Discussions (Late August 2000 onwards)

Note: Later contributions now at the top...

11/1/2001 From Patrick F Cray (patc@cableinet.co.uk)

I have just read Nick's mail about his intended purchase of a DV - says he cannot afford a new one - why not try your local dealers to see if they have any 2000 models?

You should be able to get a good deal at this time of year, as people are not exactly queueing to buy new machines. We are just after Christmas, and a lot will be waiting for the 'Y' plate in March. Some of the dealers in MCN seem to heavily discounting new machines, and they don't seem to be a lot dearer than some second hand bikes.

I have also seen a few second hand DV's in my local Honda dealers John Hall & Son, Blackpool but they seem to sell pretty quick which I suppose says a lot for the DV's real world saleability.

Ride safe

Patrick Cray

My Deauville is up to just under 15K miles now despite not being used much of late (I have an XT600E to use as a winter commuter). No reliability problems to date other than some rear brake niggles (replacement pads disintegrated, replaced by Honda under warranty and a minor problem with the pedal sticking). I get my bike dealer serviced as I spend a lot of time working on my trail and enduro bikes and prefer someone else to do my road bikes (although I've not been all that impressed by my local Honda dealer so far).

I noticed a comment about "weave-inducing top-boxes" but I'd have to say I've never had this despite my bike having a 52 litre one attached - the bike is rock solid at speed, even on 110 mph motorway cruising and up to an indicated 125 mph flat out.

I've had 2 punctures to date both on rear tyres, the first on the day the OE one was being replaced (at about 9500 miles) and the second 1000 miles later on the replacement Pirelli MTR24. The replacement is going well 4000 miles later.

I'd agree about the standard panniers being too small - I use them mainly for waterproofs and for storing my boots in when I'm visiting customers. One reason I like the Deauville is that I can turn up at a customers wearing a suit and carrying my laptop with them none the wiser that I've come on the bike.

I'm 5' 10" and find the riding position very comfortable, even on 500 mile days.

I'm amazed by the fuel consumption everyone else seems to get - I average about 45mpg in mixed use rising to over 50mpg+ when touring. Worst I've seen was well sub 40mpg, with the bike running totally empty after 132 miles. Maybe you just ride faster than the rest of us (or you spend a lot of time in traffic jams and your idle speed is set to 5000 rpm or something!)

For music on the move I've occasionally used a mini-disk player with the standard headphones but these do become uncomfortable on anything other than short journeys.

Oh yes and for the record my Deauville also starts fine in gear with the clutch pulled in.

Still haven't decided on a replacement - latest thinking is to keep the Deauville for another year and add a sports bike for track days etc.

Regards

Steve

8/1/2001 From Nick Pumphrey (nick.pumphrey@obstetrics-gynaecology.oxford.ac.uk)

Hi,

I found your site whilst researching my next big purchase ;-) As soon as I saw the Deauville I thought that this would be the best bike for me. I like your site and find it pretty comprehensive, but a "For Sale/Wanted" page would be excellent as I can't afford a new DV. Many thanks for setting this site up,

Nick Pumphrey

8/1/2001 From Patrick F Cray (patc@cableinet.co.uk)

Al your 18,3000+ miles makes my 6,000 look positively puny!! At that mileage a Pan might be a better bet if you can afford one.

Certainly like the look of the Pan European myself, and I would definitely like to have a test ride. However I don't think I could get one into the garage at the same time as the car, can be a squeeze with the DV, I like to keep my motor vehicles garaged: too many bad memories of trying to start frosted up cars; also too many people with sticky fingers out there. Are you dispatching with such large mileage? You are certainly a good advertisement for the overall reliability of the Deauville.

No bike is perfect, but I think the DV is highly under-rated especially in the plastic rocket orientated motorcycle press - it is comfortable at least for somebody standing 509' 175m in his bare feet, offers good fuel consumption, not bad performance, excellent reliability and is cheap to insure. The DV also has an indispensable centre stand and I think the Honda HISS on the 1999 onwards models is also a good plus point.

What would I like Honda to do?: -

(i) increase engine capacity to at least 750 cc - more oomph.

(ii) increase standard pannier size to at least take A4 documents without folding.

(iii) temperature & fuel gauge.

(iv) side stand indicator bulb.

(v) clearer instrumentation.

(vi) brighter headlights

(vii) lower price!! Well, we can all dream. I reckon that after this years bike glut, prices are only going one way from their current level…

Safe Riding

Patrick Cray

5/1/2001 From: (al@dragonman.demon.co.uk)

I've been running a Deauville for eleven months now it was new from Grimsteads, has covered 18,300+ and still counting. Apart from an unusual amount punctures on the O.E tyres which have been replaced with Bridgestones, 1st set & 1 puncture so far so same-o,same-o.

Good Mpg though, I've managed to squeeze 65+ out so far but 55-60 is more the norm. Reliability has been usual Honda apart from battery being replaced after five months (is it just me or are batteries getting smaller)

Luggage capacity I would class as fair to middling, ok for soft stuff i.e waterproofs minor bits of shopping etc. but the more serious cargo carriers out there might well find internal shape somewhat restrictive (A4 don't fit without bending corners, ahem). That's certainly true with the standard lids, but I also find it really handy not to have to take a rucksack everywhere, or fit a weave-inducing topbox just carry waterproofs, or small bits of shopping.

My only bug bear is the somewhat cramped riding position (at 6' 4'' in me socks that's about 1m 93cm for those wot don't do Imperial) it gets me in left side of my back first and is then aggravated with every gearchange, and at 32 years young I've had enough of 'diddy' bikes, sod it I wanna Pan.

