Honda Deauville (1998-current)

having bought the bike jan 2008 with 1,800 miles on the clock on a 57 plate and have now covered 6,800miles,the bike has been fantastic have read all the reports of people complaining of the consumption but i take mine out a couple of times a week for a run of about 40 miles plus use it a couple of times again to town of 5 to 6 miles and the bike is excellent on fuel averaging 58mpg.when I take it with me to France on a trailer I covered last summer 1,400 miles with me and the wife on it and the shopping most times and was still doing 50+,solo I did a long run in the south of france and got the best mpg to date of 62 mpg.this is actual mpg not what the computer is saying.It has been superb up to now and the wife who does not really like bikes loves it as it is so confortable

Bought my Deauville new on a 58'plate & use it for occasional commuting & leasure riding. Like- torquey V twin, big fuel tank, soft ride, riding position, reliability, good headlight, good weather protection, easy adjustable screen, maintenance free shaft drive, good pillion comfort, get a white bash hat & look like a cop. Dislike- rubbish ground clearance compared to chassis ability, top heavy & weighs as much as a narrow boat, chrome finish.. sorry, rust finish on gear lever, alloy wheels blow bubbles, engine unuseable below 2000 rpm due to rattles, badly needs a sixth gear.

Bought an NT700 with ABS in September 08 and have since clocked up 12k kms. I/m back on bikes for the first time in xx years!! And enjoying it. I use the bike mainly for commuting to work (80k round trip daily) on motorway and dual-carriage way - so I have square tyres!! I ride in all weather and the protection is second to none. Got rear-ended in January while stopped at a red-light (driver had dropped mobile phone!!). I survived and the Deauville is back on the road. Would eventually like to move up to the ST but for now, I can't recommend the Deauville hight enough. Sure there are more powerful, quicker bikes out there. The Deauville is a bit of a compromise but trust me - you won't regret it!

I decided to go back to a Deauville, but this time get the NT700 with ABS. In between Deauvilles I had CBF1000, which is also a good bike. I got this Deauville last October 2008 and have since clocked up over 5K miles. I just think its brilliant and so stable. I use it all the year round, in country side, urban locations and the occasional 300 mile round trip. I highly recommend this bike as a commuter bike for weekend use too. Great for nervous pillions too.

Got my first 700abs in 07 and completed 22,000 miles in 12 months throughout the winter. Competent communter/tourer. Runs well on Michelin P2s 8k miles back tyre double that front mixed roads. MPG improves after about 15k miles averaging 60+. Slight buzz in the bars particularly the accelerator at about cruising speed 60 mph - numb hand after an hour or so. Panniers a pain as they're fixed to the bike and often the release mechanism fails - removalable boxes would be great. A variable height screen would be nice too. This bike written off as I was rear-ended by a volvo. Got a GTR1400 but after 5 months too expensive to run on tyres 3k only and points just too easy to accumulate - autobahn cruiser really. Got No. 2 a couple of weeks ago and realised I missed the old one so, much lighter to filter in the traffic and the GTR only did 35 mpg tops and a bugger to handle around town, so easy to drop. The 700 was kicked over once and only the plastic cover of the crash bar needed replaced at £6. I heard of a GTR owner having to pay over £1200 to repair his bike having lost his footing! Keep an eye on the alloy and chrome, does not stand up well over the winter months. Overall though, a grand bike for what it is.

Owned my 08 NT700A Deauville for 7 months now. Covered 4K miles in all weather without any problem. Used almost exclusively for a 50 mile round trip commute, 90% of which is on the Motorway. The motorway i use is one of the busiest in europe and is regularly congested. The Deauville is excellent in heavy traffic. Slim enough to get in and out of traffic without problem. Cruises at an indicated 85 - 90mph without any problem and still returns approx 50mpg. Insurance this year £95 comp (with 9 points on my licence). It is very comfortable and has excellent weather protection. Came with a Honda winter kit (heated grips, top box and big panniers) which is good as it is used all year round. Only minus is handling can get a little flighty at high speed (probably the top box) but not to the point of feeling problematical. If you NEED a bike for work that is comfortable, economical, cheap to insure, with no chain to lube and has great weather protection this is the one. If you just want something to go fast on a sunday and look good parked on the pub car park this aint for you. Horses for courses i suppose.

