Good question. Compared to my NH750, first impression is just pure riding comfort. You hear people say it's an old man's bike. Well, I AM an old man and it's true. I would compare its ride quality to a Chevy Camaro vs. maybe a modern Caddy or Lincoln Town Car.
But It doesn't wallow or float, just kinda takes the bumps in stride with well-damped rhythm and keeps on motorin'. It's definitely not a bouncy machine. Part of that is due to weight. It topped out on our freight scale at 680 lbs., semi-wet (about a gallon and a half of gas in a 5-gallon tank) Second, is available torque. It's a low-revving motor to start with, comparatively-speaking, and the power band is down low, not up in nose- bleed territory near the red line like most Japanese bikes. I tried roll ons in every gear and was very satisfied with the response. Acceleration is not hyper like the 750. It's much more subtle and I found myself going faster than I actually perceived, based on gear selection and engine sound. Exhaust note is very mellow and the motor just doesn't sound like its working all that hard. My quibble at the moment, based on very little riding, is low-speed footwork. Though the seat height is just about the same, the opposed- cylinder engine is much wider than the 750, I found it more difficult to get my long legs away from the motor and my feet down smoothly, coming to a stop -- and up on the pegs from a standing start. Part of that is probly habit and unfamiliarity, but it seems awkward. A contributing factor is this bike has crash bars that stick out another few inches beyond the cylinders and the foot pegs are very close to the cylinder heads. An oddity is handling, compared to the 750. The gas tank and bulk of the engine are below seat-height on this bike, so the center of gravity is not that high off the ground. Handling is deceptively light and easy for a relatively heavy bike. Fit and finish are, no question, superior to the 750. A review I read described it as over-engineered and I tend to agree. But I'd be quick to add that I've developed a new found appreciation for over- engineered machines. This is not your cross-town errand runner. It's a road warrior, and I like that. Anyway, that's what little I know, based on a hundred miles or so of piddlin' around with it. On Mar 8, 10:12 pm, "Allen Thomas" <[email protected]> wrote: > So now that you have had a decent ride on her, what are your thoughts? > Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: surfswab <[email protected]> > > Sender: [email protected] > Date: Thu, 8 Mar 2012 17:00:00 > To: Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!<[email protected]> > Reply-To: [email protected] > Subject: [Nighthawk Lovers] Re: Well? > > Okaaay...bike's titled, tagged, gassed and ensconsed in its new home. > Had to rent a bigger space it'll share with its NH750 roomie and > assorted household flotsam. But it's all by its lonesome for the time > being. > > Since it's now legal I had to ride it there by way of McDonough (for > non-Georgians, that's not real far, but it's not a straight line from > Conley to Forest Park either, if you catch my drift). Took about all > the daylight I had left after dealing with motor vehicle bureaucrats > most of the day. > > I'll be looking for the care package, Paul. Got a tracking number? > > On Mar 8, 4:21 am, Paul LeBoutillier <[email protected]> wrote: > > Wonderful! I couldn't be happier. > > > Oregon also requires a VIN inspection on all out-of-state transfers but > > those are done at the DMV office at the time of registration. > > > I'm glad the GL made the trip safely. :-) > > > Sent from my Xoom Tablet powered by Android > > On Mar 7, 2012 6:00 PM, "surfswab" <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > Indeed it did. In fact, I left the house this morning about 10 > > > expecting to camp out at my workplace and wait out their 11 a.m. - 1 > > > p.m. delivery window. > > > > But as I pulled in the driveway at about 10:20 the truck was right > > > behind me. We had the bike off, inspected and paperwork done by > > > 10:30 !! > > > > All was intact and it looks gorgeous -- better than the pics even. > > > Put a little gas in it and tooled around our lot some. Starts good, > > > runs good, rides like my living room sofa would if it had wheels. > > > > That was the best part of the day, however. Georgia requires a "VIN > > > Inspection" before they'll allow out-of-state registration. A semi- > > > cool feature of that is any beat cop can do it -- and they'll come to > > > you -- record the number and run it thru their "hot sheet" computer to > > > see if it's been reported stolen. > > > > The not-so-cool feature is that because it's a low priority call, they > > > take their sweet time. Called 'em before noon, but they didn't show > > > until after 4, so the tag/title offices were closed by the time that > > > little piece of work was done. > > > > I used the time to get acquainted with the bike, though, so it wasn't > > > a total waste. That means I'll burn a good bit of daylight tomorrow > > > waiting in line to transfer title -- and again, in a different > > > location, getting license plates. > > > > Bike is sweet, though, and I'm a happy camper. > > > > On Mar 7, 3:30 pm, Paul <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > *Hey Ron, did the bike arrive? * > > > > * > > > > > Paul LeBoutillier > > > > * > > > > * > > > > * > > > > *www.hondanighthawks.net* > > > > -- > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > > > "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. > > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > > [email protected]. > > > For more options, visit this group at > > >http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers?hl=en. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group > athttp://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers?hl=en.
