Honda X-ADV 350 or 750

[KungFooBob]

I assumed the 350 was dead wee and nesh, but there's a slider thingy part way down this page where you can compare the 350 with the 750, they're pretty much the same size.

https://www.honda.co.uk/motorcycles/ran ... rview.html

[MyLittleStudPony]

I assumed the 350 was dead wee and nesh, but there's a slider thingy part way down this page where you can compare the 350 with the 750, they're pretty much the same size.

https://www.honda.co.uk/motorcycles/ran ... rview.html

They might have fiddled that to fool you up real good. I guess one could check via tyre / wheel size.

I wouldn't cognizance the 350 on principle; but I am pretty hard and street and cool.

[Nordboy]

They might be fun but after the novelty had worn off I think I'd be sat looking at it and wondering why I paid ten grand for a scooter.

That's because you've never tried one/ don't want one/ are UK conditioned against scooters.

You could say the same about pretty much anything? Watches? Old bikes? New bikes? Sports cars? etc etc etc Some of the latest sports bikes are £20k+, that for me is ridiculous money to spend on something that spends the majority of the time sat in the garage.
For some of us, the ££ spent on a scooter, makes total sense. My last two scooters have got far more use than my last two bikes, I now don't own any 'bikes', even though my scooter is classified as a motorcycle. The UK 'biker' just looks down on them as lower class. It's all good, horses for courses and all that.

[Mr. Dazzle]

When you actually consider the numbers any vehicle is a ridiculous amount of money to spend / poor value

Unless you're a cab driver or a an amazon delivery driver etc. your £££ vehicle spends 95-99% of its life stationary and switched off.

[Nordboy]

My commute is 10-12 miles and my xmax is absolutely ideal for that, saves me time through traffic (mainly in the evening), a fortune in fuel over my Jag (xmax is currently at 90mpg) and is a crap load more fun.

F400's 16 mile commute, even with an A road, which the 350 will happily run at 80+ if you needed it too is in ideal twist and go territory. I'm assuming F400 has some sort of secure'ish parking at the hotel?

[Taipan]

They might be fun but after the novelty had worn off I think I'd be sat looking at it and wondering why I paid ten grand for a scooter.

That's because you've never tried one/ don't want one/ are UK conditioned against scooters.

You could say the same about pretty much anything? Watches? Old bikes? New bikes? Sports cars? etc etc etc Some of the latest sports bikes are £20k+, that for me is ridiculous money to spend on something that spends the majority of the time sat in the garage.
For some of us, the ££ spent on a scooter, makes total sense. My last two scooters have got far more use than my last two bikes, I now don't own any 'bikes', even though my scooter is classified as a motorcycle. The UK 'biker' just looks down on them as lower class. It's all good, horses for courses and all that.

I know you're right, but I can't get my head around it.
A scooter FFS

If I had a commute then I'd probably be much more inclined towards one.

My cousin is a proper scooter girl, she has a couple of classic scooters and still rides with a big group of them, they've done it since they were teenagers and they're all well into their fifties now but they still go to all the events in their Mod/Skinhead/Northern Soul gear. I'd definitely get into that if I lived near to them, it looks like loads of fun, but that's more of a scene and the scooters are just part of it.

X-ADVs aren't a scooter at all. They are a motorbike with a DCT transmission which is as far apart from a CVT transmission as a manual one. Its like saying my Africa Twin is a scooter. DCT transmission is amazing and once you get your head around using it and using it will the flapppy paddles, well, switches, they are an absolute hoot.

[formula400]

I’ve had plenty of scooters in the past,
The 350 has CVT belt right and the 750 is DCT with a chain.

Also I was looking at the manual and it says for the 750 you should take it to a deal for adjusting. Plus a few posts on other forums suggest they don’t need much adjustment.

The toss up is a new 350 or a used 750 (7.5k is my top end of spending) anymore and I might as well get a panigale 899
Just messaged do me to arrange a test on a 350

[formula400]

1 thing about all the theft stuff, how will I lock it up, not sure if my almax will fit through the spokes on the wheels

[Nordboy]

1 thing about all the theft stuff, how will I lock it up, not sure if my almax will fit through the spokes on the wheels

Think the x-adv has proper spoked wheels which may be an issue for an almax, but i'm sure the adv 350 has cast wheels so you'd probably be able to get a lock through there?

[formula400]

If it won’t go through the wheel, where else could it go???
No wonder they get nicked

[Nordboy]

If it won’t go through the wheel, where else could it go???
No wonder they get nicked

Just had a look at my xmax in the garage, and I'm making the assumption that the set up is very similar. There is a traditional swingarm on the RHS of the bike behind the exhaust. On mine there is more than enough room for an Almax to go round that. In fact that's probably far better/ secure than it going through a wheel. Due to the slightly higher suspension on the ADV models, there may well be more accessibility to the swingarm as well? The LHS is where the engine and belt is so that's all covered up.

[MrLongbeard]

If it won’t go through the wheel, where else could it go???
No wonder they get nicked

That's the drawback of using a boat anchor chain for locking a bike up
I'm not overly concerned about theft with where I am and what the bike is, so went with locking it up thorough a fork.

