Honda NT1100 / NT1100 SE (2025) - Technical Review

Since hitting the market in 2022 Honda’s Africa Twin-derived NT1100 has become Europe’s most popular sports-tourer – topping the charts last year and earning a set of noteworthy upgrades for 2025 including the introduction of a new NT1100 Electronic Suspension variant with Showa’s semi-active forks and shock.

To build a straight-up sports tourer on the basis of a dedicated adventure model like the Africa Twin might seem an odd direction to take, but the combination of the AT’s compact, lightweight steel chassis, punchy parallel twin and of course the optional dual-clutch transmission that pre-empted the recent rush to semi-autos from rival companies turned out to be ideal for the NT1100. The 2025 upgrades reflect the bike’s popularity and demands from customers: adding more luxury and tech, coming up to date with the latest emissions rules, and tweaking the styling while leaving the foundations of the NT’s successful formula unchanged.

Pros & Cons

2025 Honda NT1100 - Prices

Despite the updates for 2025 the standard NT1100 has no price increase from the 2024 version – remaining at £12,679 in base form, with DCT adding £1000 to that figure.

That puts it slap into the middle of a competitive sports-touring class that includes the Suzuki GSX-S1000GT, the 2025 Kawasaki Ninja 1100 SX and Yamaha Tracer 9, all with more cylinders and more performance than the Honda. But sales success can’t be argued with, and Honda claims the NT1100 outsold all other sports tourers throughout Europe in 2023, suggesting – probably correctly – that riders in this category are swayed by much more than mere speed.

Part of that appeal is the optional dual-clutch, semi-auto transmission. In the UK, sales are pretty evenly split between the DCT and the manual version, but none of Honda’s rivals have had a semi-auto option. That’s likely to change soon, with the Tracer 9 seemingly sure to be offered with the Y-AMT gearbox that’s already debuted on the closely-related MT-09, so Honda can’t rest on its laurels. BMW’s similar semi-auto is also predicted to be adopted across more models in future, including replacements for the R1250RS and R1250RT that might be considered rivals to the NT1100.

New for 2025 is the NT1100 DCT with Electronic Suspension, bringing fully-adjustable semi-active Showa forks and shock to the party. At £14,099 it might be the most expensive of the NT1100s, but it means the suspension upgrade only carries a £420 premium over the non-active DCT bike.

The bikes are due in dealers by January 2025.

2025 Honda NT1100 - Engine & Performance

The essence of the NT1100’s 1084cc, 270-degree parallel twin is unchanged going into 2025 but the introduction of new Euro5+ emissions regulations – which don’t make limits stricter but do add a requirement for emissions equipment to be monitored and to perform over an extended period of the bike’s lifespan – means upgrades have been made.

While the result for some engines is a reduction in performance, the opposite is true of the NT1100. With just over 100hp from 1084cc, the bike’s Africa Twin-derived engine isn’t highly stressed, making it relatively easy to claw back any losses that emissions rules introduce. Honda has upped the compression ratio from 10.1:1 to 10.5:1, added larger-diameter air intake ducts – 33mm instead of 25mm – and 65mm longer intake trumpets inside the airbox. A new oxygen sensor in the exhaust after the catalyst meets the Euro5+ rules about monitoring its performance, and misfire detection, also a Euro5+ requirement, is added.

The result is no change in the peak power, which remains 100.6bhp (75kW) and still peaks at 7500rpm, but torque rises from 77.7lbft (104Nm) to 82.6lbft (112Nm). As before, the torque peak is at just 6,250rpm, so you don’t have to work the engine any harder to access the increased grunt.

Another notable change comes on the electronics side of the powertrain, with the adoption – not before time – of a six-axis IMU that oversees the power output and engine braking as well as the HSTC traction control, wheelie control and ABS. The closely-related Africa Twin has had this kit for a while, so porting it across to the NT1100 is a logical move and adds an extra layer of peace of mind.

The IMU also ties into the DCT transmission, if you opt for the semi-auto version, to help time shifts better than before. The DCT itself has been reengineered to work better at low speed, particularly under 10km/h (6mph), with a revised clutch control system. This was one of the few issues BikeSocial had with the previous NT1100 we ran on long term test in 2022 - that bike felt clumsy making low-speed U-turns (for example). The DCT shift points have also been reprogrammed to suit the updated engine’s increased mid-range. Honda says it holds gears longer while braking and cooperates with the IMU to work out when you’re cornering.

As before, there are six speeds with fully-auto and semi-auto settings, the latter allowing manual shifts via bar-mounted controls. In auto, you can choose between ‘D’ – for best fuel consumption and smoothness – and three levels of the ‘S’ sport mode, which holds gears longer for more revs and performance.

Traditionalists, or buyers who want to save £1000, can still opt for the conventional six-speed manual, with bar-mounted clutch lever and foot-operated shifter, and do all that stuff themselves, of course.

2025 Honda NT1100 - Handling & Suspension (inc. Weight)

The new IMU is again a key element of the upgrades to the handling for 2025 – enabling cornering traction control and ABS for the first time on the NT1100, as well as rear lift control. For the standard bike, that’s the extent of the changes as it retains the same Showa 43mm forks, adjustable only for preload, and similarly-adjustable Showa monoshock at the rear.

