Discussions (June 2001 onwards)

Note: Later contributions now at the top...

31/7/2001 From Nigel Pannell (pannell@ntlworld.com)

hi,

I have just chopped my virago in for a new deauville (white) Does traffic melt out of your way ? A white helmet and a hi-viz jacket would seem to be ideal accessories to your new machine. I think it is a super bike (bit like this site) I fitted a givi screen on it as I was getting a bad draught round my neck using an open faced helmet, went for a ride and turned back after a couple of miles, the noise round my helmet was horrendous and my wife on pillion said it threw her head about so I took it back to my dealer and he let me swap it for the tall Honda one ,this was a lot better we now seem to be well sheltered, although with this good weather its a bit hot.

I am 5ft 7ins and I find that my wrists ache after a few miles as I seem to lean the handlebars heavily is there anybody out there knows about raising the handlebars my dealer said it couldn't be done. You'll probably get used to it - my wrists used to ache as well, but they're now "broken in".

Nigel Pannell

RE: License discs: I put mine on the inside of my (Givi) windscreen, together with a Brittania rescue sticker (pessimist) and IAM membership badge (proud and slightly vain old man that I am). I used a Halfords plastic licence holder for cars, and so far all have remained firmly attached (It doesn't get very wet on the back side of the windshield

Regards, John Warner (aka Kruella_Deville)

30/7/2001 From John Feltham (jrfeltham@yahoo.co.uk)

Great site with lots of useful info. I've had my Deauville for two years now from new, done 14K miles, and have now decided to chop it in for a second hand Triumph Sprint Executive. Might regret it, (I'll let you know) because I've really liked the DV but it does need that extra bit of puff.

However, I consequently have 2 large black panniers for sale. Brilliant if you want to look like a normal human being when you get off the bike because they each take a helmet easily plus over trousers etc etc. and don't upset the stability of the bike. Also large screen in smoke - £20 and an orange headlight cover that matches the indicators - £5

If you're interested email me or ring me on 01908 564185. Sorry to say I have used Editor's privilege and nabbed the pannier lids, but the other items are available. John's Triumph looks very nice.

John Feltham

27/7/2001 From Trond Johnsen (trond.johnsen@student.uib.no)

I bought my Duvvie in august 1999 - still under warranty, with 12,500 km on the clock. During the following winter and spring i experienced carburation problems around 4500-5000 Rpm in some weather conditions. These conditions beeing 110- 200% humidity i suspected. I took the bike to my dealer's workshop and they did their thing to the carbies. Happy, I went for a test ride - the mechanic said it was the first Duvvie he had adjusted and he'd appreciated some feedback - thinking the problem was solved. I rode from Bergen via Kvamskogen to Nordheimsund, around 1 hour of absolutely fabulous, all kinds of riding, uphill, twisties, stretches, downhill riding each way, making sure the engine got both thoroughly warm and that it had to breethe in some altitude ( metres above sea level, enough of them i mean ).

Back in the workshop i reported no problems in the area mentioned, but what had they done to the top? I felt it was completely gone. No, the mechanic said, he had done nothing to the top range, only boosted the midrange up, making the top rush dissapear. In other words more HP on tap up to around 6000 - 6500 Rpm, and the same amount as before above that. He explained that due to environmental regulations and stuff, big H makes the bike puff out pure flower soil in factory spec, as to look good on paper. He had Dynoed the bike (maybe i can get my Dyno chart? hum), so his opinions were not merely guesses, but more based upon quantifyable scientific measurments carried out in his pursue to relief my Duvvie of it's dead spot.

So here's to all you DV riders out there: Get your carbs sorted, and the want for more cubes will diminish. Adjusting the carbs is the cheapest way to more midrange HP, and oodles of more fun in the twisting department.

Highly recommended. I used to be a dull ville rider, but after i got my carbs adjusted - every day has become an intoxicating experience of joy.

Trond M Johnsen Bergen Norway. Deauville 1998 - 65,300 km

27/7/2001 From The Wilkes (wilkes36@onetel.net.uk)

I bought a 18 month old Deuville in June this year, for £3300 with 2500 miles on clock (4000 8 weeks on) it was a UK bike but had been a class 3 write off, i.e. R/H fairing pannier and front fairing. On a run such as to the British bike GP averaging 70mph both ways gave 65-68mpg, the same trip with more windy and wet conditions averaging 80mph to gave 58 mpg (following a group of sports bikes) and averaging 75mph on return gave 63mpg.

