Discussions (Apr 2001 onwards)

Note: Later contributions now at the top...

29/5/2001 From Carmen Fernández (mcferefa@hbas.osakidetza.net)

News from Honda, only for this page. Changes for next year:

1.- New Lights (transparent... like other Hondas)

2.- New color: Metallic grey

3.- And new brakes, CBS-TCS. Sorry, but I don´t now if with ABS.

Not bad, the information, isn´t it?.

Ráfagas y "V"

After one year of ownership, and 8000 miles, I have just parted with my Deauville. The bike was a superb commuter, and could manage two-up touring, but this needed the bike to be worked hard. With my kids all over seventeen, my wife and I are now spending much more time touring, so it was decided to go for something a little larger. I spent some time trying to find a decent second-hand Pan - new ones were out of our budget - and it was whilst doing this that She Who Must Be Obeyed saw the bike we now own.

We had popped into Windy Corner on the off chance that they may have had a Pan for sale, and we saw a new Triumph Trophy 1200 for £7195, which, with some misgivings over the chain drive, we bought. The DV was traded in at a good price, and I was sad to see her go. I would still recommend the bike for solo use, and occasional two up riding, but not the amount I now do - perhaps if Honda had fitted the 750 bits off of the Africa Twin....

Oh well, Cya and enjoy your Deauvilles.

Andy Long

My Deauville has just had it's 16,000 mile service - it came to about £173 which according to the service manager is about as expensive as a Deauville service is ever going to get. I've also done about 1000 miles on the Bridgestone BT020's now and they are excellent - highly recommended. Wonder how long they'll last though ?

Daniel Linehan mentioned getting a Deauville instead of a faired Bandit 600 - good choice. I currently own both bikes (not for long though as the Bandit is being replaced by a 2001 CBR600 tomorrow) and the Bandit hardly gets used - it's suspension is just too crude compared to the Deauville.

John Russell - you mentioned beating up a VFR750 a few weeks back. That wasn't on the road from the Rest and Be Thankful to Inveraray by any chance? My wife and I were on our way to Islay on my Deauville (we live inEdinburgh) - we stopped at the Rest and Be Thankful to adjust our intercom and while we were stopped a dark coloured (blue?) Deauville and a red VFR passed. We caught them soon after and the chap on the Deauville upped the pace quite a bit so we just followed him for a while (my wife wasn't keen on me passing) until he stopped in Inveraray. The VFR had rather surprisingly dropped well off the back by this time.

Regards

Steve

29/5/2001 From Pete Finlay (pete@meads.demon.co.uk)

Hi there; I have just received the following email from Haynes Manuals:

I won't hold my breath. On the subject or radios, given that the official Honda radio is priced at a ridiculous £600+, I am thinking of fitting a car radio and speakers. A few questions first.

1. I noticed that someone else had fitted Pioneer speakers to their Deauville. Are they waterproof? I have visions of driving along in the rain accompanied by various sparks and flashes from them!

2. How waterproof are these radios, and the gloveboxes that people put them into?

3. Does anybody know of a handlebar mounted switch set that can be used to control the radio so I don't have to look down into the glovebox every time I adjust volume / station etc?

Many thanks for such a good site. I've now done 1,500 miles in the first month of owning my Deauville, and I'm really very impressed with it.

Regards to all

Pete Finlay

NT650V Deauville....haven't fallen off for ages.

29/5/2001 From Freeball (freeball@lineone.net)

All comments welcome. I was considering doing my own servicing as the bike isnt very complex. All that concerns me is the two year warranty and how you stand with any claims if a problem occurs. What are other Deauville owners views ?

Hello again, UK Deauville friends!

I shall try to explane it in English,the best way i can, .........so here i am, trying to explane the story of not starting in gear. First: as far as i know, there is nothing wrong with the wiring. The switch is located at the left side handlebar housing, sticking in the back of the housing upperside(LOOK FOR the 2pcs of wiring )second: it takes only a little bit of a handyman to fix it!

To see of you have this problem of the switch, you can check this out by looking in the back of the coupling handlebar-house, by retracting the grip and look with a flashlight in the gap, you can see the pin of the switch sticking out or not! when the pin is not sticking out of the surface of the switch ,you handle as follows below.

What is the problem: in the process of building the bike parts together the switch himself is not pushed so far as it should be pushed in his setting. so the surface of the switch becomes after a period misformed, because the handle bar grip is deforming the gap of the contact-pin in the middle! result? switch pin wil not longer comes out. the middle-pin, the actuator, will stick in the down position after a while.

The solution is to remove the switch (first remove the couplings grip totaly) you can push the switch out by pushing from the outside to he inside, it takes a little strength to do so, but it will come out! then remove the wiring, and start to examen the switch, You will see that the pin in the middle sticks down.(YOU CAN TEST THE SWITCH by replacing the wires, when you have the switchout!) get it going again, use contact spray (or buy a new one...)and make shure that it works as new, before replacing it. SO OPERATE IT A LOT OF TIMES, before replacing it.

to replace it ,use a little part of a PIPE, fitting onto the housing of the switch.you can PUSH it almost in place, and with a little ticking of a hammer.......THEN MAKE SURE THAT YOU WILL PUSH THE SWITCHHOUSING AS FAR IN THE BACK of his setting AS NEEDED, TO LET THE GRIP ONLY serve the pin, and not the surface of the switch,or else you get the problem back!

the rest of the process is cleare , i think!......pffffffffff, hard job,technical english.....I hope, i make a lot of you happy!it was a plesure to help you all with this problem!.

are there any questions about this, mail me freely! AT :rm.versteeg@hccnet.nl I happy to help you out!( and improve my English writing)I have done a lot of modifications on my bike. Running lights, intercom, 12V contacts, alarm Lights, extra direction lights, wind deflectors for the hands, sound (biep)at giving directionsign, top case 52 ltr(GIVI)

PS:I have found a site with 63 pictures of how are all the part fitted together from the Deauville.named: HTTP://www.motofiches.com if there: choose honda, TYPE: routieres,klick on the picture, and it enlarged, make sure that you set the printing on LANDscape,and print it out!! SO! thats all folks!I come again, bye bye.