I was interested to read John Warner's recent mail about only being able to start his bike in neutral.

My machine has the same affliction, having also had a Honda CB500 that would also only start in neutral despite what the instructions stated, I had come to the conclusion that the instruction books must be wrong at least for UK models.

If my bike should start in gear with the clutch pulled then I'm going to get it fixed asap under warranty, I too have suffered the embarrassment of stalling and not being able to find neutral no matter how hard I tried. Fellow DV riders comments would be appreciated. Pat: Get yourself down the dealer's, ASAP ! Mine starts in gear with the clutch in, no problems.

Safe Riding

Pat Cray.

2/1/2000 From: John Warner (jwarner@clara.co.uk)

Hello, I'm John Warner from H&Worcs. I bought my Deauville (Kruella) on 1^st December, trading a 1992 Harley Davidson XLH Sportster 1200. The contrast couldn't be greater and I love my new bike and the weather protection it offers. The Harley had more "grunt" but I'm learning to use the gear-box which I trust will become less notchy (see TW's 22/12/00 message). It took 7-8K miles for me…

I have been writing comments on the Deauville web-site http://www.micapeak.com/reg/view/NTV650 but thought I'd copy some of them here. The biggest disaster in 1000 miles of happy riding has been to drop the bike during the recent icy blast. I saw John's comment about unbalanced wheel and recalled that I dislodged the balance weight on Kruella's front wheel when washing it recently. I've stuck it on with instant glue and that seems to be holding firm.

Here are my notes from the other web-site ...(30/12/00) Bike fell over on icy road a couple of days ago. The fairing protector would have worked except that the lower (feet) fairing crushed the main fairing at its attachment point. The brake pedal also got bent. Fairing is now patched on inside with fibreglass repair kit - not too unsightly. Brake pedal is bent straight too. I'm able to use the car if I don't fancy the biking weather, and I never use the bike if there's a chance of ice about, so I'm hoping this is one mishap I'll never experience…

MORAL: if you want dry feet and fit the lower fairing kit do not expect the fairing protector to do its job! (12/12/00) I thought that it was a feature of the Deauville that it would only start in neutral. It turns out (from the free 600 mile service) that I had a dud clutch lever interlock switch. This has been replaced and I can now restart the bike in gear with the clutch disengaged (useful after stalling in traffic - my Deauville has less low-end torque than my previous bike, a HD Sportster). That's really useful information - thanks a lot.

"My Mind is Made Up - Don't Confuse me with Facts"

Pete wanted to know about music on the move. I was also interested in fitting a car stereo to my bike but settled for a Walkman (29.99 Argos). The radio/cassette is outstanding - self-seeking radio etc. Getting the ear pieces in my Arai helmet is murder and after five minutes on the move - agony. I have discovered that special ear pieces which double up as speakers and ear plugs are made to measure and cost about £180. They are the same as used by the motor racing and are supposed to be superb. Needless to say I don't have any and my excellent Walkman is rarely used! If anyone has any solutions to this one I'd be interested to hear about them too.

Also, Eric wrote on the 19 Dec that he had experienced some wheel judder which was rectified when he changed to new tyres. Whilst it may have been a tyre problem for him I remember having a similar experience with my Triumph Trophy. The cause wasn't tyres but wheels - the balance weights had fallen off and the juddering was the result of unbalanced wheels. I cured it by sticking 'Duck Tape' over the weights to stop the water eroding the sticky - never had the problem again.

John

Just thought I would give a brief update on my experience of the DV after 7 months of ownership and 9500 miles. I bought it secondhand when it was six weeks old with 1700 miles on the clock. The previous mature owner had arthritis problems in his left hand and couldn't operate the clutch on long rides. He was giving up m/c. I bought my bike for £4800 - he gave me his original receipt which was for £6000. So I consider I got a bargain.

The DV has been outstandingly reliable. I live in Scotland and have travelled all over it. I have also been down to the south of England and all over Wales. The bike has never failed to start and never let me down once.

It is a very easy bike to service so I have done it all myself for a total cost in parts (oil, filters, etc) of just under £50. Reading what others have paid out for services I reckon I have saved myself about £300. That will pay for one and a half sets of tyres. Thank you very much!

I would encourage anyone to get hold of the workshop manual (just under £20) and see just how simple it all is. A complete novice can easily follow the instructions and save hundreds of pounds. No doubt someone will be thinking that a fully stamped service book will be better for resale values. But consider this - as Ride magazine investigations have shown - the bikes are NEVER serviced properly. So that means they never run properly and sometimes are in a dangerous or unsafe condition.

In my opinion self serviced bikes - when accompanied by all the receipts and a full history of what has actually BEEN done cannot be worth less. I serviced my Triumph Trophy 900 myself for 20,000 miles before I sold it earlier this year. It was 'N' reg (1995) and in immaculate condition. My local Triumph dealer offered me £3500 for it but I sold it privately for £3850.

Finally, a word about this site. In my opinion it is excellent, I look in on it nearly everyday to see what has been posted and I have greatly enjoyed reading all the articles. I e-mail all the DV owners I come across with details of it in the hope that they will be inspired to share their experiences for the benefit of us all. Well done Trevor and thanks for keeping it going! It's always good to hear back that people are getting benefit from it - thanks.

John

26/12/2000 From Pete (pete@glass100.freeserve.co.uk)

Dear all

I'm delighted I found you, makes very interesting reading. Hopefully you don't mind if I put in my two penneth, and also ask a question or 2.

I've had my bike (a y2k model) for about 3 months now, after a slight change in job description means that I now have to commute to London once a week (a 190 mile round trip) and my old VT750 Shadow just wasn't cut out for it. I'd had a few Honda V Twins in the past and loved all of them, so the dv was a natural choice.

