[jeffz]

That there is mine, parked in my driveway.

It's a Deluxe in Ion Blue. Rear trunk, tall windshield, and heated grips will be coming soon.

I'm really pleased with the fairing and shorty windscreen on the freeway. I'm surprised how filtered the air seems. I'd had that impression on my test ride and it solidified during the 40ish miles I rode on my way home from the dealer. There's pressure up above 65mph but it's nothing that leaves you feeling beat up when you stop. I still want the tall screen for longer trips, but I won't ever need it for a highway commute to work. On a warm day like today (85F+ here) I'd prefer the short.

Got home, raised the bars an inch, paired my iPhone with the audio system, did a short test ride with music (which I don't honestly see myself using often) and decided this was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Truly couldn't be happier with a bike than I am with this. Don't have any of that "was this really the right call..guess i'll grow into it" misgiving that I've had with most other vehicle purchases.

So, hooray!
Jeff

 

[sleepngbear]

Sweeet. Congrats and best of luck! :smiley-happy0034:

 

[bob]

Nice! My favorite color too!!

 

[HansenCTX]

Dude! That is all awesome!

 

[Croxy]

Congrats.....had mine about a month now and I like it better all the time. I think you'll be shocked at how well the tall windshield works.....and you may find that you use the audio system more....I've just copied all sorts of music onto a usb drive and leave it plugged into the bike......

:smiley-party0005:

 

[Hoosierman]

Congrats! Sweet looking ride you got there! Welcome to the family of CTX! :smiley-happy0034:

 

[jeffz]

Congrats.....had mine about a month now and I like it better all the time. I think you'll be shocked at how well the tall windshield works.....and you may find that you use the audio system more....I've just copied all sorts of music onto a usb drive and leave it plugged into the bike......

:smiley-party0005:

I can see that actually. The audio is pretty useless at any reasonable rate of speed with the short windshield. Fun to play with in my driveway though.

 

[jeffz]

I totally loved my morning commute to work. I got stuck in traffic for ~15 minutes and had to inch along down a steep hill and didn't even care. The seat was so comfy and the hydraulic clutch so much nicer to grab that even inching along was pleasant.

I'm not finding parking lot maneuvers as scary as I was worried about. In every case the CTX has handled better than I've braced for.

On some points that others have somewhat complained about:

• I love the engine sound. It's like a stronger version of the sewing machine sound my Bonneville had made, crossed with a bit of jet airplane.
• That sound is well balanced by all the bass coming from the exhaust. I can't quite hear the exhaust while at speed but I sense the rumble and love it. It's almost more felt than heard. More like a subwoofer than a loudspeaker. I really, really dig it.
• I actually dig the suspension. It's very cushy. I can understand why someone would call it springy but I'm not the least bit bothered by it as of yet. I have not adjusted or given thought to it at all. My personal idea of a good suspension is one that I don't think about.
• Not having to care about turning off my turn signals is a surprising relief. I'm now getting used to not having to worry about it and I find it lets me maintain more focus on the ride, which is just so much nicer. I think someone called the self-cancelers "more trouble than they're worth" somewhere but I disagree.
• I actually used the helmet lock mechanism this morning. That seat is so easy to pop off and click back into place that I'm really not irritated by that lock solution. Not sure I'll use it much after I get my rear trunk but I'm not put off by it. I find it kind of cute that they bothered with it at all. Makes me want to give some Honda engineer a little hug.

Only negatives I've got:

• I find if the throttle is just barely open and I hit a bump or twitch my wrist, the close-then-open of the throttle causes a bit of a harsh response. I'm thinking developing a stronger feel for the bike might just mitigate that away.
• I wish the select button for toggling what's on the LCD display was on the left side instead of the right. I think I'll be toggling that stuff WAY more often than I'll be messing with the audio controls and don't like having to reach across with my left hand. If they swapped it with the Mode/source button I'd be a happy man.

 

[jeffz]

Sweeet. Congrats and best of luck! :smiley-happy0034:

I think you were the guy who said you'd waited for years to see Honda put this V4 in a cruiser. You had good instincts because riding the bike that actualizes that vision is like a dream. I love the character of this engine. Just love it. Smoothness, power, sound, everything.

 

[bob]

I totally loved my morning commute to work...

Only negatives I've got:

• I find if the throttle is just barely open and I hit a bump or twitch my wrist, the close-then-open of the throttle causes a bit of a harsh response. I'm thinking developing a stronger feel for the bike might just mitigate that away.
• ...

Riding this bike does make the commute much more bearable than it could be. The only thing better would be to keep riding down the road on a LD trip!

On the throttle thing. That also has been discussed here in a few threads. I do highly recommend getting a CrampBuster or similar to help mitigate that in a hurry. It may not totally eliminate an uneven response, depending how tight you grip the grip, but it will allow you to loosen your grip without loosing any control. In fact, you'd find you would improve control as has been also mentioned. The CB is not a replacement for a Cruise Control so if you're inclined to add one of those I would say go for both. But the CB is so cheap it makes sense to have it in any case. Get one, you'll see what I mean.

