The Most Overlooked Touring Motorcycle That Will Last A Lifetime

Touring motorcycles are built to go great distances. They do it with poise and comfort and technology that allows the rider to enjoy good weather and minimize the pain of bad weather. They charge you a pretty penny for it, and their names have become well-known in the motorcycling fraternity. BMW’s GS series, the Honda Gold Wing, and Harley-Davidson’s touring series (like the Street Glide and Road Glide) are all incredible examples.

There are also touring motorcycles that go about their business without the celebrity that these names have. Not that we’re taking anything away from these names, but there are also some overlooked touring bikes that fly under the radar, and can make a great companion for years and maybe even decades. We went through all the touring motorcycles available today, and we’ve come up with the most overlooked touring motorcycle that will last a lifetime.

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The Honda NC750X DCT Is The Most Overlooked Touring Motorcycle That Will Last A Lifetime

Price: $9,499

The NC750X flies under the radar for a number of reasons, not least of which is the fact that it is a motorcycle unlike any other. It looks like an adventure bike, is a tourer, and has a lot of features that make it a great city bike. It is also very frugal, offering a low running cost and good tank range. Under the skin is an unstressed engine, a proven automatic transmission, and electronics that are just enough to keep the rider safe without complicating things. This gives it amazing longevity, and this is the most overlooked touring motorcycle that will last a lifetime.

Honda NC750X DCT Highlights

• Standard automatic gearbox
• ‘Fuel tank’ is actually storage space
• Fuel tank is housed inside rear subframe
• Unstressed engine
• Uncomplicated electronics

A Unique Driveline To Enable Easy Riding

The Engine Is Unique To The NC750

The NC started out life as a 670 cc engine, but over the generations it has grown to 745 cc. And there are a number of very interesting features in the driveline. Unlike a lot of modern bikes, this is a long-stroke engine. That means it prioritizes torque over power, and that is reflected in the figures: 57.8 horsepower and 50.9 pound-feet. It doesn’t rev very high, either, with the redline at 7,500 RPM. It does have a lovely spread of torque, and that is the purpose of this engine. A clue can be found in the fact that it is derived from one half of the Jazz/Fit’s mill.

A by-wire throttle allows access to ride modes, HSTC traction control, and engine braking levels. Only DCT is available in the US market. This is the same kind of gearbox present in all the other Honda DCT motorcycles, so you get an intelligent shift system that will change shift points depending on how hard you’re hustling the NC in automatic mode. You can also choose sport mode, which will allow you to rev it to the redline, or simply shift gears manually with paddles on the left handlebar.

Honda NC750X DCT Engine Specifications

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The Chassis Is As Unique As The Engine

Unusual But Purposeful

Squint and the NC750X’s steel diamond frame almost looks like an underbone chassis because Honda has tried to make as much space as possible in the place where a regular fuel tank would be. The engine is canted over at 55 degrees to the vertical, just like a BMW K 1600, and the fuel tank has been relocated to under the seat. This gives the NC750X a low center of gravity and a really low seat height, both great for those looking for their first full-size motorcycle.

The suspension on the NC750X is quite basic, meanwhile: regular Showa dual bending valve forks up front and a preload-adjustable Pro-Link shock at the back. It’s a similar story with the brakes: there are wave discs at both ends, but the front has a lower-spec caliper than entry-level KTMs, with a conventional two-piston floating caliper. There is an updated version of the NC750X with a second front brake disc, but the update hasn’t made it to the US market yet.

To sum up, this is a competent chassis that inspires confidence in the beginner rider, but if you try to hustle it along, it will not like it. The 17-inch rims do allow you a wide range of rubber to choose from, should you want to make it handle a little better. Its simplicity also contributes to its longevity – nothing will break, and when it does, it will be inexpensive to fix.

Honda NC750X DCT Chassis Specs And Dimensions

Honda NC750X DCT Features

As Basic As Things Can Be

The NC750X DCT gets overlooked because it doesn’t have any flashy, shouty features. We’re still stuck with the LCD display that the 2021 bike had – and it isn’t even a reverse LCD unit. What the NC750X aims for, even in features, is practicality. The place where you’d expect to find the fuel tank is, in reality, a 6.1-gallon storage space, or enough to store a full-size ADV helmet.

Another feature is the way it sips fuel; Honda claims 67.2 MPG in the cycle WMTC when ridden in D mode, and various respected publications verify that 50+ MPG is possible with the NC750X DCT when ridden normally. You also get all-LED lighting, and self-canceling turn indicators that measure the difference in wheel speed to self-cancel.

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Honda NC750X DCT Competition

No Other Automatic Available

There are no other automatic tourers available at around the NC750X’s budget and in its style. There are a few that do offer a quickshifter, which goes some way to alleviating the pain of a manual. We also need to note that the NC750X doesn’t offer cruise control despite having a by-wire throttle, which would have made it a more complete bike. Some of the competition do offer this to make their case stronger.

The Transalp ($9,999) is available at nearly the same price as the NC750X, and it gets a quickshifter, but it isn’t an overlooked motorcycle. Another motorcycle worth mentioning is the Suzuki V-Strom 800 ($10,109), which has a similar engine layout and displacement. Others we would overlook look at are the Kawasaki Versys 650 LT ABS (a great midsize adventure-tourer), the Suzuki V-Strom 650 (an authentic V-twin experience), and the Triumph Tiger Sport 660 (offers its inline three-cylinder goodness).

Honda NC750X DCT Vs Rivals