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NC750X dct snatching gears, badly


Guest Girth

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Guest Girth

Hi all,


New to the forum and the NC750x, wondering if anyone else has experienced similar issue and what the resolution was?


Picked the bike 19th of June, my CB500s finally gave up the ghost and needed a new commuter, had the first service 1st July everything was fine, well better than fine, it was and hopefully will be an absolute joy to ride.

 

Come this Monday on the way home, it started to snatch gears, like dumping a clutch before its fully engaged, and by Tuesday it had got more noticeable in every gear change up and down

 

Popped into the local Honda dealer ship Wednesday, they agreed it was bad and reset the dct ecu. Being it works on oil pressure and going from a mineral to a thicker synthetic oil will change load points etc... Was back to how it was, had a loverly ride home.

 

Now come the yesterday morning, left the house and its snatching again, maybe as it's not fully warmed up (did idol for a good 2 minuets before setting off). Got to a roundabout about a mile away, had to pull out fairly quickly due to traffic, so the change from 1st to 2nd happened when cranked over a little and higher rpm than Drive mode would normally shift, it dumped the clutch so bad the back wheel skipped a good couple of inches over the back stuff. If it was wet, I expect I would have had an off. Then it snatched all the way to work. I'll be limping it home tonight the slow long way without too many corners.

 

Reported straight away to local dealer, who raised a 'ticket' on the Honda support portal, got back to me today, saying they need to do some tests and fill out a report, send it back, then wait to see what Honda recommend as they have already reset the gearbox. Then I will have to go back again, to hopefully 'fix' it.

 

Has anyone else had this kind of issue with the DCT box where the ecu reset didn't fix it? What sort of parts were involved? Was it a long drawn out process?

 

Needless to say after 18 days of ownership, I will not be using it for it's intended purpose of commuting till this is resolved, back to good old pubic transport.

 

Cheers

Garth

 

 

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You mean you want to go against 25 years of Internet tradition??  

What utter incompetence on the part of the tech, or more likely deliberate bullshit.  He must think you are stupid to try that ridiculous 'S1' argument - how rude it that?  F***ing wanker.  

Codswallop! Utter tosh! You want to know about reliability ask a roadside patrolman (in whatever colour uniform you choose) they will 100% tell you you're talking out of your arse.

Rocker66

Hi Garth welcome to the forum. As a manual rider I can't help with your DCT issues but there are plenty of knowledgeable people on here who will be able to advise you. Hope you get it sorted soon.

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Tex

Hi Garth, welcome aboard. I'm so sorry to hear your new bike has let you down. DCT problems are very rare and I certainly can't help in that respect, but have you talked to your dealer about a loan bike until yours is fixed?

 

Such a problem at just 18 days old really isn't good enough. You bought it because you need reliable transportation - and that's what you should have. 

 

Good luck! 

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Guest Girth

Hi all,

 

Thanks for the replies,

 

To be honest I haven't touched on a loan bike at the moment, and being less than 30 days old there is consideration of rejecting the bike. Hence wondering if anyone else had experienced anything similar and how long the resolution took.

 

Thanks

Garth

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rjp996

I have two DCT bikes and ridden a few more as loan / demo's and fortunately not come across this type of issue.

I'm unsure how much control the Honda mechanics have of the DCT, however on one of my cars the dealer was able to alter the clutch engagement 'slip / speed of engagement' that softened the take up - personally I like the clutch as it was, but it was my wife's car so....

I hope the find the issue for you as it sounds uncommon, but very frustrating one a new bike purchase..

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SteveThackery

You must reject it.  

Have they used the wrong oil?  It is essential to use the correct viscosity oil, and it must be an oil suitable for wet clutches.  The DCT takes into account the oil temperature (and thus viscosity) when operating the clutches, so if the oil is not of the expected viscosity it won't work.  Thicker oil causes the symptoms you have described.

 

So, give them a chance to fix it if they've used the wrong oil.  If it's still no good after that, it must be rejected.

 

Now, one last thing: my own DCT has a slightly jerky clutch engagement when starting off from cold, but it is nothing like you have described and never causes a problem.  After half a mile or so it's as smooth as silk.  So even with the correct oil, you may be able to notice a slight difference in clutch engagement.  But slight.

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Guest aldmannie

Have you checked the drive chain tension?

Sounds like they've used the wrong oil to me, you mentioned the dealer had said "going from a mineral to a thicker synthetic oil"

This set alarm bells off in my head, its almost as if the dealer doesn't have a clue....

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Guest Girth

My first point of call was chain tension, but it was set spot on. I also got the dealer to double check the oil level and chain tension on Wednesday.

 

I should have been clearer, the first service was done by Honda, so I really, really hope they used the correct oil. I was chatting with the technician and he mentioned the mineral oil they come shipped with is pretty much like water when warm, and the oil they put in at first service is thicker, and he reckons that is what caused the issue.

 

 

 

 

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Tex

Don't like the sound of this 'thick oil' business. Sounds more like a 'thick mechanic' to me! You need to find out exactly what they put in there. And if it's not 100% to specification then they have serious explaining to do.

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alhendo1

I don't have a dct and am new to the forum but if they've added too much oil would that make a difference?

