Honda NT1100 Tourer (2022 - ) review

If you fancy a slightly drab-looking ‘do-it-all-bike’ with a difference, the new NT1100 is almost brilliant. Being effectively a CRF1100 Africa Twin adventure bike but with road wheels and touring bodywork makes the NT an almost inspired, bigger, modern interpretation of Honda’s old, mocked, but actually very worthy NT650 Deauville. Being a slim twin means its lighter and more manageable than most four-cylinder tourers. Being a 101bhp 1100 (with Honda’s semi-automatic DCT option) means its tractable yet with enough punch to entertain and, being a Honda, that means it looks OK, its ‘ergos’ are comfortable and natural, and it’s also decently built and specced with modes, TFT, adjustable screen and more. And yet… there’s also too many slight annoyances to ignore. The twin display dash is confounding; the screen is impossible to adjust on the move; the switchgear is neither comfortable nor intuitive and the tank range is disappointingly small…

Honda historically are better than most when it comes to comfortable, natural, well designed riding positions, especially with its sports-tourer and touring machines, and the new NT1100 is the latest example. Sizable yet slim; upright yet well protected by the screen and with bars and pegs positioned ‘just so’ (at least for this 6’2” test rider) we could find little to criticize as both a long-distance machine yet also one capable of cutting through city traffic at journey’s end – although if you’re doing the latter, we’d recommend removing the panniers and just using the optional top box instead. Yes, the adjustable windscreen is annoying and it’s still quite tall and awkward occasionally, but the NT’s far more versatile than most multi-cylinder tourers.

Bikes don’t get much more practical in terms of pure transport if they can combine long distance and commuting functions and by doing just that the NT is temptingly versatile. Long distance motorway miles in comfort with luggage? Check. Upright and slim enough to slice through congested city street? Check again. And you can add to that Honda’s option of its semi-automatic ‘DCT’ (Dual Clutch Transmission) which effectively turns it into a sophisticated twist ‘n’ go scooter. In fact, in that sense, the DCT NT’s closest rivals are probably super scooters such as Yamaha’s TMAX and Honda’s own Forza 750…

On face value the NT’s a street 1100 boasting ‘just’ 101bhp, which sounds a little underwhelming compared to smaller sports-tourers such as the three-cylinder 117bhp Yamaha Tracer 900 and 110bhp MV Turismo Veloce 800, not to mention Kawasaki’s 140bhp Ninja 1000 SX four, but that’s somewhat missing the point. As with the old 650 Deauville, the NT1100’s a more mature, sober tourer than those and with enough grunt to squirt past cars, fire easily up to 80mph+ and yet cruise in a relaxing manner all day long, perhaps with the cruise control on, its performance actually seems well-suited. The NT’s braking performance isn’t particularly remarkable, either, but with twin 310mm discs up front grasped by Nissin four-piston radial calipers assisted by ABS they’re more than up to the job, certainly for this kind of bike.

The NT1100 is a tourer with the emphasis on rider comfort and a plush ride rather than a sports-tourer such as the Tracer or Ninja 1000 and its handling and ride deliver as such. Friendly, comfortable and relatively soft while at the same time being quite tall all adds up to the NT1100 being no sports bike but it’s stable at speed, nicely balanced overall, not particularly top heavy and pleasingly nimble around town. On top of that, the suspension is decent quality offering a refined, progressive ride and it’s all pleasing to swing gently along country roads – just don’t try to ‘scratch’ too hard.

It’s early days so it’s difficult to be certain but we don’t expect any horror stories here. At £11-12K the NT1100’s reasonably priced and Honda’s residuals are better than many anyway. The relatively soft performance should ensure insurance premiums aren’t too painful and the Africa Twin-derived motor should return high 50s when it comes to mpg – or better than other big multi-cylinder tourers such as BMW’s K1600. (It is worth pointing out here, however, that the NT’s 20.4-litre fuel tank did indicate it was alarmingly low as early as 150 miles, which is a bit disappointing for a tourer). Nor should the NT’s hunger for consumables such as tyres and brake pads be alarming – it’s simply not in its nature. That all said, however, it could be slightly better, most conspicuously as there’s chain wear to factor in – if ever a bike was crying out for shaft drive, the NT surely is it (although we do appreciate that was impossible given its Africa Twin parentage…)

Again, prospective owners should have little to worry about here. Not only is the NT1100 a Honda, who has some of the best reliability and quality in motorcycling, it’s also mechanically based on the proven Africa Twin which has now been around since 2016 and has been continuously updated and refined ever since without any major problems. Even the NT’s twin. Screen dash and switchgear are essentially the same as its adventure bike cousin. Yes, there are new elements, most obviously the bodywork, and, yes, we do have to be cautious, but there’s little to cause any concern.

As with all larger Hondas, the NT1100 comes as standard with a two-year, unlimited mileage, manufacturer backed warranty covering all parts and labour. Servicing, meanwhile, as it’s based on the Africa Twin, is identical to its adventure bike cousin in requiring a standard 600-mile oil and filter first service followed by interim services every 8000 miles and major valve check/adjustment services every 16,000miles.

In standard trim there’s no doubt the NT1100 is well-equipped. You get 65 litres of panniers (33 litres left, 32 right), although neither are big enough to hold a full-face helmet, centre stand, adjustable screen, cruise control, two wo chargers, five stage heated grips, five rider modes (three pre-set and two custom), adjustable torque and wheelie control, the list goes on. On the slight downside, some of that isn’t quite as good as it could have been. The adjustable screen is awkward; the two-screen LCD and TFT dash is confusing and duplicates itself and the left-hand switch block is awkward and non-intuitive. There’s also lots of optional extra ‘packs’. We’re sure you’ll get used to it all over time but at a first ‘taster’ there’s a lot to work out!

The NT1100 has a lot going for it and, as a capable, effective, novel take on a tourer/commuter should have a lot of appeal – being neither as imposing and expensive as, say, BMW’s R1250RT nor as soul-less and unrewarding as a maxi-scooter. As a bigger, more modern successor to the NT650/700 Deauville, it’s a welcome addition to the market (Or am I just getting old?)