Thought it was about time I wrote a little update on how my DV is going. I'm coming up to 13,000 since last May and the engine is far better now its got some miles under its belt. It really seems to be run in nicely now and spins up the rev counter much faster. The gearbox is really smooth too with no clunks at all. The fairing hasn't been off completely since the 8000m service and there is another 3000m to go before it comes off again. I imagine that it will all need a good cleanup to get the last vestiges of winter salt off it. I have hosed the bike down after every ride during the winter and everything seems to have stood up well. There was a bit of rust on the inside of one of the down pipes but it has mostly cleaned off well.

I'm still on original brake pads and I reckon they will see me through to 16,000m. I changed tyres at 10,000m for Michelin 100X and I'm pleased with them. My only mishap has been setting out with a topbox and coming home without it! I forgot to lock it on the rack. However, I was lucky and retracing my route I found it in a ditch at the first corner. The joys of living in the remote north. It was a bit scratched where it had bounced along the road but nothing too bad.

It's a really great bike which is greatly underestimated - good ! - imagine how much it would cost if it became too popular? I think £6400 is far too expensive. It shouldn't be a penny more that £5000 in my opinion. I was lucky and got it when it was six weeks old and had 1700m on it, and I only paid £4800 in a private sale. I did have to travel from Scotland to Bournemouth though but it was worth the boring train journey for the superb ride back. I'm often tempted to change up to a BMW RT1150 or more likely a Pan. There is also a stupid part of me that really fancies an Aprilia Mille RSV-R. Or a Harley Softail or a Goldwing or a ....... I love them all. So while I'm trying to make up my mind I'll stick with this great little bike that does everything I ask of it and is so reliable and so cheap and easy to maintain.

It doesn't look very sexy, but it is an excellent bike, I beat up my first VFR 750 the other day. At 90mph along some fantastic sweeping curves he got cold feet and fell back I never saw him again. No doubt this was entirely the fault of the rider - sorry if you're reading this - you probably saw the speed cameras and my fine is in the post! I can't see myself getting rid of it because it is an excellent real world bike. I'm glad I bought it.

John

28/5/2001 From David Brown (davebrown@ukgateway.net)

Hi There,

I would like to pass on a couple of problems I've had with the D.V. as they may save others a bit of heartache.

Firstly when fitting the Skidmark's lower fairing, you are required to change the 8mm socket head cap screws in each of the alloy foot peg frames. I expected to find these reasonably tight, but found they were both only just more than finger tight. Needless to say I checked every other screw in each side all were O.K. and after 1000 miles are still tight. It may have just been an oversight when the bike was first built up, on the other hand it may be worth checking out on other bikes.

The second problem over heating occurred when stuck in a traffic jam on the first really warm day of the year. I had been almost stationary for about 10 mins, when I noticed the red light had come on, luckily after switching off the engine and checking the road for water I was soon able to get under way again and get some air through the radiator, the light went out after a mile or so any further and I would have stopped and let it cool .

When I returned home I found the cooling fan had seized, also the 10 amp fuse for the fan had blown. ( most DO.CO. motors have a very low resistance when stationary, almost a short circuit.) I was able to free up the fan, by rotating it back and forth, after dropping the radiator away from the frame to give slightly better access. It seemed as if it was catching on the cowling which surrounds the fan but I could not see properly. once the fan was free enough to spin, I replaced the fuse and shorted the sensor wire on the radiator to ground, the fan ran but was a bit noisy. I then ran the engine until the fan started automatically to make sure the warning light did not come on before the fan cut in. all worked as normal so I decide to leave it at that as I was to be using the bike for a long weekend tour with some mates in a couple of days.

The fan has freed up with use (I suspect it must free-wheel in the airflow normally) I will probably remove the radiator and find out the cause during the winter period.

I suggest it would be a good Idea to just try to spin the fan with a finger ( with a cold bike of course) to see if your fan is O.K. Good tip - thanks.

Hoping someone finds this useful, and thanks again for the site.

Best Regards.

Dave

28/5/2001 From Daniel Linehan (DANIEL.LINEHAN@innogy.com)

Hi,

Many compliments on your excellent site. I need a bike for the daily run to work while the au-pair uses my c*r. I was looking at a Suz Bandit 600(faired). I went to my local Suz dealer who happened to have a second-hand Deauville in red with 15,000 miles on the clock. I thought, 'that looks like the bike for me'. It looks so much nicer than the Bandit. Having read all the reviews etc. on your site, I am now convinced that I want a Deauville.

Anyway, to get to the point of my question. I have searched in Bike Trader and seen dealers offer new Deauville imports for c £5100. This looks like a good price. I think you can find a UK bike for not much more than that if you try harder, Lloyd Cooper had bikes for £5400 not so long ago. I'd personally steer clear of imports unless you're desperate - even then a low mileage UK 2^nd hand bike may be a better bet. Questions as follows:-

1. How much warranty will I get on an import in the UK? Depends on the dealer.
2. Will the speedo/milometer show miles or km's?
3. Will the headlight be 'street legal' in the UK?

Any help with the above would be muchly appreciated. Also any info. on Honda dealers in the Swindon/Chippeham/Bath area would be handy.

Regards,Danny

28/5/2001 From Hugh Lacey

Got home about 5:30 last night and at about 7:30 thought I'd nip out to Tesco but instead found a very flat rear tyre with a two inch nail in it! I did't notice it on the way home so I suppose I picked it up and the tyre didn't go down 'til it cooled. Some weeks ago a friend had a puncture and we fixed it with his BMW supplied kit - I was so impressed I asked him to get me one - needless to say he hasn't yet. Any way after a bit of faffing around I tracked down a friend with some tyre weld and decided I'd sort it out in the morning....

How hard can it be to get a new back tyre (Michelin)?

Metropolis (where I bought the bike) didn't have one in stock but could get me one in a few days.

M and P couldn't fit it today and anyway couldn't get the tyre for two days

DC Butler (my local dealer) could fit bridgestones (£245 for the pair) but then discovered he didn't have the rear.