The bike is perfect for my purposes and if not for the usual high cost would have been on my list a long time ago.

The only faults are :-

1) That the clock re-sets to 1:00 am each time the ignition is turned off.

2) One disk brake disk is gradually distorting - at 4000miles only, (every bike I have owned seems to develop a buckled disk).

3) The front forks are very poor they are soft yet do not act quick enough to absorb bumps, I have tried reducing tyre pressure at the front but there appears little change and significantly effects the handling.

4) There is an occasional small glitch upon acceleration possibly to with the apparent weak running of the engine hence good fuel consumption with the hint of less than ideal traction associated with weakish running. I had an Aprilia Pegaso3 that would do 40mpg whether you went fast or slow, but it was so strong and smoooooth.

5) Am concerned that an aftermarket exhaust is not available for this machine, what is the life of the exhaust. No failures reported here, yet.

20/7/2001 From Colin Prosser (colinprosser@wattstruckandvan.co.uk)

This may seem like a trivial question but i've owned my deauville since october 2000 and i still can't figure out a simple place to fit my tax disc holder.......a bike i borrowed from my local dealer had the disc holder attached to the front of the bolts at the bottom of the forks next to the brake disc.......looks awful !! That's where mine is…

Any ideas anyone ?

Colin

20/7/2001 From Richard FB (richardf@cornwall.ac.uk)

Hi

Found your site really useful having just bought brand new DV (£5600) from my local Honda dealer in Cornwall. Gearbox is a bit graunchy so was glad to read this is normal and should ease off. Very interesting to read average age 48, spot on for me but I wanted something sensible to convince my wife bikes are O.K. She has been on the back several times and loves it. You do have to think ahead with 2 up though when overtaking.

Richard

20/7/2001 From Filip (filipt@hiero.cz)

Hi Deauvillers,

many thanks for all the infos and this excellent site generally. I finally bought DV a few weeks ago and after first 2000 kms I am more and more satisfied. My bike was imported from Germany and repaired and it doesnt show any problems (even Honda-mans didnt recognise it is repaired wreck).

Deauvilles are imported to Czech republic (where Im from) only since the beginning of this year, so there are no more than 5 DVs in this country - mostly imported from Germany after crashes (the price of new is extremly high - nearly Varadero level, dont know why).

I have just one question you might know answer for: I am not sure about the color of my bike - I think it is 99 "sandy beige metalic" - do you know if the Beige was the same for 98 and 99 years? In Honda katalogs it looks like different tones. I just want to ask my friends in Germany to buy bigger panniers for me and it would be stupid to have different tone of the colour... Look at the Honda Press Releases link on the front page, that contains pointers to the brochures for each year. I think it's "Elegant beige metallic" BTW.

Thanks

Filip

11/7/2001 From Hugh Lacey

To my shame, one of my rear brake pads was showing shiny metal but the new HH ones are bedded in and performing much better; I'll probably get Metropolis to fit HH's to the front at the next service.

Went to the Bike GP at the weekend (by car as there was a crowd of us) I only saw one Deauville but billions of CBR's and GSX-R's.

10/7/2001 From Geoff Norfolk (g.norfolk@ntlworld.com)

Firstly let me congratulate you on your excellent site................I have had my Deauville for nearly 3 years now and have clocked up 25,000 miles with only minor problems however I only found your site a few weeks ago when my kids finally persuaded me to buy them a computer!

I have done all my own servicing with the aid of an older NTV650 Haynes manual which covers most things however Lee Baldwins tip about www.microfiches.com is invaluable with all the exploded diagrams of everything.....really helpful.

I am fairly sure the bolt at the bottom of the fork legs only secures the dampening mechanism and will not drain all the oil out......at least that's all it did with my old CB750F2....however it really is very simple to slide the fork legs out when you're next replacing the front tyre, undo the top nut, turn upside down ....the forks that is....and you're there.