 

[sleepngbear]

I think you were the guy who said you'd waited for years to see Honda put this V4 in a cruiser. You had good instincts because riding the bike that actualizes that vision is like a dream. I love the character of this engine. Just love it. Smoothness, power, sound, everything.

Yep, that was me. But there are a few others here too who have been waiting for years for something like this. Though I don't know if they wanted it as bad as me.

You're right -- it is like realizing a dream, especially since this bike is everything I had hoped this configuration would be and more. Although I must admit I was envisioning something more cruiser-ish and less of a tourer; but as it turns out, as my years are piling up, this actually suits my needs better than what I had envisioned.

 

[ShadowRider]

I do highly recommend getting a CrampBuster or similar to help mitigate that in a hurry.

Just FYI: Cycle Gear (Motorcycle Helmets, Gear, Parts & Accessories - Cycle Gear) had them on sale for half price the last time I looked. I added one to both the left and right grips, just because the asymmetry of only having one would drive me crazy. It does help me rest my left hand, though.

 

[ShadowRider]

And Jeff: all great comments. I had some of those complaints about the bike at first but I have been adjusting and now I LOVE this bike! Riding last night in the warm weather was amazing--I didn't want to go home. The bike is SO smooth and the engine noise has really grown on me. Especially next to a Harley--I LIKE that I'm not nearly as loud as he is!

I think the helmet lock is still WAY too inconvenient. The Helmet Guardian that I added has been a HUGE improvement, one of the best investments I made on this bike. I can also use it as two additional tie-down points for my cargo net…

 

[niftee]

Only negatives I've got

• I wish the select button for toggling what's on the LCD display was on the left side instead of the right. I think I'll be toggling that stuff WAY more often than I'll be messing with the audio controls and don't like having to reach across with my left hand. If they swapped it with the Mode/source button I'd be a happy man.

Yeah, I agree with the above comment, it doen't feel right reaching across to change the display etc. It would have been more natural to put the most used controls on the left side.

 

[jeffz]

Did about 125 miles yesterday, the last 75 or so was a nice continuous loop around a few counties in southwestern PA.

I continue to be amazed by the CTX's handling. I'm throwing this bike around in ways I didn't even feel comfortable with on my Bonneville.

The engine and power/torque are just perfect for me. It just pulls and pulls. I thought it felt like an ideal highway bike on my commute, but then last night concluded it's also a perfect backroads bike. Windy uphill/downhill roads at spedds from 45-60mph...this bike just eats that up.

I will slightly revise my assertion from yesterday that the suspension is just fine. Now I think I get what some complain about. There's a certain quality of road, say bumpy or pothole-y, where the springiness of the suspension just seems to kind of wreck the ride for a few moments. The right series of bumps in a row will just jar you right out of the seat and just gives kind of a junky feel to the ride. Seems more due to the rear shocks than the front fork springs. But then a few moments later all is perfect again on smooth road. I'm hoping at least a bit of this is a matter of breaking in the shocks? I'm not guaranteed to have smooth asphalt everywhere given that this state is infamous for shoddy quality road work.

I also did observe I've got a misaligned battery cover yesterday (posted more detail in the thread about that topic).

Jeff

 

[sleepngbear]

Agree with all points, Jeff. The suspension is good about 95% of the time -- but every once in awhile it feels not quite right. I'm hoping for Progressive replacements sometime soon -- something I would definitely invest in for this bike.

As for handling, I think I have to put this bike just a notch below the ST1300 -- and a very short notch at that. It's actually more neutral (less top-heavy), but it doesn't eat up corners quite as hungrily as the ST. It also has a good bit less cornering clearance -- though it's better than any heavy cruiser I've ridden. It really is one of the most fun bikes I've owned, while at the same time being the most relaxing.

 

[jeffz]

I must not be that aggressive of a rider, 'cause after yesterday I've got no concerns about cornering clearance. I recall at least one review that sounded as if peg scraping would be a regular everyday occurrence and I haven't scraped once.

 

[Ravgardner!]

I agree with Bob on the Cramp Buster. I used one the ST1100 for a long time. Didn't get a chance to use it on the CTX yet, but I expect it to be beneficial addition.

 

[sleepngbear]

I must not be that aggressive of a rider, 'cause after yesterday I've got no concerns about cornering clearance. I recall at least one review that sounded as if peg scraping would be a regular everyday occurrence and I haven't scraped once.

Oh, no concerns or complaints here -- I've scraped pegs a couple of times now, but I had to really try. Nothing like the regular occurrences of metal-grinding I did on the VTX! Just in comparison to the ST, I give a slight handling edge to the ST. Believe me, that's a huge compliment for a bike that's actually a step away from the traditional sport-tourer model. I can't get as crazy with the CTX as I did with the ST (or the VFR for that matter, which was even better than the ST), which at my age is probably a good thing. The CTX is definitely the more appropriate ride for me and my (present) riding style.

 

[bigdaddy2036]

Congrats on the new ride. I've had my blue one for about three weeks and love it. I've only been able to ride it back and forth to work so far but can't wait for when I have the time off to take at least a day trip here is East Texas.