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- Whateversville
- Flerbizky
Though I'm pretty Green of heart, for some weird reason, I've always had a softspot for the NC30.. That little 400cc V4, the single sided swingarm, and IMHO, seriously good looks just makes this bike soooo sweet - and I have, on more than occasion, considered picking one up as a TD tool... I've never ridden one in real life though.. Anyway - I decided to toy around with it now that I had the opportunity in TT, and this is, by far, THE best bike in the game so far. The NC30 will slice corners and will, in the hands of the right rider, deal some nasty blows to newer and bigger bikes... If you haven't already, I highly recommend you give it a go !....
The part below the pictures is an old column I got from rec.uk.motorcycles many many moons ago... Very entertaining reading !...
The part below the pictures is an old column I got from rec.uk.motorcycles many many moons ago... Very entertaining reading !...
John WestlakeAll words copyright (c) John Westlake, RiDE Magazine/EMAP.
"THE first time a copper rode the Yamaha YZF-Rl, I'm willing to bet he
stopped half-a-mile down the road, phoned Fuzz Central and asked to speak
to the Chief Constable. "Don't worry about funding for this year, Sir,"
said our moustachioed friend. "I have discovered a potent new revenue
stream." I
The Rl has the potential to empty wallets and soil licences like no bike
before. Riding one is like wandering the streets with a hand held
bazooka.
Unless your name has the prefix Pope, sooner or later you'll point it at
something and let rip. Whether it's humbling so-called supercars, or
leaving the scene of a crap driver, eventually you give in and show just
what the Rl can do.
Accelerating from 70mph to over 120 in less than three seconds is just
too much fun to be legal.
And there's the rub. The Rl is brilliant but your licence is living on
borrowed time. It's not if, it's when.
So what can you do? Is there a bike that's more entertaining than the
Rl, but far less likely to get you put away? We think so. Ladies and
gentlemen, RIDE proudly presents quite possibly the most illuminating
test of the 21st Century - the Yamaha Rl versus the Honda VFR400R NC30.
My skepticism about this apparently mismatched test disappeared eight
minutes after riding the Honda NC30 along the same route I'd just taken
the Rl. And that says an awful lot about the little Honda. Because the
Yamaha was, as always, awe inspiring.
Most big bikes demand your full attention when you're accelerating, but
not quite in the same all-absorbing way of the Rl. When this thing gets
going, it demands the same kind of single-minded focus as a fast ride
down a wet mountain pass. Time to enjoy the view and the joys of the
open road? Forget it. Your entire being is focused on those parked cars
ahead that turn out to be doing 50mph.
You can embarrass your mate's new ZX-6R without troubling the last third
of the rev-counter. The Rl accelerates harder at 100mph in top than my
CBR600 does at 40. Glitch-free, endless power gets you to 120mph before
it clicks that your riding days could be over.
In an almost scientific test, a top of the range Honda sports car took
just under a mile of, er, autobahn to reach 130mph. The Rl was doing
that at the bottom of the slip road. If you've ever ridden an Rl, you'll
know exactly what I'm talking about. If not, you must get a go.
Accelerate hard with your weight hunched over the bars and the front
wheel skims the tarmac in the first three gears (it may also do it in
fourth for all I know, but the throttle always seemed to be making its
way backwards by then). As a result, the bars can shake violently if you
accelerate over bumps.
It's not the Rl's fault, it's just a fact. Brush a front wheel over some
ripples and the chances are it'll wobble.
This headshaking makes you think. My thought was generally: "Oh ****!"
Consequently, even on straights you're thinking hard about what your
right hand's up to on the throttle. If you're overtaking across lumpy
catseyes, you get even more thoughtful. The headshake never graduates to
tank-slapper territory, but definitely becomes less entertaining the
longer it continues.
As I said, it's not the fault of the Rl, just a fact. Put a brutally
powerful engine in a short, light bike and this is what it does.
