Honda CTX
 

I did it today. Put down a deposit on a new black 2014 Honda CTX 700 naked model. I will likely pick it up in a few weeks when the weather is better.
It is likely the cheapest new bike that is freeway capable. Looking forward to spring weather and sunshine on my visor.
Recently Honda dropped the price in Canada and the U.S. to unheard of levels. Poor sales? Who knows and I don't care. New bikes are hard to come by at a decent acceptable price. If it wasn't for the wonderful taxes>:( we pay up North I would feel like I won a lottery.
I know I said I would give the old Honda 650 Silver Wing a shot on the road but it just doesn't do it for me. When I sit on it, it just doesn't feel right.
The CTX is not near as high and top heavy as the Wing. I am also weaker at 70 years young.
Time to dust off the new Shoei Multitec helmet I have never worn.

Congrats W.W. I knew you'd be back in the saddle!!! :)

Sounds like you have some fun riding to look forward to. Enjoy and be safe.

Thanks guys. It's time to move on with my life and a new bike is good therapy.

Anyone in the BC lower mainland looking for an old Honda? Somewhat motivated to make room for the new bike. Make me a deal I don't understand and it's yours.

Having spent the last couple days wandering through the CTX700 forum(after joining up) I am pleased to say the folks there are my kind of people. Just like the GZ forum. It doesn't appear to have any screwballs or nut cases on site. Just like here, there are some very knowledgeable folks with a desire to ride and tend to there bikes in a proper fashion. I'm happy and satisfied, just like here. Nuff said.

Mind you, that just reminded me of the screwballs and nutters we used to have on the old forum. E.R. for one, (you'll know who I mean) Remember - he had to be banned. I agree, it's much more peaceful now. :tup:

Heh heh. ER is still around on another forum. He is a bit better and not so snarly as he was before. Near as I can figure retired life and a new location did wonders for him. Also, I think the other site trimmed his horns a bit too. He is generally much more civil. It is so strange(to me anyway) that a person can be a PITA online and yet be so personable as folks have mention after meeting him.

Getting back to the new bike. A friend is going to ride it back here for me when the weather allows in a few weeks. I haven't ridden in 3.5 years now and my skills are surely not up to dealing with Vancouver traffic. He is a safe experienced rider who I can trust with a bike or my Ranger for that matter. Also his opinion of riding the bike will be a bonus. We just talked about that today so he is probably online studying the bike and getting familiar with it.

Congrats WW. You'll love getting back on two.

Latest CTX update. To heck with waiting for better weather to get the bike home. It can ride in the back of the Ranger. My local shop can unload it and Harvey the owner can get a look at it while he is unloading it. He will be doing the servicing in most cases. I will do the riding for 5 or 6 minutes to get it all the way home after that. This actually should have been the plan in the first place but I really did fail to think things through. Wednesday of next week, the 27th and I will have a new shiny Honda parked next to the Ranger at home.
It was kind of silly of me to have a good friend ride for an hour from the Honda dealer with a new bike with new tires that might be far too slippery if it does rain. I can wear off the new tire coating at my leisure when the roads are dry. A much safer plan for all concerned.
Future plans are to put the old Honda on CL and be done with it........period.
Plans for the CTX will be an adjustable windshield from Madstad made specifically for the CTX. I did have Madstan adjustable windshield brackets on my Vstrom and they worked well. The downside of the new windshield and adjustabable brackets will be the cost. With our Can $ going down the crapper I will have a very expensive farkle but why not. My slush fund should take care of that. The only other add ons will likely be some extra lighting to make me more visible day and night. Looking forward to midnite coffee runs that were so pleasant on the Vstrom.
Got a line on some LED driving lights out of Hong Kong that have good reviews. They even have some LED lights that the GZ could handle easily for all of the GZ night riders. Apparently there is also an available LED dimmer switch for their products. Time to start communicating with the vendor and do some real pricing with the dimmer included.
It may be cloudy and only +7 today but things are looking brighter and warmer in the near future.

Sounds like this bike has taken some years off your age. I know mine does that for me. Really happy for you.

Thanks VSR.
Tried to order the windshield late last night and my CC would not work. Could be my usual luck with online purchases. I tend to get some kind of info input wrong. Maybe I should buy stuff online more often to keep in good practice. Gonna buy a movie at Wally World and see if the card is rejected or not. MasterCard just may have flagged it due to lack of use. It has been a while as I usually just do debit purchases locally and use a CC out of town while travelling which hasn't happened for quite a while.
Just thinking back it is likely near 2 years since the CC was exercised.
Oh well, just some minor glitch to overcome and rectify.
Presently waiting for a reply about the LED lights and a firm price for the dimmer. I'll fill in all the blanks for our members once he gets back to me.