The main problem I've had to date is the head bearings which became very graunchy at about 20,000 miles.....I managed to replace them myself although it took me about 5 hours.......Lloyd Coopers quoted me 2 hours labour at 90 odd quid for the job so I decided to have a go myself. The only problems I encountered were getting the body fairing panels back on.....very fiddly. With hindsight, I could probably have done the job without removing them! Head bearings are tricky enough to do on a bicycle, about the only thing I don't bother to do myself on our bikes, I shudder to think about motorcycle head bearings.

The other problem has been an endless battle with rust spots on the exhaust......these Spaniards don't put chrome on as well as the Japs! I was wondering about getting the exhaust replated......when you think a replacement costs about £300 it might be money well spent. Can anyone recommend a good plating firm as I intend to keep the bike for years. My exhaust is showing a few spots as well…

10/7/2001 From Paul Hammond (hammond09@hotmail.com)

Firstly well done for putting together a very informative site.

I bought my DV a few weeks ago from Motorcycles Unlimited in perivale, a german import 1998 registered on a "T" plate for £3700 with a whole 950 miles on the clock.T he clocks are in mph and the headlamp is aimed correctly for this country ??!!. I have had a few niggles with it that worried me at first but after reading your discussion page I find that they are quite common. For instance i have experienced brake judder on the front brake when under 30 mph and a backfire when off the throttle slowing down. Overall I am very pleased with the bike.

Are Lloyd Cooper any good? I live fairly close to them and would consider using them for servicing etc. I suppose they must be OK as they are MCN dealer of the year! Well done again on the site, I'll let you all know how I get on with my "Dullville" boring old mans bike!!.

I have been reading the discussion about changing the fork oil. On the DV you must take the forks our and pump them so that the old oil is expelled. It isn't that difficult and takes about an hour or so. I left my forks inverted for about 20 minutes and had a cup of tea. This is to let all the old oil and gunge drain right out. It is a much better system than having a little drain plug in the bottom as the residue from the oil gets trapped and messes up the new oil.

I replaced the oil with 20 wt and can recommend it. It firms up the front and stops it diving for the floor every time the brakes are applied. The normal replacement oil is about 10wt.

10/7/2001 From Keith Lewis (keith.d.lewis@ntlworld.com)

I just thought i would like to comment on Hugh Lacey's brake problem , I bought a 2nd hand Deauville in Feb of this year ( it had been hired out to Darlows  by a main dealer in Cardiff and maintained by them , and has now done 37k). As I had only recently returned to biking after a long layoff period (started back with a 400 superdream for 12 months).

My initial comment on looking at the rear pads was (car pads are a lot thicker ) They look like they need replacing but was told no they are fine . however i did send for a set from MPS Only to find that when the new ones arrived they were about the  same thickness, were yours the same Hugh.

Keith

P.S super site very useful

10/7/2001 From John Whitaker (john.whitaker2@ntlworld.com)

Re. Paul Sutcliffe's concern about the headlight I think the advice he was given is right. If you look at the dipped beam in the dark it is an absolutely flat cut-off beam unlike the dipped beam on cars and older bikes which have an angled piece that illuminates the high left of the road. You should be able to tell if this is the case because the glass will be patterned with a triangular piece on the lower left middle portion of the glass as you look at it. This is the piece where you would normally put a beam deflector or cut-out piece for continental travel.

I have just returned from France and did not bother with a beam deflector because it is a flat beam.

Hope this makes sense!

In reply to Paul Sutcliffe's message. I too was quoted £300 for a 24,000 mile service by my local Honda dealer (I thought bikes were meant to be economical to run!) [cue hollow laughter], so I've decided to do the servicing myself and use the Service Schedule on your site as a Service History document.

I too would also like to change the fork oil and if it's any help to Paul or any other owner there is a good site at http://www.motofiches.com/ which has microfiches of many makes and model of motorcycle. If you go to the Deauville page I think you can see that the fork leg has a bolt at the bottom to allow the oil to be drained WITHOUT removing the forks from the bike.

Thats all from me for now.

Lee Baldwin

5/7/2001 From Paul DeCauter (pdecauter@hotmail.com)

Hello,

My name is Paul and I live near Antwerp. Tnx for keeping up your interesting site. I bought myself a Deauville, as kinda of an upgrade from a bicycle. My bike-experience is still quit small, but I wish to share the following concerning the security HISS-systeem.