What it also does is make you paranoid. When every glance at the speedo
reveals three-figure lunacy, you soon become aware that time is running
out. Gatsos, speed traps and Day-Glo Volvos are almost certainly hiding
behind every tree. It's all very well being able to humble a ZX-6R by
8000rpm but you're already looking at a long ban while wasting a third of
what the Rl can do.
"No problem," you say. "I'll use the lower gears and explore the mad bit
of the rev counter". At your flipping peril, matey. Treaded tyres, and
potholed, greasy tarmac are no match for the Rl's phenomenal torque,
however good the suspension might be.
That isn't to say that the Rl handles badly, you just need to stay in the
higher gears. Do this and the Rl feels like a burly 600, broad across
the shoulders, none too heavy and easy to steer.
After the massively potent brakes have hacked off huge chunks of speed,
you're just left with tipping it in and easing it out. Easing is an
important word for Rl riders. Throttle response is smooth and controlled
so it's not hard to feed in the power, but any cackhandedness will either
fire you out of the corner with the front wheel in the air, or send you
briskly to hospital. The Rl can be a bit too much for the road.
Enter the NC30. To be honest, I didn't think the 400cc NC30 could
compete. It's a toy and an old toy at that, with under half the Rl's
150bhp. Parked beside the Yamaha, the Honda looks dated, almost clumsy:
that bulky tail unit, the unfaired headlights, the skinny tank.
Next to the arrowhead aggression and cutting edge design of the Rl, even
the NC's beautiful single-sided swing-arm is looking a bit limp-wristed.
One thing the NC did not look, though, was shagged. Park a seven year-
old bike beside a new one and you'd expect it to look a bit tatty. Not
this one. Immaculate build quality of the bikes when new and minimal
Japanese market use mean many NCs are in unbelievable shape and still
showing fewer than 1 0,000 miles. You won't have to look too hard to
find one this good.
Get on board and the NC's timewarp feel continues. The throttle and
clutch actions are smooth and light, the brakes are firm and responsive
(our bike did have braided hoses, mind) and the suspension has that soft,
but controlled feeling you get from the very best sports bikes. The bars
seldom flap and when they do, it's fun, not fear. My CBR600 felt
woefully baggy and rattly in comparison.
And that engine. The V-four gurgles without complaining at 4000rpm and
will pull adequately from 6000. For a 400cc motor with a 14,500rpm,
60bhp top-end and naff-all
torque, this is no small achievement. Drop below 10,000rpm and the power
doesn't disappear like you'd imagine on a screamer. It drops, obviously,
but not by a 'Damn, bollocks, I look like a tit' amount. There's always
enough power to nudge you back towards the redline.
And the delivery is so smooth that even the most mechanically sympathetic
riders are bumping off the rev-limiter until they tune in to the motor's
wail.
But, and it is a big but, the NC is up against the mighty Rl - And good
though the little Honda is, how in hell can it compete with something as
cataclysmically powerful and dynamically brilliant as the Rl ? Off I went
to find out.
Eight minutes later, I knew the answer. The sneaky little bastard fights
back by turning scary unknown B roads into hormone pumping grin-fests.
Allow me to take you through a corner on both bikes and you'll
understand:
THE APPROACH
R1 -Your heart is pumping hard and you're gulping air into lungs
screaming for more oxygen. If you've been riding the bike fast every day
for more than a week, your condition has been brought on by the Rl's
acceleration from the last corner. Just holding on is like doing a
tortuously slow pull-up in PE.
If you haven't been out on the bike for a while, you are experiencing a
potent mixture of exhilaration and fear. Your lungs are empty because
you've forgotten to breathe.
Nothing should accelerate this fast.
NC30 - Tucked in behind the screen, your right forearm pointing almost
vertically downwards as you force the throttle against the stop. The
little V-four is buzzing at 14,000rpm towards its redline -again, and
you're wondering if the corner will arrive before fragments of red hot
con-rod start making bids for freedom.
THE BRAKES
RI - Forget all that 'last of the late brakers' nonsense. You brake early
and you brake hard. Bloody hard.
Misjudge your stopping distance on an aggressively accelerated Rl and you
won't just 'go in a bit hot', you'll 'go in, out, through a hedge, across
a field, past a copse, down a lane, through another hedge and into a
farmyard three counties away'.
