Honda Deauville

Done 4000kilometres to tassie and back to south australia,no aches no pains could not have picked a better bike

my deauville is the most dependable motorcycle i have owned and i have

owned quite a few bikes in 35 years. its a 2000 year i have it ten years

its got 71,700 miles on it, has never ever let me down in that time, oil and

filter changes every 3 thou miles.plugs and air filter changed every three services,the engine has never being opened, and apart from tyres and a few

batteries over the years nothing and i mean nothing has broken or fallen off,

sure i have bigger,faster,bikes but they come and go and the deauville is

still here,just like the wifes toyota corolla of 8 years its never broken

down.so its here to stay,if your looking for a bike that "does what it says on the tin"the deauville is it, even two of the mates have one now enough

said.

This bike is the most underated bike that I know. I have had my 2005 Deauville for 2 years. I commute 120 miles a day, 5 days a week and I ride all year round. The only time he let me down was due to the fuel pump going on him.Come rain, wind, shine and snow, the Deauville has just been superb and does everything that i ask of him - whether it's my daily commute, weekend runs out with my wife (she loves the comfort) and short tour trips over to Holland and France with the wife on the back. I have been riding bikes since i was 17 (now 48 yrs young)and the Deauville has simply been the best all rounder that i have ever had. If you want a practical, reliable and economical bike that you can still have fun on and raise a smile under your lid then I highly recommend the Deauville. It may not light up the world with regards BHP and top end speed but the Deauville will still be there for you when all the garage queens are hidden away at the first sign of rain.

I bought a 2000 model a year ago. I own 2 other bikes so my deauville is often left in the garage for several weeks at a time. I go to it turn the key press the button and it fires up. I then ride it for up to 300 miles in a day in comfort. Park it up, repeat again a few weeks later. This is on a bike with 93000 mls on the clock. what more could you ask of a bike?

Some say they're boring. I often hit the footrests on the road when cornering. They are not boring, they are a functional comfortable lightwieght tourer.

If you plan on carrying a lot of luggage go for the wider pannier lids. you can't get much in the small ones.

I'm off to France on mine in a few weeks.

I bought a 2004 model from new. At first I had it serviced where I purchased it (no problems), only to find out about 4 years later the dealer stopped being a Honda specialist. Then I used a local Honda garage - where it generally came out worse after a service than it went in. Around 50K it was breaking down and the Honda garage could only guess the fault. A passing motorcyclist recommended a local back street garage. They immediately recognised the problem (fuel pump issue) fixed it, and now service it all the time. Since that episode it runs like a dream. Done over 73K Miles and running like new. The back street dealer and I are confident it will easily do 100K miles plus. Great bike, just a shame about the Honda Service. If you find a decent garage (Honda or otherwise) to service the bike, it will run forever. Real workhorse.

My Deauville NT700 is a 2007 model I bought second hand last year. Its narrower and less bulky than later models, so I've had no problems weaving through city and motoway traffic. On the open road the throttle leaves most cars lagging behind, providing more than enough acceleration to join motoways and overtake. A mid sized Givi top box and the small panniers gives loads of storage for a commuter. Negative points? The visor is not adjustable - you can unmount it, turn it 180 degrees, and screw it back on as the manual shows, but that's not exactly convenient. The bike also came with the optional extra wide side pannier lids and changing the lids is fiddley business involving removing and replacing 20 screws! Honda should come up with a more convenient arrangement.

But these are minor gripes, the bike is a superb workhorse - I hardly use the car anymore!

Tip: If you need a top box, get a Givi medium size "cheapie" with a 3 Kg weight limit. I've exceeded the weight limit by loads and can fit two full face helmets, laying sideways, and no problems at all.

With oil and petrol you are talking wrong side of a quarter ton. 65bhp at crank (claimed) through a drive shaft (rather than chain) means something like 50bhp at back wheel.

5 gears mean no close ratio box here.

So if you have had the misfortune of spending time on this beast (it really is a big lump of a bike) you will note:

a) SLOW bike

b) Big, wide body, seating position too far over rear wheel and handling is top heavy. So you can’t overtake in traffic and you cant overtake on the open road due to low power.

What is the point of this? What purpose does it serve? Under what circumstances would this machine prove advantageous over its rivals? All these questions should have been asked by the designer at the planning stage and then this "concept" would never have made it past the drawing board.

Bought my Deauville NT 700V at the tender age of 61 from my local Honda bike dealer at the end of October.I wanted a

I have owned many bikes over too many years and rate the Dullsville right up there with the very best for practicality.

Handles well goes moderately fast brilliant fuel consumption.

I have had a radiator leak a clutch cable snap and the fuel pump fail, bypass the fuel pump and rely on gravity feed, good for at least 18 miles into reserve that means 200 mile tank range.

Love the bike.

I have had my NT650V (Deauville) from new (13 years this Aug), after putting 114k miles on my XJ600 I was fed up of replacing, tensioning and cleaning chains so I had a list of requirements which this bike matched to a T. Not the most exciting bike but a very comfortable ride (albeit a bit more vibration then the straight 4 of the Yamaha). I originally bought for commuting but since leaving London (after putting 64k on it) I only use it for touring now. If you are used to an unfaired bike (especially round the rear wheel) then riding in a cross wind will take a bit of getting used to (you get a lot of the old 'flat tyre' feeling).

If you are riding in winter then the deflectors to screw onto the fairing are good to keep some weather off (as are the footguards). the high screen I found wasn't quite high enough so tempted you to duck which can make your back ache. The Panniers never seem to be the right size/shape but if you only have soft items to store then this isn't an issue (although the cost of the bags to fit them is typically Honda) and you can easily carry enough for a weekend without worrying about a top box. The newer model has the tube going over the rear wheel which would help in many cases.

I have had a few problems over the years but only to be expected, the fuel pump gave up between 50-60k (has a system like points on older bikes) and when I went to start it recently I found the Fuel pump relay had broken. This is where it gets to be a pain, Honda hide things in difficult to get to places and the parts cost a fortune. If the rear tyre blows you have a problem because the bike is then too low to the road for it to be secure on the side stand and you have to be a weightlifter to get it up onto the main stand from that position. Dropping it is also an issue as all that plastic is expensive (and really gets in the way if you have to push it). If anyone remembers the old days of bump starting when your battery was flat then forget it with this bike. I Recently had to have the fork seals replaced as there was some rusting where I could not see/maintain it and I will shortly have to replace the exhaust with an aftermarket system as Honda will charge the earth (long runs and overnight garaging has kept it going so far).

All that said, the bike has been generally reliable and comfortable to ride, ideal commuter (although I would avoid the large luggage covers if going through traffic) and good tourer.