I've changed the screen to a large Honda one, which I find fine for my 5'10", but heavy winds do catch it. I've put on the fairing hand extensions, and the £30 heated handgrips, which are fine for the money (fairing lowers would be nice, but not at £90). Also, my dealer was nice enough to fit a free Givi rack (as I already had the box)

I wanted to ask if anyone has tried the rocker gearchange, and do they think it's worth doing? I'm not sure what the point of this is really, apart from making the bike behave a bit more like a C90 !

Also, I've heard that it's possible to fit a normal car stereo and speakers. I'd love to have some sound, but can't afford the honda CD system. Any thoughts would be most welcome.

On the subject of insurance, it's worth trying Hastings Direct for a quote. (number in several mags) good quote, and good service when someone wrote off the front end of my 750 earlier in the year (they even added my local dealer to their list of 'official repair centres' so I could get the damage fixed locally)

Looking forward to hearing back

Pete

22/12/2000 From Me (honda_deauville@freeserve.co.uk)

I commented a while ago that the gearbox on my bike was horribly clonky, especially first to second. I adjusted the clutch free play, which made things a little better at the time, but I 've noticed recently that it's got an awful lot smoother. So I guess it just takes a long time to bed down. I remember my Dad once complained to the BMW dealer that the gearchange on his 3 series was a bit stiff even after 40K miles, and they replied that they build the transmission to last x00,000 miles, so it has to start out being a bit stiff… Not sure if the DV will make 6 figures though.

TW

I'm still monitoring the site - the Yahoo one mentioned in the recent posting must be teetering on the brink now that Zimoun has gone and bought himself a Kawasaki. As you quiet rightly say a site is only as good as the postings.

I think you have done pretty well considering yours just covers Honda Deauvilles, and not say Honda motorcycles in general.

I'm still a happy Deauville rider; which doesn't mean I wouldn't go and buy myself a Pan European or a beemer if I get 6 numbers on Saturday!

I've looked at other machines but none seem to fit the bill in my price range - unless I want to risk buying something pretty old and second-hand - there's a pretty tatty high mileage BMW R1100RS in my local Honda dealers, which doesn't seem to have kept as well as similar aged Honda's. I'm also not to keen on the way all BMW boxers burn oil nor the cost of parts and servicing.

I ride all year round commuting mainly; but good runs in the better weather, and my machine has stood up pretty well to nearly 15 months continues abuse.

I think we are all pretty much agreed that a 750/800cc version of the DV would make a pretty perfect commuter medium sized tourer.

Ride safe

Patrick Cray

Some comments on previous postings:

Insurance: I have 4 bikes on a Carole Nash policy with the Deauville being the main bike (the rest are all trail/enduro bikes) which costs about £350 fully comp. I'm 32 with 1 years NCB and a full license for 1 year. All bikes are garaged but have no additional security fitted.

My Deauville has done a bit over 14K miles now but hasn't been used much lately as I've added an XT600E to the fleet for winter commuting. I was out on it a couple of days ago and the back brake lever was sticking on - I'll need to strip it down and check it out.

Still considering replacing the Deauville next year but I haven't decided with what yet - as I have a specific commuter bike now I may get a larger, dedicated tourer such as a Pan-European.

Regards

Steve Graham

19/12/2000 From Erik Jansen (teuropa@terra.es)

i, just wanting to contribute a little... it's damm quiet at this 'forum'. TW, what about making a real forum (in real time) like many other groups of interest? (like the yahoo.uk and the dutch Deaville clubs?) It would be much more fun. See the Yahoo Deauville Club on the front page. But it doesn't seem any more active than here. I just publish stuff people send me - if they don't have anything interesting to send, that's fine with me.

Well, my today's subject is tires. Now my Deau has 15.000 km and is 1 year old. I had to replace the rear tire at 12.000 km (was Macadam 90 and is again) and now i've replaced the front tire with a Macadam 100. It's amazing for many reasons: for more than 3000 km i was suffering from not being able to run handless', because the steering would start trembling a lot. I was wondering what it could be... suspensions, weight,... No! It was the tire, 'cos this problem is completely gone with the new tire! Not that i drive handless for fun, just if i have to adjust my helmet or whatever... you know.

Another amazing thing is that the old front tire was sooo differently 'used' on the left side (really flat) while the right side had still a profile... It seems to be the cardan, so if you get those steering problems, it's realy indicating the end of your front tire. I also saw that my new rear tire is already getting thinner. Maybe because i get more and more confident with the bike and use to accelerate more from zero and in curves... But have present that a cardan will always abuse more on tires, as it gives a real good push departing from the pitlane... :) Erik - not sure how to translate "cardan" into English…

Apart from that, i went from Valencia to Bilbao (Pays Basque) last week which is 2 x 600 km, very cold and very windy weather. But i don't think the Deau is worse with wind then any other bike, and as it is heavy, it keeps quite stable...

Now 2 questions for the technicians here:

1) When i will have to exchange my exhaust, are there other brands besides Honda? I don't see anything on websites or local shops.

2) Could i use non-Honda parts for: wheels (lighter ones), steering bar (I want one more adjustable in 3 dimensions (height, horizontal and vertical angle); front and rear suspensions? All things for the future, but...

Thanks for answers and good and save riding to all! As the DV is closely related to many other Honda twins (e.g., NTV Revere Hawk…) that there must be some compatibility between aftermarket parts for these and the DV. But I don't know for sure.

Erik M. Jansen

29/11/2000 From Darren Hyde (darren.hyde@tesco.net)

Thanks to everyone at the site for help over the past few months, we're due to take delivery of a '98 S Deauville next Friday. Took it for a test drive, and thoroughly enjoyed it. As did the other half.

