NT1100A Extras October 2025
In April 2025 I traded in my Yamaha Tracer 900 GT for a Honda NT1100A. The A suffix denotes its the manual gear change variant rather than the Dual-Clutch Transmission variant with its automatic gear change, i.e. the NT1100DCT. It was sad to part with the Tracer. I had done a couple of high mileage European tours on it and it had served me well. However, I'd had it for 5 years and felt like it was time for a change. The NT1100 has been around for a few years now as the pre-2025 SC84 model. In 2025 Honda released the SC88 model of the NT1100 which made some improvements on the older SC84 model:
- Sharper styling with new colour options. It's subjective but I much prefer the new styling and the new colours over the old drab colours, particulary the blue I chose. The front indicators are now integrated with the headlights as opposed to being on stalks. The panniers are larger to allow a full faced helmet to be stored in them.
- The screen can now be adjusted on the move.
- Small increase in torque at a lower RPM, i.e. 112 Nm at 5,500 rpm versus 104 Nm at 6,000 rpm.
- A new six-axis Inertial Measurement Unit to refine traction control, ABS, suspension and DCT. (I believe for DCT it should alleviate the problem of being in the wrong gear when leant over on corners.)
A standard NT1100 is a well equipped tourer coming with large panniers (and liners), a centre stand, heated grips and cruise control. You could just go off and tour on it in standard trim. However, if you're like me, you'll be wanting to add a few extras as follows.
Puig Screen
I didn't test ride the NT1100 before I bought it which was a rookie mistake. I believed all the rave reviews it had been getting in the motorcycle media. Certainly, its touring specification was exactly what I was looking for. After taking delivery of it from the dealer, on the ride home I was worried I had made a big mistake. The height adjustable screen was set to its highest setting which being 6 foot 1 inch was about right for me. The ride home included a quick dash down a dual carriageway. I found that the wind buffeting coming off the standard screen was horrendous and made the bike unrideable at motorway speeds. To overcome this I had to lower the screen to no higher than one above its lowest setting. Only problem with this solution was that there was no wind protection for my shoukders and head. Not great for a tourer and I was surprised by how poor Honda's screen was. Maybe they only tested it with short guys? Certainly there are riders that seem get on with the standard sceen but there are also a fair number who don't. I probably wouldn't have bought the bike if I had had a test ride on it which would have been a shame. The first thing I tried was fitting a small deflector I bought for next to nothing from AliExpress to the top of the screen. This worked quite well but I'm not that keen on these deflectors. After researching the NT1100 forums for third party screen solutions, the Puig screen seemed to be the best way forward. And so it proved to be, the lightly smoked Puig screen transformed the bike and probably provides the best wind protection I've had on any bike. Now I have no problem with riding at motorway speeds with the visor up. I can't help but think that Honda may have lost some sales because of the standard screen? Apparently the screen on the pre 2025 NT100 (SC84 model) works fine so a bit of a step backwards.
SW Motech Crash Bars
I deliberated whether I wanted to fit crash bars to the NT1100 and for a while I thought not to but it only took one wobble while I was pushing the bike out of the garage to change my mind. There are a few options for a 2025 NT1100 including Heed, Hepco and Becker and SW Motech with Givi working on some (at the time). Heed and H&B make two sets of crash bars, upper and lower crash bars while SW Motech makes just the one set of crash bars. Fitting both upper and lower crash bars probably gives the best protection as it protects both the engine and fairing panels. The single set of crash bars from SW Motech protects the engine but it's likely the fairing panels would suffer some damage if the bike was dropped. However, I didn't like the look of the upper crash bars as it looked like scaffolding around the top of the bike. I did consider just fitting the lower crash bars but I thought they might foul access to the oil filter, etc. So I compromised and went for SW Motech crash bars accepting that they might not fully protect the bike in the event of a drop, I have to say that I'm happy with SW Motech crash bars because they're well made, a good fit and fairly unobtrusive when compared to the alternatives. Fitting the SW Motech crash bars was a bit fiddly as it involves adding a bracket to the frame stanchion that sits snuggly between the exhaust downpipes. (I understand from others that have done it that fitting one of the alternative crash bar options is not so straightforward.) The SW Motech instructions tell you to cut away the rear of the heel guards as the rear of a crash bar bolts to the subframe and interferes with the heel guard. I opted not to do this. I left the heel guards off and fitted some rubber caps over the swingarm ends instead.
The Rest
One of the improvements that Honda made over the previous SC84 model was to lengthen the drop of the front fender. I thought that would be sufficient to keep mud and crap off the radiator and the front of the engine. However, after completing a 320 mile trip in very wet and muddy conditions it became obvious that the standard fender needed help so I fitted a Pyramid fender extender.
Why do manufacturers sell bikes with uncomfortable seats? So they can sell you a comfortable seat. The NT1100 seat comes in two parts, rider and pillion. As I'm not likely to be taking pillions I only replaced the standard rider seat with a comfort seat when I bought the bike. Unfortunately (or deliberately) the comfort seats are styled very differently to the standard seats so having a comfort rider seat alongside a standard pillion seat didn't look great. Generously, my dealer threw in a pillion comfort seat for free for reasons I won't go into.
