HONDA NTV650 Deauville (1988 - 1997) Review

Year: 1994

Have owned an old NTV with 150+k miles on the clock for the last 8 years. Must be the best bike I've ever owned in 50 years and I've had a lot of bikes from a Honda c90 to a BMWk1200s. The engine still runs superbly and uses no oil. Very tatty now so I've donated it to my son and just picked up another NTV in immaculate condition.... £650........... with just 20k on the clock. Seller knocked £800 off the price as he was off to Cyprus to live and the bike had been unused for while and would only run with the choke on............. held the throttle open wide for a couple of minutes and the problem went. It's so pristine I'm going to have to keep it clean. These bikes are so comfy, handle well, totally reliable, fast enough to get banned, fun to ride.

Version: The £300 scruffy sort, that's mechanically sound.

Year: 1994

Annual servicing cost: £50

Very reliable, easy to ride and work on. V-Twin engine is a beauty. Got character: worth a test ride.

Buying experience: Private, off a mate who owned it for 15 years and rode it to work. Hence the 65k mileage, and regular servicing/ maintenance.

Version: NTV600 Revere

Year: 1988

Annual servicing cost: £120

Reliable, comfortable, economical, I feel very safe riding it and it looks good. Best features are, shaft drive, single sided swinging arm, comfortable seat and Strong, quality build. I would prefer more traditional handlebars that swept back a bit more for a more upright riding position and a modern instrument panel with clock and sat nav would be great. had bike for 15 years and can't find anything better for urban use.

Buying experience: Bought very cheap second hand privately from a motor mechanic who kept it in top condition, cost £650 15 years ago., and still worth the same today or more.

Year: 1997

First proper bike for me, this has taken all the abuse a young man can throw at it, clutch ups, lived outside, poor servicing, but it still seems to love me. Such a rewarding bike to ride, and learn on. There’s nothing quite like beating a couple of sports bikes round some bends on a bike nearly as old as you are. Only negatives are it’s performance at motorway speeds, with numb hands and singing up in the Rev range in fifth gear

Buying experience: Private, £1000 for a solid bike with some corrosion

Year: 1996

Bought this bike as a winter hack and am totally bowled over by its quality, reliability and character. All elements combine beautifully to make a proper bikers bike. Engine not too frenetic and has adequate power. Chassis provides excellent neutral handling. Brakes good enough for the job at hand. This was Honda at their peak in the 90’s.

Buying experience: Private for £700

Year: 1996

I would recommend an NTV to anybody who wanted a bike to ride and enjoy.

Buying experience: Privately, £450 for the beast, no MOT, half an hour later, MOT and one nice NTV back on the road. My ER5 had been at my so called friend's (the mechanic's) lock up for nigh on two months. Prognosis was not good, it was drinking petrol, eating oil, so I got another engine (£30 that cost) to swap over, he would have to change over the ignition and generator as the breaker had stripped those off. But the engine was turning freely and with a little cosseting would have fired up. Two months had gone past and no transplant, so we told him to put the old engine back in and we would collect it. Two weeks go past no word. Now this son of a female canine had sold a bike we had loaned him (and put the V5 into his name to make it easier for him to get insurance on) to pay off some of his debts when he went bankrupt. He owes me as I could have had him done for theft. We took his assurance that the bike was ready to go as being good and went and picked up the ER5. It smelled of petrol but we just sloshed some more in the tank and I rode off. Used a gallon doing 21 miles... Next morning I discover that he had not tightened the fuel lines, so I did those up. At this point I had given up on the ER5 and we had found another bike, 120 miles away near Southend! The ER5, with MOT, spare engine and spare CDI unit was sold to a breaker. Well an interesting ride over complete with engine cutting out a few times on the 19 mile journey ensured that my love of the ER was kicked to the can. We offloaded it, the spare key, the spare engine and CDI, picked up the cash, signed the V5 over on the yellow slip and bogged off quickly. As we got back in the car my wife received a text from my so called bloody friend to say he did not think he had done the rear axle up! I let him know what I thought of him. We had looked at the replacement a few days before, the guy was being mucked about by a buyer on ebay something rotten, first it was OK without an MOT then he wanted an MOT, despite the ad clearly saying NO MOT! It was on a buy it now, so we asked the guy what he would take, he said £450, so we left him with a £100 deposit and he pulled the lot raising two fingers to Rabbie Roy north of the border. Then the other half went down with the heaviest cold out. Now we had seen this blue paragon of motorcycling and heard it running, initial inspection looked good, despite the last MOT being in 2011! Arrangements were made for an MOT station to test this beast and we went down to Essex to get it. The M11 is not a road of excitement! Well we rock up and start the bike, clouds of white smoke everywhere. Now it was not doing this when it was last run, we saw it, it was started from cold and started normally. But it was not oily smoke, the engine sounded healthy so with the agreement that if the MOT went belly up then we could leave the bike with him and get a van. Rode through the streets of Leigh on Sea like 007! The DB5 smoke cloud generator was doing well. Down Cricketfield Lane to Lester's. I pronounced my scepticism of the likelihood of it passing. Left him with the keys and went away for half an hour. Now the guy had refurbished the bike, new BT45s front and rear, new brake lever, it was nice and tidy and worked well, just with more smoke than a terminal nicotine fiend. Well I walked back to Lester's and surprise sur flaming prise, not even a ruddy advisory! Apparently the smoke was dying down, it had reduced through the test, just a temp glitch or half a gallon of car shampoo down the exhaust sort of thing, there you go £29 please! Paid, paid the road fund license and with a stunned feeling walked back to the bike. Let she who must be obeyed know that I would not be in the car on the way back. Pulled the helmets and the gloves on and started her up. Trailing the other half on the mainly dual carriageways back to the M11 I was trying to indicate to my wife that it might be an idea to pull over to slop the gallon of petrol we had bought with us in, the bike was running on main, but I am not going to take chances of running out of fuel on the M11. We went past 4 fecking laybys, me flashing the headlight, indicating, gesticulating and she was just cruising up the road, thankfully we made it into the fifth layby, where the bike was given a top up of new fuel. His full tank was about two thirds empty! Well on the way home the beast behaved itself admirably, only kicked out of gear once, was far more composed over roads, and handled like a dream, a dream!

