, the only version available this year doesn’t have the attractive price we saw at the model’s launch. The reason: it’s equipped with the robotic gearbox and ABS.

By creating the NC 700 S, Honda offers you more than just a motorcycle, but you won’t realize it by simply looking at it or riding it. This roadster is the face of the A2 license, and it’s also a new definition of the urban and utility motorcycle. Here is one of the indirect descendants of the CB 500 and NTV 700.

Simple, pretty but not exceptional, almost serious, the NC 700 is nothing like a streetfighter. Its design already expresses its vocation. It always rides smoothly, without fanfare but always ready to go. With this model, Honda is returning to a niche abandoned by manufacturers: that of the first motorcycle, inexpensive, not too powerful, easy to access, like the CB 500, Kawa ER-5, Suzuki 500 GS, and Yam XJ 600. This doesn’t mean it’s low-quality, designed on the cheap. Everything is new on this machine, starting with the engine.

Honda developed a completely new twin-cylinder engine, which also powers the X (cross, don’t think of anything else…) and the Integra scooter. A very modern engine, and one that goes against the old-fashioned motorcycle genes. Not so long ago, technology was galvanized by the quest for horsepower, with overflowing power per liter, you had to pull on the arms and catapult you to Mars. Forget that with the NC 700 lineage. These are the forerunners of reason, the children of the crisis, pollution, and consumption. Here, the twin knows only one word: economy.

First of all, there’s no question of releasing the horses at full throttle. We don’t rush at the crankcase, with 35 kW announced, or 47.5 horsepower. It’s also exactly the limit imposed by the A2 license. The NC 700 is not only of measured power for new motorcyclists but also of origin in accordance with European regulations. It won’t be bland for all that: the watts peak at a very reasonable 6,250 rpm, and peak torque is reached before 5,000 rpm. There’s no need to scream the engine to get the best out of it. The 270° firing interval will add a bit of character to the whole.

Technically, it was designed to do well and, if possible, make several choices at once, always with the aim of avoiding any waste of energy. The cylinder head contains only one camshaft, which takes care of the valve dance but also the water pump drive. Double function also for the balance shaft, attenuating vibrations on the one hand, and taking care of the oil pump on the other. The number of parts is also limited: a single injector, a single exhaust outlet at the top of the cylinder head, which will run only a dozen centimeters before arriving at the catalytic converter. Placed so close, it heats up faster to be quickly effective. This block rivals sobriety. Honda announces 3.6 liters per 100 km. Incredible! A 125’s fuel consumption. With its 14-liter tank, you are ready for 400 kilometers of riding. But let’s relativize: these figures are obtained with the double clutch version, and in D mode, as sporty as an Homer Simpson.

Double clutch? You mean that… ? Yes, the NC 700 is equipped with a robotic double-clutch gearbox, like on the VFR 1200 and Crosstourer. The perfect co-pilot for riding in the city, with the choice of a fully automatic gearbox, with a sporty or relaxed driving mode, and a pulse mode where the rider changes gears with a nudge of a button. The double clutch, one commanding the even gears and the other the odd gears, allows for ultra-fast and super smooth gear selection.

Halfway between utility and roadster, this machine doesn’t need a hypersport chassis. The manufacturer thus gave it a classic but sufficient ‘diamond’ steel tube frame. At the front, a single disc takes care of braking (adequate for performance, but surprising for a machine of this size and displacement), and is assisted by C-ABS – an anti-lock system doubled with a system that activates the front brake when the rear is engaged. Important point, and strong point: the engine block is strongly tilted forward. Not only does this lower the center of gravity, favoring agility, but it also frees up space in the frame. In place of the tank (the real one is under the seat), you find a trunk that allows you to accommodate a full-face helmet. A brilliant trick, already used in the Aprilia 850 Mana, also equipped with an automatic gearbox. Novel, the dashboard is entirely digital, displaying speed, two trips, clock, and in the form of bar graphs, the engine speed and the fuel gauge. The motorcycle is also equipped with HISS anti-theft, an engine guard, petal brake discs, a low seat height of 790 mm, and a not very slender weight of 227 kilos.

The NC 700 S embodies the ideal of a genre that is now almost extinct: the jack-of-all-trades, for everyone, especially beginners, and even more so for urban riders. Don’t expect furious acceleration or bleeding arse-outs. Even when lifting the limiter, there will only be 52 horsepower on tap. Just a year after its launch, the NC 700 S saw the appearance of a formidable competitor: the CB 500 F. New enemies for the same kingdom.

M.B - Photos constructeur