I'll let you know how I get on, can't see too many miles going on it in this weather, but a nice early Christmas present.

Planning a trip to Spain via France with a mate on a Divvy 900........

Cheers,

DK Hyde

I have just renewed my insurance with Hondacover for the grand sum of £212.35 including brokers fee and 5% insurance stealth tax. How does this compare with other members? I am 39, full motorcycle licence for 2 years, no convictions but managed to loose my no claims bonus due to running over a concrete block in June this year. The DV is garaged overnight and I had it Datatagged, bought it before Honda started doing the Smart Water. Did a lot of ringing around and my existing company was the cheapest, just wondering if anyone has found a really Deauville friendly broker?

Hondacover which is run by Devitt Insurance who advertise in MCN also let me have a £25 discount for having taken the MAC course. They also provided reasonable service when I had my bump - so I suppose at this is an endorsement for Hondacover.

Safe Riding

Patrick F Cray

Hi there...

Thanks for putting together that website on the Honda Deauville. I fell in love at first sight with the Deauville at traffic lights a couple of months ago when one pulled up alongside me. There's not too many of them here (Ireland), so I'm probably going to have to head across to the UK to source a secondhand one. In the meantime, I'll just have to make do with reading about them on the web !

(I currently ride a Kawasaki Ninja)

Yeah, it would be a change alright. Performance doesn't interest me particularly (high speed boy racer stuff I mean), weight *could* be a factor.. hadn't thought much about that. The image is alright - lightweight touring bike. I like it because it's curvaceous, isn't in a sportsbike insurance category, has built in storage - ideal for a girlie...handbag, hairdryer, spare hairdryer etc. ;o)

No, seriously, I prefer shaft drive to chains, like touring bikes, don't like BMWs... so it seems ideal to me.

My quest for a Deauville of my own continues !!

A new one here in Ireland costs IEP 8,000. I hope that I can source a used one a *lot* cheaper in the UK and import it. Unfortunately we've got this ridiculous tax in Ireland called VRT (Vehicle Registration Tax) and for a new Deauville it's IEP907. It's calculated on a sliding scale, taking depreciation into account, so if I buy a 2nd hand bike, it would be less. The ideal for me would be to buy a used bike, with about 6,000 miles on it and bring it in. Do you know what sort of price range I would be talking about for a 1998 Deauville ?

All the best

Joanne

I have to admit that myself and Mrs C weigh in at slightly more than 18 stone when we are both aboard the Deauville - before you ask we only hit the scales about 4 stone heavier still that's an extra 56 lb/25 kg which must make a difference. When I am riding 2 up my approach is markedly different than when I am riding solo - the first and most important factor is I have somebody else's life in my hands.

When riding with a pillion my main aim is to ride in a smooth and safe manner, even if that means having to largely go with the flow of 4 wheeled traffic. I have found that if you frighten your pillion the ride can become a nightmare if they stiffen up and don't go with the flow. I am also very mindful that braking distances increase and that manoeuvring especially at low speed is also more hazardous. My mind set when 2 up is basically to pick a nice destination, ride carefully enjoying the view rather than aiming for a high speed run which I reserve for when I riding solo. The Deauville will certainly get you to your destination easily at 'legal' speeds and like most bikes you have greater opportunity to overtake than in the car due to your increased manoeuvrability.

A pillion effects the handling and performance of all bikes, though the more hp you have the less this matters especially in straight line acceleration. If you are very serious about touring two up then the DV like any other 650 is probably not the best machine if you have been seduced by the need for speed. I have to admit that if money was no object I would seriously consider buying either a Pan European or one of the big R series BMW if I did a lot of long distant 2 up touring, which I don't (lust for something big, powerful and a bit exclusive could of course make me throw caution to the wind and buy one anyway perhaps even an 1800 cc GoldWing) . That said I honestly believe that a bit more oomph would make the Deauville a near ideal medium sized tourer. What do you think about a NT750V with another 10-15hp then.

I use my Deauville for commuting and pleasure rides all year round and Mrs C certainly won't get on the back if the weather is iffy so at the moment I have to say my machine fits the bill for me.

Pat

22/10/2000 From Me (honda_deauville@freeserve.co.uk)

We went for a 2-up trip over to the Rover Motor Heritage Centre at Gaydon yesterday (previously visited when I did my MAC course). A huge spaceship of a building plonked on top of a hill in South Warwickshire, full of the history of the British car industry. We got there a bit late and only spent a couple of hours, but you could easily spend longer there as there are various films to watch, optional off-road Land Rover rides etc. Not bad value at 6 quid each. See www.heritage.org.uk

I've concluded that the DV is really a bit underpowered for "pressing on" with a pillion on smaller roads. Between us, we only weigh 18 stone, and the bike is a lot more sluggish under acceleration than with just me riding. I didn't notice this as much before, but I think I'm now more confident about riding with a passenger so I notice the bike's limitations. It's fine when you're up to speed and cruising, but very twisty roads with intermittent double white lines can be a pain as you don't always have enough grunt to overtake safely when the road markings allow it. Grumbles aside, the ride back on the old A41, A422, A413, A41 was great fun, mostly wide fast roads with sweeping bends that you can really enjoy, and a few extra twisty bits.

TW

I have just reached 12 months ownership of my Deauville and I am still very pleased with my purchase.

It has just cost me £96 for the major service and that included £1.44 for a replacement seal in the cooling system - I was expecting to pay a bit more. That said they didn't put the fairing back together properly - unfortunately I am no mechanic otherwise I might have done the servicing myself; but then again how valuable is a fully stamped up service record when you come to sell your bike?.