Some place in Harlow only fitted them but if (if only) I could get the tyre he'd fit it!

Half a dozen other phone calls - No Luck.

Carnell's in Enfield couldn't get the tyre 'til next Wednesday (That's six days) and couldn't fit me in to fit it until June 11 (that's another 11 Days)!!! But, they did suggest...

Universal Tyres in Tottenham, who not only had the right tyre cheaper than anyone else but could fit it for me.

Now came the tyre weld, there was so much coming out of the hole I didn't hold out much hope of it working but I took the bike round the block a few times so I thought it would hold as far as Tottenham (about 20 miles). A very long hot journey to Tottenham trying to keep the speed down to about 30 but I made it Ok and got the Tyre all fitted but boy am I glad I didn't try and take the wheel off myself - they had a hell of a job especially with the brake calliper bolt which are apparently renowned for corroding in tight. Nor could the get the inner drive part of the wheel out so the couldn't balance it.

I was told that you can't repair a tyre once you've used tyre weld (although I've also read that you shouldn't rpair ZR rated tyres at all) anybody else heard this?

All in all a £120 nail (oh and an extra £18 for the tubeless tyre repair kit).

20/5/2001 From Pat Cray (patc@cableinet.co.uk)

Quick update we are off to Cyprus in a few hours. Repairs authorised, parts obtained and bike should be well and truly repaired by time we get home in a fortnight - the damage seems to have been cosmetic, but very extensive and very expensive for his insurers at any rate !

19/5/2001 From Hugh Lacey (Hugh.Lacey@Hess.com)

Dropped the bike last night on the way home. I had a scooter all over my back end like a bad rash and he suddenly changed sides to try and get to the gap I was heading for, by the time I saw him all could do was pile on the brakes (too much on the back) and lost the back end - I nearly got it back up but lost it the other way and although I stopped before the car in front I couldn't hold it up and dropped it on the exhaust side.

Another biker stopped and helped me pick it up (the scooter was long gone by now - just as well really otherwise I may have "prescotted" him!) and I was pleased to find I'd got away with a few scratches on the pannier lid and mirror and few very small chips to the colour band on the top box; the fairing protector had done its job and is a bit scuffed as is the edge of the fairing lower and brake lever. All in all nowhere near as bad as it could have been!

After I picked the bike up I noticed a big rainbow of diesel a few yards back. Many thanks to the two bikers who stopped to help me get going again (and no thanks to w@#%*r on the scooter)

I'm beginning to really hate London scooter riders - I don't mind if they want to kill themselves (especially the ones with no mirrors and/or lights) but I wish they'd do it at least five miles away from me.

Hugh

18/5/2001 From Filip (filipt@hiero.cz)

Hi there,

thanks a lot for your feedback, I will probably buy the repaired Deauville next week (1/2 price of new - thats the main point for me - or should I buy XJ600 instead? of course not). I arranged independent professionals who are able to "scan" the problematic (repaired) parts & fittings etc, so I hope the bike will be OK.

I noticed message from 8/5/2001 From Richard (rm.versteeg@hccnet.nl) concerning the "wiring" problem - any news on his solution description? In my country, it is a bit hard to find any Honda help on Deauville as it is the first year on market now. I could also arrange translation from Dutch to English if necessary.

Cheers

Filip

Top Tip!

With a number of owners reporting their bikes have suffered from warped discs, some of you might like to know a simple way to check on to see if yours are okay. Just get a steel rule a place it across about a quarter of the disc at a time. Any warping will be clearly seen.

John

Got knocked off the DV yesterday afternoon Friday 11/05/01, some muppet in a Vauxhall Omega decides to do a U turn through stationary traffic - they were stopped at a red light and he shoves his bonnet through a gap between two of the cages. I see this huge bonnet, start to brake at which point he turns right at a great rate of knots and knocks me off my DV. I was only doing about 10 mph single carriageway road nowhere to go - thought for a second he might stop but he obviously didn't see the large motorcycle with it's blazing headlights and with all that power under his right foot you couldn't expect him to emerge slowly could you!

He stops and tells me that his car is jinxed I'm his 4th accident victim!! not sure whether he just pots bikers or smashes into the odd cage as well. Extensive damage to the right side of the DV: exhaust; right hand pannier lid; brake pedal; right hand mirror; cracked fairing; damaged screen etc. etc. should be a good grands worth! Hopefully I should be able to make a full recovery from his insurers - I escaped unscathed apart from a bit of shock - no bike now for weeks great and the wife was not very impressed that her husband had become another accident statistic.

Safe Riding

Patrick Cray.

13/5/2001 From Filip (filipt@hiero.cz)

Hello,

My name is Filip and I come from Czech republic, Prague. I am considering buying another moto (after "beginner" Suzuki GS 500) - I definitly look for something more "travel" (traveling with my girlfriend), but I cant decide between Deauville and Yama Diversion900.

As I cant afford new bike, I have to decide between Deauville ´99 (quite new, but was seriously crashed to the front - forks etc. exchanged, repaired by professional, but still...) and Diversion ´97 (20.000 km, never damaged) - for the same money.

I like Deauville´s comfort / shape / luggages very much, the Div is more powerfull and its 4cylinder, both are reliable tourers - so how should Idecide? Please convince me to Deauvile. Thanks a lot.

Filip

10/5/2001 From Leslie Wiseman (leswiseman@lineone.net)

I purchased my Deauville new in Sept last year and had Honda's wind deflectors and lowers fitted which seem to work well. I am now contemplating replacing the standard screen for a flip screen. I am 5'8" and would appreciate any recommendations. Incidentally, I found that my bike would not start in gear and not until I read of other owners similar problems did I realise that it was a fault which I had repaired under warranty.

Les Wiseman

8/5/2001 From Richard (rm.versteeg@hccnet.nl)

hello UK Deauville friends, greatings from holland.

First, sorry for my bad english writing, but i do my very best, to make it clear for you all......... So I noticed on your UK site that some of you out there are having problems with starting de Deauv in Gear, am I Right?? have you folks solved the problem already??

