[TwelveBagger]

A few snapshots from the International Motorcycle Show in Seattle a couple weeks ago.

Me sitting on the deluxe in blue gray.

Anonymous other guy sitting on the standard in red.

The bike felt really light to roll up off the kickstand. Much lighter than my VTX1800. The seat was very comfortable. The reach to the bars was comfortable but a just little farther away than I like. I like to sit all the way back in the seat with a rider's backrest (which I would have to add). I would probably want to move the bars back about 2 inches or so. The bags are nice and the bag latches are really sturdy. The only thing I didn't really like for looks was the backend because it's nothing but dull black plastic. I think it would look nicer if they carried the paint color all the way to the rear of the bike somehow, even just a hint of color would help. The blue gray deluxe looked very stealthy with the dark color and blacked out features. Overall, I'm really jazzed about this bike and look forward to all the reviews and a test ride.

Brian

 

[sleepngbear]

Thanks for posting! Quick q -- how tall are you, and what's your inseam? You look pretty comfortable on it with an easy reach to the bars.

 

[bob]

Very nice!

You could always grab some plastic paint from Lowe's and add some color to the tail. I used some plastic spray paint for the vinyl cutting board I used for the adapter plate to mount my current top case and that was in 2010. Those plastic cutting boards are some of the toughest materials to get paint to stick on and it's still looking good after almost 4 years and all kinds of weather, and I mean all kinds (hot, cold (-15*F), rain, snow, ice, burning sun, etc.).

 

[bob]

I would plan to add a 4 inch "Knight Riderz" LED bar from Custom Chrome Dynamics in place of the reflector just above the license plate. That's a LED bar that is solid red for running lights and flashes for 6 seconds and then goes solid bright for brakes. Only color I'll need on the tail.

 

[TwelveBagger]

Thanks for posting! Quick q -- how tall are you, and what's your inseam? You look pretty comfortable on it with an easy reach to the bars.

I'm right at 6' tall with a 34-inch inseam. I was quite comfortable on the bike. I'll be curious if there will be some aftermarket highway pegs for stretching out. My current bike (VTX1800) feels like sitting in my easy chair. I'd like to recreate that as best I can for the long haul rides if I change over to the CTX.

Brian

 

[bob]

I'm right at 6' tall with a 34-inch inseam. I was quite comfortable on the bike. I'll be curious if there will be some aftermarket highway pegs for stretching out. My current bike (VTX1800) feels like sitting in my easy chair. I'd like to recreate that as best I can for the long haul rides if I change over to the CTX.

Brian

I was looking at Kuryakin and what they have for frame tube mounts and pegs. Just under the radiator fairing on each side just in front of bend in the forward exhaust pipe is about 2" of exposed frame that would be almost perfect location for highway pegs... at least for my 32" inseam. I'm sure there are offsets that would push any pegs mounted there forward a bit more for longer inseams.

 

[bob]

I'm right at 6' tall with a 34-inch inseam. I was quite comfortable on the bike. I'll be curious if there will be some aftermarket highway pegs for stretching out. My current bike (VTX1800) feels like sitting in my easy chair. I'd like to recreate that as best I can for the long haul rides if I change over to the CTX.

Brian

There was one concern voiced here and on other boards about the knees and those cylinder head covers and fitting the knees around them. Any thoughts on that after having sat on it?

 

[rosy thorn]

good observation bob, I'd even be a little worried getting my toes all cozy with the headers I don't know if the knees are a huge issue, although i guess for some of you taller boys out there, I'm a sturdy 5 ft 9...

 

[sleepngbear]

good observation bob, I'd even be a little worried getting my toes all cozy with the headers I don't know if the knees are a huge issue, although i guess for some of you taller boys out there, I'm a sturdy 5 ft 9...

That's the good part about being such an average 5'9"; the bad part is you can never find the right size pants in stock!

 

[bob]

Glad you said "in stock" since it seems there are always pants on the shelf in really big or really small sizes. I guess this means I'm also average... 5' 9" also. So Rosy, you talk of a concern with your toes getting cozy with the headers? I wouldn't worry too much about that unless the temps where you ride are way up over 90*F all the time. Just go faster to turn up the A/C.