2020-12-21_01-43-51 by MrLongbeard, on Flickr

[formula400]

Test ride on a 350 booked for Tuesday morning

[Scootabout]

Looking forward to your verdict.
Although I've not owned a scoot for 14 years I recently started visualising myself owning an X-ADV 750. The thought was prompted when the V85TT broke down and I was starting to hanker after Honda reliability. It seemed like the only scoot - if indeed, that's what it is - that would be suitable for the sort of pot-holed back-roads that my leisure rides seem to be on. I've parked the thought for the time being, partly because the Guzzi's working fine again, and partly because of taipan's and maccecht's (sp?) experiences with theft.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

They might be fun but after the novelty had worn off I think I'd be sat looking at it and wondering why I paid ten grand for a scooter.

That's because you've never tried one/ don't want one/ are UK conditioned against scooters.

You could say the same about pretty much anything? Watches? Old bikes? New bikes? Sports cars? etc etc etc Some of the latest sports bikes are £20k+, that for me is ridiculous money to spend on something that spends the majority of the time sat in the garage.
For some of us, the ££ spent on a scooter, makes total sense. My last two scooters have got far more use than my last two bikes, I now don't own any 'bikes', even though my scooter is classified as a motorcycle. The UK 'biker' just looks down on them as lower class. It's all good, horses for courses and all that.

I know you're right, but I can't get my head around it.
A scooter FFS

If I had a commute then I'd probably be much more inclined towards one.

My cousin is a proper scooter girl, she has a couple of classic scooters and still rides with a big group of them, they've done it since they were teenagers and they're all well into their fifties now but they still go to all the events in their Mod/Skinhead/Northern Soul gear. I'd definitely get into that if I lived near to them, it looks like loads of fun, but that's more of a scene and the scooters are just part of it.

My sister used to be into all tbat, I thought they were a bunch of racist bell ends.

[Count Steer]

My cousin is a proper scooter girl, she has a couple of classic scooters and still rides with a big group of them, they've done it since they were teenagers and they're all well into their fifties now but they still go to all the events in their Mod/Skinhead/Northern Soul gear. I'd definitely get into that if I lived near to them, it looks like loads of fun, but that's more of a scene and the scooters are just part of it.

My sister used to be into all tbat, I thought they were a bunch of racist bell ends.

They look like Mods, not the skinhead scooter boys that wear red Doc Martins and green flight jackets.
I don't know much about it but they go to all the scooter rallies and mod rallies, as well as Northern Soul "all-nighter" things and there is a mix of people at those.

Never saw a hint of racism, it seems more about a social scene, mods, soul music, etc, they were at the petrol station getting ready to go somewhere when I went to visit my mum one time, it was like I'd walked onto the set of Quadrophenia.

I actually was one first time around. (Lambretta, fishtail parka, centre-vent, made-to-measure suit and good brogues on Sundays etc). Hardly racists when the only music that we'd contemplate listening to was soul and it wasn't by by white people. There was an independent film on TV recently about the Northern Soul scene. It was set for a limited release but, due to demand, it was the most widely distributed and screened independent film in the UK ever iirc.

(Southern mods were a bit different. Quadrophenia didn't really chime with us 'northern' lot. Even they were regionally varied, the Twisted Wheel in Manchester and the Broken Wheel in Retford had different music and styles).

[formula400]

If and it’s a big “IF” I like this 350, can you haggle or negotiate when buying a new bike. Never bought a brand new one I don’t think.

[ChrisW]

If and it’s a big “IF” I like this 350, can you haggle or negotiate when buying a new bike. Never bought a brand new one I don’t think.

This time of the year, absolutely, most definitely!

Express an interest in some of the second hand stock and see what they offer on the new stuff.

[formula400]

Well, had my test ride. Not going to lie, I liked it. But I won’t be buying one.

Looks good and feels good, it’s quite big so not like sitting on a rubbish moped. I loved having my feet forward.

So handling was great, you could throw it into corners and have fun. I took it on a loop from Dobles to box hill to Epsom and back, some of the roads around box hill are how shall we say, riddled with holes, the ADV didn’t like them, some bumps it took quite well and others was horrible.

It Was quite quick, got to 60 in a descent time, but then you could hear and feel the engine getting to its limit. Yeah it will do a bit more but you can’t crack open the throttle at 65 and surge forward. It always felt lacking, it was quite underwhelming,

If it had more power I’d of bought it there and then.
I really want a go on a x-ADV 750 now, the bloke recons it’s more like a real bike engine wise. He did recommend a Africa twin DCT, but I think there out of my price range.

[Taipan]

The 750 X-ADV isnt an auto like the 350 is. Its a DCT, which means you get direct drive. If you test ride one use Sport mode as D mode is what put people off of DCTs, although, should you own one, you'll find it has it uses. Familiarise yourself with the downshift button, which is where the indicators are, and use it to quickly downshift for overtakes. You can crack the throttle open to do this but there is more lag when doing it this way.

I think all XADVs have 3 sport modes and they dictate throttle response and up/downshift times. Take the time to get to know the system and how to use it. Putting it in D mode and just pootling along with superquick upshifts will probably put you off. The 750 is the same engine as the NC750X and S and is very low revving and it may not be enough for you after the MT? The Africa Twin is a completely different animal altogether. It is quite quick and very responsive in S3 mode but its a big old girl and not the best for filtering.