Help me convince myself NOT to buy it…
Discussion
Help
Currently own an NC750 DCT (oi oi don’t judge me, it’s a great commuter) which has done an amazing job as all year round commuter into peak London traffic. I mean that genuinely, I was about to give up commuting 110 miles until I met a DCT gearbox.
However, the NC750 motorway manners and its riding with friends / fun rides leave a lot to be desired. It’s a great bike for commuting, I’ll miss the famous “frunk” and the ridiculously high MPG no matter how I ride… plus how cheap it is to buy extras. Mine has aftermarket exhaust, spotlights etc etc everything and it was so reasonable to buy it all. I think the bike is me, it’s cheap and easy to please while being super dependable.
I went travelling for 5 weeks this summer … it started first time on the button ready for me to go to work on my return. No battery issues whatsoever
So in short, I love DCT but am hankering after more POWARRR and much better motorway-long trip manners
Say hello to the Honda NT1100. I have been given the opportunity to buy one special deal in my favoured colour from a dealer -
Normally £13.5k ish with £1.7k voyager pack
But all dealers throw on the voyager pack for free… but my dealer offered a great and I mean very fair px price for the little NC while also taking another over £1k off the sticker price of the NT…
SOooooooo I’ll get a brand spanking new bike for £12.5k with DCT and Voyager pack while also getting a px price that I am super happy with… to give you an idea, there are 2024 bikes with miles on the for more
I have never owned a brand new anything before. My bread & butter is sh!tmobiles. I am very lucky to be in a position that I can afford it without impacting day2day finances, so the issue is my natural state of not spending money. On anything. At all. Apart from family etc.
Help me convince myself not to buy this. I also made the mistake of test riding the 1100 Honda engine and loved it.
TIA
Currently own an NC750 DCT (oi oi don’t judge me, it’s a great commuter) which has done an amazing job as all year round commuter into peak London traffic. I mean that genuinely, I was about to give up commuting 110 miles until I met a DCT gearbox.
However, the NC750 motorway manners and its riding with friends / fun rides leave a lot to be desired. It’s a great bike for commuting, I’ll miss the famous “frunk” and the ridiculously high MPG no matter how I ride… plus how cheap it is to buy extras. Mine has aftermarket exhaust, spotlights etc etc everything and it was so reasonable to buy it all. I think the bike is me, it’s cheap and easy to please while being super dependable.
I went travelling for 5 weeks this summer … it started first time on the button ready for me to go to work on my return. No battery issues whatsoever
So in short, I love DCT but am hankering after more POWARRR and much better motorway-long trip manners
Say hello to the Honda NT1100. I have been given the opportunity to buy one special deal in my favoured colour from a dealer -
Normally £13.5k ish with £1.7k voyager pack
But all dealers throw on the voyager pack for free… but my dealer offered a great and I mean very fair px price for the little NC while also taking another over £1k off the sticker price of the NT…
SOooooooo I’ll get a brand spanking new bike for £12.5k with DCT and Voyager pack while also getting a px price that I am super happy with… to give you an idea, there are 2024 bikes with miles on the for more
I have never owned a brand new anything before. My bread & butter is sh!tmobiles. I am very lucky to be in a position that I can afford it without impacting day2day finances, so the issue is my natural state of not spending money. On anything. At all. Apart from family etc.
Help me convince myself not to buy this. I also made the mistake of test riding the 1100 Honda engine and loved it.
TIA
If it was a fabulous toy that you'd treasure, I'd say go for it
But I too struggle to buy new things because they depreciate and I get annoyed when they get damaged
I enjoy buying things that haven't been looked after and making them better and (as a side benefit) increase in value
As it's a commuter are you going to hate it getting filthy, marked, corroded and resent looking at it each day, knowing its going down in value ?
I would
But I too struggle to buy new things because they depreciate and I get annoyed when they get damaged
I enjoy buying things that haven't been looked after and making them better and (as a side benefit) increase in value
As it's a commuter are you going to hate it getting filthy, marked, corroded and resent looking at it each day, knowing its going down in value ?
I would
Keep the old one if you are happy with it, run it into the ground and enjoy the cheap motoring.
I say this having tried ‘upgrading’ both my car and bike in the last year and regretted both!
Faithful but tired old high mileage Africa twin sold for a shiny r1250gsa. To be fair it’s a great bike, can’t fault it. But so good it was boring. Sold it 2 weeks later and ended up with a 14 year old R1200gsa which I much prefer.
Also swapped my faithful, knackered old landrover 110 at 160k miles and 16 years old for a shiny recent Hilux with all the toys. Brilliant truck but totally soulless. That lasted 4 months before it was sold and replaced with another fairly tired old shape defender. It’s full of faults but I enjoy it.
So personally I’d keep the old one you’re happy with.
Not what you wanted to hear!
I say this having tried ‘upgrading’ both my car and bike in the last year and regretted both!