Returning home after a regular service-maintenance from the garage, it suddenly hit me that I had not given my key to the service-man. Somehow he had started and moved my bike without any keys at all while I was not around. Consequently I found out that there exists a (handheld ?) electronic gadget that mimics the circuitry of the HISS into thinking that the regular key is inserted; no keys needed. If they can do it, who else can ? A bit worrying, I agree.

Lately I have been using my Disc-lock a lot…

Still, happy biking !

Paul

5/7/2001 From Hugh Lacey (hugh.lacey@hess.com)

Yep, the AA man carries tyres, though whether this is because the number you ring is just for Honda owners or not I don't know - suspect it could be. The BT020 is a composite compound, harder in the middle, softer sides, I felt all three tyres and the Michelin is definitely the softer tyre (besides after two punctures in three weeks I thought it was worth a go). I'd also heard about not mixing front and rear but the AA man reckoned that unless I was driving at the limit of the bike's/tyre's performance (not much chance of that) then I wouldn't notice any difference and I haven't. Anyway I'm going to try and stay out of all the muck in the middle of roads for a while...

While he had the back wheel off he commented on the fact that I was coming up for new rear brake pads, I thought they'd last 'til the 4K servce but no such luck so I put a new set of EBC HH on at the weekend - a much easier job than I thought it would be! All done in about 20 minutes. You must brake an awful lot, and hard. Mine are still apparently OK after 12K !

3/7/2001 From Paul Vanags (paul@vanags2.screaming.net)

Just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to put together your web-site.

I am in an eerily similar position to yourself - I have some gardening leave and a new job, where I don't fancy the commute in a car, so have done DA and now have 6 grand burning a hole in my pocket. The Deauville seems perfectly designed for my type of person, although I am put off by the poncy name and the fact that it just so SENSIBLE. However reading your site has convinced me that, even if I don't stick with it forever, it is a good first bike. So I'm buying a nice shiny red one, tomorrow from Abingdon Motorcycles.

Thanks again.

Paul.

If it's of any interest I've just upload a page onto my site with pictures etc. of a trip to Islay, Jura & Arran my wife and I did on my Deauville. My Deauville (standard except for flip screen, Nonfango top-box and BT020's) figures in lots of the pictures, including a couple with it at the end of a pier.

Regards

Steve

Update: It's http://www.geocities.com/niblue/islay.htm

Just a quick update and a couple of questions for other DV owners out there.

My DV is a parallel - bought in Southend for £4850 about 18 months ago. I think I'd have been better buying UK via internet but didn't see any good deals at the time. I'm not too worried about the KM speedo, which has a stick-on MPH overlay, but starting to worry about the headlamp for when the MOT arrives. I was told it was a 'flat beam' not needing conversion but I think this was waffle. Anyone know of convertors rather than replacement headlamp? Maybe you can just find a "friendly" or incompetent MOT place (shouldn't be hard) that will fail to notice any problem ?

I've just booked in to a dealer for the 24000 mile (36000 km) service - I've been doing my own servicing but thought it worthwhile to get a periodic 'professional' one. I'm quoted £300 for this, plus I wanted the fork oil replacing but I'm told about another £100 for this since the forks have to be removed and inverted. Anyone got an alternative to this? The forks just feel a bit tired, reckon new oil will help.

I've fitted the 'official' Honda screen and deflectors to replace my meccano screen and muffs (as in my photo), and it is very good. I'm sitting in a bubble of still air. Unfortunately, with a warm summer here I could do with the windblast again!

Paul Sutcliffe

Back from holidays, so a few updates now. I had an email from Brian Willis (brian.j.willis@btinternet.com) who is looking for a second hand DV - so if anyone can help him out email him directly.

Hi,

I wonder if you can help - I've just got a Deauville after trading in my old Revere - and I'm getting an odd backfire (off the throttle, between 2 and 3 thousand revs and braking). I think that it might be the same sort of thing that you were having with yours.

Did you ever get any luck with tracing and stopping the problem? Mine stopped doing it a few hundred miles after it started…

Thanks

Pete Spindley

Just to note that although the DV is available in the UK at GBP6300 list price, and from importers at about GBP5800, continental dealers appear to be able to get a much better deal. If you're a German, for example, you can buy one for EU8022 - see http://www.hentschel-gmbh.de/22. With the Euro at about 0.6 to the GBP, that's onlt GBP4813. They do a "Century" edition with all sorts of goodies including a top box, tank bag, high screen etc. for DM15880, which is about GBP5300.