Does anybody know if the Deauville Haynes manual has been published yet?.

Does anybody have details of the 2001 Deauville?. I suspect it's the same as the 2000 bike. A lot of new bikes have been announced already, I'd have thought they'd have announced a new DV if they were going to.

Safe Riding

Patrick Cray

2/10/2000 From Darren Hyde (DarrenHyde@alvisvehicles.co.uk)

Being in the market for a new machine, I am considering the Transalp as a serious contender. In comparing it to the Deauville I have come up with the following list of pros and cons. Anyone know any others ?

Pros

1) Cost - £5145 rather than £5999 list price

2) Luggage system, looks bigger, plus totally removable if required.

3) Decent displays (Honda brochure shows engine temp and fuel gauge)

4) Lighter - Quoted dry weight is 191kg vs. 223kg for Deauville.

Cons

1) Chain drive rather than shaft

2) Seat height - 843mm vs. 814 for the Deauville (5'2" wife to consider !)

3) Higher insurance group 10 vs. 9 for Deauville

4) Tank smaller, but at 19 litres only by 0.5 a litre

Regards,

DK Hyde

1/10/2000 From Paul Sutcliffe (Paulsutcliffe@tesco.net)

Hi, just an update on my DV after reading some other contributors' experiences.

Like Edd, I found a flip screen useless - same problem, since we are both about 5ft 11 that may be the cause ? I also decided to do an oil change with GPS 10/40 more regularly - oil every 4000, oil and filter every 8000.

I just replaced my tyres at 12000 - went to Macadam 100X since the dealer said 90X is no longer available. And Haynes say they are planning a DV manual and will let me know when it is due.

The other thing I bought was a topbox - helpful for visiting clients when I have to turn up in a suit ! I ordered a Nonfango 852 from MPS (they only charge £36 for the rack whereas M&P were asking £80). But it wasn't in stock so they sent me a TuttoTerrano instead. I decided to see how it looked on the bike before rejecting it - not that impressive but I managed to scratch it so now I'm stuck with it...

28/09/2000 From Erik Jansen (teuropa@terra.es)

Hi all!

You requested comments on the accessories for the Deau. I can tell you my honest opinions on the following:

1) large lids: a must for me, as i use the bike for everything, i like it for 2 helmets, clothes, shoppings, laptop, etc. Size, it makes the bike only a little wider, no more then 5 cm on each side to the former maximum width. As long as your are not 'GP racing' in the city, the bike is as capable of commuting as before, you just have to 'feel' the space... The Deau looks much better (IMHO) then before. The standard lids look a bit unnatural and cheapo... And if you add the Honda inner bags, wonderful, they fit perfectly, look good, and are cheap (the big lids are a bit more expensive then a Givi Maxia topcase, which i also have). The big ones come with a little rubber thingy, the instructions tell us to put it somehow into the hole where one of the 'u'-form metal pieces of the lid enters. I took them away again. They made it to hard to close/open the lid.

Also, your Honda shop should take care of a perfect adjustment of the lids (small or big). Some people complained of bad closing. Its easy to remedy. And in the case that your Deau falls on its side, it will touch earth much sooner, with less violence... less damage....

2) Bigger screen. Here in Spain not VERY necessary. In the cold and rainy north surely a must have. But a too big screen is counterproductive. In any case, earplugs are a very pleasant experience...

3) Lower fairing: i do not like honda's solution. (very little plastic for your money...)I have a one piece and bigger fairing of TCP. Seen the same design under a different brand on the Dutch website.... Dutch and Spanish Police wear them too...

4) Harder seat: not yet available :(

5) Fork oil. Heavy pilots (90+ kg) should change and get a thicker oil. Very cheap and big improvement.

6) Painting. I think it is somewhat low quality (plastic anywhere and metal fueltank painting) My fueltank gets more and more scratched. I already ordered a www.Bagster.com protector and bag.

Erik - Valencia, Spain

28/09/2000 From: Eirik Skjavelend (eirik.skjaveland@bravida.no)

Hi!

Just found this picture of the new Transalp 650, which feature basically the same engine as the Deauville but with chain final drive. This luggage system seems much more useful than the relatively tiny items fitted to the Deauville, although they are not as stylish.

Regards,

Eirik

17/09/2000 From: John Lee (john@salee.fsnet.co.uk)

Dear Deauville owner,

We have been touring Spain & Portugal this summer but did not invest in the larger lids and ended up attaching a tail kit on to the top of our top box, therfore looking like we were going to the moon and back!! Could you please advise us as to whether we should spend £225 (GULP) to gain a little extra space. Anyone with the larger lids care to comment ? I think I've seen mixed reviews for them…

We are so pleased to find a Deauville web page and are interested in knowing if there is a official owners club.

We love our Bike!!!

John & Sally ( John@salee.fsnet.co.uk)

As I rapidly approach 12 months of DV ownership I thought I would assess it's strengths and weaknesses which I hasten to add are entirely my own views.

Good:

1. Appearance - I think the Deauville is one of the best looking bikes on the market.

2. The Deauville is very comfortable even over long distances with or without a pillion.

3. Excellent fuel consumption 50mpg+ urban cycle and over 60mpg on a long run.

4. Cheap insurance.

5. Built in luggage.

6. Glove compartments handy for mobile telephone,disc lock etc.

7. Extensive accessories.

8. Very smooth and clean shaft drive.

9. Good Brembo brakes.

10.Corners well for a tourer.

11.Long lasting tyres.

12.Ability to withstand a Blackpool winter.

13.Centre stand.

14.100% reliability at least to date!.

