What happened to the Honda NT1100? The launch in Spain triggered articles and YouTube content galore. Since then, the press fleet has been booked solid, and those friendly people at Honda have politely endured our repetitive enquiries about when one might be available.
Despite NT1100s being as rare as rocking horse do-do, everything seems to have gone quiet. Perhaps I’ve not been looking in the right places.
Divided
What content I’ve found suggests that the NT1100 has divided opinions. When it was released, everyone said nice things, and rightly so.
Yet, the reviewers always seemed hesitant in their praise, even when saying nice things. Some of it was picky stuff, such as overly complicated switchgear and a screen that was awkward to adjust while riding. Yet these aren’t fatal flaws. If I want to change the screen position, it takes less than twenty seconds.
The best whinge I read was that the main TFT screen took too long to start. Yet the lower LCD screen – with a speedo on – comes to life immediately, and you can ride away while the TFT takes a few extra seconds to burst into multi-coloured information overload.
I mention all of this because if these are the things that people are talking about – rather than if Honda’s NT1100 is an excellent touring and commuting motorcycle – then riding the NT1100 for the next couple of weeks is going to be enlightening.
If the NT1100 is an excellent tourer, steeped in all the desirable touring traits, including the ability to hustle when needed, it feels as if someone needs to say so.
Who is riding the NT1100?
Two of our bikes are Africa Twins. One has the traditional six-speed manual gearbox, and the other has DCT. The DCT model is the last of the 1000cc variants with extra riding modes, ride-by-wire throttle, improved intake and exhaust tuning, and more Honda Torque Control options.
Carle has covered around 7,000 miles on that bike, taking in long tours, several four-day trips to Scotland and even some off-roading. The off-roading didn’t go well, which is why he now has a Honda CRF300, but we couldn’t think of a better person to compare the latest evolution of Honda’s DCT with the previous generations.
Dave has already suggested a V-Strom 1050XT as an alternative, mainly because that is his stock answer to anything around the 100BHP mark designed to cover longer distances.
We’ll fill up the petrol tank and point him north on the A1 for a 250 miles round trip to nowhere to see what the NT1100 is like munching through miles. With luck, it will be raining when he goes. If the NT1100 is a tourer, then what it is like in the rain is an important consideration.
Honda NT1100 – The Stats
No motorcycle review is complete without a long list of facts and figures. I’ve never been overly sure this is useful in a review, as we are mostly interested in the visceral experience of riding. In a similar vein to torque and power graphs, facts and figures can’t describe the experience of opening the throttle.
Nonetheless, as the basis for the NT1100 is the Africa Twin, digging through the spec sheets and looking for differences did turn up a couple of thought-provoking tweaks the engineers at Honda have made.
Engine
The heart of the Honda NT1100 is a liquid-cooled 1084cc Parallel-Twin that has a strong similarity to the unit used on the Africa Twin. The engine has the same 10.1:1 compression ratio and 270° crankshaft. However, some fancy work by Honda on the air intake and the exhaust have tuned the engine for improvements in linear acceleration and a more relaxed mile-munching ride.
Honda claims the NT1100’s engine produces 101BHP at 7,500 rpm and 104Nm of torque at 6,250 rpm. The figures are spookily close to those of the 1100cc Africa Twin.
Chassis & Suspension
The chassis, however, isn’t even a close cousin to the Africa Twin – It is the same steel semi-double cradle frame with bolt-on aluminium rear subframe.
The wheelbase on the NT1100 is a little shorter due to the changes in the front end to make the steering sharper. Preload adjustable Showa inverted 43mm forks are found on the front, and a Showa shock with remote preload is on the rear.
Tyres & Brakes
Tyre sizes are 120/70-17 for the front and 180/55-17 for the rear. Twin 310mm discs bring the NT1100 to a halt on the front, with a 256mm disc on the rear.
Surprisingly, the Bosch IMU, which would enable cornering ABS and lean-sensitive traction control, is missing from the NT1100. You do get vanilla ABS, Honda Selectable Torque Control and – of all things – Wheelie Control, but no fancy IMU-enabled voodoo.
Weight
Weight depends on which variant of NT1100 you select. The standard 6-speed manual tips the scales at a claimed 238Kg, with a further 10Kg added to that figure if you go with DCT.
Standard Stuff
The NT1100 is a well-equipped motorcycle. Panniers, cruise control, centre stand and heated grips are the headline standard items, but there are some less obvious clever touches.
There are rain deflectors [shown in red below] forward of the engine to help keep your boots dry and a similar outward curve between the nose fairing and the side panel. Hand guards have been omitted in favour of winglets which, according to the man from Honda that delivered the NT1100, work amazingly well.
There is a 12v cigarette lighter-style socket to the left of the TFT screen and a USB socket to the right. You can use either to deliver power to a phone or GPS, but the USB port is where you connect your phone if you wish to use Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.
Enough Waffle
Reading all the specification sheets and digging deep into the history and evolution of the NT1100 has stimulated my enthusiasm to get out there and ride the bike, but Carle has the keys, so I’ll have to wait my turn.
I’ve only met one NT1100 owner, and that was an impromptu chat at a motorway services where we had both stopped for coffee. He had ridden 200 miles from Scotland and had a further 200 before he was home. Being able to cover 400 miles in a day and not see it as an endurance test is a good recommendation for any motorcycle.
I still had to ask him the inevitable and rather obvious question, “What do you think of the NT1100?”. His answer … “Great bike. Crap tyres”.
Chalk up another own goal for OE tyres. I wonder what is fitted on our Honda NT1100?
3 responses
They are rare, because I think Honda has missed the mark with this one.
The obvious answer is that it is boring as heck. Boring and comparatively weak engine, bland colors (black, grey or white, yay), looks too much like a big scooter. However, Honda knows that boring bikes like the NC700 may sell well, but I think the NT1100 is eaten by lack of features and the competition.
It doesn’t have shaft drive, dashboard navigation, keyless go. DCT is more expensive, the regular version doesn’t have quickshifter.
The Tracer900 is much cheaper and livelier – revvy and more powerful engine, weight advantage of 18-28kgs. The Suzuki GSX-S1000GT is also cheaper, has way more interesting engine character and dashboard navigation. Same with the Kawasaki Ninja 1000SX, it looks waaaay better too. The DST price isn’t that far off the BMW R1250RS that has all the touring amenities one can think of. Size-, and weight-wise the big NT approaches the slightly bigger ADV bikes which are all the rage these days.
The sports-touring segment looks crowded this season and Honda’s attempt to conquer it is weak.
*weight!
On paper it does look like a good bike and it’ll be interesting to read your thoughts. But I think they missed a trick by not fitting a shaft drive, even though it’s added wait
It’s certainly turned me away from considering the bike and I’m sure that I’m not the only one.