Faithful but tired old high mileage Africa twin sold for a shiny r1250gsa. To be fair it’s a great bike, can’t fault it. But so good it was boring. Sold it 2 weeks later and ended up with a 14 year old R1200gsa which I much prefer.
Also swapped my faithful, knackered old landrover 110 at 160k miles and 16 years old for a shiny recent Hilux with all the toys. Brilliant truck but totally soulless. That lasted 4 months before it was sold and replaced with another fairly tired old shape defender. It’s full of faults but I enjoy it.
So personally I’d keep the old one you’re happy with.
Not what you wanted to hear!
If the 1100 is what you want, then go for it!
That said, the other option (using the universal formula for the number of bikes you should have is n+1) would an alternative approach be to keep the 750 for commuting and buy another bike for fun weekend rides? I suspect that while the 1100 will give you more power it may still fall a little short in the "fun stakes". The combination of a truly commuter focused bike for commuting and a truly fun focused bike for fun may give the best of both worlds.
That said, the other option (using the universal formula for the number of bikes you should have is n+1) would an alternative approach be to keep the 750 for commuting and buy another bike for fun weekend rides? I suspect that while the 1100 will give you more power it may still fall a little short in the "fun stakes". The combination of a truly commuter focused bike for commuting and a truly fun focused bike for fun may give the best of both worlds.
black-k1 said:
If the 1100 is what you want, then go for it!
That said, the other option (using the universal formula for the number of bikes you should have is n+1) would an alternative approach be to keep the 750 for commuting and buy another bike for fun weekend rides? I suspect that while the 1100 will give you more power it may still fall a little short in the "fun stakes". The combination of a truly commuter focused bike for commuting and a truly fun focused bike for fun may give the best of both worlds.
That said, the other option (using the universal formula for the number of bikes you should have is n+1) would an alternative approach be to keep the 750 for commuting and buy another bike for fun weekend rides? I suspect that while the 1100 will give you more power it may still fall a little short in the "fun stakes". The combination of a truly commuter focused bike for commuting and a truly fun focused bike for fun may give the best of both worlds.
It makes more sense (to me) to buy a shiney toy that you can keep shiney and use for pleasure rides
KTMsm said:
If it was a fabulous toy that you'd treasure, I'd say go for it
But I too struggle to buy new things because they depreciate and I get annoyed when they get damaged
I enjoy buying things that haven't been looked after and making them better and (as a side benefit) increase in value
As it's a commuter are you going to hate it getting filthy, marked, corroded and resent looking at it each day, knowing its going down in value ?
I would
Agreed that’s a difficult one as road salt is an issue even with me washing the bike each weekend… but then I would argue to myself that my aim is to keep this one for 5yrs minimum (ie I have never owned a bike that long, but I also have never spent that much!!!)But I too struggle to buy new things because they depreciate and I get annoyed when they get damaged
I enjoy buying things that haven't been looked after and making them better and (as a side benefit) increase in value
As it's a commuter are you going to hate it getting filthy, marked, corroded and resent looking at it each day, knowing its going down in value ?
I would
Good point though
StuntCock said:
Keep the old one if you are happy with it, run it into the ground and enjoy the cheap motoring.
I say this having tried ‘upgrading’ both my car and bike in the last year and regretted both!
Faithful but tired old high mileage Africa twin sold for a shiny r1250gsa. To be fair it’s a great bike, can’t fault it. But so good it was boring. Sold it 2 weeks later and ended up with a 14 year old R1200gsa which I much prefer.
Also swapped my faithful, knackered old landrover 110 at 160k miles and 16 years old for a shiny recent Hilux with all the toys. Brilliant truck but totally soulless. That lasted 4 months before it was sold and replaced with another fairly tired old shape defender. It’s full of faults but I enjoy it.
So personally I’d keep the old one you’re happy with.
Not what you wanted to hear!
You kept it for 2 weeks and that’s it! Wow that was a very short love affair. I say this having tried ‘upgrading’ both my car and bike in the last year and regretted both!
Faithful but tired old high mileage Africa twin sold for a shiny r1250gsa. To be fair it’s a great bike, can’t fault it. But so good it was boring. Sold it 2 weeks later and ended up with a 14 year old R1200gsa which I much prefer.
Also swapped my faithful, knackered old landrover 110 at 160k miles and 16 years old for a shiny recent Hilux with all the toys. Brilliant truck but totally soulless. That lasted 4 months before it was sold and replaced with another fairly tired old shape defender. It’s full of faults but I enjoy it.
So personally I’d keep the old one you’re happy with.
Not what you wanted to hear!
I think my situation may be slightly different as I am going from a smaller DCT bike to a bigger DCT bike which I have test ridden albeit in Africa Twin format, while AT to brand new GS is probably a much bigger jump.
But interesting to know. My issue is the NC long distance and motorway manners, yes it’s great at 50mph but start pushing and it’s just not made for it unfortunately
black-k1 said:
If the 1100 is what you want, then go for it!