One can't just buy it and ride it home because the UK government doesn't want to lose the 17.5% tax on it, so you have to buy it tax free (16% off) :-) and then pay the tax when imported (at 17.5%) :-(

Still, probably save about GBP1400 so might be worth it. Next - what about a nice boat trip to Rotterdam?

Andy

Got into work on Wednesday morning (20th) and found another flat back tyre. The bike had been a bit skittery in the last half mile but I put it down to the white lines. After last times epic I remembered that the bike came with AA cover so I rang them and they said they'd be with me in fifty minutes. Fifty minutes later the patrol man rang to say he was delayed (State opening of Parliament just down the road from where I work) but he'd be there in another ten minutes. Sure enough he turned up ten minutes later and he was carrying spare tyres! He had the Macadam 100 that was on the back but he reckoned I should try the Bridgestone BT020 as it's harder so that's what I went for - £125.46 all in (he had another tyre but that looked too agricultural!)

Booked the bike in for its 4K service next month.

Some months ago I emailed TCP France for details of the TCP fairing lowers - see www.tcpsa.com - I enclose their belated reply for your information.

BTW, reading through the discussion I note my defection to a Trophy has drawn a comment on the fact that it is chain driven. I must admit that this fact very nearly put me off buying the bike - so why did I? First I liked the idea of buying a bike made 7 miles from where I live, especially as my first bike was a Meriden Triumph - a Tiger Cub. Secondly my wife felt the Pan was ugly, and far preferred the looks of the Trophy - I agree, but this would have little effect on my decision if I did not have to take her opinions into account. Thirdly, having talked to two owners, especially with regard to chain life and maintenance, I was reassured that if a Scottoiler was fitted chain life would exceed 30,000 miles. So far, with 600 miles up I have not needed to adjust the chain, but I expect that it was checked/adjusted at the 500 mile service.

TCP France's Email

greetings from the south east,

I bought my 2001deauville about 2 months back and have clocked about 3000km so far using it to go to work.. I bought it for about 6000GBP (converted from 15,000 singapore$) so I think that the 'deep purple' deauville that Andy saw is a good deal(unless a brand new deauville cost less in England). The deauville has a very stylish look and the handling is superb,even at walking pace.I will always recommend the deauville to people who needs a reliable and steady daily commuter.

I agree that there should be some adjustments made to the deauville by the producers. most people have complaints about the winshields,it causes quite a bit of buffeting when travelling at about 130km/h and above,and from what I read,the aftermarket taller shields helps but are not that fantastic. Another thing that needs to be adjusted are the passenger footpegs (i'm quite surprised that not much has been said about this) I find that the pillion's foot will stick into the back of my calves whenever I have to put my foot down. theres nothing much that I or the pillion can do but I think the manufacturer should change the design on the lower-front part of the panniers(the part of the panniers thats closest to the passenger footpegs).it doesn't hold much there anyway.

I just hope they improve on the deauville in addition to new colours each year. one last thing, I bet everyone hopes for a little more power right? I heard that taking the catalytic converter out will give a little more power but can't confirm. anybody's done that already? I think I will try it when my warranty expires. Does it have a cat then ??

From earlier posts:

Pat Cray "Another problem that I have noted is that the coating on the final drive cover is coming away" - my 2.5 year, 3 winters old bike has done this too, some of the coating from the engine casings has also gone.

Brakes/Brake Judder - haven't experienced this myself, although it's easy to bottom the forks under braking. Personally I think the brakes are pretty good.

Winter Durability - mine has been through 3 winters (and 17K miles) and looks pretty good on it (compared to various Suzuki's and Yamaha's anyway) - main issues are cosmetic, surface rust on the chrome exhaust, discoloration of the alloy foot peg hanger things, paint flaking off the engine and shaft drive, some bubbling of the paint on the wheels, light surface rust on the bars. The panniers have also been scratched by pillions getting on an off, and the tank has some scratches caused by me getting on and off. The rider footrests also seized up during the winter but copious application of WD40 soon freed them off. Sounds like a lot but despite doing a lot less winter miles my Bandit 600 and XT600 and my wife's SR125 all looked a lot worse. The XT in particular went from pretty much pristine to pretty horrible within a couple of months, in particular developing starting problems and very badly rusted wheel rims. Chrome rims on a trail bike - what's that all about then?