The NT1100 comes as standard with some decent panniers (even with liners) but not a topbox. Honda do offer a Voyage pack for the NT1100 which includes a topbox but I wasn't too keen on the look of it as I felt it made the NT1100 look like the poor relation of a Gold Wing. (Which it is but there's no need to highlight it.) I also have a very good Givi topbox which I wanted to use so I opted for a SW Motech rear rack plate with a Givi adapter. Very easy to fit and works well with my Givi topbox.
A radiator is an expensive thing to replace if something kicks up off the road and puts a hole in it so I fitted an Evotech Performance radiator. It wasn't the cheapest but it's well made, very light and very easy to fit.
I'm a fan of SW Motech products but they irked me a bit when they changed their tank ring connection system from ION to PRO. This meant that I couldn't reuse my ION tank bag as I couldn't get a compatible ION tank bag ring for a 2025 NT1100. All I could get was a PRO tank bag ring for a 2025 NT1100 which meant I had to buy a new PRO tank bag to go with it. Bit annoying.
When I came to wire up my faithful Garmin Zumo 390LM I discovered that the 2025 NT100 comes with a lithium-ion battery instead of the lead-acid battery on the old model. It's tiny and tucked away behind a token toolbox on the left side of the engine. I placed the Garmin mount on the handlebars and then thought about how I would thread the power cable behind the fairing panels from the mount to the battery. How difficult could it be to take the fairing panels off? The answer is very if you don't want to crack the fairing panels. It was very disappointing to find out that the fairing panels are designed to clip together using flimsy plastic extrusions. Nobody on the forum had dared to take the fairning panels off their bikes and I cowardly wasn't going to be the first. I did what others have done before me and pulled the power cable through behind the fairing panel without taking it off. Fiddly but it can be done. On my 20 year old Blackbird it's so simple to take the fairing panels off. I just hope the Honda mechanics are sympathetic when they come to do it! There is no space to locate the Garmin voltage box (that terminates the power lead) next to the battery so I then made up a fused lead running from the lithium-ion battery to under the seat where there is spacefor the Garmin voltage box and conected the two up. What a palava! The only upside is that without a big lead-acid battery under the seat there's space under the seat for my 12V tyre pump. (Hopefully the little battery is man enough to drive it.) The NT1100 starter motor doesn't sound that enthusiatic running off the little lithium-ion battery.
As alternative to crash bars I scoured the web for some 2025 NT1100 crash bungs. The only ones I could find were for the front and rear axles, and the exhaust. I fitted a crash bung on the exhaust rear mount which hopefully will protect the exhaust if needed. It was a bargain off AliExpress although I did replace the bolt it came with, with one of a better quality.
My first attempt at mounting my GoPro Hero4 Session didn't go well. I re-used my old Tracer mount and while accelerating hard my poor old Hero4 flew off. Fortunately I quickly noticed it had departed, turned around and found it at the side of the road. It had picked up a few dents and scratches but the tough little thing still works. For my second attempt, I attached a sturdy RAM mount to the crash bars and this works fine.
The Bike
I think I'm done with fitting extras to the NT1100. The most important extra for me is the Puig screen.
On the NT1100A itself, I must admit that after 5 years riding a Tracer 900 GT I was a bit underwhelmed by it when I first got it. It has grown on me since.
Pros
- It's very comfortable to ride. The seating position is good and, for a big twin, vibrations are almost absent (except when under hard acceleration).
- Nice big panniers with liners thrown in (although, unlike on the Tracer, the right one won't stand up on flat ground owing to the need for it to accommodate the exhaust.)
- Big understressed twin cylinder engine that feels like it will go on forever.
- Physically it's a big heavy bike but, unlike my old Varadero 1000, it doesn't feel like it's going to topple over at any second when I push it around. The weight seems lower down. The seat height makes it easy to plant my feet on the ground.
- Nice transmission with a progressive clutch and smooth gear changes. (Can't comment on DCT.)
- With a decent screen like Puig, great weather protection.
Cons
- I like to do routine maintenance on my bikes and Honda don't make this easy. There is nothing in the user manual that describes how to take the wheels off or do an oil change. There isn't even a description of how to adjust the drive chain. As for removing the plastics, that's a scary job. I guess this is the trend for bikes of all brands (except possibly Royal Enfield)?
- I'm not a quick rider so big power is not a concern for me. However, there are times when I miss the Tracer's extra zip. (113 BHP v 100 BHP.) Still, I've got a Blackbird!
- I've always liked inline multi cylinder bikes and, although I've had Varaderos, I'm finding a twin takes a bit of getting used to. The NT1100 is smooth but judders a bit when I open up the throttle. I miss the turbine smoothness and wail of a 3/4 cyclinder engine.
- I'm not convinced by the Lithium-Ion battery (had to buy a new charger). The starter motor lazily turns over the big twin. Expensive to replace.
Unfortunately, this year for various reasons, I didn't manage to tour Europe which is a shame because that's what I bought the NT110 for. I've no doubt that the NT1100 will be just the tool for the job when I do get around to touring Europe. With the Puig screen, the NT1100 is a nice bike to ride and, although I can't say I took to it at first, it has grown on me. I was very impressed with it when I did the Bikebusters rally in September of this year. The weather was terrible at times and it kept me dry. It gave me confidence on wet treacherous minor roads and was very comfortable. I did 320 hard miles that day and felt fine at the end which is all a man of my advanced years can wish for.