My walk around and first thoughts video

6161 Views 22 Replies 11 Participants Last post by V0X, Aug 30, 2014

dubbsrider

Discussion Starter · Apr 24, 2014

Hello all,

I figured I would post this on here if anyone wanted to take a look into the controls of the bike a little more, and I give some first thoughts on the bike as well.

Let me know what you guys think....I'm very new to this whole thing so the vids should get better as I go along!

Thanks!

Reactions: 5

1 - 20 of 23 Posts

Jimmytootall

· #2 · Apr 24, 2014

Thanks Dubbsrider Appreciate the effort you went to. I have not seen one at a dealer yet, even went to M/C show in Spokane Washington this spring just to see one and there was not one there. The jurky throttle thing, my st1300 is like that but its not an issue anymore as you get use to the throttle you naturally adjust to its sensitivity and learn to have a lighter throttle hand at low speeds. Great looking bike, congratulations on your new purchase. Cheers jim

Reactions: 1

dubbsrider

Discussion Starter · #3 · Apr 24, 2014

Jimmytootall said:
Thanks Dubbsrider Appreciate the effort you went to. I have not seen one at a dealer yet, even went to M/C show in Spokane Washington this spring just to see one and there was not one there. The jurky throttle thing, my st1300 is like that but its not an issue anymore as you get use to the throttle you naturally adjust to its sensitivity and learn to have a lighter throttle hand at low speeds. Great looking bike, congratulations on your new purchase. Cheers jim

Thanks for the feedback...my editing skills and channel need some work but i'm hoping that with experience they get better! I'm also going to try and do some how to vids and we will see how those come out..lol!

sleepngbear

· #4 · Apr 24, 2014

Nice job, dubbs.

First how-to vid needs to be the windshield.

dubbsrider

Discussion Starter · #5 · Apr 25, 2014

sleepngbear said:
Nice job, dubbs.

First how-to vid needs to be the windshield.

I think you hit the nail on the head with this one cause I have it on order along with the honda repair manual! If I get some time I plan on doing this vid first!

Reactions: 1

ShadowRider

· #6 · Apr 25, 2014

Jimmytootall said:
The jerky throttle thing, my st1300 is like that but its not an issue anymore as you get use to the throttle you naturally adjust to its sensitivity and learn to have a lighter throttle hand at low speeds.

Glad to know I'm not the only one who has (or at least WAS) having issues with the throttle being touchy. Like you said, you just have to adjust to it. Last night I took the bike out and I think I had only one time where the throttle jerked a bit (when I hit a nasty bump). Otherwise it looks like I have learned how to keep a somewhat looser grip on it. I felt like I was in complete control of the bike for the first time last night. Takeoffs were smooth, and I was able to glide to stops smoothly as well. Once you can do that, the bike is even MORE fun to ride! At that point it practically feels like an extension of your body.

I just hit 500 miles last night; I picked up the bike 4 weeks ago tomorrow. My average speed is DOWN to 15 MPH (blasted city driving!) but at least my average gas mileage has gone from 25.5 to 32. I will be putting on another 160 miles or so this weekend, then it will be off to the dealer next week for the 600-mile service and installation of the taller windshield. Too bad the weather will be rotten every day next week!

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Jimmytootall

· #7 · Apr 25, 2014

Hey Steve Glad to hear you are enjoying your new ride. I finally saw a CTX1300 at a local dealer yesterday, in the process of trying to get a reasonable trade in price for my ST1300. The dealer is already trying to talk me out of the higher windshield, I am thinking probably because how hard it is to get them. Glad to hear your adjusting to the throttle issue, it will continue to get better with every ride. Jim

ShadowRider

· #8 · Apr 25, 2014

The windshield should not be TOO hard to get, Jim. Once they were made available, my dealer ended up with 70 of them in his regional warehouse! Things might be different for Honda Canada, though. Do NOT let him talk you out of it if you want it--not having it has made it impossible for me to ride the bike on higher-speed roads. Tomorrow I am going to the Milwaukee area to visit relatives, but I will have to take local roads, which will take about 50% more time each way. As you will see if you read through posts here, that blasted short windshield is the thing I like the least about the bike, and might have been a deal-breaker if I had known about it.

bob

· #9 · Apr 25, 2014

AT least you can enjoy a more leisurely ride on the back roads

I will often do my best to stay off the super slab just for that reason. I think the back roads are far more interesting to ride.

MarkH

· #10 · Apr 25, 2014

I don't have a decent back roads route for my commute, so I'm forced to ride on the freeway. It's not pleasant, but it's doable for me (if I stay in the slow lane). I was aware of this issue before buying the bike, but I learned from Madstad that they were coming out with a shield for the CTX so I went ahead and bought the bike with confidence that their solution would solve the problem. They solved it beautifully on my Tiger 800.