I took my 9 year old daughter away for the weekend on the Deauville after using my CBR600 exclusively for a couple of weeks (I seem to be doing about 1000 miles a fortnight at the moment) - at first the Deauville felt like someone had strapped an armchair onto the top of a tractor but after a few miles I was back into the bike again. For longer trips it's way better than the CBR, no weight on the wrists, comfier seat, longer range, luggage capacity, torquey engine, better weather protection.

Tyres: The BT020's are still going well at 1500 miles - even if I only get 4or 5000 miles from them I still thing they are infinitely preferable to the horrible Macadam 90's (never tried the 100's though). The CBR has BT010's on, which are also excellent. I prefer pressures a little lower than the recommended 36/42 (something like 34/40 seems good) on these tyres. I have BT020s as of today. The bike seems to turn more easily, but then the rear M90 was quite square by comparison.

Still looking for John Russell out and about in Scotland - I've seen 3 other Deauvilles recently but none of them were him.

Re. Andy Long's bike change to a Trophy.

I can understand wanting a bit more power when touring, although I mostly tour on twisty roads in the west of Scotland where the Deauville is pretty effective even two up. I still quite fancy a bigger tourer though but I'd never consider a chain driven bike (the Pan and BMW 1150RT are my preferred options) - one of the chaps I know has one of the big Trophies though and he seems to like it a lot.

Regards

Steve

In reply to Mike Tunnah, I have to admit that I was only 26 when I bought my second-hand DV last year. However the fact that they are owned by mainly 'mature' riders means that second-hand models tend to be in very good condition.

I moved up to the DV after 18 months on a CG125, and found it surprising easy to migrate to. It can be a bit slow two-up, but as a relative newbie I think my wife appreciates it ! The only thing to be careful about is the weight when moving it round by hand. I have dropped it twice at 0mph, but the guy at Honda who designed the crash pads at the front was a genius.

Happy (and safe) riding.........

12/6/2001 From Mike Tunnah (mtunnah@lastminute.com)

well, when i started biking, i wanted to listen to tunes as well. i too tried with a radio and normal earpieces-they are a nightmare and irritate the ears no end. solution: police issue earpieces -they are flat and soooo comfortable. dirt cheap too from MAPLIN check themout on:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/products/detail.tpl?partcode=BA58N:&SKU=10040&cart=926746767&Group1=earpiece

Order online or check out store directory to pick one up from nearest branch. the one above is only £3.99. These have standard walkman plugs so will fit any radio/cd/walkman and minidisc player. I personally spent around £25 quid on a Phillips model AE6775 FM/AM stereo receiver with 5 presets and an LCD display. it also runs off 2 AAA batteries-good life to them and its thin and compact like a minidisc player( a lot of confusion by my colleagues when i first got it) - all i do is pop it in my shirt pocket under the jacket, no trailing wires, discreetly goes up the side of the neck into the helmet-don't even feel its there. and it also has a key lock function so you wont accidentally mis-tune or skip stations on the move. it can get pretty loud too so its no problems at speed-

furthermore- and i am not too sure how many will agree to this-but i cannibalised a mobile phone hands free wire and welded one of these earpieces onto it, attached a piece of velcro to the inside of the helmet and to the wire, positioned the hands free microphone to the side of my mouth in the helmet and hey presto: now i can receive calls on my mobile on the move, the phone has an automatic answer so i dont need to do a thing..i do not make calls on it though so i'm not totally unsafe! the quality is great and i get no complaints of wind noise etc from the people on the end of the line.

hope it helps.......

12/6/2001 From Peter Metcalfe (peter.metcalfe@ntlworld.com)

Got my new green Deauville on Friday 8th June. I have the larger lids fitted as need more carrying room. Couple of queries if anyone can advise. My lids have scratched away the paint from the bike where they close - is this normal? Also what is the recommendation for running-in, the manual is a little vague. I was told 5K rpm until 500 miles, then +1K per 100 miles - seems very conservative compared to the manual though.