I struggled with the same problem, but i got in to it and found and solved the problem!! its in fact a minor thing. I love to explane it to you all, if there is a interest for! (because its hard for me to tell the whole story in english writing.....)

But, Are you interestet, than i will bring the story tou you, and will do so wrighting the story down, ASAP coming weekdays. PFFFFFFF, hard working......but we Dutch are multi-langual...or so! Do hear from you?? i read this site now every week a few times.I drive a new truely-red Deauville sinds 12 jan 2001.

bikegreatings, Richard.

8/5/2001 From Hugh Lacey (Hugh.Lacey@Hess.com)

Hello again! Well I got a new clutch fitted at the end of April but as we also got a new son on the 1st of May haven't had a chance to email!

I can now change gear without any horrible clunks and I have neutral back (still can't start in gear but you can't have everything). Only slight problems with getting the new clutch - rang on the Monday "Have you got all the bits before I leave my bike in tomorrow?", "YES" ring on Tuesday "Can I pick up my bike tonight?", Answer "They sent the right boxes with the wrong parts in". Luckily the right parts arrived the next day.

I finally got my fairing lowers and I've only stubbed my toes on them a few times.

I also fitted a Xenon headlight - Big improvement but very awkward to fit, some of the improvement is probably due to adjusting the headlight height properly for the first time too!

7/5/2001 From Stan Pasley (pasleys@indigo.ie)

Hello from Ireland.

I am a 24 year old biker from cork and drive a xv250 virago, NOT FOR LONG. I am going to buy a deauville in three months and follow in the footsteps of my dad, who bought one in january. It is in my opinion the best bike on the market.

At the top of the page you were talking about an intercom made out of plastic tubing, It costs £50 and is called (talk back) the reason why it is so expensive is that it has a life time guarantee. It clips on and off the side of the helmet is neat and tidy and works very well.

Without being rude to all those people that change there screens I have a message: STOP MESSING WITH A PERFECTLY GOOD BIKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I drive the 250 as above and managed to pull a muscle in my chest from the resistance of my body against the wind (no screen)and driving my dads deauville I noticed no noise or wind that I thought would justify changing the screen and I am six foot tall. Shaft drive, nice tires, bigger in size than the blackbirds measurements, panniers and enough power to get nicked speeding. So people be happy and leave the bike alone. If you are still unhappy give it to me I'll drive it with out complaint. any comments: doing90mph@hotmail.com

What's more the bike costs £8000 over here, or 50 pigs, three bulls, and your old car as trade in. The honda top box also costs £530 over here not fitted. I'm moving to ENGLAND. :). Don't know what import duties are like in the Republic, but how about getting one from the North ? Maybe the duties or registration hassle makes getting the bike from outside uneconomic, but certainly for a top-box, you could just pick one up at a Honda dealer for 150 quid, and no-one would be any the wiser. Long way from Cork, though.

7/5/2001 From Dick Tym (kawasaki-zx-9.ninja@virgin.net)

I am seriously considering purchasing a new deauville to use for my daily 80 mile round trip to work. The journey consists of 50% M-Way 40% A- Roads & 10 % Town. If I cruise at 80/85 m.p.h. on the M-way ( sorry officer I meant 70 ) and obey all limits approximately what sort of m.p.g. can I expect? Also are there any known problems with these machines taking into consideration the sort of mileage I expect to do?

7/5/2001 From Ken (kape0@aol.com)

I have used one of these (£44) units for a year and I think they are excellent. The only problems I found were (1) The box is slightly too big for my Belstaff coat top pocket - I removed the guts and fitted it into a smaller plastic case - problem solved (2) Don't plug your better-half's plug in with it switched on - she won't like the penetrating squeal. (3) Don't forget to disconnect her when she dismounts. Otherwise no problems at all. Thanks for the info - sounds like it's either this one or the stethoscope type for us.

Ride carefully, Ken

I had a set of BT020's fitted to the Deauville on Thursday. On Friday I had a 360 mile run to North Yorkshire and back, mostly on A and B roads. After scrubbing in the BT020's have been excellent, inspiring more confidence than the Pirelli Dragon GTS's did (and they were good) and a whole world better than the Macadam 90's were.

I haven't had the chance to use them in the wet much yet but so far they would appear to be a fine choice for the Deauville unless mileage is your priority. I'll post and update on the tyres in a week or so as I'm spending next weekend touring up the west coast of Scotland and over to the Islands of Islay and Jura.

I completed the 12,000 mile service yesterday. I decided to change the engine oil despite the service book recommending changing it every 8000m. I also changed the drive shaft oil early - the book suggests every 24,000m or 2 years. Apart from that I also changed the brake fluid, cleaned up the brakes, spraying the callipers with white grease to keep them in good working order, adjusted the clutch free play a little and completed the other minor items listed. I managed to get at the plugs without removing the fairing - although it was a bit of a struggle.

The r/h side had to be loosened in order to get access. All in all great fun and the only cost was a couple of litres of oil ! Did anyone see that program on Carnell /Motorcycle City and other garage servicing on Thursday evening? What a bunch of crooks!

There is a local Kawasaki & Suzuki dealer near me and I am quite friendly with the owner. He told me yesterday that he took a DV in part exchange and had nearly a hundred phone calls after it - amazing!

John

Thanks to Martin for the advice !

So far I've taken off the SkidMarx lower fairing, rebalanced the carbs and cleaned/reset the plugs (one was a bit dirty) but decided against dismantling the carbs - looks a big job.

This has improved things vastly but it's still not perfect, so I'll try moving those pipes and let you know if it works.

1/5/2001 From Martin Carr (martin.carr@buseireann.ie)

Nice site, thanks a lot . I am trading in my Kawasaki VN 800 chopper for a 2001 Deauville. Found it hard to get good info. Your site was a big help. Glad to oblige - you're at least the third Irish person who's been in touch, welcome to the club, although I would have thought that monster trail bikes would be a good choice for typical Irish roads…

Thanks,

Martin Carr

I followed John Russell's advice and got myself a Halfords Xenon H4 replacement headlight bulb a few weeks ago. I rode in the dark for the first time since fitting it today, and it is a distinct improvement, well worth £10. Fitting it was a bastard though, even though I have quite thin hands and fingers, must have taken me a good 20 minutes to do the job.

