Friday, May 01, 2009

Honda NT700V Deauville

Honda Deauville - the bike is named after the French seaside resort at the Atlantic coast. I really love this mi-seized touring bike which is somehow a small Honda Pan European or Kawasaki GTR. With its 680 cc V-twin engine, it just oozes low-down torque through its five-speed box and the fuel-injected, eight-valve lump puts out 64bhp at 8,000rpm and its top end is estimated at 120mph, enough to keep your licence for sure. I think it's one of the most underrated motorcycles on the market as it has a useful fairing with an adjustable screen, high bars, heated grips as an option, integrated panniers, shaft drive, a combined brake system with ABS and a large fuel tank for long distance cruising on A-roads. It offers around 200 miles between stops with an average of 45 to 50 mpg. Fact is that the Deauville is great reliable touring machine, affordable and cheap to run. Less is more. And last but not least: the bike is built in Spain, so it's a real Euro-bike.