By the way great site which helped me chose this bike.

Still haven't got my Deauville back following my mishap with Mr Wiseman's Vauxhall on 11/05/01 - I'm not terribly impressed with John Hall & Son Blackpool, who up to now have been very good. I think that the problem has been that I have had two weeks in Cyprus and the chief mechanic has been sick, and I believe they have simply forgotten about my machine - out of sight out of mind.

Well they had better do a good job - I don't think that I will be rushing to pay them the excess either, as not having the bike is pretty inconvenient. Another problem that I have noted is that the coating on the final drive cover is coming away, this is being referred to Honda as my machine is only 18 months old, though on balance it has stood up pretty well to 2 Blackpool winters.

Pretty crap service I agree. Why not use the dealer comments section on www.motorcyclenews.com to let them know what you think…

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/products/dealers?sectionID=76931&sName=Bike+dealers

Pat Cray

11/6/2001 From Mike Tunnah (mtunnah@lastminute.com)

Hi,

Just thought i would write and say well done on the site - very informative and great to read different stories and opinions. I am in the process of sorting out my direct access after having commuted into london on a scooter for around 14 months now, and i have had my eye on the Deauville for a long time now, just a shame about the new price which is too much for me at the moment!! nearly new it will have to be then.

I did find it interesting to note that at the age of 27, I could potentially be the youngest owner.......but there is something about it. I feel much better about going ahead with a purchase after reading the comments on the site. only problem now is trying to find a decent bike at the right price in south London!

Keep up the good work-I have this website book marked now.

11/6/2001 From Brian Reed (brian.reed@lineone.net)

Until I read Andy Beck's contribution I thought it was something I was doing to get brake judder from low speeds. I've checked the discs and they're ok, not warped. Stopping otherwise is fine and progressive.

Anyone else experienced this? To a small extent - I figured it's down to the soft suspension setup.

Thanks,

Brian Reed

5/6/2001 From Andy Beck (andy.beck@tesco.net)

Me again.

I promised you a feedback on test ride no. 2 - unfortunately one of the two bikes I was expecting to see had sold in the 24hrs between 'phoning and visiting. Somebody loves them!

Reading my last mail I realise I didn't tell you the specimen was a W registered DV with about 9000 on the clock which the dealer claims is Km, because it's an import. I'm not convinced, as I only clocked up about 30 of them in my hour test. Remember this line next time you want to hoodwink a dealer! The bike looked a bit scruffy but wasn't damaged. It was described as "deep purple" but I think must have been "Raspberry Black", priced at £4200.

Today I tried an S plate model in a weird brown/tan colour a bit like a pair of brogue shoes, with 15000 on the clock. Not sure I could live with that colour myself. This one had been loved, and stickers inside the panniers confirmed several rally attendances. Scrapes on the outside of the panniers told a contrasting tale. The brakes were better, no major judder, and the shift slicker by far so perhaps all that no 1 needs is a bit of TLC? The tan colour is disgusting, I couldn't face riding one in that delicate shade myself.

This time riding around Bradford, scene of my early scrapes and slides, I found myself more confident on the second DV than I am on my GSX600F that I've been trying to get to love for nearly 3 years now. Surely ease of riding is a virtue, especially for the commuter? It goes when you twist, even if you haven't calculated the optimum gear for the current road speed for the last 10 seconds, It can be flipped and wound in and out of the traffic, It will blast up a Motorway sliproad to my regulation 85 with no apparent effort, or will burble along past schools, cows etc, at peace with the world. It stops properly when all else fails (unlike the CX) and according to you lot can even be gently laid down without trashing everything. Heroes need not apply, real-world inhabitants will do!

I had hoped that the year and extra 5000 might scrub a bit off the price, but at £4000 the Tan terror was pretty close to the Black Raspberry from Friday, and then he offered me £200 less for the Suzi, so I was stumped as to what to do, There's a nice red one in the "New" section, though . .

I guess you get the message - I am rather liking the DV. When the CX is not on the road, I find myself choosing the car whenever the weather is not looking 100% reliable, which means I prefer an extra 20-30 minutes on the commute to a Suzuki in the wet. That's not really right, is it?