 

[bob]

Just looked at photos of my old Vulcan 750. The headers on the right side of the bike (front cylinder) was right next to my toe. In fact, my toes would rest on the header sometimes and there was no issue with heat that I remember.

hmmm, wonder why the big toe on my right foot has a notch on the side?

 

[TwelveBagger]

There was one concern voiced here and on other boards about the knees and those cylinder head covers and fitting the knees around them. Any thoughts on that after having sat on it?

I did notice my knees were about an inch from the little rubber snubber on the engine head of the CTX1300. I remember ST1300 riders complaining about engine heat the first couple years the bike was available. I'm hoping the CTX's exposed engine will help dissipate some of that heat so we don't suffer that same initial fate.

Brian

 

[bob]

Thanks! That makes the picture of how many of us will fit on this bike more complete. It would seem, then, that taller folks like yourself don't have to worry about their knees having to wrap around the sides of the engine.
I'm sure that rubber pad on the backside of the head covers is something of a heat shield since it isn't on the ST1300 that I recall, at least I've never notice it there before.
I agree that the exposed engine should dissipate the heat much better than the enclosed ST1300. There are still riders of that bike that comment how much hotter the ST1300 is compared to the ST1100, so the problem never was really resolved but maybe on lessened a bit.

 

[sleepngbear]

Thanks! That makes the picture of how many of us will fit on this bike more complete. It would seem, then, that taller folks like yourself don't have to worry about their knees having to wrap around the sides of the engine.
I'm sure that rubber pad on the backside of the head covers is something of a heat shield since it isn't on the ST1300 that I recall, at least I've never notice it there before.
I agree that the exposed engine should dissipate the heat much better than the enclosed ST1300. There are still riders of that bike that comment how much hotter the ST1300 is compared to the ST1100, so the problem never was really resolved but maybe on lessened a bit.

Sort of off-topic here... but I had the first-year ST1300, and while it got generally warm in hot weather back there behind all that tupperware, I never had any of the extreme engine heat issues that some people complained about. I mean one guy some years ago actually posted pics of skin burns on his calf supposedly from the engine heat. I had that ST on long highway miles, stop-and-go in sunny summer heat, and everything in between. Never had any of that heat, other than major stuffiness because of no air flow behind the fairing and windscreen.

Anyway, I will be very surprised if heat turns out to be a problem on the CTX1300.

 

[bob]

I keep thinking how interesting it is that the color of the gray/blue metallic changes in different lighting. In some photos it looks royal blue. In some it looks more like a light blue. In these photos provided by Brian it really looks just medium silver gray.

 

[cheeken]

its the gray and blue metallic

its like some black and blue metallics

or any metallic really

in different lights it gives a different hue.

 

[bob]

Yeah, but the red metallic is still red and the black metallic is still black in any light. White too, is still white. But the gray blue metallic changes most and it's one of the things I really like about that color.

 

[TwelveBagger]

I keep thinking how interesting it is that the color of the gray/blue metallic changes in different lighting. In some photos it looks royal blue. In some it looks more like a light blue. In these photos provided by Brian it really looks just medium silver gray.

I am a little disappointed in the quality of pics from my camera. These photos don't do the blue gray paint justice. It really is nice and looks different in different lights. Wish I could have seen the metallic black one next to it for comparison. If I had to choose right this second on a color, I'd pick the blue gray, but the black is still an option to me. I can image throwing some pearl orange ghost flames on the metallic black . I have time to decide, though. If (when!) I get a CTX it will probably be this time next year. Who knows, there might be more cool colors for 2015.

Brian

 

[SoCalRyder]

it is cool how it changes in different lighting, at least this is something we get on a manufacture level, props to honda

 

[sleepngbear]

Honda has had some pretty nice factory paint options on a few machines, just not very widely publicized. Part of the reason I ended up trading a VTX 1300 for a VTX 1800 was the factory flame paint on the 1800 -- dark red flames over candy red on the tank and fenders. Everybody who saw it thought it was a custom job. And it matched my newly painted helmet, so what could I do -- I had to have it.