Year: 1996

From 6000 rpm on up this quality machine reveals just why it has become a true cult moto-psyche-el. A forgiving badass.

Year: 1994

Annual servicing cost: £120

Great choice for an old guy returning to bikes after 36 years

Buying experience: Bought this from a client who is a keen biker. It had a genuine 7000 miles on it and looked brand new having been many years in a private collection, on show to the public. Was re-commissioned in 2013, serviced and fitted with new tyres. The guy I bought it from had several other bikes and found it a bit small for his stature. I was looking for a 535 Virago but he suggested this instead and I feel I made the right decision. I will be looking for a 80-90 HP tourer next but plan to keep this for my wife. Paid £1,600, which I thought reasonable as condition superb. Getting around 62 mpg, on mostly A roads, trying not to exceed speed limit by more than 10 MPH

Year: 1993

Annual servicing cost: £20

If you want a bike to impress your mates with, or want arm-wrenching power- look elsewhere. If you want a road bike that actually works as transport as well as being endearing and entertaining, have a look at one of these.

As the title suggests, if you see an NTV with high mileage don't be put off! I recently bought my neighbours old bike off him and it has 151,000 YES 151,000 miles. Considering most of these are commuter/courier bikes and thus are a source someones income although weathered on the outside they are probably well looked after. I brought mine as a hack to work and back as upcoming roadworks/traffic and fuel costs tempted me to buy it. As other reviews have stated 50+mpg is easy on one of these. In real money that mean £18 will get you 200ish miles before you flick to reserve. As for the ride, although a little tired everything is still there and if it aint been replaced once its been replaced twice. Very good brakes although the front on mine is a little week, a gearbox from a Combine Harvester requires technique to shift quickly but as MCN stated its built to last! its begging for a 6th gear as 80mph = 5,000rpm in 5th. The Engine is rock solid with smooth power right up to the r'line and has a little induction roar to boot too! For Commuting and filtering its superb, its far easier then my 1998 Firestorm. So to wrap it up... the NTV will never be able to step to a Bandit6 or Hornet in terms of out-an-out ability, (i had a Bandit6 as my first bike). However New to biking...want a V Twin... can't yet afford an SV, try one you'll be suprised. Insurance is cheap too i'm 22 and pay £250 with euro cover + breakdown + ride any bike. But most importantly it will take anything you can throw at it + you don't see many on the hard shoulder awaitng the revoery men! Safe biking!

The NTV650 is part of a bike family that includes the Revere, the Bros 650/400, and the US Hawk GT (essentially the Bros 650; very popular in the US as a base for modifications). They're some of the best-handling, best-made bikes ever to come out of the Honda stable; probably neglected a little at the time because they weren't cheap, but then quality isn't -- single-sided swingarm, beautiful cast wheels, twin-spark, 3-valve cylinders, lovely stainless exhaust system (especially the 'stubby' one on the Broses), and a chassis that has a lot in common with Honda's 1980s two-stroke racers. Find any of these bikes in good nick, keep on top of maintenance (though to be honest it's easy) and you'll have a bike that'll make you very happy for a long time.

my ntv is a 1996 with 73000 on the clock i use it every day,starts first time and runs lovely,i get about 210 miles before i have to swich on reserve,if i get another bike it will have to be a ntv650 01-05.i buy my bike on ebay for £551,just pure luck.

A reliable dependable Honda with "character" complete with shaft drive housed in a single sided swinging arm which makes rear wheel removal easy. "character" = good engine sound; just enough engine vibration for you to notice; gearbox design by Honda's agricultural machinery division; decent sized fuel tank and fuel economy to give a good range; 57bhp & a "flat" 38ftlbs torque output, OK off the mark but runs out of steam and gears too soon. Can Honda san design me a modern styled 1000cc version using a tuned for touring/economy/torquey VTR motor, and a similar single sided shaft drive rear? NOT the latest derivative automatic 700cc plastic fantastic Honda DNA!

great fun to ride, power when needed, great as my hack & touring bike

I've ridden a couple of NTV650s, but prefer my smaller, alloy framed, chain driven version. Plus points: amazing reliability (I've completed 119,000 km on it since 1996, and have replaced: Fuel Pump, front and rear discs (the front's are very large and eventually warp, either standard or EBC). Currently running ABE front disc. Oh, and the petrol tank rusted through on the right hand side, which I repaired with putty. Rear fairing has cracks in it, which don't appear to be getting worse. Minus points: the chain is out of line with the swing arm which makes adjusting slightly tricky, and requires a special tool. Some of the nuts and bolts are rusting a bit, but this bike is 20 years old and lives on the street. Goes onto reserve wit little warning, which can cause the occasional stall at traffic lights. Equipment a bit spartan; have added Daytona heated grips which are ace. Handling is very good (not quite on par with my old NC30), but very precise and forgiving. The motor is fun, and breathes through K&Ns, dynojet and Supertrapp exhaust, which gives it a rorty note and enables the bike to fire away from junctions faster than almost any other bike on my daily commute. As a pillion bike it's a little cramped, though we made it out to the Czech republic two up in 1996. Overall, fun bike to own, and I look forward to clocking up 100,000 miles in a couple of years. Humbug