HIGH-MILES HEROES

Celebrating the people and bikes that go the distance

SEAT

“I fitted a Corbin seat, which cost about £600 and to be honest I’m very disappointed with it. It’s better than Honda’s OE seat but still not as comfortable as I was expecting it to be for that price.”

SHOCK

“I swapped the OE shock for a Wilbers unit almost straight away as the preload is easy to adjust for a heavy load. The lower needle bearing was always seizing up though and after four years the shaft snapped, so I now use secondhand OE shocks.”

SERVICING

“I always service the NC bang on its 8000-mile intervals, which is a simple job. Even the valve clearances, which need checking every 16,000 miles, are easy-toadjust ‘nut and screw’ style.”

WHEEL BEARINGS

“The wheel bearings tend to last just 25,000 miles. The rear is the worst as the bearing is quite a loose fit, so I Loctite it in place and even knurl up the inside with a punch so it holds it in better.”

TYRES

“I used to run Pirelli Scorpion II tyres but now use Michelin

Road 5s as the Pirelli rear lasted about 8000 miles whereas the Michelin will do 15,000. The Pirelli is better in the wet mind.”

SPEEDO

“The first year of the NC750 models had a fault with the speedo, which were replaced under warranty by Honda. The bike never stopped but the display played up a bit.”

FUEL PUMP

“The NC started to stutter a bit in hot weather a few months ago and so I replaced the fuel pump, whose lines had basically started to collapse. It was an easy fix and cured the issue.”

ECONOMY

“In summer I get 70-80mpg but this drops in winter to 60mpg. That’s mainly cruising at 4000rpm at just under 80mph on the motorway.”