This is a cool and happy machine with a sound pedigree, John Wheeler reports.
The ancestry of Honda's NT 650V Deauville can be traced back to the Honda CX 500, a water-cooled, shaft-driven, V-twin which was in production from the late 1970s through to the late 1980s.
This was a machine, ahead of its time in many respects, which became a firm favourite with all-year-round, high-mileage riders. It was succeeded by the NTV 600, which quickly grew up to 650cc, another V-twin, which like the CX 500 became the machine of choice amongst professional riders.
The Deauville is, essentially, the NTV 650 - a well-proven machine - with bodywork, a fairing and integral panniers. The latest models now come with Honda's Combined Braking System (CBS). With this system the foot pedal operates the back brake and one of the six front brake pistons. The handbrake lever only operates the front brake.
At a glance it can easily be mistaken for the Honda Pan European. In many ways it's the little brother of the Pan European, half the engine size, and half the price.
Across most manufacturers' ranges, if you wanted a machine that gave more than minimal weather protection and came as standard with some luggage capacity, you were into the realms and cost of top-of-the-range machines.
Most day-in-day-out, all-year-round riders, have reached the stage where they need to carry some luggage and life on an unfaired machine, constantly exposed to rain, hail and suicidal insects has begun to pall. The Deauville is, at long last, a recognition that some protection from the elements and some luggage capacity are features which also help sell less high-priced machines.
In standard form the Honda Deauville has a low, "sports" style screen which, at legal speeds, does little more than deflect the wind blast from your crotch. The privately owned machine we tested has the optional extra "touring" screen which is a vast improvement. It also has the, again optional extra, fairing lowers which help keep the rider's feet warm and dry. In our view it would be a more attractive machine if these extras were standard.
The standard panniers, as on our test machine, are not too large but their capacity can be virtually doubled by fitting the, again optional extra, replacement lids. The test machine also has been fitted with heated hand grips.
That the Deauville is well-suited to all-year-round use by high mileage riders is evidenced by the fact that it has replaced the Kawasaki GT 500 with the Garda Siochána and is also being used by the Ambulance service. It has become a firm favourite with many riders, especially those faced with long-distance commuting.
This is a machine which is stable and easy to ride in city traffic and perfectly at home on country roads, national roads and motorways. Indeed, where the laws allow, it is perfectly happy to cruise all day at higher speeds. Riding a Deauville on the German autobahn it relished cruising at a steady 150 kph (93.75 mph).
The engine has excellent low down torque. The cable operated clutch was the lightest we have experienced for a long time. The gear ratios are well spaced. Instruments include an LCD clock. It is an easy machine to lift onto the centre stand.
Ridden hard, fuel consumption is around 51 mph, but in a mixture of Irish town and country riding the test machine is returning 61 mpg.
The seating position is very comfortable, everything positioned where it should be. Pillion comfort was declared better than most with credit being given for the sensible positioning of the passengers footrests.
We were disappointed to find that the gear change both up and down in the lower three gears was decidedly noisy. Not a terminal noise, indeed no worse than many another machines, but not what one expects from Mr Honda. Perhaps, in time - the test machine had only done 1,200 miles - it might become quieter?
The mirrors, on stalks mounted on the fairing, could be improved. In order to get a reasonable rearwards view one ends up with half the mirrors being taken up with a view of one's upper arms and elbows. If the mirror stalks were a mere 25 mm longer you would see more of the traffic and less of the rider!
Although the suspension coped very well with all normal surfaces, one particularly atrocious "washboard" section in the Wicklow mountains made it feel decidedly unhappy. In fairness, once you have left these shores behind, you would probably reach Calcutta without encountering anything as bad!
The Deauville is a machine which will happily do pretty much everything you ask it to do, and do it well. Add to that Honda's build quality and long term reliability and you have a thoroughly sound machine for all seasons.
Our thanks to Ciaran Byrne of Rathdrum, Co Wicklow, for the loan of his machine for this test.
TECHSPEC
ENGINE: 647cc liquid-cooled, 52 degree V-twin, four-stroke, 6-valve SOHC.
TRANSMISSION: five-speed gearbox, shaft drive.
POWER: 41K3 @ 7,750 rpm.
TORQUE: 41 ft lbs @ 6,250 rpm.
MAX SPEED: 115 mph.
WEIGHT: 228 kgs.
SEAT HEIGHT: 814mm.
FUEL CAPACITY: 19.5 litres.
CONSUMPTION: 61 mpg.
PRICE: €10,400 (as tested with higher screen, fairing lowers, alarm and heated grips).