Hi everyone - I have had my blue deluxe version for about three weeks now and I have about 250 miles on it. I thought I would put my current thoughts out there for anybody who cares. I want to preface any negatives later in this post by the fact that I love this bike and it handles great considering its wheelbase. Also, I am not affiliated with anybody that I mention in terms of accessories or otherwise.
My post here refers to the pictures in my album, which did not upload in the same order that I intended -- but you'll get the idea. Also, you might notice my right mirror is busted. A "slip of the wrist". A new one is on the way.
The pictures showing the whole bike are intended to show what the bike looks like without bags. I think it looks a lot better. I can't wait to see what Honda's passenger backrest looks like. If I need to carry stuff, I use a backpack. If I was planning a long trip, I would put the bags back on.
I bought the Deluxe version, not for the audio, but for the black treatments. I never thought much of speakers on a bike and mine will never be used - useless. I generally ride without a helmut and I have my Garmin paired with my Iphone which I keep in my pocket. I have a pair of BlueBuds Bluetooth earbuds that work great in terms of noise cancelling, but I am still working on getting the right fit. Before the BlueBuds, I used, and still use, a pair of custom molded earplugs that I had made for shooting. They have an earphone cable to connect to my Iphone. These were made by 4earz "4earz.com". They work great in that I get really good music quality and gps directions, but I can still hear the road noise in the background. So, I believe them to be safe. If you crank the music volume, however, forget the road noise - you might hear a truck horn, but not much else.
You can see the screen of my Garmin Zumo 590LM in one of the pics. I think the picture is fairly representative of what it looks like in direct sunlight. Not great, but still readable. As a comparison, my Iphone 5 would not be viewable in this light (should have thought of a picture of that comparison). I mounted the Garmin with the stem mount, but I used a longer double ball "tensioner" than the one that comes with the Garmin.
I installed a Brakeaway cruise control. I had one of these on a VTX1800 that I had and I loved it. It isn't holding steady for me on the ctx yet, but I made a few adjustments. Haven't had a chance to test it again. The Brakeaway is great because you just have to tap the front break for it to disengage - no safety issues. Unfortunately, the unit is clear anodized aluminum. I considered having it redone in black locally, but sometimes "enough is enough!".
Re the windshield: After reading some not-so-great reviews on the tall Honda windshield, I got turned on to Madstad Engineering by another forum member, RichB. It is outstanding. You can see from my picture that the windshield brackets are adjustable for both height and cant and you can virtually eliminate all turbulence. They are changing the shape of my windshield to make it look more consistent with the curve of the front fairing. I'll have that installed sometime in the next two weeks (a benefit of being close to the manufacturer).
Just do a search on Madstad Engineering. I live close to their Dade City, FL location, so they installed it for me. I think RichB installed his himself. I wouldn't try that. It is a quite complicated install in terms of the amount of fairing parts that need to be removed to get the low factory windshield off. I would get a dealer to install it.
The GIPro gear indicator: You can see it on the tach in one of my photos. It simply plugs into the red service plug under the seat. Not so simple is routing the wire. The ideal routing would invole removing the fake gas tank, which Honda calls the "Top Shelter". Getting the Top Shelter off entails first removing the the engine side covers, both fairing pockets and more. (I have the service manual). I did not go that far. I got the engine side covers off along with the fairing pockets and the curved fairing pieces in front of the pockets. I then loosened the Top Shelter. I stuffed the cable up there as best I could and away from hot stuff. I have to say that I am not impressed with the plastic parts on the inside of the fairing that make up the pockets, etc. - They seem pretty cheap, but I realize that Honda is trying to conserve weight.
I need to point out that if you plan to do any of this, you have to remove a lot of "clips". Buy a pack of new ones first because you'll need them as they are not reusable (at least not for me). You can get a pack of 15 for $5.99 at your Honda dealer.
Finally, part of the reason I installed the gear indicator relates to the question that many people have about five gears as opposed to six. The simple answer is that the bike needs six gears and I bet we will see that on the bike's next iteration. When you are at 70 mph on the highway, you are turning about 4K in fifth - I keep tying to upshift, but it ain't there.