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Tonyj

Fwiw I've had x 4 dct in various form and the only jerky take up was caused by a failing chain/ bearing combo . The change points can go off due to its programming but can be restored with a reset . You sound savvy enough to know if the throttle take up is correct . If this is a new bike then back it . There is loads out there that don't exhibit these dramas and to be honest if my work bike did this I'd get shot straight away . I commute mine and I can't think of a better choice for my needs other then a big scoot , but these are a bit of a hot potato in London at the moment. 

The snatchy throttle response is on my crosstourer  which is a pia but livable.no problems in 70k mile combined on all bikes . I know this doesn't help with this one but was more to restore confidence in the tech really . Hope they can resolve easily or back it

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horobags

Yes, I think the tech is talking bollox, I'm on my 3rd new DCT and from day one to after the first service the gear change hasn't changed on any of them. Is it a new bike??? if so I would hope the' thick oil' mechanic didn't do the PDI, if he did , there may lye the problem.

 There is defo something wrong that needs fixing, I just hope its not put you off the NC DCT.?

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Guest Girth

Just like to say thanks for all the responses, this seems like a thriving online community.

 

If I go down the rejection route, it will be for a replacement rather than refund, out of the 5 bikes I test rode, the NC750x dct won hands down. It makes commuting so much easier.

 

Just really annoyed that I've been unlucky

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2 hours ago, Girth said:

 

...the first service was done by Honda, ... I was chatting with the technician and he mentioned the mineral oil they come shipped with is pretty much like water when warm, and the oil they put in at first service is thicker, and he reckons that is what caused the issue.

 

 

 

 

This is EXACTLY what I experienced during my first service... word for word!

 

Technician then put 15W40 Honda Mineral oil. While good when it is "cold" (temperatures in Malta hover around 27 degrees C) it is s**t when warm probably due to it being mineral and not even part/semi synthetic. I will go for 10w-40 full synthetic after the two-year guarantee expires.

 

Cannot comment on DCT issues since mine is an XA and so it may not be so fussy about oil viscosity.

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Taipan

I'd reject that bike and have it replaced. If its been clunking, slipping, grabbing  and generally banging its transmission about, its longevity may well be compromised. 

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SteveThackery
39 minutes ago, wendeg said:

I will go for 10w-40 full synthetic after the two-year guarantee expires.

 

 

But don't do that if you have a DCT!

 

At least, not a 2016-on model (I don't know about the earlier ones).  The manual is clear: 10W-30.

 

The DCT is designed to "expect" that oil viscosity - 10W-40 is thicker than the DCT is expecting, so should/might cause jerky clutch engagement.

 

By the way, in my view there's no way this could be a chain tension issue.  Not when the symptoms are so severe that you actually lost traction due to the jerky gearchange.

Edited by SteveThackery
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Guest bonekicker

I still find it fascinating that dealers mostly never  sort these problems out--just why could they not--drain the engine oil--and put some correct oil in and try the bike again--and if it's ok--just admit that the so called bike tech as made yet another silly mistake ??? or is that too simple?? :frantics:

 

 

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Rocker66
3 minutes ago, bonekicker said:

I still find it fascinating that dealers mostly never  sort these problems out--just why could they not--drain the engine oil--and put some correct oil in and try the bike again--and if it's ok--just admit that the so called bike tech as made yet another silly mistake ??? or is that too simple?? :frantics:

 

 

Maybe they did as it was OK on Gareth'ride home. It may have been somebody's mistake or maybe it is just a technical fault. I think it is too early to lay the blame at anybody's door until more is known about what is causing the problem. 

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Guest Girth

Well it was fine for about 20 miles, the ride home after the service, and it was fine for about the same distance after the reset on dct ecu.

 

To me it seems something mechanical and/or electrical.

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Rocker66

I would be very inclined to ask for a replacement and put it in writing. Meanwhile I think your dealer should supply you with a loan bike whilst the problem is being investigated.. If it is a problem that hasn't occurred before it could take a while to locate the cause.

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Rocker66
23 minutes ago, phantom309 said:

 chain tension? would be my first thing as had it with my old one.. 

It would appear Girth has already checked that and it is spot on.

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Guest bonekicker

No it is happening time and time again--new bikes not even PDI-ed or serviced properly and we are paying good money for this bad service--they are Honda trained staff-- we all read these posts--how many potential Honda bike owners are put of buying--quite a few I would think--Honda is going from ultra reliable--to--not so reliable--especially a long running series of bikes like the NC range. :frantics:

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Rocker66
2 hours ago, bonekicker said:

No it is happening time and time again--new bikes not even PDI-ed or serviced properly and we are paying good money for this bad service--they are Honda trained staff-- we all read these posts--how many potential Honda bike owners are put of buying--quite a few I would think--Honda is going from ultra reliable--to--not so reliable--especially a long running series of bikes like the NC range. :frantics:

Then go to a dealer where you get good service. It seems from posts on here that there are plenty out there. The bad ones would soon disappear if everybody did that rather than just moan all time.I'm sure other makers dealers have their problems as well.   It seems many people want to pay as little as possible and yet still expect top class  services.

If I was as unhappy with Honda as you always appear to be I would buy something else.

Edited by Rocker66
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Guest aldmannie
4 hours ago, bonekicker said:

Honda is going from ultra reliable--to--not so reliable--especially a long running series of bikes like the NC range. :frantics:

 

Honda reliability is like Volkswagen's, a myth created by the marketing department.

 

Honda have a long history of rushing new bike models to market before they're fully tested and letting new owners do the final testing.

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