KRATZMC

Back in November, I purchased a 2010 Honda NT700V(Non-ABS), known World Wide as the Deauville. After a few months of riding the Deauvlle, I now feel qualified to offer my opinion of this machine. So read on if you want to know what I think. From here on, I will refer to the NT700V as the Deauville.

The 2010 Honda NT700V

The Deauvlle has been available on the World Market for the last ten years and Honda finally decided to release it into the US Market for 2010. For years I have been waiting for Honda to find similar sense and release their other Jewels like the Trans Alp, African Twin and Varadero, so when the Deauville hit the showroom floor I jumped at the chance. In other parts of the world, the Motorcycle is used as a daily tool where practicality is the rule of the day. Narrow streets, heavy traffic conditions and when the Motorcycle is your primary transportation, the ability to carry cargo and reliability are more important than looks. In the U.S., riding for most part is a recreational pastime so chrome and how it looks are more important than funciton.

I am pretty practical when it comes to what I ride, so I don’t like chrome. I ride my machines so they get dirty and I’d rather spend my time riding instead of polishing my machine with all its nooks and crannies.  I like being able to spray some dry and wash on my plastic, wipe off the dirt and take off.  I also require performance and reliability. I don’t buy a Motorcycle to convey an image. I use a Motorcycle to take me to adventure and as a means to help me check off the items on my bucket list. I own both the Honda ST1100 and ST1300, Big Brothers of the Deauvlle. That being said, you should have a understanding of my mindset and where I am coming from.

My NT700V moments before the sale

My first visual impression of the Deauvlle was that of the smaller brother to the ST1300. The side Paniers and the adjustable wind screen have similar lines to the ST1300 but thats where the likeness ends. You should not compare the Deauvlle to the ST1300, as they are completely different machines with dissimilar performance envelopes. The Deauvlle needs to be judged on its own merit. I can see why Honda waited to release the Deauvlle into the U.S. Market, as their most popular machines in other countries like the Trans Alp, didn’t catch on here. I still don’t think the Deauville is ready for the U.S. Market for reasons I stated previously. The other reason I bought the Deauville is if it goes the way of the Trans Alp, its rarity will increase its value.

After some no B.S. talk with the Manager of Georgetown Texas Honda, I was out the door with the Deauvlle for $9.8k, with a Honda 2 year extended protection plan. Note: the ABS Model is about a grand to a grand and a half more. Two others called during my dealings, so I got away with the last Deauvlle on the floor.

Fuel/Range: My first stop with the Deauvlle was the fuel station, where I topped off the tank. With the built in Fuel computer and the odometer, I wanted to find out how far the Deauvlle would go on a single tank. I rode until the fuel gauge went below the left bottom corner of the “E”. Refer to figure “”. The odometer read 205 miles and the needle had been in the red for the last 35 miles. The fuel computer said I was getting around 51 MPG, from a mix of highway, city and Interstate travel. This fact impressed me.

With 205 Miles on the trip meter, I had almost a gallon of fuel left

Handling: This is where the Deauvlle shines. The Deauvlle is nimble and easy to ride. The beginner and the expert will both feel comfortable on the Deauvlle. The ride is a little buzzy as the speedometer gets over 70 MPH, reminding me of the Concours. I was able to obtain 109 MPH indicated with no problem but didn’t push it any further on the public roads. The acceleration is not impressive but taking the machines purpose in mind, it is adequate and smooth. In traffic or Urban areas the Deauvlle is a champ. Easy to manuever in tight conditions, its low speed handling is excellent and braking is very good. The bike is well balances and I can easily come to a complete stop and a Stop Sign without putting my feet down. Because the Deauvlle is light, heavy cross winds or Big Rig traffic will push you around a little but you have to expect that with any machine in that size range. The cornering is very good and handling the twisties is no problem but it is not the right type of machine for knee dragging. The ground clearance is excellent and it handles very well on rough, unimproved  and improved dirt roads.

Cargo: The Deauvlle has two small compartments on either side of the handlebars. The left one locks and the right one has a friction latch. These compartments are adequate for your registration, documents, garage door openers, tire gauges etc. You must rotate the handle bars left or right to access these compartments depending which side you want to get into, otherwise you cannot open the lids. Anyway this means you cannot access the contents while riding, which for most is a good thing. The built in/or integrated saddle bags are ample for extra clothes, shoes, nightly groceries but won’t hold a motorcycle helmet like the ST’s or BMW RT’s. What I did like about the bags is at the back of the bags, there is a through compartment. There is a slot where is about 4 inches wide which goes from one bag to the other, allowing storage for longer items that won’t fit lengthwise in the side bags. The lock and latch for the bag lids are found along the left passenger hand rail. There is a small platform at the rear of passenger seat. You should be able to get a Givi rack to bolt to this if you wished to ad a trunk. As of this writing, there are no Honda made, model specific accessories available in the U.S. If you know better, let me know.

Ammenities: The trip and fuel computers are great tools, easy to read and to manipulate. The Wind Screen is manually adjustable, a feature which I like since I don’t like looking through plastic. The rider protection is adequate and squeezing the knees in behind the trailing edge of the side Paniers, takes your legs out of the slip stream.

The Instrument lay out and fuel computer. Reading 48.8 MPG at 145 miles through the first tank.

Click for the Specifictions.

Overall: The Deauvlle is the perfect machine for the Urban Commuter, who would like to do an occasional over nite or multi-day trip. It is economical to operate and there is every indication that it will maintain Honda’s reputation of reliability. The Deauvlle is an everyday riding machine which handles very well. The Deauvlle makes and excellent first bike, or secondary machine for the experienced rider who needs a utilitarian machine. I have yet to do a multi-day ride on the Deauvlle. but it should prove extremely capable for a 400 - 500 mile ride day.

Nice lines

If you have any questions or resources that I may find useful being a Deauvlle owner, drop me a line.

Ride Safe, Ride Hard!

Tags: Home page //