Yes, mastercard can be weird sometimes. I use their debit card, but I've found that on some airline sites (when booking flights) if I click "debit card" it won't accept it, so I start all over again and then click "credit card" and it accepts it, even though it's a debit card all along. :hmm:

WW, congrats on the new bike. I hope you love it. I'm sure you are eager to get it home. A thought on the new tires, I always get a cloth rag and some mineral spirits and rub them down really good to remove the mold release coating that is on new tires. This will help them get a grip a lot sooner than just riding alone does. Still, stay off the wet roads until you've got some miles on them. Have fun. :)

Never fear. I plan on being a dry roads rider. When I had the Vstrom I was equiped for wet weather, cold weather with heated gear down to my toes. No matter what, I will likely always have availaible rain gear onboard for insurance just in case. Sunshine riding and some night time riding once I hang some real lights on the bike.
We are being treated to the Vancouver bike show this weekend. I have always enjoyed it so I will probably go. I might be fortunate enough to find some farkles there and use my debit card since my Credit card decided to leave the collective. Tried to call M/C and couldn't even get my info accepted on their system. >:(
If I ever find my shuttle craft and lift off to the Mothership I'm going back to my home planet where everything is free. :lmao:

Take me with you!!! :P

Totally funny. As luck would have it my CC would not work at Wally World either. Declined, so that is that. I can apply for a new card again at Wally World tomorrow. So I made my purchase with a debit card. And it is about an Alien trying to get back home. The title is "Paul". Funny to the bone. :lmao::lmao:

Looks like I will have two M/C's to play with. Mailed an application for a new card Saturday on the way to the bike show. Later in the day I thought "why not try it again" with the old declined card. Bingo, I won. The card was re-instated abeit a lot later than I was assured.

New Led driving lights are in registered air mail as I type. New Madstad adjustable windshield is also in the mail as of today.

Today is Monday, Wednesday the new bike comes home. Am I excited? You bet. I just wish my stomach would realize excitement is a good thing and settle down.

So much to actually get done before Wednesday. The best part is being in a position financially to do it all without any financing. M/C will be paid off completely when the statement comes in. Bike will be fully mine when I pick it up. My "to Do" list for today and tomorrow is getting longer so I better get my act together pronto.

Looks like you will have two Christmases this year. Excited for you.

Make that 3 Christmases this year. Lynda got me into the habit of saving spare change. Got a bag full of rolled coins. Also discovered the rolled bills I had been hoarding. I knew I had some but not how much. An extra $1500 or so all together. Yahoo!!

Awesome!

So today is the big day. I bet you can hardly sit still. Hope you enjoy every minute of it.

You betcha. I'm too tired to fill in the details right now. But soon.

Looking forward to hearing all about it.

Okay, I've had a very long extended nap and a bite to eat. What a day I have had. Woke up far too early after a night of nightmarish sleep, put on the coffee and a light breakfast. I am blessed with the good fortune of not remembering nightmares for long in most cases.

The Ranger was waiting for the trip to Vancouver to pick up the bike and carry it home. Tiedown straps, Check. Riding gear, Check. A pocket full of cash, Check. Odds and ends on my list, Check. Bob is awake, Check.

Stopped at the Golden Arches for a road coffee. Five minutes later an overhead highway sign declares an accident and left lane may be closed. No biggy. Well, not for me except for the delay. But it was a biggy for some one else. Drivers in small cars do not fare well when being collected by a logging truck. The drivers compartment, left side only was the only real piece of car left. Hopefully there was no front seat passenger as it was virtually non-existant.

Carried on in a light rain to the city. My bike is ready to go after signing the papers and doing the cash handoff. A big gentle giant comes outside and easily loads my bike and ties it down nicely and professionally. Only a few drops of rain so the day is looking good.

The closer to home the heavier the rain and bit of fog or low clouds. A gigantic rain cloud settled in over the town and things are not looking too good. I know I'm going to get real wet on the short ride home after the bike is unloaded at the local shop. Not a good omen. went straight home, put on all my gear, stuggled into my rain gear and then to the DOT for a plate and insurance. Done. Now off to the shop.