I am about to change my front pads at 7250 miles. I am considering fitting hard carbide pads, does anyone have any experience of these? No. One of the mags (Ride or Bike) tested loads of pads on a Fireblade the other month, and found that the OE Honda pads performed best.

Cya, Andy Long

As new owner found it a useful site, so thanks for effort, but noted service history both long and short versions had glitches and only downloaded last few entries. You're right - I'll see if I can fix these, they should be Microsoft Word files.

Paul Eustice

Contributor Brian Hall had a problem with pannier lids falling open. I had a similar thing with one lid which wouldn't stay closed at all. It turned out that the metal bracket on the bike, that the lid catch holds on to, was loose. Tightened it up and it's now fine.

BTW fitted the taller Honda screen (finally!) and for my 5ft 8.5ins it suits me fine. Lots less wind noise, little buffeting, I'm warmer and drier (and the hand deflectors help here too) and generally it makes riding more relaxing and thus more enjoyable.

Cheers

Brian Reed

29/4/2001 From Pete Finlay (Pete@meads.demon.co.uk)

Hi everyone;

I've just bought my first bike in 26 years - a Deauville. It's a steep learning curve after all these years away from bikes, but I am enjoying it. Very comfortable bike, very stable at speed. I'm still a bit wobbly handling it at walking pace, but I guess that will come with time as I adjust to it's weight. After all these years away from biking, I'm got muscles and tendons aching that I had forgot I had - I'm using more Radox than petrol!

Pete Finlay. NT650V Deauville.....and happy

29/4/2001 From Martin Orwin (morwin63@yahoo.co.uk)

Hi, In response to Paul Sutcliffe's 'miss' at higher speed. I had a similar experience in Scotland last year which may be the same as his. I was cruising briskly along the A9, and the bike started to jolt, as if it was beginning to run out of petrol. Nothing else seemed to be wrong. I stopped to let it cool down, etc but the problem continued when I set off again. I ended up phoning Tippetts in Tolworth where I bought the bike, and the mechanic I spoke to asked if I had the fairing lowers, which I did have. He said that they had had a bulletin from Honda about just the problem I was describing. The problem was that low pressure or vacuum is caused by turbulence from the fairing lowers and this is created just where those rubber pipes hang down on the left side of the bike and that moving the rubber pipes should solve the problem. I pulled the pipes from the metal ring holding them and secured them just in front of it with a bit of wire. Problem sorted.

I had the same problem on a recent trip up to North Wales and fiddling about with the position of the pipes didn't help as quickly, but it did sort itself out in the end.

I've still not got to the bottom of why this happens, it's only happened to me on these two occasions in 23500 miles, the common factor being fast, long, sustained riding. I'll try to remember to ask next time I'm at Tippetts about it and see what they say. I hope this helps.

While I'm here, I thought I would just add a comment on tyres: I've not seen Continental Contiforce mentioned, but I've been using them since the original Michelins wore out. I find them very good, they wear well and feel fine in all weathers, with the usual care taken in the wet.

Thanks for the website.

Martin Orwin

29/4/2001 From John Russell (jrussell@tesco.net)

I have always put 2.5 in the front and 2.9 in the rear tyre as per the handbook. These were the pressures for the Macadam x90's - the OE. Today in Ride magazine there is a big feature on tyres and nearly everything is listed. I discovered that the pressure for a DV with Macadam x100's should be 2.3 front & back. I changed the pressures and went for a test ride. It seemed very much better. If there is anyone out there who would like to know the correct pressures for non OE tyres let me know what you've got and I'll see if they list them. I'm not sure I'd trust the booklet from Ride - it's probably cobbled together by the YTS (or modern equivalent) editorial assistant, and the format lends itself to typos, cut'n'paste errors etc… And I thought I'd read somewhere that 36/42 was pretty standard for motorcycles tyres. I guess I would like some more definitive information.

Also, ear plugs all sold out with four people disappointed. If there are another four more customers I'll buy another box. Please contact me asap if anyone is interested.

John

25/4/2001 From Paul Sutcliffe (Paul.Sutcliffe@rebusgroup.com)

Alright, I concede. The piccie of your bike with pukka Honda screen and hand deflectors does look better than my meccano version, and the Honda screen seems to be about the same height as my bodge so should be as effective. I will bite the bullet and stop bringing the DV into disrepute.... cheers! Maybe John R wants to sell his, as he now has 3 different screens ?

Love the Irish escort bikes. I also saw a white Paramedic DV in central London a few weeks ago.

25/4/2001 From Steve Graham (stephen.graham@scotland.com)

Someone mentioned the non-electric intercom. I have one, it's called a BackChat. We've used ours a fair it and it's pretty good - at 110mph I could distinctly hear my wife telling me slow down...

My Deauville is just approaching it's 16,000 miles service and another back tyre, the current Pirelli MTR24 has squared off a bit during the winter and is now well worn. I had the occasional slide from it while traversing the Yorkshire Dales national park on Friday - definitely time for it to go. The MTR24 has been excellent (it's the 2nd I've had fitted - got a nail in the first after about 1000 miles) although it's worn a lot quicker than the original Michelin Macadam M90. The Michelin did 9500 miles before being replaced (but was well knackered by then), the Pirelli will have done about 5500 miles when it's replaced however to my mind for the extra grip that's a reasonable trade off. I'll either replace it with another of the same or possibly replace both front and back with Bridgestone BT020's - anyone tried those on a Deauville yet? I'd be interested if anyone has, as my M90s are almost worn out.

No other changes are planned although the info on fitting the radio-cassette was of interest - I'd be interested to know what speakers were used and how well weather protected the installation was as my bike leads a fairly had life being used in all weathers (except the snow - I have a trail bike for that!). The bike is still going well with just the light winter rust on the exhaust and the footpegs and stands needing stripped and lubed to smooth their operation - I'll get that done at the service.