Ok - that's about it.
My post here refers to the pictures in my album, which did not upload in the same order that I intended -- but you'll get the idea. Also, you might notice my right mirror is busted. A "slip of the wrist". A new one is on the way.
The pictures showing the whole bike are intended to show what the bike looks like without bags. I think it looks a lot better. I can't wait to see what Honda's passenger backrest looks like. If I need to carry stuff, I use a backpack. If I was planning a long trip, I would put the bags back on.
I bought the Deluxe version, not for the audio, but for the black treatments. I never thought much of speakers on a bike and mine will never be used - useless. I generally ride without a helmut and I have my Garmin paired with my Iphone which I keep in my pocket. I have a pair of BlueBuds Bluetooth earbuds that work great in terms of noise cancelling, but I am still working on getting the right fit. Before the BlueBuds, I used, and still use, a pair of custom molded earplugs that I had made for shooting. They have an earphone cable to connect to my Iphone. These were made by 4earz "4earz.com". They work great in that I get really good music quality and gps directions, but I can still hear the road noise in the background. So, I believe them to be safe. If you crank the music volume, however, forget the road noise - you might hear a truck horn, but not much else.
You can see the screen of my Garmin Zumo 590LM in one of the pics. I think the picture is fairly representative of what it looks like in direct sunlight. Not great, but still readable. As a comparison, my Iphone 5 would not be viewable in this light (should have thought of a picture of that comparison). I mounted the Garmin with the stem mount, but I used a longer double ball "tensioner" than the one that comes with the Garmin.
I installed a Brakeaway cruise control. I had one of these on a VTX1800 that I had and I loved it. It isn't holding steady for me on the ctx yet, but I made a few adjustments. Haven't had a chance to test it again. The Brakeaway is great because you just have to tap the front break for it to disengage - no safety issues. Unfortunately, the unit is clear anodized aluminum. I considered having it redone in black locally, but sometimes "enough is enough!".
Re the windshield: After reading some not-so-great reviews on the tall Honda windshield, I got turned on to Madstad Engineering by another forum member, RichB. It is outstanding. You can see from my picture that the windshield brackets are adjustable for both height and cant and you can virtually eliminate all turbulence. They are changing the shape of my windshield to make it look more consistent with the curve of the front fairing. I'll have that installed sometime in the next two weeks (a benefit of being close to the manufacturer).
Just do a search on Madstad Engineering. I live close to their Dade City, FL location, so they installed it for me. I think RichB installed his himself. I wouldn't try that. It is a quite complicated install in terms of the amount of fairing parts that need to be removed to get the low factory windshield off. I would get a dealer to install it.
The GIPro gear indicator: You can see it on the tach in one of my photos. It simply plugs into the red service plug under the seat. Not so simple is routing the wire. The ideal routing would invole removing the fake gas tank, which Honda calls the "Top Shelter". Getting the Top Shelter off entails first removing the the engine side covers, both fairing pockets and more. (I have the service manual). I did not go that far. I got the engine side covers off along with the fairing pockets and the curved fairing pieces in front of the pockets. I then loosened the Top Shelter. I stuffed the cable up there as best I could and away from hot stuff. I have to say that I am not impressed with the plastic parts on the inside of the fairing that make up the pockets, etc. - They seem pretty cheap, but I realize that Honda is trying to conserve weight.
I need to point out that if you plan to do any of this, you have to remove a lot of "clips". Buy a pack of new ones first because you'll need them as they are not reusable (at least not for me). You can get a pack of 15 for $5.99 at your Honda dealer.
Finally, part of the reason I installed the gear indicator relates to the question that many people have about five gears as opposed to six. The simple answer is that the bike needs six gears and I bet we will see that on the bike's next iteration. When you are at 70 mph on the highway, you are turning about 4K in fifth - I keep tying to upshift, but it ain't there.
Ok - that's about it.