Backed in out of the rain, bike off loaded and I'm headed home in a driving rain on new tires on a strange new bike. Learned a few things right off, the foot controls really need adjusting for my size 12's. Forward controls are really strange for the uninitiated. All in all, a very tense ride in very poor riding conditions but I did get home without mishap. My back locked up like a wooden beam and started to hurt.

Here comes the freaky part. I had intended to ride the old 83 Silver Wing back to the shop. One minor repair needed. Finally got it started on one cylinder and hoped it would stay running. Why did I ever buy it 2 years ago. It is a big top heavy pig that is really scary to an older not so strong me. Had a few highly tense moments but no oops so I'm more than happy.
Got to the shop, parked it inside and left in the Ranger. Straight home in all my riding gear except helmet. Somewhat wet, uncomfortable and aching all over. Hence, my extended nap.

All in all, an exciting event filled day that ended well. Now I'm going back to bed. Night all.

Glad you made it home safely. Thanks for sharing your experience with us. It reminds me of a trip back from Tofino through Hope and down into Idaho. It poured cats and dogs for two days solid and when I got into northern Idaho, I hit snow. Did I mention this was on July 3rd and 4th? Not ideal riding weather.

OMG, that would be a gruesome ride. As much as we don't want bad weather for our trips it can and will happen. Such events are to be savored because they make us who we are in real life. We will never gain experience and wisdom at home in a rocking chair. After I retired I bought my own idea of a rocking chair. It had 2 wheels and it was blue. My Vstrom made me younger again after years of aging. Returning to riding was the best medicine money could buy.
Lynda bought her GZ at age 60. She had never ridden before and wanted to give it a shot. Her smiles and enthusiasm made her years younger too.
We made a lot of new friends on our travels and that made riding even more of a pleasure. We never met a rider we didn't like. :tup:

I know what you mean. This is my 52nd year on a motorcycle of some sort. Started out on a 50cc Tohatsu, graduated to a Triumph 650, then a Greeves 500. Bought a BMW in Germany and promptly totaled it on a mountain road, and for the time being, I have my little GZ commuter bike.

My only crashes were with off road bikes and crashing comes with the territory. I became very adept as crashing in slow motion. Not near as harmful. That said, I've had some near miss adventures onroad due to lack of smarts on my part. Proper training at a good rider traning school helped a lot. Training and reading Proficient Motorcycling filled in many of the blanks.
Lynda became an amazing rider. Bought her GZ at 60 and trained on a Honda Rebel 250(wishing it was her GZ). She was safe, observant as all get out and a treat to ride with. No mishaps or get-offs ever. Watching her on the twisty roads with her GZ and later the Suzuki M-50 was like watching poetry in motion. The bikes were like they were on rails. I think she was a natural rider but never had the chance earlier in life. She conquered every road surface under the bike and endured all sorts of weather. After 5 years she hung up her helmet and said "I'm done riding". The M-50 was eventually sold and the proceeds went towards her new 2012 Corolla. An end to an era but she put the car to good use with travelling and goofing around. Camera in hand she was unstopable.

So I get to ride the big old honda from the shop. First things first I will insure it for 3 months rather than just a day. Might as well give it some exercise and a tank of new gas with Seafoam in it. Hopefully it will start running on two cylinders with a cleaner fuel system. Might get a touch wet and cool but not near what I experienced the other day when I almost drowned.

Although the old bike may be mechanically solid it isn't exactly pristine looking after so many years. If it doesn't sell on CL I just may have to leave it somewhere with the key in it and hope it disappears never to be found. Yeah, I could do that. Sounds a little crazy but I have no interest in it at all. Chalk up the overall cost to experience and be done with it.

Really getting itchy to ride the new bike. After the foot controls are adjusted I will install the new Madstad windshield. It was delivered yesterday. It has laser cut brackets that mount on the handlebar clamps. A real neat design. It is 22 inches high overall and about 18 inches wide. The brackets allow for height and tilt. Just loosen 2 knobs and adjust to preference. Snug up the knobs and enjoy. Had the same basic thing on my Vstrom and it was great but it was actually using the fairing windshield mounting points instead.

Just had to share a bit. Now back to your regular programming.

Sure is quiet around here lately.

Still haven't been out for a ride on the bike. I'm gonna blame Bush and the weatherman. Rain and more rain.

No windshield installed due to a couple missing parts that were delivered today. Also got a Battery Tender quick coupler for the bike. Still waiting for my LED driving lights too. And(drum roll)there is a Honda centerstand that fits the CTX. Gotta get me one of those. ................Here is the ugly part. Everything I have ordered or will order is in the U.S. or Japan. Paid for in U.S. dollars. Considering the tanked Can. dollar I'm going to be hurting for a short time. I'll just let Master Card do the conversion and wait for their statment.

