Let's be honest: as much as people drool over supersport bikes, only a small number of people genuinely enjoy them for daily use. They are loud, fold the rider into an uncomfortable position, totally incapable of carrying anything, and produce so much power that one always has to be super attentive to keep from getting into serious trouble. Sure they are an absolute blast to ride through the canyons or on a track, but most riders hardly ever see either of those except for the odd weekend here and there. Honda clearly had this in mind when they developed the NC700X. This is a seriously well thought out urban commuter that is aimed squarely at providing an exceedingly practical motorcycle that is accessible to the masses. In fact, Honda considered that point so clearly that they even offer this bike with what essentially amounts to an automatic transmission.
Yes,folks, you heard that right. The automatic transmission is creeping its way into full-size motorcycles. This is, thankfully, not the terrible CVTs that you see on scooters, but is instead a computer actuated dual-clutch arrangement that I will talk more about later on in this review.
Sitting on the bike, the stance is definitely tall, with my 31-inch inseam legs just barely able to get the balls of both of my feet fully down on either side. Luckily, Honda did a good job in sculpting the seat to allow as much clearance as it could, but shorter riders are likely to find the bike a bit of a stretch. Once seated, the reach for the bars is extremely comfortable and works well to provide a near totally upright seating position. Pegs fall logically right below the rider's hips to complete that upright seating position, but unfortunately are set a touch high for riders with even average length legs. I personally found them a bit cramped, but your mileage may vary.
Instrumentation is clear and simple with easy to read, if somewhat plain looking gauges, that utilize a digital speedometer and tachometer. Fuel level and gear indicators are included as well as the usual bevy of indicator lights. Nothing about the rider cockpit stands out much until you reach for the grips and realize that the bike is missing a clutch and has a few strangely labeled buttons. Since my bike is a DCT model, in place of the clutch are a pair switches labeled with a "+" and "-" along with a bulky plastic handle that actuates the parking brake. On the right side switch cluster is a rocker switch labeled with "S-D-N" that is used to indicate the drive mode. It is all a little disorienting at first, much like the rest of the riding experience.

Rolling along, the bike actually feels very natural. The shift points are almost imperceptible as the DCT smoothly transitions between gears and the lack of any physical feedback when gear changes took place certainly required some getting use to. Once my brain had reprogrammed itself to deal with this new paradigm, I easy cruised along without issue. Coming to a stop, my jobless clutch hand grabbed fruitlessly for the non-existent lever for the first few lights, but quickly adapted to simply staying put. At each light, the bike's brain smartly decoupled the clutch and the bike idled effortlessly. As long as I did not move the throttle, the bike simply sat still. It is definitely a trip to try this for the first time.
As we rode along, blasting along a few highways and navigating some neighborhood streets, I got increasingly comfortable with the bike. It handles easily, thanks to the lower center of gravity from the heavily forward canted motor and the gas tank that hides beneath the seat. By placing all of this mass closer to the ground, the bike handled confidently and in combination with the wide bars, was extremely easy to toss around. The forks and rear shock felt adequately damped for urban commuting, but push a bit harder and it quickly became clear that the steering is more than a bit vague and that any serious riding would likely get this bike into trouble quickly. Brakes - single discs front and rear - offered adequate, though not exactly amazing, stopping power while, like the steering, lacking any real feel and feedback. It all makes for a comfortable and plush ride, but any thoughts of using this as an only bike would quickly go out the window without some serious suspension upgrades.

Eventually, we cruised back to our starting point and by this time, I had a pretty good feel for the quirks of this rather unique bike. That DCT is definitely a serious piece of engineering wizardry. For someone new to motorcycling, especially if they do not drive manual transmissions to begin with, it lowers the barrier to entry significantly. Even for an intermediate or advanced rider looking for a much more relaxing ride, once you get used to the quirks, it is an excellent choice since it really simplifies the ride tremendously. The NC itself is also an enormously practical bike. A trunk and saddle bags are available accessories that offer tons of storage and the bike has a built-in compartment, located where one normally finds the gas tank, that is large enough to swallow a full-face helmet. As an urban commuter, Honda has thought of virtually every little detail with the NC700X.
Now, if only they could figure out how to get Americans to actually buy it...
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