The Best Overall Bike There Is

From cruisers to crotch rockets, I`ve had bikes bigger and smaller than this one, and the Honda NTV650 is my favorite among them all. I lucked out stumbling upon it for sale locally several years ago, as I`m American and these bikes were never sold here. Since then I`ve racked up enough kilometers to see all that this Honda has going for it.

Whenever I get a used vehicle, I perform all the maintenance on it right away to ensure long and reliable service, and this bike was no exception. I replaced all the fluids, the plugs, the filters, various bits of missing plastic and rubber, and anything else that needed it. I also added a handful of upgrades like a throttle lock, windshield, braided steel front brake line, high quality convex mirrors, LED signals and an LED headlight. Since then I`ve enjoyed problem-free riding for thousands of kilometers.

My NTV650 has 80,000 km on her so far and is mostly original parts. I have other supplies to perform more services, but she hasn`t shown any signs of needing them yet. Nothing on this bike has failed me, I`ve never been left stranded anywhere, and nothing about this bike shows any signs of giving up on me soon. Other bikes with far fewer miles have given me problems while this bike has served me well and asked nothing more of me than basic maintenance. 

She`s cheap to ride, easily averaging over 50 MPG. I can get 60 MPG if I`m light on the throttle. She`s got a 5 gallon tank giving me a range of just over 250 miles on one fill-up. She`s not the fastest on two wheels, but she`s got plenty of torque above 2500 rpm. I`ve found she doesn`t like cruising at low RPMs, but she`s efficient at every speed so I don`t worry about revs for the sake of fuel economy while riding.

She`s fun to ride, capable of carving up the corners with the super sports. She`s also easy to ride, being very forgiving of little mistakes that might get you tossed off a more powerful bike. The NTV650 is perfect for someone like me who can`t seem to ride a 100+ HP beast with consistent sensibility. She`s fast enough for thrills, but not dangerously overpowered. What I think makes the NTV650 the best overall bike is the unbeatable practicality. Simple, efficient, affordable, reliable, and very low maintenance. Those are the features I prefer in any vehicle, and Honda knows how to deliver.

When it comes to working on the NTV650, I have to turn to international sellers on a popular auction site to get parts and supplies, but I`ve found them relatively abundant and affordable. Whenever something does need replacing, it won`t cost me more than any domestic market bike would to repair. Thanks to the naked design, this bike is quite easy to work on with nearly everything readily accessible. The few scheduled services that are more involved, like a valve adjustment, only require the removal of the tank and air box. I haven`t needed any exotic tools to perform all the work on her, and still use a good bit of her included tool kit to this day.

When it comes to looks, in my humble opinion, the style of the NTV650 is timeless. I love that the exposed top of the rear cylinder is visible underneath the gas tank. I love the view of the engine unobstructed by plastic. I`m not too keen on the length of the muffler, earlier year models had a shorter (and apparently louder) design that showed off the single sided swing arm better. I really enjoy the single sided swing arm, as rear wheel alignment is a non-issue. I`ve also not seen such design choices in anything but higher-end motorcycles. I`m also fond of the technical aspects of the design, it`s overall simplicity and the absence of computers and complex circuitry. I think there`s something to be said for having a vehicle that could shrug off an EMP blast with a bump start.

This bike has been very good to me. I love everything about it! If I ever sell her, it will be to get out of riding for good, as I could never replace her. If you`re so fortunate as to come across an NTV650 (or a Revere or Deauville - same bike, different names) for sale, I highly recommend you pick it up!