ShadowRider

· #11 · Apr 25, 2014

You know, you're right, back roads ARE more fun. But sometimes you just have to GET somewhere faster, for an event, to meet someone else who is NOT on a bike, or for some other reason. Taking the bike is STILL more fun than being in a cage, even on the highway. I think the taller windshield will at least give me the ability to choose the type of riding I want to do in any given situation.

And now that I have been caught in the rain three times in the last 4 weeks, I think the taller shield will help to deflect that (and bugs) much better than the stock setup...

bob

· #12 · Apr 25, 2014

I'll be watching for the reports on the Honda tall shield.

Davetac1

· #13 · Apr 25, 2014 (Edited)

Regarding the the throttle thing:If the machine uses cable then it/they need to have free play [the adjustment procedure is usually explained in the OM] or it will have a jerking sensation like you guys are experiencing.

If it's got a drive by wire system [I've only driven two machines that use it] well I really didn't notice any jerking sensations over bumps in either machine.However,I suspect that if it does, I'm sure there will also be an adjustment procedure to correct it,again explained in the OM.Dave!!!

sleepngbear

· #14 · Apr 25, 2014

Dave, it's cables. Mine has a good bit of play in it -- more than I usually like -- and it still jerks over a good bump if I'm not careful. I'd ordinarily tighten that up a bit, but I'll leave it like it is lest we have a return of the jerkies. I've come to the conclusion that you need to have the combination of a good, firm but relaxed golf grip and a horse reins quiet hands grip. As Steve is figuring out how to do, you keep your hands still regardless of what the rest of your body is doing.

Davetac1

· #15 · Apr 26, 2014

You make a good point Ed.So in this case, it kinda looks like the operator needs to adjust to the machine.But ya still need to have alittle free play in the cables.As I'm sure you're aware,there are two cables on the Bird,and one of mine did NOT have any play in it,hence I was getting that jerking thing on a bump.But after I adjusted it,no more jerkin. Dave!!!

sleepngbear

· #16 · Apr 26, 2014

Definitely agree, Dave ... cables gotta have some free play. Besides making the throttle overly twitchy, you can also snap the cable hooks on the throttle sleeve if they're too tight. I've heard of that happening more than once, especially -- but not exclusively -- with after-market grips where the throttle sleeve and grip are all one piece (like HD's and Triumphs, to name a few).

Davetac1

· #17 · Apr 27, 2014

Ed:That was a big problem on the Tbirds fitted with heated grips,whether they were installed from the factory,the dealer,or the owner.There were numberous reports about the problem on two of the Triumph websites I frequent.And the bottom line was,non of em had free play.And I'm still not sure if the problem has been solved or not.Myself,I use Gerbing electric gloves.I just plug em in when I need em,and unplug em when I've arrived at my destination.So needless to say,I do NOT have,nor do I WANNA have any PROBLEMS with my throttle,especially when I'm a loooooooooooooong ways from home. lol Dave!!!

sleepngbear

· #18 · Apr 27, 2014

Dave, I saw that about the stock grips, but I also saw several people have the same issues with Kury grips, too. But only on the T-bird -- not sure why, but I'd guess they maybe had 'em too tight, too? I thought that kinda strange because it was the first time I'd seen any issues with Kury's in all the years I've been using them.

Davetac1

· #19 · Apr 27, 2014

Yup, there's definitely a problem with the heated grips used on a Tbird Ed,whether they're factory or aftermarket.I got an idea that Triumph doesn't quite know what to do about the problem yet.I also believe that the info they provided to the after market people was also inaccurate,which kinda explains why the Kurys aren't workin either.But I do agree with ya about the Kuryackin grips/accessories cause they do make a good product,that is, until they took on the heated grip accessory for the TBird!! lol Dave!!!

Kookopelli

· #20 · Apr 28, 2014

ShadowRider said:
Glad to know I'm not the only one who has (or at least WAS) having issues with the throttle being touchy. Like you said, you just have to adjust to it. Last night I took the bike out and I think I had only one time where the throttle jerked a bit (when I hit a nasty bump). Otherwise it looks like I have learned how to keep a somewhat looser grip on it. I felt like I was in complete control of the bike for the first time last night. Takeoffs were smooth, and I was able to glide to stops smoothly as well. Once you can do that, the bike is even MORE fun to ride! At that point it practically feels like an extension of your body.

I just hit 500 miles last night; I picked up the bike 4 weeks ago tomorrow. My average speed is DOWN to 15 MPH (blasted city driving!) but at least my average gas mileage has gone from 25.5 to 32. I will be putting on another 160 miles or so this weekend, then it will be off to the dealer next week for the 600-mile service and installation of the taller windshield. Too bad the weather will be rotten every day next week!

Man, I have about 1300 miles on mine and my mileage has been 38.5 lowest and 44.75 highest. And I ride it hard. I just returned from a 350-mile weekend and hit speeds above 100 several times while passing and normally cruised around 75 to 80 mph.

Also, I just put the tall windshield on it and it definitely affected it at speed. It didn't seem to have the same grunt above 100 that it had with the low shield.

The throttle is pretty sensitive, but it gets better as you get more riding time with it.

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