2025 Honda NT1100 DCT Review

We’ve been after this bike for a few years now. Honda released the NT1100 in Europe in 2022, but as is so often the case with many leading manufacturers these days, it has taken three years for the model to arrive on American shores.

Europe gets three models: the base NT1100 with conventionally adjusted suspension and a standard manual gearbox; the base NT1100 with Honda’s dual-clutch transmission (DCT); and the NT1100 Electronic Suspension model, available only with the DCT.

Photography by Simon Cudby

As for what we get in the U.S. of A., it’s the base model selling for $11,899 with conventionally adjusted suspension and DCT only—no regular clutch and gearbox for you, sir, and no electronic suspension. But that’s not entirely a bad thing.

The NT1100 platform has been an absolute smash in Europe, rocketing to the top of the sport-touring sales charts on the back of an appealing MSRP and Honda’s renowned build quality, even if the overall design was a little vanilla.

Honda’s logic in bringing the NT to the USA was that between the NC750 and the Gold Wing, there was really nothing in between unless you wanted to hop on Honda’s stupendous Africa Twin, a physically large motorcycle and one that is perhaps not up everyone’s alley, especially if all you’re interested in is tarmac miles.

But that doesn’t mean the Africa Twin gets thrown out of the NT story just yet, because the NT is essentially an Africa Twin dressed in new clothes. Honda has fitted the NT with the Africa Twin’s 1084cc, eight-valve, parallel-twin motor from 2024, claimed to produce 100 horsepower at 7500 rpm and 82 lb-ft of torque at 5500 rpm, up a claimed five pound-feet over the engine that sat in the first-generation NT (that we subsequently didn’t get, so, whatever).

Throttle-by-wire and PGM-FI (programmed fuel injection) ensure smoother throttle response with reduced torque fluctuation. Intake improvements include larger 33mm airbox ducts (up from 25mm), extended 65mm intake trumpets and 46mm throttle bodies, creating a smoother airflow. ECU updates and new, steeper fuel-injector angles enhance combustion efficiency.

Bore and stroke remain the same as the Africa Twin at 92mm x 81.5mm, but the compression ratio increases to 10.5:1 via a reworked crankshaft, stronger con-rods with increased radius, and longer pistons with revised crowns. The engine retains Honda’s compact SOHC Unicam setup with lightweight aluminum sleeves, and the 270° crank spacing retains the Africa Twin’s low drone sound and feel.

Crankcases are horizontally split, with the water pump integrated into the clutch casing. A semi-dry sump system keeps engine height low, while twin balance shafts help neutralize vibrations.

The throttle-by-wire (I will call it ride-by-wire until the day I die, I swear) system features three preset riding modes: Urban, Rain and Tour, which cover both throttle response and engine braking.

Two user modes in the ECU allow you to set any combination of the preset modes, so if you want Urban’s middle setting for power delivery but also want the Rain mode’s reduced engine braking, you can have it. Tour’s full power and Urban’s engine brake? All yours.

But the part I was most interested in is the dual-clutch transmission. I remember riding the very first DCT-equipped motorcycle back in 2010, when the VFR1200 was introduced. At that early stage, there were very few riders willing to take up the DCT as a full-time option, but that’s changed significantly over the years, with Honda telling us that the spread is now about 70 to 30 in favor of the DCT when it’s been offered as an extra on the Africa Twin—that part properly stumped me.

In case you’re wondering (I was), just how the DCT works is as follows: the system utilizes two clutches—one for first, third and fifth gears, and the other for second, fourth and sixth. Each clutch has its own electro-hydraulic circuit, with one mainshaft nested inside the other for compact packaging.

For this year, Honda focused on two key upgrades. The first was smoother, low-speed control for riding situations like parking lots and U-turns, achieved by electronically estimating the clutch-piston oil pressure, which improved delicate clutch modulation that the previous system lacked.

The second point was that the NT1100’s shift schedule was refined to complement the stronger midrange torque of the new Africa Twin motor and IMU-based cornering detection. The DCT now holds gears longer during braking for smoother downshifts and optimizes upshifts for better response.

There are two modes for the DCT: Automatic (AT) and Manual (MT). The full-auto setup has preset shift patterns based on IMU input, speed, throttle input, gear position and rpm. If you’re riding in auto, you get the base AT D (Drive) mode for the best fuel efficiency and AT S (Sport) mode with three sportier shift levels for more aggressive riding. These modes also affect the amount of engine brake you get—the more aggressive the mode, the more engine brake you receive.

The manual mode allows you to change gears via the shift paddles on the left handlebar, much like in a Tiptronic car, and is the mode I admittedly spent the most time in, although even that had its surprises.

