Here’s a quirky one. This particular bike is being sold in the United Kingdom and I doubt very much that you’re going to travel to get it. Heck, I doubt there are that many people in the UK who are willing to travel for it.
Still, there’s something alluring about an old NTV 600. They’re bulletproof. Produced from 1988-1992, they were never sold in the United States. In engine and design notes, the NTV600 was similar to the NT650/Hawk GT that existed at about the same time, but the NTV600 was more boring. I mean, uh, practical.
Driven by a 583cc 52° V-twin that promised a mind-blowing 50 horsepower, this shaft-driven, 443-lbs. workhorse did the standing quarter mile in 13.29 seconds. It reportedly had a top speed of 182 km/h (113 mph), but you obviously needed a lot of time and space to get there. The NTV600 ultimately served as the foundation for the NT650V Deauville, and NT700V Deauville after that. I think those bikes were sold in North America, but if you’ve never heard of them, you can get a sense of what they were from the nickname by which they were known in the UK: Dullville.
This is a commuting platform: Honda at its mind-numbingly reliable best. And, as I say, there’s something alluring about that. Or, at least, admirable. Despite the name, it’s not a bike to be revered, necessarily, but respected. It will still be running after all of us are gone. With 31,680 miles on the clock (that’s nothing for these bikes), this NTV600 is for sale for £1,395 (I’ll bet you could talk them down) in Ormskirk, England, here on AutoTrader Bikes.