After more then a decade on the European market Honda is finally bringing the Deauville to the land of the free. It will be known as the NT700V here but what's in a name?

By all accounts it's 60 HP v-twin doesn't produce tons of excitement but that's not the point. This isn't a "Hyper-Sports Tourer". It's not intended to play in the same sandbox as the FJR and C-14. It's a practical bike which is just fine. Not everyone needs enough torque to spin the globe. I would happily trade some of the FJR's might for spectacular gas mileage. I haven't seen fuel economy numbers on the new NT yet. I would expect to see something in the high 50s or low 60s when ridden sedately.

Where else can you get a fuel injected shaftie with an ABS option and integrated hard bags in a 560 lbs package for $11,000? Sure the BMW F800ST weighs 100 lbs less, makes 15 more ponies and has a 6th gear. It also has a full compliment of BMW accessories available to it. It's not shaft driven but the belt doesn't have to be lubed every 300 miles either. What's that? The BMW must be more expensive you say? It is more expensive by about 12% with factory bags. Then there's Honda's own Silver Wing for $8999 with ABS. It stacks up to the NT pretty well if you can get over the whole scooter thing. That's based on sticker price of course. We'll see what happens next year. A left over NT700V with ABS for say, $9500 could be a heck of a bargain.

I've always admired the Deauville. It looks like a fantastic commuter/grocery getter/one-up tourer. I think we could use more of those here. The problem is that Americans don't seem to want to buy them. I applaud Honda for having the stones to bring this bike to the U.S. but I'm afraid that they may have missed the mark on the price. Time will tell.