Bad:

1. Could do with a temperature and fuel gauge.

2. No side stand indicator light.

3. Panniers won't take an A4 document without folding.

4. Head light could do to be bit brighter.

5. Could do with a bit more oomph from the engine especially for overtaking,high speed cruising and riding 2 up with luggage.

6/09/2000 From: Martin Concannon (martin.concannon@tesco.net)

Does anyone out there have the large pannier lids for sale, (black)?

Martin

I'm just back from 5 day sight seeing in Amsterdam visiting the museums etc.!! with Mrs C very enjoyable - saw plenty of motorcycles no Deauvilles but 2 NTV's and a number of custom style shaft driven Honda's with V twin engines not to sure exactly what they were. Also of interest I saw a Honda 650 silverwing in good nick - large selection of sports bikes - many BMW's and several trails type bikes the Honda TransAlp being popular.

Gear boxes - well I don't have a lot of problems personally - you just have to put up with the typical Honda clunk - I have never had any problems engaging second. I have to agree though it cannot be described as slick - more functional than anything. I find blipping the throttle when changing down also makes for much smoother gear changes.

Treated myself to Septembers' issue of Bike magazine for my excursion to Amsterdam usual sports bike bias - what is of interest to us as a group is their extremely contradictory statements on the DV - in the used section the DV is described fairly as 'Sorted shaftie tourer with bags of accessories, yet small enough to commute happily'. Now when you turn to the new section the DV becomes - 'Dreary yawn- mobile, but as a small tourer it just works'. Seems the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing or writing - the press in general has been pretty favourable towards the DV yet this Dullville rubbish seems to occasionally rear it's ugly head. The Deauville is not a sports bike and should not in my opinion be compared with them - it is clear that speed and horsepower sells magazines but it is not the be all and end all of motorcycling.

Safe Riding

Patrick F Cray

6/09/2000 From: Eirik Skjavelend (eirik.skjaveland@bravida.no)

I find the upshift from 1st to second gear rather unpleasant myself, especially when flying over a serpentine road. Under full acceleration from a standstill, it doesn't matter much, because I then tend to be more focused on shifting gears at the right rpm than when on a fast pass up my favorite road. However, even the 500 pulls so well from lowish rpm, I simply don't drop below 2nd gear once underway. The slight lack of acceleration is made up by eliminating one upshift, I find - not to mention the embarrassment and timeloss suffered in the case of a missed shift. To be swift and rapid over a narrow, winding road, it is imperative to retain as much focus as possible on the road ahead and not divert it into operating the bike. You'll find that picking the right gear and shift rpm all the time is of much less importance for speed and safety than knowing what's ahead and when to put on the brakes or get on the gas. I have left my bikes in top gear on several occasions and left better handling, more powerful bikes ridden to redline in the lower gears far behind many times simply by focusing on the road instead of the gearbox and rev counter.

To conclude, after having gone quite a bit astray, I don't worry much about the recalcitrant shifting in the lower gears because it's so rarely performed. If I rode a lot in town, I'd probably be less impressed, though, but taking off in 2nd isn't much of a problem for either engine or clutch unless going up steep grades.

Eirik

5/09/2000 From Me (honda_deauville@freeserve.co.uk)

People who responded to Ride magazine's survey said that the gearbox was one of the worst aspects of the Deauville. They're not wrong there.

Is there a good technique to use to get a smooth change from first to second (which seemed particularly crunchy on my bike today) ? I've tried using a lot of force and changing quickly, using less force and changing slowly, and at various different engine speeds, with no obvious consistent result.

I went to see my brother ride in a motocross event at the weekend, which involved a boring ride up the M1 to Northants, and an excellent run down the A5 on the way back. There's some really nice flowing bends north and south of Towcester, if you're ever in the area, and it's loads more fun than the M1.

TW

30/08/2000 From Stephen Graham (stephen.graham@scotland.com)

Basically yes, especially in the wet. The bike also seems a lot easier to lean and to turn.

A fair comment - my commute is only about 9 miles each way though, all in town so I usually use one of my trail bikes (I compete in the occasional enduro and trail bike rally) which are great fun in traffic. I like my Deauville a lot and I don't think there is anything wrong with it that another 25bhp wouldn't fix...

Ed posted that he never red lines his Deauville and usually keeps it between 3-6000rpm. Personally in normal (not town!) riding I red line mine through the gears and clutchless upshift to make the best use of the limited power (probably why I rarely get over 50mpg and have a worst well under 40mpg).

On the winding roads in Scotland though the Deauville is pretty effective - decent handling and brakes allied to a progressive power delivery make it a lot easier to get on the power out of corners. The folks I ride with use VFRs, GPZs, a Thundercat and a speed-triple and the Deauville can usually keep up fine, even two up. Over longer distances it's more comfortable than the sportier bikes and we often get there first.

30/08/2000 From: Eirik Skjavelend (eirik.skjaveland@bravida.no)

Hi!

By substituting the stock cylinders with those from a 750 AT, you will, as noted, obtain much more torque in the midrange. This added power in the midrange will significantly increase top gear pulling capabilities, especially riding two-up. Around 5,000rpm, 5th gear with the 750 version should be about equal to 4th gear on a stock bike.

Another option is to tune a 750 version. If money is no problem, you could ask Two Brothers Racing in USA to build an engine that delivers a true 65hp at the rear wheel, some 15 more than stock, without any loss of power at lower rpm. It won't be a silent bike any more, though....