I also have a Suzuki Bandit 600S (the half-faired one) which I commute on and it's an interesting comparison with the Deauville. It's lighter and a lot more powerful (but with quite a weak midrange) but the weather protection is very poor, and the brakes and suspension are no-where near as effective as those fitted to the Deauville (so much so that on rough country roads I make considerably faster progress on the Deauville). Originally I had intended replacing the Deauville with a bigger tourer and keeping the Bandit but after running them both for a while the Deauville is staying for commuting/touring duties and the Bandit is getting replaced with something sportier.

Regards

Steve

23/4/2001 From Patrick Cray (patc@cableinet.co.uk)

Today Monday 23rd April 2001, I received a telephone call from Phil Holmes of Honda UK, in response to my letter about large black pannier lids. The black lids are no longer available as a pair but they can be ordered separately. Good news - but why couldn't the dealers have worked this out too ?

The order codes for the large lids are as follows: -

Right hand pannier lid (large) 08L51 MBL 81001

Left hand pannier lid (large) 08L51 MBL 81002

I asked Mr Holmes what the cost of buying the lids separately would be? Unfortunately he did not have that information to hand, but assured me that they would be the same price as buying the pair together. Mr Holmes stated that there was now demand for the individual lids hence they were now supplied separately - my local dealer was certainly supplied with a standard right hand pannier when I crashed last June, so I feel there is some merit in this statement. Mr Holmes seemed very keen to emphasise that the black lids were still available and that Honda goes to great lengths to maintain a supply of accessories for all their products. I will be interested to see if the black lids are listed in the next Honda accessory brochure or whether you can only get a pair if you are in the know?

Mr Holmes also passed on my comments for improvements to the DV to Honda Europe (see several of Pat's previous posts)

Patrick Cray

Finally got some fotos of my DV in its winter coat (see photos page - also has a new one of Pat's bike).

Note the MPS lower fairing (yes it does look better on the black bike than the silver one) and fender xtender, Oxford mitts, Nonfango topbox, Powerbronze screen with home-made cutaways and meccano-attached face visor - which may look crap but it works! You're right, it does look very crap.

Things to note - I've had a lot of oxidisation on the engine under the fairing, so I've taken it off for the summer. Jetwashing inside the fairing has not stopped this corrosion. I've noticed mine is looking a bit furry as well.

I thought I was getting a blown silencer, the bike sounded so noisy. In fact it turns out that the screen was cutting out so much noise I could HEAR the engine. Now I've reverted to the standard screen for summer I can only hear windnoise.

The mitts are great. I've only worn woolly gloves inside them all through winter.

My current intercom is the Autocom rider/pillion unit, which cost £250 at last years Motorcycle show. Pricey I know, but it simply the best intercom I have ever tried. The system I bought uses VOX control, so it only switches the mikes on when you talk, the noise cancelling is the best I have ever heard, and that includes those found on military helicopters. My wife and I can hold clear conversations at any speed - except when I had the powerbronze flip screen on when the wind noise for my wife limited use to about 80mph. My CD player plugs in directly, as can my mobile phone. The CD input auto reduces in volume when there is any speech. and the unit is bike-powered. Bike-to-bike is available as an option.

In the past I have tried cheap units, such as the Oxford BikeMike, which is always on, and is not noise cancelling. This gives a constant tiring and irritating background noise. Not recommended.

I have a friend with a non-electronic intercom - whose name I cannot remember (the intercom, not the friend). This unit consists of plastic tubes, connected via a collector box stuck on the outside of your helmet, which he says works well and allows clear speech under all his riding conditions. The downside of this is the ugly external collector box, and the fact that the ear-piece plugs into your ear. My friend says that this feels exactly the same as using earplugs though and shouldn't be to much of a problem to most people. I think he said the unit cost about £60, but I am not sure about this.

Cya,

Andy Long

I'm experiencing a problem with the DV right now - it cruises fine at 65mph, but then starts to 'miss' at higher speed - it kind of skips a beat every couple of seconds. It's a bit like a bucking bronco at 70mph but then eases up at 80mph. It also eases up when going downhill.

Anyone any ideas on cause? I'm not sure whether to look at ignition, timing, electrics, fuel pump or carb jets...

Keep up the good work.... Paul Sutcliffe

22/4/2001 From John Russell (jrussell@tesco.net)

Hi All,

I've bought a huge box of 200 motorcycle ear plugs and want to sell 150 pairs. I was wondering if anybody is interested in buying some? They are 'Pura-Fits' by Moldex and are guaranteed to reduce noise by 31 decibels. All individually packaged - only £7.50 for 25 pairs including P+P. They sell at 95p per pair in the shops. Email John if you're interested - sounds like a bargain.

John

I have fitted heated grips (Hein Geirike), an intercom and cd player to my DV. These are all powered via a fused relay bought from Halfords. The relay itself is switched by the built in accessory supply. This is found at the rear of the bike, right hand side, below the frame rail. What sort of intercom did you get - how much and is it any good ? I've got a mate with an Autocom that works well, but for £350 fitted, so it ought to. Anyone know if the really cheapo intercoms work well enough ?

As for seat height, those of us who are short in the leg can get some relief by having some foam removed from the seat - best if a gel pad is fitted to retain comfort. PP Seats of Birmingham will do this work(www.ppseats.co.uk i think). I had my seat converted into a king and queen by them, it looks good and is comfortable, my wife having complained about the standard seat.

Thanks to Dave Brown for the piccy of the skidmarx fairing lowers. Helped me to decide to see if I can get the Spanish TCP fairing lowers in the UK, as this is colour matched and looks good on their web site (well it would wouldn't it).

As for screens I have tried the standard - too low, tall - pulls me forwards at speed, increases fuel consumption and looks wrong, Nuvo (powerbronze) looks wrong, obscures mirrors and increases wind noise. So I will try the TCP version if I can get it. BTW, I have found that my fuel consumption has decreased since I started using ULS fuel - or is it me deluding myself - anyone else notice any difference?