When we ran our long term test NT1100 that lack of adjustability was a niggle rather than a problem, but it’s solved for 2025 with the new NT1100 Electronic Suspension model, which doesn’t just bring damping adjustment to the party but does it electronically and semi-actively, responding to bumps and changes in speed on the fly.

It’s the Showa EERA (Electronically Equipped Ride Adjustment) system that, like the IMU, appeared previously on the Africa Twin, and that IMU is one of the keys to its operation, along with a fork stroke sensor and speed sensor. Between them they allow the suspension to react and adjust compression or rebound damping in as little as 15 milliseconds. EERA also lets you adjust the rear preload on the move, with 24 steps to give a granular level of control over the system, and has three pre-defined modes – Urban, Tour and Rain – plus a user-defined mode that lets you set up your own choice of damping and preload settings.

The one proviso is that the NT1100 Electronic Suspension can, currently, only be specified with DCT. You can’t have a manual transmission and the high-end suspension.

Which spec you choose has a significant impact on weight. The base, manual bike comes in at 238kg, while DCT adds a full 10kg to the mass, bringing it to 248kg. The Electronic Suspension model is another kilo heavier, and since it’s on DCT only, weighs in at 249kg ready to ride. Panniers add another 12kg to each machine.

Other than the new cornering ABS electronics, the brakes are unchanged, with the same 310mm discs and four-pot radial calipers at the front, allied to a 256mm disc and one-piston caliper at the back.

While the frame is, like the engine, borrowed from the Africa Twin, the NT1100’s use of 17-inch wheels at each end, plus its own dedicated suspension setup, brings quite different geometry, with a 26.5-degree rake and 108mm of trail.

2025 Honda NT1100 - Comfort & Economy

While the NT1100 Electronic Suspension’s semi-active kit will make the biggest contribution to added comfort in the 2025 model year, there are other upgrades across both the Electronic Suspension and the standard NT1100 that promise improvement over the previous model.

The seat is redesigned, for a start, with 20% more area in the rear part of the rider’s section but remains narrow at the front so it’s no harder to reach the ground. Its height is unchanged at 820mm, which might still be a bit high for shorter riders.

The windscreen is new for 2025, too, with a redesigned adjustment mechanism that allows one-handed control while seated on the bike, where previously it was a two-handed job. There are five steps of movement, changing the height and angle of the screen across a range of 167mm, and it’s aided by upper and lower wind deflectors.

Less obviously, the front mudguard is 150mm longer than before, with a new splash extension to help keep water and mud away from the rider and the fairing.

Economy, at a claimed 56.5mpg, is around the same as the previous model. Coupled with a 20.4 litre tank, the theoretical range is around 250 miles.

2025 Honda NT1100 - Equipment

While not a radical change, the fairing is redesigned for the 2025 model year and now incorporates new LED projector headlights with indicators that are built into the DRLs – a feature that Honda introduced on the new X-ADV this year, mirroring tech used in cars but a first on two wheels. The old NT's headlights were disappointing for a bike with touring aspirations so these new lights are a welcome upgrade

Also following on from the X-ADV, parts of the new fairing are made from Durabio, a biodegradable plastic that’s made using plant-derived isosorbide. As well as a slimmer nose, the redesign includes a new tail section that’s sleeker than before.

The panniers – which remain a standard fitment - have been given 25mm deeper lids for 2025, resulting in a useful eight-litre increase of capacity with the 37 litres on the left and 36 litres on the right, each four litres larger than before.

A new lithium-ion battery is used, saving 2.5kg compared to the previous lead-acid version, but the overall weight of the bike is unchanged.

Elsewhere, the equipment matches the previous version, with a 6.5in TFT dash and connectivity via Bluetooth including Apple Carplay and Android Auto.

Optional extras include a quickshifter and auto-blipper for the manual model, in case you want some of the convenience of the DCT without going the whole hog, and some new visual options including two decorative sticker kits and aluminium cosmetic panels for the luggage. Buyers can also choose between two options packs to extend the bike’s abilities. The Urban pack adds a 50-litre top case, colour-matched to the bike, and an alarm, while the Voyage pack includes the top case, a 4.5-litre tank bag, ‘comfort’ seats for both rider and pillion, ‘comfort’ pillion footrests, and fog lights.

2025 Honda NT1100 - Rivals

The NT1100 is facing an increasingly strong set of rivals, and the competition is likely to get even fiercer in 2025 with updated machines expected from Kawasaki – in the form of a larger-engined Ninja 1100 SX – and Yamaha, which is likely to adopt its Y-AMT auto transmission as an option on the Tracer 9.

Kawaski Ninja 1000 SX (2024) | Price: £12,149

Read more

Power/Torque

140bhp / 81.9lb-ft

Weight

235kg

Yamaha Tracer 9 GT+ (2024) | Price: £15,016

Read more

Power/Torque

117.3bhp / 68.6lb-ft

Weight

223kg

Suzuki GSX-S1000GT (2024) | Price: £12,799

Read more

Power/Torque

149.9bhp / 78.2lb-ft

Weight

226kg

2025 Honda NT1100 -Verdict

Honda has made pretty much all the changes that we would have liked to see based on our time with the 2022 NT1100. The addition of a six-axis IMU and electronic suspension adjustment will grab headlines, but the changes to screen adjustment and low-speed DCT behaviour will be more noticeable day-to-day. We're really looking forward to geting some miles on this bike on our favourite roads to deliver a more detailed verdict.

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2025 Honda NT1100 - Technical Specification

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