[Dutch-Guy]

I've had a NC750X (2015) for a few years.
The bike is pretty dull to see. But the engine (especially with DCT) is a beauty. It is quick also. You don't have to be afraid you cannot keep up with you friend in the twisties. It doesn't have a lot of power and sometimes you notice this but the DCT compensate for this by quick shifting up and down.
The engine runs in low revs a lot a smoother compared to the AT engine. So you can really use that low end torque.

It is popular commuter bike. Cheap to buy, Cheap to maintain and cheap on fuel and it has a built-in trunk like a scooter. That is a big advantage

 

[bossbaby]

I have the 2021 NC750X DCT for a couple of years. Have ~2k miles on it, mostly commuting 50miles away and shopping around. Came from no experience with big bikes but riding scooters for many years. I also used to borrow bigger, aggressive, like Honda Hornet 600 and Kawasaki Ninja 750.


Good:

The NC rides well, the DCT works fine, and was improved over previous years. I tried manual a few times but find myself going back to DCT because it does not make much difference. I ride almost always on Sport mode, the Normal mode is just bad. I suspect Honda put Normal mode just to pass inspections and save gas, but it is unacceptable. Sport mode is aggressive enough and close enough to my manual riding.

The frunk is quite useful, I even put my laptop there when riding to work.

Bad:

Seat height: I would never advise this bike to someone 6ft tall like myself. I have inseam of 33 inches and, although I like the bike, I hated the riding position. I did not even think that riding position could be so important. The bike comes stock with 31.6 inch seat height, lower than previous years. I had to buy lowered foot pegs, bar raisers, and SeatConcept foam and leather to increase the seat height. It is barely acceptable now, but the foot pegs are way too back, forcing a more sporty position than I would prefer.

Windshield: Forget about the stock one, it is just wind and buffetting. I installed a 24 inch Madstad that made all the wind go away. I can now ride comfortable at 80-90 mph, while before I felt scared of the helmet shakes when riding around 75 mph.

Battery: I left the bike often in the garage, put a battery tender once or twice in winter. Guess what, the battery started giving up and dying within two years. It left me stranded a couple of times. I just replaced it with a Lithium one (Noco NLP14) which is more robust to discharging.

Gearbox issues: There was an issue at the beginning, the bike would stall and shut off when accelerating suddenly from a light. That was fixed with a software update and DCT works now great. Or mostly great... occasionally the bike doesn't want to get in first gear. I have to shut the bike off and turn it on again, and then will get in 1st gear. This is not a big problem because you really need to put it in gear one time at the beginning of the ride. But it was quite a problem when the battery started to die and had enough juice only for one start.



I found this thread while looking for comparisons with the taller Africa Twin, but looks like I have still done the best choice. The riding of the NC is very smooth, very easy, almost boring for the lack of engagement with the bike. This "boringness" may seem negative when the road is open and there is nothing to do or gears to change, but becomes a blessing in traffic when swerving between cars and paying attention to the strategy of the ride instead of meddling with gears every 10 seconds. The DCT really gives you the opportunity to ride the street, while the regular manual shift gives you the opportunity to ride the bike. The NC gives a sort of piece of mind that will make you less engaged on the ride; someone with manual gears will be much more into it, more focused, more mental resources spent on the ride, always knowing the gear you are on, shift here, shift there, get ready to shift, etc. The NC is just sit and get going. Some will not like it, but compared to a horse like the AT, it is better for everyday use.

For those that don't know, the NC can be ridden in manual mode too, but you have just two tiny buttons at your fingers, which are way too easy to press (even by mistake) and mixed with other buttons on your left hand. I think some people can develop the art of pressing those two buttons just like we all have mastered gear changes, but I still don't see the point on my bike. The regular left foot shifting is still a much better process that involves intent and coordination instead of easy button presses with no control of the clutch.