Honda have produced a real touring machine. Having got the ABS model in March 2008 from a very short list of bikes you know built in lougage, shaft drive, big enough and powerful enough for two, low running costs and from a name you can trust and o yes I wanted all this for under £7000. So the Deauville was the only one on the list. In June took the Bike over the pond to France and fell in love with the bike all over again. I Knew I had got the right Bike for me and the Mrs but France just blew me away. 385 miles in one day and did not even feel it. The overall trip covered 2000 miles at an average of 60 mpg. Thats fully loaded TWO UP at a constant 60 to 80 mph (130 KPH) perfectly leagal on the French Motorways. It was not all sunshine we had some very heavy showers and wind but the Deauville just tok it all in its stride. As for power 3rd gear power range is from 30 to 70 when you reach max torch. This gives rapid mid range acceleration for overtaking on A roads. Also where I live is surrounded by some well know hills which the Deauville just laughs at and again TWO UP. The only thing better than the Deauville is proberbly its big brother The Pan or may be the BMW R1200RT however are they £6000 better than the Deauville is the question I would ask.

I am a novice (having come back to bikes recently after some X years) and had a 650 Deauville (04) for a few months that I used on my daily 60 mile each way commute. The commute includes A roads (some dual carriageway), B roads and filtering through traffic. On paper the bike seemed perfect but I had some difficulties with this machine: 1. It was not good in the 20-25mph winds which are very common around Cambridge. In stronger winds it really didn't feel safe. 2. It is rather tall, heavy and wide. You don't notice until you are either riding around roundabouts or filtering in traffic at slow speed. 3. I found it quite buzzy. Even at 60mph there was quite a buzz through the bars . 4. A petrol gauge would have been useful and I found it hard to believe that the machine didn't have fuel injection (The 700 now has this I believe). On the positive side the construction is excellent, I was getting about 55-60mpg (not thrashing it but keeping up with the traffic), the seat is really comfy, the shaft drive is really useful and at 40-70 mph it is easy to ride all day (in still conditions). For reference I have replaced it with an ER6F and this is much better in areas 1-3 - see seperate comments.

4200 miles in 7 months. Overall I am very happy with my decision to swap my Hornet for the Deauville. On long journeys it is excellent - fast, comfy, great handling and carries loads of kit (for when I take it to North Wales mountaineering). But on my 12 mile daily commute to London it is average. Size is not a problem, but a fuel consumption (38mpg) and 1st and 2nd gear are. The first two gears are too high meaning slipping the clutch on low speed riding (walking pace / stationary traffic filtering) and either revving hard in 1st or bogging problems in 2nd at 20-25mph. I didn't really notice this until a courier (and ex-DV650 rider asked me about 2nd gear - which he said was poor on the 650). The panniers worried me before I got the bike - would they be too wide for commuting? - but the front is the wide part. Get that through a gap and the rear will follow. I have a top box too and it gives me loads of luggage space. I can't understand why everyone one doesn't need a top box (if you actually use the bike rather than keep it for the occasional ride). Fuel consumption is really poor - I got 46 mpg from my Hornet on the same runs. I think that 38 mpg is really poor when Honda boasted the DV700 was really good on fuel. On a run to Wales I get aroun 60-65 mpg when taking it easy or 55 if I am in a hurry. Both 5-10mpg worse than my Hornet - though the pain in the rear (litterally) on the Hornet trip makes the DV much better. What I like - tank range of 140 miles commuting or 200 miles touring is good. Comfort is wonderful - I am getting older and my knees are not great. I love the twin engine feel too - I don't like the sewing machine feel of a straight four (V4s are great too though). The screen is great (though 10 minutes to change position is stupid). Up it gives great weather protection, down the bike looks like a sports tourer not a tourer (so I have it up in winter and down in summer). Handling is very good for a bike of this weight and size, especially when the bends flow rather than are really tight. I bought the DV in preference to a BMW F80ST, which I guess says how highly I rate it (I tested both for two hours on the same day, so this was not a whim). I really wanted to buy the BMW before I started, but the DV was much the better all round bike.

Duaville 2007 model around 2 months old. I’ve had my duaville for less than a thousand miles now (aprx 900 miles) and find it extremely gassy I only get around town between 120 miles to 140 miles to a full tank of fuel. On a run it is a bit better at around 170, over all I’m very disappointed with the bikes fuel consumption. I’m not a hard rider and the bike has only ever been above 4 thousand revs about 3 times. The engine pulls perfect and sounds good as it should for a new bike but for some reason it seems to use way more fuel than the MCN review suggests these bikes use, in fact this is the most fuel inefficient bike I have ever ridden and my first fuel injected bike. I bought this bike based on the reports I had read about how good they are on fuel and how reliable they were. I also note that the 2007 model has the main lights permanently fixed in the on position which I’m sure will nock out the electrics in no time at all. On top of this I have noted that some people that have bought the 2007 version don’t seem to keep them to long, I wonder could the reason be the high fuel consumption or is my bike unique? If anyone could offer any ideas as to why the 2007 duaville uses so much fuel it would be much appreciated as I say the bike runs perfect but drinks like a fish.