Cya,Andy Long

20/4/2001 From John Wheeler (ridertraining@iol.ie)

Nice site, helpful. I'm stuck here in Ireland, badly want a Deauville, precious little choice here. Joanne Lacy ended up buying one in England and taking it over herself (see discussion section of Yahoo UK Deauville club).

Ideally looking for a recent(ish) one, low(ish) miles, ideally with topbox, touring screen and lower fairing and if at all possible in WHITE. Allegedly, you can only buy a white one new in the UK if you are a copper or a training school. So there aren't many about, you'll be lucky to find one. If you can get MCN in Dublin, try the classifieds, or alternatively, www.loot.com , www.autotrader.com.

Any suggestions where to find one such?

John Wheeler

Director, Irish Rider Training Association

co/ Roadrunner 1000 MCC

PO Box 7279

DUBLIN 18

Tel & Fax: 01 294 0487 Mobile 086 813 9033

20/4/2001 From John Russell (jrussell@tesco.net)

I cut a radio shaped hole in the glove box. It shouldn't let water in as it's well protected and water doesn't spray that high from the wheel. I don't anticipate problems but will let you know if I have any.

Fitted the Givi screen today and I'm completely satisfied at speeds up to 60mph. There is more noise than on the Honda screen (which is relatively quiet) but the same wind protection and it looks superb. Haven't had the opportunity to open her up with the new screen yet but I sure it will prove to be excellent. The cost was 49.99 + VAT and £5 delivery charge.

John

19/4/2001 From Dave Brown (daveandpolly@ukgateway.net)

Hi There,

It's been a while since I contributed to your site, My computer crashed big time and I had to reformat the hard disk. Unfortunately I lost the address for this site and was then unable to locate it again using the usual search engines. Luckily I had passed it on to a friend, who still had it in his deleted folder. I wonder if any one else has had any problems finding the site? Needless to say I now have the address safely noted down elsewhere. I've tried google, altavista, lycos and MSN and easily found the site. Yahoo doesn't have it, even though I submitted it to them (that's what you get for having humans involved in the process).

Since I last wrote I have fitted the fairing lowers (skidmarks), £120 from M.P.S. Heated grips (Hein Gericke), £10 from a workmate (ex-biker) and the wind deflectors £25 (Honda).

I borrowed a digital camera and have included some pictures of the fairing as I believe it may be of interest to any one considering fitting one. It seems to be of reasonable quality, the finish is a very glossy black, but I think it looks O.K. It does however seem to be quite fragile on the underside, so I may reinforce it next time it's removed for servicing. The heated grips and wind deflectors are superb, I can comfortably ride in summer gloves on cold dry days, and only use winter gloves when it's wet. Shrunk pictures are available on the pictures page - thanks.

Just before my computer gave up there was quite a discussion on various types of top box. When I bought my bike in September 99 I was quoted something like £400 for the Honda box and fitting kit. That is way over the top - should be about £150 for the basic box + kit (no coloured panels or pillion pad) After a lot of consideration I opted for one by Kappa at 48 liters. I think it's actually made by Givi, as it fits the Givi mounting plate, it ended up costing about £170 including the mounting plate. I have so far not really found any difference in handling if the box fitted, fully loaded or empty, their web address is www.phoenixnw.co.uk and phone number is 0870 750 5315 if anyone is interested.

Finally can anyone tell me the correct method for setting the rear suspension, I have adjusted it in an effort to lower the rear slightly,(I'm somewhat vertically challenged and so every millimeter counts!!) but it seems to make little or no difference to either the height or ride. It's only adjustable for preload, so I'm not sure that is supposed to affect ride height - it should make some difference to the ride if you use insufficient preload and a heavy load though.

Best Regards,

Dave

19/4/2001 From John Burrows (jburrows@emirates.net.ae)

Can anyone know if a European spec DV headlight will pass a UK MOT, if not any advice on where and how much a replacement would cost would be welcome, my local Honda agent doesn't want to even discuss spares for an import. I somehow doubt that most MOT stations would notice that on its own, but your bike probably has a kilometre speedo as well, which always tips them off that it's an import (and will be an MOT failure as well I think).

John

19/4/2001 From Brian Hall (bahbsc@hotmail.com)

At last I have found out the correct way to enter your email address.

After 10 years and thousands of miles, every week of the year, my 1978 R80 refused to die, but I had had enough. I now have a W reg Deauville, which is a pleasure to ride, and may last the rest of my motorcycling life.

I came across your web site looking for a discount supplier of Honda accessories. I am surprised that not one is listed. Does this mean that I have to pay the full price ? Is it possible to get them from Denmark where the bikes are so much cheaper. Don't know, but is the extra hassle worth it ?

I will need a taller screen, hand protectors, and the larger panniers. Aren't the standard ones winky wanky, with over complicated latches. Both my lids have at separate times fallen open. What is the clue about adjusting them ? I've not had a problem with them coming open, mine seem to fit very tightly indeed. You’re still under warranty so why not get the dealer to fix it. There have been problems with unavailability of the large lids - see below, we still don't know the full story on this.

Regards Brian Hall

18/4/2001 From John Russell (jrussell@tesco.net)

I have struggled with screens for the DV for nearly a year. Chopping between the standard and the Honda high screen. I like the look of the standard screen but it doesn't give much protection. The high screen on the other hand is superb for protection, but looks the pits. I feel embarrassed riding around with it as it makes it look like an old man's bike (some would say that's exactly what it is !) but I don't think 47 is old - ask any 60 year old! So I have finally decided to compromise and buy the Givi screen. I expect it to arrive later this week and will let you know how it works for the 5'9"'s. I know what you mean about the Honda screen, although I'm still happy with the tradeoff.

I fitted a radio/cassette to my bike today. I have located it in the left hand glove compartment. I had to cut away the bottom of the box and I also cut the straps so that the lid can come right off. This is ideal when riding as I can change stations and adjust the volume. Then when I park up I put the lid back on and all is hidden. The front of the radio comes off for security too. I bought the Goodmans RDS Radio/Cass from Argos £54.99 and Pioneer speakers £19.99. A black rubber aerial £6.99. This is mounted on the front left hand side (facing forward) running up the side of the windscreen. I have powered it directly from the battery as I didn't want to tap into the ignition system in case it messed up the HISS. Works perfectly and a lot cheaper than the Honda system. Very enterprising ! Do you mean you cut away the bottom of the glovebox ? Won't that let water in ?