Eirik

29/08/2000 From Stephen Graham (stephen.graham@scotland.com)

Patrick F Cray posted:-

Probably not as surprised as I was when I found myself stranded 10 miles from home at midnight! My lovely wife drained the petrol from her bike (an SR125) into a can and came to rescue me. I was at the tail end of an Edinburgh-Liverpool-Edinburgh day and I know I reset the trip at the last fillup (otherwise I'd have had more that 132 miles showing). I guess this is a strong argument for a fuel gauge as I was shocked when I had to go onto reserve.

The bike actually went onto reserve at not much more than 100 miles, when I knew I was in trouble as there were no petrol stations for miles around (just try finding an open petrol station in the Scottish borders after 10pm). I took it very easily from then on but I was still a long way from home.

The early part of the tank had done about 50 miles at speed on the motorway but what really killed the consumption was coming over the wonderful B709 (Langhold to Innerleithen - recommended) using full throttle in the low gears most of the time. This road is also the main cause of me wearing the rear tyre right up to it's edge, although the front never comes near the edge.

Since then the bike has been back to it's normal ways, which normally means going onto reserve between 140 and 160 miles, and occasionally as far as 200 miles when touring.

This is all a lot better than my enduro bike - in very muddy conditions I once managed to use 8 litres of fuel in 16 miles!

Regards

Stephen R. Graham (http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/1837/)

Some very interesting correspondence of late. I am very surprised that Stephen Graham only managed 132 miles to empty - did he forget to reset the trip meter?

On the subject of other bikes; if money was no object I would consider buying either a Pan European or one of the R series BMWs, but as none of these machines with luggage and fairing can be had new for less than £9000 (I was looking at the R1100RS and R1100RT which I think could provide a serious replacement for the DV), I think I will be hanging on to my DV for some time yet. Other factors in the bike equation are dearer insurance, more expensive servicing, more money spent on fuel and the alternative machines being less suited in my case to a mainly commuting role, and I'd better not forget Mrs C who is dead against me spending any more money on motorbikes. The Deauville in my opinion offers a good balance between performance and very economical motorcycling.

The Africa Twin which has the 750 version of the V twin engine produces in it's current form 60 hp/7500 rpm compared with the Deauville's 56 hp/7750 rpm but as you suggest the bigger engine produces more torque - clearly there is room to relatively easily produce a NT750V with more oomph for high speed cruising and overtaking. The American chain driven NTV650 Night Hawk is raced and apparently produces a very respectful power output from the 647 cc engine.

I have just finished looking at the current RIDE magazine survey which rates the Deauville as the best all-round middleweight based on a survey of 12,500 or so readers. The Honda Blackbird and Pan European also come top of various classes and Honda's get the vote for best reliability - BMW apparently have plenty of warranty claims. Another gem from the RIDE survey is that 52% of Deauville owners would buy a DV again - which I think is pretty good for a 2 year old model with relatively few machines in circulation.

Safe Riding

Pat Cray.

There are three major options when considering heated grips:

1. Honda originals at £160. These have metal inside the rubber grips and the temperature is adjustable.

2. After market grips £60. These have the normal wires to heat the hands and are also temperature adjustable.

3. After market grips £30. Heated by wires and non adjustable temperature. They are either on of off.

I would have liked the Honda ones but just couldn't bring myself to pay six times the cost of the cheapest ones, so I bought the £30 grips . I am very pleased with them, hands are kept warm as toast and what fantastic value for money.

John

Hi All , Thought it was time for an update from me

Have now owned the Deauville for about 2.5 months and clocked up 2500 miles .Half of this time riding two up . Most of my trips are from 10 miles to 150 miles with just a little town work . I tend to keep the bike in the three thousand to five thousand rev range when I'm riding and the odd push up to six thousand revs when accelerating ( Well its not a racing bike and havnt red lined it yet ) With this info in mind , I'm getting between 63 to 67 miles to the gallon......I have used the bike on all types of roads and surfaces and find it handles very well , it can suffer side wind problems on motorways but I don't think any worse than other bikes I've used or owned . I have had one mishap , where I lost my footing on a grass and gravel path and laid the bike on its side , but thanks to the side bumpers , no damage ... It's not a sports bike for sure, but you are missing out on the powerband, such as it is, by keeping it mostly under 5K. My bike pulls most strongly between 5K and 8K. I usually give it a blast up the hill from the M25 junction on the A41 on the way home, very satisfying to leave the cars as small dots in the mirror, but I was left standing once I'd got to 80mph by a Hornet the other day.

As regards services , I notice in the handbook Honda do not mention an oil change at 4000 miles / 6 months, but I have spoken to a couple of main dealers and they both recommend an oil and filter change at that time and also suggest using Castrol GPS 10w-40w motorcycle oil which is a semi synthetic oil costing approx £22 for 4ltrs ( The oil + filter was changed at 600 miles ( 1st service ) and then again at 2000 miles by me on my bike just to be sure of removing any unwanted bits .)

I fitted a Nuvo flip screen , tried it for half a day and took it off . I found it gave me to much drumming sound in the helmet also upset the handling and made me feel out of touch with the road and bike . So !! Buyer Beware!! as some screens are very expensive and are not much good if you do not get the desired result .. I'm about 5ft 11in and feel maybe a slightly lower screen than standard maybe the answer to cut wind noise . I find if I sit bolt upright and tilt my head back slightly the wind noise goes , but I cant hold the position for long , or maybe a change of helmet is the answer

Regards Edd

27/08/2000 From Stephen Graham (stephen.graham@scotland.com) [Scotland.com ? Well I suppose scotland.gb may be missing the point, and there doesn't seem to be an ISO country code for Scotland…]

My 2-year old Deauville has now past 14,000 miles. To date the only problem I've had was with the friction material on a set of rear pads coming away from the pads themselves - fixed by Honda under warranty.