The Africa Twin is also responsible for the NT’s chassis, but it’s not entirely identical. The steel semi-double-cradle main frame is the same, but there’s a shorter wheelbase thanks to a different swingarm, a slightly steeper rake angle of 26.5° compared to the AT’s 27° for sharper tarmac steering, and a 1.5-inch lower seat height at 32.3 inches.

By keeping the MSRP below $12,000, Honda has fitted Showa suspension that can be adjusted only by way of preload, both front and rear. Dual four-piston Nissin front brake calipers grip 310mm discs with cornering ABS up front, while a single-piston caliper squeezes a 256mm disc at the back. Topping the hardware off are the 17-inch wheels wrapped in either Metzeler Roadtecs or Dunlop Sportmax tires—both are supplied as OEM equipment.

We had a couple of accessories fitted to our test bike, including the 32- and 33-liter side cases and inner bags, and these bumped the as-tested MSRP up to $13,258.10. But, hey, if you’re buying one of these, you’d be mad not to get the side cases with it at purchase.

Our ride took us from Costa Mesa in SoCal to Borrego Springs along a well-known road-testing route here at Cycle News, which provided us plenty of opportunities to explore every aspect of the NT’s handling.

Among the least surprising aspects was the performance of the NT’s Africa Twin motor, which we’ve ridden in one form or another about 7000 times at this publication. There are oodles of Japanese torquey noodles from 2000 rpm onwards, but they will start to run out once you exceed 6000 rpm. You’ve still got until 10,000 rpm on the dash before everything hits a brick wall, but this is not an engine to keep charged up in the higher-rev ranges. Surfing that beautiful curve from 3000-6000 rpm should be more than enough for most riders out there, as that’ll give you all the performance you really need.

The engine’s performance must be paired with that of the DCT. As the miles racked up, I spent a decent amount of time in each mode, with some surprising and unsurprising characteristics shining through.

In the auto Drive mode, you go from first to sixth gear super quickly, and the Honda seems to fall out of the torque range for on-tap acceleration. For freeway cruising, this is perfect, but general suburbia riding posed a bit of a problem.

Putting the DCT into the Sport mode helped this, as the engine would be allowed to rev longer and higher before the system grabbed another gear, and it also gave more engine braking to help pull the bike into the corner better (something Drive mode was lacking).

 

 

However, all the auto modes suffered from a distinct flat spot when you requested hard acceleration from a closed throttle, such as when pulling away from a stop sign quickly. This was something other testers also commented on, and the only solution was to switch to manual mode.

And, hallelujah, the manual mode is huge amounts of fun.

I love a good gearshift, and although the DCT allows you to focus more on the road and less on the shift, I love the engagement of grabbing gears at the right time. With the manual mode, this sensation is heightened because it feels almost like you’re playing a PlayStation as you fire gears at the NT via the paddles on the left handlebar.

Not only that, but the gearshifts are also incredibly precise. The chassis never gets upset if you throw another gear at it while you’re leaning over, and the rev on downshifts is oh-so-satisfying. So, for me, if I’m getting a DCT, I’m sticking to manual mode. But then, I’m old school.

The ride quality is good, but not perfect on the NT1100. The suspension action is not at the same level for some of the sportier machines in this category, but they also cost a lot more as well.

The base suspension settings are quite soft, so I adjusted the rear-end preload by two turns using the knob located under the seat. However, if you’re riding two-up, you may even want a heavier spring to keep the back of the bike balanced.

Get the balance somewhat right, and the NT is a lovely long-ride partner. Comfort from the wide and plush seat is miles better than something like the Kawasaki Versys 1100, and it should be for your passenger, too.

Honda has fitted Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, so pairing your phone should be a breeze for navigation, etc., but there’s a bit of a catch. You need to pair your headset to the bike, then pair your phone to the headset. It’s confusing, and often my headset would just drop out, and I’d get no music or navigation, which wasn’t a big deal given I was on a group ride, but if I were on my own, that could be annoying. As it stood, I was able to get it going again by turning everything off, unpairing it all, and repeating the process, but I wouldn’t want to do that too many times. You may not have this problem, but it’s something to be wary of.

These gremlins aside, I will look into my crystal ball and prophesize that the Honda NT1100 DCT will be quite the sales success over the next few years—so long as Honda stays competitive on pricing. At under $12K, this is a lot of bike for the money; at just over $13K as tested, that’s better than almost everyone and substantially less than their archrivals in blue, with the Tracer 9 GT going for $16,499.

It’s been a massive hit in Europe, so there’s no reason this country, with its masses of sport-touring goodness roads, will not follow suit.CN

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