That said, the other option (using the universal formula for the number of bikes you should have is n+1) would an alternative approach be to keep the 750 for commuting and buy another bike for fun weekend rides? I suspect that while the 1100 will give you more power it may still fall a little short in the "fun stakes". The combination of a truly commuter focused bike for commuting and a truly fun focused bike for fun may give the best of both worlds.
Agree! Also, man maths about keeping a car/bike long term is dangerous territory!That said, the other option (using the universal formula for the number of bikes you should have is n+1) would an alternative approach be to keep the 750 for commuting and buy another bike for fun weekend rides? I suspect that while the 1100 will give you more power it may still fall a little short in the "fun stakes". The combination of a truly commuter focused bike for commuting and a truly fun focused bike for fun may give the best of both worlds.
When I used to commute on my K1300S it somewhat ruined the fun of it. I've learned how to ride since then, but if and when I go back to commuting I'll be keeping my idiot orange bike (BMW gone, 1290 now) clean and throwing a bike that looks better dirty at the boring stuff.
OK yes my main reason for suggesting a 2nd bike is to keep ktm orange wheels clean. The tinkers.
Also it works for bikes just like cars. The "yay brand new" vanishes very fast. But you may still be fretting over chips and smashing wing mirrors off cars/children. I'm not too precious about 'nearly new' stuff.
Spend some time seeing what you can get without chopping your bike in, couple or three years or so old stuff. There'll be lots!
Time4another said:
To me it would depend how much your out for fun rides missing the power. Do you need a fun bike to commute or a commuter bike to have fun with.
If your getting a great deal on it then that's got to go some way that you won't get upside down on it finance wise.
Do it!
Ha - I expect no other advice from someone who has username “Time4Another” advising that indeed yes get the new toy! If your getting a great deal on it then that's got to go some way that you won't get upside down on it finance wise.
Do it!
Quick answer is I think you’re right on the “fun commuter” while still being super reliable etc etc
We did a European trip earlier this year and in all honesty, when our lead rider on a KTM was pushing it (and I know him well enough to know that he wasn’t super pushing, just semi pushing it) then I was taking the little NC to the limit all the time, which gets tiring on a long weekend very quickly
Plus forget doing the French 85mph speed limit for any length of time, it’s exhausting on an NC
TGCOTF-dewey said:
Commuting into London on a new shiny bike...wont it be gone within a month?
Good point D but I’m very lucky to confirm it’s a secure car park with security boys Only person I know who had a bike stolen was a CBR1000 a few years ago…
I’m lucky that the NT is seen as rather grandad ish
black-k1 said:
If the 1100 is what you want, then go for it!
That said, the other option (using the universal formula for the number of bikes you should have is n+1) would an alternative approach be to keep the 750 for commuting and buy another bike for fun weekend rides? I suspect that while the 1100 will give you more power it may still fall a little short in the "fun stakes". The combination of a truly commuter focused bike for commuting and a truly fun focused bike for fun may give the best of both worlds.
Hi BlackThat said, the other option (using the universal formula for the number of bikes you should have is n+1) would an alternative approach be to keep the 750 for commuting and buy another bike for fun weekend rides? I suspect that while the 1100 will give you more power it may still fall a little short in the "fun stakes". The combination of a truly commuter focused bike for commuting and a truly fun focused bike for fun may give the best of both worlds.
Indeed thought long and hard… instead of 1 bike to do it all why not use same budget and 2-3 bikes?
I think it comes down to use and cost… 2-3 MOTs, insurance, servicing, things invariably go etc etc and I have always tried to be a 1 bike guys while I have young kids
Once they hit teenage years, then yes agreed I will have more time (maybe?) and can go a bit more on bikes, but until then 1 works for me
But yeah if the NC was a bit more comfortable for the motorway parts of the commute and long rides, it would stay
KTMsm said:
50 really, are you sure it's working correctly ?
A KTM 390 which has around 15bhp less will happily sit at 70
Yeah sure most bikes can “sit” at 70 but previously owned a Yam TDM900 / BMW 1150GS / BMW 1200GSA and so on… hence my idea of comfort on a motorway is slightly different to what a 390 or an NC provides…A KTM 390 which has around 15bhp less will happily sit at 70
Plus I will literally ride in near sub Zero temperatures if weather ok in deep winter, hence no way a 390 will enable that (I don’t use heated clothing)
I did circa -4 to -6 on a BMW 1150GSA and was fine when I arrived at work, but won’t be doing it again as I realise now it was a bit silly dude to the risk of black ice. But you get the gist, I ain’t fair weather only but as I’m getting older, my body needs the protection and comfort
I'm surprised at Nay sayers here. I would 100% say go for it if you intend to keep the new bike for a while. I too commute in to London (from Kent) and did so on a 5yr old bike that became a 10 yr old bike before selling it this March for a brand new bike. I don't worry about it getting dirty or being used at all, but I really enjoy riding it. I'll probably keep it for 5+ years so not worried about depreciation etc. I'm probably unusual as I do get attached to my bikes so for me having one from new and keeping it for a while is a really nice thing. Feels like MY bike.
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