I also did my longest single days run recently - Edinburgh to Liverpool and back, something like 450-500 miles all told. Coming over some of the winding roads in the borders I managed to completely empty the tank in only 132 miles (my lovely wife had to come and get me with a can of petrol) - I've had 200+ on touring runs to the Scottish islands and Ireland. Maybe the earlier 110 motorway cruise (that flip screen really works!) was part of the problem...

The bike is still going strong on it's second front and 3rd rear (2nd rear got a nail after less that 1000 miles) - I switched to Pirelli MTR23/24's, a massive improvement over the horrible Macadam M90X's. What's the improvement - more grip all round ?

I two up camping trip to the west coast with my 8-year old daughter indicated a need for more luggage capacity so an Oxford expanding tank-bag has added to the bikes load space.

It looks like my Deauville might be getting replaced soon however - I've got my eye on a BMW R1100S as a sportier (but still shaft drive) option. I've been wondering what I'd buy if/when I replace the DV, and the BMW R1100RS or 1150GS certainly appeal. I do wonder about the practicality of filtering round the M25 on one though. I did see a guy on an R1100S the other day, and it looked like hard work !

Cheers

Steve

26/08/2000 From Erik Jansen (teuropa@terra.es)

I was just reading a german magazine, it compares the Suzi sv650 with a modified Honda Hawk (the DV's predecessor): they made a pair of 705cc cylinders from the originals, but also commented that the 750 cylinders of the africa twin could be mounted VERY EASILY on the Hawk (=Deauville)...

Looking for tech facts on the internet without results...

I think many of you might be interested .... Let us know if you find any more information (maybe Eirik has a comment on this). However, I did notice from the figures in the back of one of the UK magazines that the Africa Twin is rated at 58bhp compared to the DV's 57, so not much difference in overall power. It's probably more torquey though.

Yours,

Erik Jansen

26/08/2000 From Ken P (kape0@aol.com)

I have a yk2 dv and would like to know if anyone has had trouble with their wife's feet interfering with their own? (I mean on the bike of course!) Yes, I've noticed this occasionally, but it's not a problem if I ride with my insteps on the footrests, rather than the balls of my feet.

Ps I'm working on a suitable fuel gauge - will keep you informed.

Regards, KenP

I have just bought the parts from my Honda dealer for the 8000 mile service:

Oil filter 7.70

Oil 11.87

Plugs x 4 7.32

Air filter 19.10

Discount - 4.60 (They now give me 10% on everything - but you need to ask)

VAT 7.24

Total £48.63

As there are no parts required for the 4000 mile service that means that two services have cost a total of £48.63. Compare that with the sort of dealer prices I've been reading about above and you save enough for a last minute holiday somewhere very hot! Of course you've got to add to that the one off costs of the Haynes manual (£18) and a good few tools (£80). This should get you a decent set of Halford's 3/8 drive sockets, a torque wrench (not from Halford's - too dear!) and a box of hex and star bits (luxury item). You will also need a couple of larger sockets with a half inch drive - but buy these as you need them. Most people have sockets anyway so the tools cost would only be if you had nothing at all. The only time I would not advocate DIY is if you have to work in the road. You must be off road and ideally in a garage.

Perhaps we could organise a Deauville servicing day up here in St Andrew's and we could all do it together. I've got a big place with huge (4 car garage) and loads of ground. If there was any interest we could probably put people up as well. St Andrews is a fair way from Herts where I live (actually it'd put on 15% of the service mileage just getting there and back!), so it's not practical for me, but others could contact you directly.

Just a thought.

John

I keep my Deauville garaged and it seems to have survived nearly 11 months of use largely unscathed. I gave it a good clean and polish yesterday and noted some slight pitting and corrosion on the exhaust outlets - slight scratching to the screen and front mudguard but otherwise the machine seems as good as new. If I say so myself it is in better nick than some second hand bikes I looked at last year and they had less mileage. I'm no mechanic and I really can't comment on the welding etc. but this is only obvious if you scrutinize the DV closely i.e. look behind the fairing - Mrs C thinks the DV is on of the nicest looking machines on the market and she's an artist. I suppose if we are honest if the DV was built to higher aesthetic standards i.e. made to look prettier under the skin it would end up being much dearer to buy.

The Deauville is approved for police use which I feel is a good recommendation on the machines generally reliability and practicality.

Patrick F Cray

I'm having a few days leave so I took the opportunity to change the fork oil for a heavier grade (20 Wt). This has improved the handling by greatly reducing the front forks from diving when the front brakes are applied.

A simple job for anyone with a workshop manual. I use the Haynes one for the Revere and 650 Twins to 96. Most of the information is the same as there is very little difference between these and the DV. The proper DV manual would be better but after waiting 3 months for it to arrive I gave up and bought this one.

On the question of Trophy vs Deauville, the things preferred about the Deauville are:

1. Handling - the Triumph was a bit top heavy.

2. Weight Distribution - Although weighing the same the Triumph was extremely heavy to get on its main stand and impossible to do with full panniers.

3. Fuel consumption - 63mpg vs 50mpg on a run.

4. Fairing pockets are very useful and instruments are very much better.

5. A drive shaft is so much better than a chain. I do not miss all that lubrication, cleaning and adjusting every 500 miles.

Things missed:

1. 100 bhp - however, I used to spend most of my time on the Triumph between 80-90mph, I still do on the DV - but the fantastic power rush when I want to really move is not there.

2. Build quality and finish. I heard that Honda was excellent and it normally is, but the Spanish build quality is much lower than other Hondas I've had. Nasty welds and poorer quality materials are no match for my Triumph which was six years old and like new.

John