John

10/4/2001 From Lehan (lehan@singnet.com.sg)

This is the most informative site on the Deauville that I have found so far and I'm really impressed with the content and discussions( as well as the answers).

I have been thinking about getting another bike as my 12 year-old Kawasaki EN400 is near retirement. I was torn between the Honda ST1100, Honda Pacific Coast, Suzuki S650 and Suzuki Super4, and frankly did not know much of the Deauville. Now I can say that I know enough to consider one and I'm quite sure its going to be the Deauville. The problem I foresee is that I am from Singapore (South East Asia) and I think I will have many problems getting the accessories like John Warner's Givi screens or the Spanish TCP one that Jorge suggested, let alone getting a colour match. I hope there will be someone familiar with my region. I would very much like to have as much fun as everybody else owning and riding the Deauville.

Lehan.

9/4/2001 From Peter (prthomas@iol.ie)

Re.Handguards. Could someone please recommend to me a reliable Honda Dealer in the U.K. who would mail order me a pair of handguards ( I don't know the accessories catalogue number).

I live in Southern Ireland and it is too much of a performance to order here, the dealers supply bikes and then the interest vanishes - or it seems to me. You could try Lloyd Cooper on 01442 253600. They're a good dealer & may be able to help.

Peter RT.

9/4/2001 From Brian Reed (brian.reed@lineone.net)

Having got the taller Honda screen I thought I'd be clever and fit it this afternoon. I'm usually ok with most of these things, the standard screen came off ok, but fitting the new one has defeated me. The problem is the well nuts, for the lower fixing. How the hell do you get those back in? All suggestions gratefully received.

(later)After much cursing and swearing I eventually managed to fit the new screen this morning. There must be a simpler method of changing the screen!?

Brian

7/4/2001 From Edd (freeball@lineone.net)

Hi All

I have been in touch with Powerbronze with ref " Flip Screen" for the Deauville again I understand the only one they are making at present is the model with the "ears" which I found unsatisfactory The "Double Bubble" is still under development

Regards Edd

4/4/2001 From Hugh Lacey (Hugh.Lacey@Hess.com)

Well, I suppose I was tempting fate by saying how pleased I was with the Deauville - the clutch went the next day - it seems it wasn't adjusted correctly to start with and I'd failed to notice 'cos I was being good about running in below 5000 revs. It started slipping badly and then after I'd had it adjusted the gear change became very "clunky" and neutral with the engine running a barely remembered luxury! It's still usable so I've got to wait for the parts and then it's being done under warranty - all a bit annoying really! Bad luck - perhaps the other Metropolis customers should get theirs checked too ?

Hugh Lacey

3/4/2001 From Lee Baldwin (lee.baldwin@tesco.net)

Hi all, I know that there have been many of us who have been searching for a Flip Screen that is not too large and is of reasonable quality and price. Well I may have to answer for you all.

I have just ordered a Flip Screen from Skidmarx (01305 780808 and ask for Chris). It is priced at only £42.83 including vat and delivery and is approximately 4" (100mm) higher than the standard screen which should be just enough to deflect the wind blast above my head (I'm 5'6" (1.68m)).

I've also ordered their fairing lowers which should be with me in about two weeks. As soon as they arrive I'll let you know about quality etc.

Bye for now,

Lee Baldwin

3/4/2001 From John Russell (jrussell@tesco.net)

I have found the headlight on the DV to be quite good, but never brilliant. So recently while walking around Halfords I was tempted to buy one of the new xenon gas bulbs which are supposed to be 30% brighter. I was very sceptical and when I got home and fitted it in, it certainly didn't look any brighter than the OE in the daylight. However, as soon as darkness fell it was a completely different story. The whole road lit up ! Seventy miles an hour in the dark on dipped beam ( albeit raised high) ensured effortless riding around dark twisty Scottish backroads. A very worthwhile buy and excellent value at £10. What you need is the Halfords H4 12v 55-65w Xenon bulb.

Regards,

John

3/4/2001 From Patrick Cray (patc@cableinet.co.uk)

Dear All,

I am still waiting a reply from Honda UK, about the continued existence or otherwise, of the large pannier lids for the black version of the DV. I have also asked them if they big lids have been discontinued across the board? or whether it is just the lids for bikes in none current colours - if the black lids have bit the dust, I wouldn't hold out much hope for getting a brown set as this colour bike did not survive beyond the first year of production.

Hi, I'm from Spain (sorry about my English) and a happy owner of a "Dolly". I like your site witch I frecuently visit. I would like to answer rdiaz. I think the prolongation he is talking about is the one that TCP, an spanish company make. Here is the link: http://www.tcpsa.com/ . This company also manufactures a high and effective windscreen for the Deauville.

Fun and safe biking,

Jorge

Like Hugh, I bought a Deauville from Metropolis in Barnet in March. Mine was 2 years old and came ready fitted with Honda top box (pretty ugly) lower fairing and handlebar grips.

The grips have been a disappontment. There's been several cold mornings in March - air temperature around 3 deg C. Because I ride the 'ville through heavy traffic nearly all the time, my hands are permently touching the clutch or brake levers. The fingertips never get the benefit of the grips. In any case, the grips warm the inside of the hands and fingers, but it's the outside that gets cold. Also, the wiring to the heated grips is fairly untidy. I don't ride through traffic as much, but you're right, hands cool down quickly once you start using the icy metal levers a lot. Do you have the Honda grips ? Mine are wired in quite neatly IMHO

Given a choice between deflectors or grips I'd go for the deflectors every time.

Finally, I'd just like to say that I loved the Deauville thread on uk.rec.motocycles. My favourite comment:

"The motorcycle for people who don't really like motorcycles."

Doh?! Replace the last word with poseurs would be more accurate.

Nick W