So what's stopping me? I'm not sure I've met the right one yet, and I do worry about the brakes and the winter durability. Honda traditionally have a good record for cosmetics but some things I have read lead me to think that this one might not be quite as good as others - comments anyone? It's assembled in the Spanish factory, and I don't think the quality is as good as some of their Japanese output (the engines probably come direct from Japan though ?). The alloy footpeg brackets in particular are made out of some pseudo-metal that goes crumbly at the first sign of salt.

Andy

PS I'm really definitely going to need a tall screen! (I'm 5'113/4")

2/6/2001 From Andy Beck (andy.beck@tesco.net)

Hi

First of all, boring but has to be said, many thanks for the site - a mine of info and useful experiences etc.

I'm considering a Deauville for my 15m each way commute (might be 20 mile if I get the job). Oh and the occasional fun ride too. Can't use it for touring as 3 kids and a frame test won't fit in the luggage. Even a 'Wing wouldn't carry what we take camping! In fact the Galaxy gets pretty full. . .

I just got back from my first test ride. First impressions were a bit disappointing - very upright stance - higher than my fully faired CX500, extremely basic instruments. But I rapidly warmed to it and found rush-hour Rochdale actually quite fun. That broad power band makes it much less hasslesome to blast through gaps than my "other" bike, a Suzuki GSX600F - not having to worry about being on the power band as well as everything else.

I found nothing to complain about in the handling but I'm no knee scraper. On the M62 it was a bit busy to go very fast and although the airflow was quite clean (no buffeting) up to about 90. I think I'd like to experiment with a taller window, though.

The comments elsewhere about gearshift clunks are right, but I never had it miss on me. I did find the front brake juddered a bit at 15-20mph under light braking but couldn't get anything untoward at high speed. It's a good powerful brake.

Durability-wise I'm a bit doubtful about a big aluminium piece that disappears up below the boxes at the back - looks like it could get very flakey with some salt on it. Too right….

Two more to look at tomorrow, I'll try to find time to mail again.

cheers

Andy

1/6/2001 From Paul Sutcliffe (paulsutcliffe@tesco.net)

I read Hugh Lacey's comments on tyres, here is my recent experience.

I picked up a piece of flint which left me with a flat tyre in central london. I tried 3 garages (about 3 miles) driving slowly on a flat until I found one with a working air pump. Pumped it up to about 50, got 30 miles, by which time it had dropped to about 25. I pumped it up to 50 and got home on it.

My brake calliper bolt was also welded in solid first time I removed the wheel so now it is really well greased, and comes out easy. If yours is stuck, remove the wheel as far as you can, to create some room to drift the bolt out from the other side.

I also have Macadam 100X, with a previous puncture (fixed by Bikes of Brighton with a rubber bung and glue - no problems). I was told that you can repair a ZR once only. I've also heard MPS supply the rubber bung repair kit complete with an air cylinder.

So I took the wheel into P&H. They confirmed a max of 1 puncture on ZR tyres. No tyre in stock, but I went on Saturday, they ordered Monday, delivered and fitted Tuesday - £118. I refitted the wheel without too much problem although there is no guidance on where the outer shim should be 'pinched' - I just fitted it so that the axle nut is flush with the swing arm.

I also read the Ride article on tyres recommending pressures of 33/33 rather than 36/42. I'd been running my rear at about 36, and it showed the flattening in the centre that indicates running at too low a pressure, so I will stick to the recommended inflation figures from now on.

30/5/2001 From Mike Oliver (locstar@btinernet.com)

Just logged on and read Andy Long's article. My girlfiend and I have just come back from the Ardennes Tour ( with Brettours ) on Tuesday. We did 1350 miles in 5 days and both found the bike comfortable. The longest sector was 400 miles in a day. I find the bike pretty darn good solo and two-up but do agree that with the small standard pannier lids luggage needs to be kept to a minimum when two-up.

I've done 4000 miles on the bike since getting it second hand last Aug with 1000 miles on the clock. So far there have been no problems with it. Riden enthusiastically it can surprise some sports bike riders but there is no way it can be described as "sporty", but then thats not what it was designed for. So far I'm very pleased with the bike and am looking forward to clocking up lots more miles this year.

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?

No it wasn't me Steve my DV is red and my VFR was on the road between Dundee and Perth this week. Interesting to know you only live in Edinburgh. I live near St Andrews.

John

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