Also will be getting some Grip Puppies for the handlebars. They are the foam sleeves that fit over the OEM grips to make them larger. Had them before on the Vstrom and liked them a lot. No more clenched grip on the smaller 7/8ths bars.

So that is the latest news in my little wide spot on the road. One road in and one road out. But really great twisties for all to enjoy.

Time to get back to my computer games now. Later.

Thanks for the update WW.

News of the ugly sort. Went online to order the center stand from Japan. Not gonna happen. Thanks to the Canadian dollar falling in value and the cost of the CS in U.S dollars I won't be looking at getting one. I am looking at $420 before shipping, currency converion fees, customs fees and whatever else might be added on. So at least a $500 hit with no end in sight. Humbug. A center stand would be so nice but that cost is just retarded. So much for the ease of chain maintenance I was hoping for.

I know! I'll just pretend the CTX is a GZ and make do with what I have. Have a good day guys an gals.

Today was the big day. A short but cold 1st ride. Noticed 2 things first off. The seat needs to be modified to fit my backside and boy oh boy can this thing hustle. The power at low revs is really good and throttle response is crisp as all get out. Being on a new bike and riding in the cold made me tense up quite a bit but it was worth it. Tomorrow might be a touch warmer but I will make that decision tomorrow as to whether I have another short ride. A naked bike is a bit of a new experince for me. My Vstrom of a few years ago had much better coverage with the fairing, handguards and heated grips. At the time I also had heated clothing right down to my toes.

The LED driving lights arrived yesterday. It may take me a couple months to get them on the bike though. I need much warmer temps to do anything on the bike and I need to plan out exactly where all the wires will go after the lights are mounted. The whole system has 2 relays for hi and low power settings with a memory function. This will allow for the LEDs to work in concert with the regular headlight hi and low. Sounds kind of trick and I will only really need the regular hi/lo headlight switch to make everything happen. On low beam there will be a conspicuous triangle of light and a wow factor triangle on hi beam. Okay, I admit it. I am a light junkie. I like to see and be seen.
If the system works as well as I anticipate it will, My Ranger will get the same treatment. Never have liked the Hella 450 driving lights that much but they are better than nothing.

I'm glad you like the new bike. Warmer weather is coming. It hit 87 here today, you won't be to far behind.

I found out today work is sending me to Italy for 2 weeks. It's tough but someone has to do it. :)

Hopefully the weather will be warm and dry enough for the next 3 days for a ride. Got my fingers crossed.

Italy should be a nice interesting change of pace for you. Do you have adequate health care coverage for the overseas trip? I'm sure you have it covered but just a mention can't hurt.

Got a few things planned in the next week or so. Off comes all the plastic, front fender and side covers front and rear. With luck I might even find out where the gas tank is hidden down under. I am slowly getting my act together to do the LED driving light install and wiring. Rear brake pedal still requires an adjustment for a more reliable action as it is too high for my big foot. Right now all the LED brackets are in the dishwasher prior to painting them black.

Found some Memphis Shade fork clamps hiding in a closet so the lights will go on the forks to provide a triangular light effect to be more noticeable to oncoming traffic.
The wiring should be a real challenge as I have to extend everything a bit to reach back to the under seat tray where the relays will live next to the battery. A Stebel air horn is on the menu too. Those things really get rid of forest rats quickly. I know from personal experience you can scare a cell phone driver so bad their arm jerks and flings the cell out the window. That alone was worth the price of the air horn. LOL.

Went for ride around town yesterday. Oh my, that seat is just a nightmare for my body. Tried a Gel pad too. Not looking good. Priced out a Corbin seat with a backrest..............................and almost blacked out from shock. $1100 + Can Dollars. That doesn't include Customs fees or delivery charges be what they may.

That seat on a lawn tractor down the street is looking pretty good right now.

The most comfortable seats I've ever had were the tractor style seats on my first ever two wheeler, back in 1965. A 1959 Lambretta LI150.

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Yup, tractor seats are great. I spent many an hour on my lawn tractor years ago and never had a sore butt or back.

Back in 1978 I saw a Suzuki 750 Water Buffalo with a horse saddle and a sheep skin. Looked very cozy.

A friend of mine has a ol Honda 450 rat bobber with a ol Massey Harris tractor seat on it........Says it very comfy & never has back pain. :)