Eventually you'll leave the braking later, but not by much. What's the
point of playing clever discs when you have a foolproof means of
cornering fast? (See Coming Out). The Rl's humungous engine torque means
even the tightest corner can be taken in third gear so don't overdo it
with the left foot.
Go too low and you'll spin the tyre on the way out.
NC30 - Everything's under control and you decide to do what little
braking is necessary just late enough to make you feel you haven't wussed
out, but early enough so you don't panic, haul on the stoppers and wipe
off too much speed.
Going in too slowly is all too common on the NC (even if you're still
doing 10mph more than the Rl), Frustrating, but at least you're in
control. Gear selection is critical. The NC's tall first gear will
nudge 60mph, so use second or third and let the exhaust conduct a
14,000rpm symphony. Too high a gear and the engine will bog as you put
the power down.
GOING IN
R1 - You're alive, but still not breathing. That's good. Thanks to the
Rl's superb brakes you're going quite slowly now and can concentrate on
preparations for the ceremonial lighting of the blue touch paper.
You push the bike down smoothly towards the apex, waggle your knee
optimistically at the deck and gently, ever-so-gently, roll on the
throttle to get the bike driving. As always, the Rl tracks a beautifully
controlled arc so you don't have to worry about all that steering
business.
You are looking at the exit while concentrating on what your right hand
is doing.
NC30 - You start to grin. This is where it gets good. You release the
final finger's worth of pressure on the brakes and slam the bike down
towards the apex in as dramatic a fashion as you can muster.
The NC slices along exactly the path you had in mind without complaint.
Fantastic. The feeling of mastery is overpowering. You are a god. You
wind on a bit of throttle to take up the slack in the drive-chain and
grin some more.
A most glorious knee-down is in prospect.
GOING OUT
R1 - This is it. The bike feels composed and is still tracking that arc.
You didn't quite get your knee-down but what the hell, that's not
important right now. As you skim past the apex your right hand slowly
winds open the throttle and feeds power to that mammoth lump of rubber at
the back.
Acceleration is seamless and there's no apparent squat from the rear, yet
the Rl is accelerating out of the corner at a ludicrous rate. You can
feel your backside sliding down the saddle, forced back by the relentless
acceleration.
You smile, half in relief, half in awe. Christ almighty. As the bike
comes upright you feel the front end lift. Another gear perhaps? Or a
long, low, sexy wheelie? Sod it. Let's do both.
NC30 - Yeehaah!!! You never knew you were this good. But you are. The
knee is down, the apex is where it should be, birds are singing and it
would be no surprise to find Elle Macpherson waiting in leather at the
next Little Chef.
The NC has somehow injected you with vast amounts of both
skill and confidence. As your knee lifts off you open the throttle fast.
The motor sets off for an urgent
appointment with 14,000rpm and you duck down behind the screen, your knee
still flapping in the wind. For a moment you believe you really are as
good as the
NC30 makes you look.
'WHY DOES THE NC30 FEEL SO DIFFERENT?'
Amazingly, the 400cc NC30 and 1000cc Rl have very similar physical
dimensions. Their steering geometry is all but identical, the NC is just
5kg lighter than the Rl and has a wheelbase that's just 5mm shorter.
So how come the Rl feels heavy tipping into corners compared to the light
and eager to please NC? The answer is the Rl's back tyre.
Containing the Rl's 150bhp requires a rear tyre with a big enough contact
patch to cope. Not forgetting that the rear tyre must be at least as big
as everyone else's, or the Rl rider will be regarded as a ponce.
Consequently, the rubber at the back is bloody massive - a full 190mm
across. Gruesome physics dictate that this is not what you need for
quick, light steering, which is why racers try and fit the narrowest
tyres they can get away with.
Ideally, you want something like 150-section rear, which is exactly what
the NC30 has."
I knew the lack of ZXR would be a bit of a problem for you. Just think, you could always ride the lovely, well made Dukes instead
.
