Honda NC750X update

I just completed a two-week, 3720-mile ride from here in Eastern Iowa to Arizona and Utah by way of Colorado.  Unlike my previous long ride, I was on my Honda NC750X motorcycle and riding in May.  I was hoping to get to Monument Valley before the weather got too hot, but the real result was extremes---rain and deserts, hot and cold, crosswinds and hail, construction and bad pavement, speed limits of 75 and 80 m.p.h. plus high-altitude passes with roadside snow and the endless nothingness of I-76 in Eastern Colorado, which made Nebraska look interesting.  

It was a learning experience.  

As I wrote previously, I got the Honda NC750X for a variety of reason, but most especially for its stability.  The center of gravity is low, as is the seat height.    I grew to trust it.  Going 80 m.p.h. in a light rain with the wind blowing, it took me a while to learn to dress appropriately and to trust the bike.  

The bike was trustworthy.

Wolf Creek Pass on the Continental Divide at 10,857' elevation.

I previously experimented with having a Yamaha X-Max scooter.  I could go 84 m.p.h. on a flat, but I decided that wasn't enough out West. And I was right.  Passing a truck going uphill on the interstate in Colorado or Utah required more power.  With the Honda, I could shift down to a lower gear, and it always responded with good acceleration, taking me up and around big trucks or heavy traffic.  The extra power kept me out of the way of other drivers.

Some reviewers have referred to the NC750X as boring.  It's true that some of the KTMs and higher -powered bikes might accelerate more quickly or flick through traffic more easily.

But I'm 65.  My reflexes aren't what they once were, nor is my physique. I'm not in a hurry. I'm happy with the Honda's stability and responsiveness.  It did well.

Before I left, I put my camping gear in a waterproof bag attached across my luggage rack and side panniers. It's the same bag I took west in 2022---and the same tent, sleeping bag, inflatable pillows, too.  And with the NC750X, I have the accessible extra storage where a gas tank is usually located.

The view from our camp east of Provo UT where I met my daughter and her husband.

But my route this time took me further south:

The Forrest Gump Highway at Monument Valley.

Horseshoe Bend on the Colorado River near Page AZ.

Not far upstream is the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell:

From there, I headed to Bryce Canyon National Park:

After meeting my daughter for a couple of days, I went to Colorado National Monument:

And the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park:

Then it was time to face the long ride home.  From Grand Junction to Denver, I-70 is either under construction or deconstruction, with diversions, bumpy roads, and high passes, all taken at high speeds.  As clouds started to roll into the Loveland Pass at above 9,000', I stopped at a historic hotel built in 1880 at Silver Plume:

The few rooms shared a single communal bathroom.  The foundation had settled unevenly, and the floors made me feel like a sailor, but in most ways it was actually quite nice. And it was warm, as the air temperature dropped below freezing. 

From there to Dubuque, there is little interesting to relate---I suggest that you read Progressive Farmer instead.

This trip had neither the aspirations nor the longevity of my previous trip.  However, it left me with more confidence in my abilities to ride cross-country even as I age.  I'm not sure when I will next head out, but there are still lots of places I'd like to see.

Album from the trip.

Honda NC750X Review

 I've gone through far more two-wheelers in the last 15 years than cars in nearly 50.  My first car, purchased when I was not yet 17, was a wrecked-and-rebuilt Ford Pinto that I bought with money from working summers in the NC tobacco fields.  I drove it till I was 29.  It broke down at convenient times, and I always new that if a girl went out with me, it wasn't because of the car.

Motorcycles came much later.  My mom was risk-averse, and then I had kids that kept me from justifying the purchase.  I started small, literally, with a used Chinese-made scooter.  It was the one on which my wife and I got our motorcycle licenses.   A few years later, my older daughter ran it from the gas pump into a wall of the service station.  She was unhurt, but the scooter was finished.  Time to move up.

In the next few years, I went through a Kawasaki, a Suzuki, a Honda scooter (which I still have), a Honda NC700,  a Kawasaki Versys 650, a Honda Africa Twin, and a Yamaha X-Max scooter.  The Yamaha scooter had a top speed of 84 m.p.h, which sounds like a lot, but my experience on Montana and South Dakota interstates made me leery of being topped out when big trucks were zooming by.  Instead, I have now settled on a bike to stick with, a Honda NC750X.

My Honda NC750X in front of a favorite coffee shop, Rosie's in Epworth IA.

I loved my Africa Twin, riding it on a 5000+ mile trip west for over 6 weeks.  But I also dropped it a few times, always at slow speeds.  I never felt quite stable on it.  It was just a bit too tall for me.  Still, riding it so much and so far helped me determine what I really needed in a bike:

1. Low seat height.  I'm 65 now and have some arthritis in my hip.  On the NC750x, I can put both feet on the ground.  
2.  Low center of gravity.  I want stability.  Falling hurts more when you get old.  The NC750x has the gas tank under the seat.  Where the gas tank is on most bikes is a storage compartment that will hold my helmet.  
   
   
   
3. Grip warmers and cruise-control.  These were standard on my Africa Twin, and they made long trips possible.  I get cramps in my hands, so I had the warmers and cruise-control added to the NC750X.  They are working great.
4. DCT.  As I mentioned above, I have arthritis in my hip.  The left hip.  The side you normally change gears with.  Honda makes the DCT, and it is available on the NC750X.  DCT stands for Double-Clutch Transmission.  In practice, it works like an automatic transmission, but a very smart one.  It is virtually impossible to stall a Honda with a DCT.
5. Panniers.  I like to camp overnight, and I plan a couple of weeks out west again this summer.  I have a soft waterproof bag I put over the back, and I added Shad panniers to the sides.  It's more than enough storage, even without the frunk.
6. Navigation.  I have yet to find a built-in navigation system that I like as well as Google Maps.  So I ordered a phone holder made for motorcycles.

The advice that any beginning rider gets is to buy a bike that fits.  Good advice, as far as it goes.  But needs---and bodies---change.  I'm not the sort to own a dozen bikes for a variety of needs.  I hang on to my Honda sh150i scooter for around town because it's too old to get much for it, has bigger wheels than most scooters now come with, and insurance is nearly nothing.  Plus, it's a load of fun. 

But for longer, higher-speed outings, the HC750X is about as good an all-rounder as you'll find.  Excellent stability, great gas mileage, a top speed of 105 m.p.h.,  good low-rpm torque, and that Honda reliability---a Honda has never left me broken down on the side of the road.  

I'll post photos of my next outing.

Cutting the Fat

When confronting the decisions being made currently about cutting the fat in our federal government, I am reminded of the two most effective ways of losing weight in my personal past.  One was when I had malaria while teaching in Africa.  Another was more recently when I caught Lyme disease while on vacation in Colorado.  For the latter, I have weight data:

Quite effective, eh?

Yet I haven't yet encountered anyone who has chosen Lyme disease, much less malaria, as a way to lose weight.  Huh.

Now I am seeing many parts of our national government being sickened with the justification of cutting the fat.  The parts that feel most real to me are what's happening with U.S. AID, given my work overseas,  with the National Park System, given the dozens I've visited, often with student groups, and education and research, given my career.  There are many others.

But an event that made the abstract more personal was the firing of Brian Gibbs from his job at Effigy Mounds.  His story has been taken up by NPR [here], but I wanted to share with you what he wrote on Facebook:

There are many who will tell you what a great guy Brian is, how he has enriched their lives through his Park Service work and through his organizing of music events in the Elkader IA area.  But as great as he is, he's not unique.  Lots of good people are being hurt without due process nor compassion.  

We are acting like being sick is a great way to lose weight.