I just had to do it. Couldn't resist.
Just one more test ride!
(warning: another long winded post here with a few photos)
My co-worker, who rides a 82 CB900C, and I decided to go for a ride Saturday and also decided to go to a different dealer. I didn't want to wear out my welcome at my local dealer so we went a bit north east of my home... a few hours away to the next nearest dealer who had a CTX1300 in stock.
He brought his gf along on his back seat.
Beautiful day for a ride, though a bit windy (more about that a later). So we got there and there were 2 CTX1300 bikes in the showroom. Nice dealership too. Lots of variety to choose from. I do really like the yellow and black f6b. That one looks really sharp. But too big for me to own. My friend took a photo of me just getting ready to take off on my test ride.
He even tried on a few other bikes. Like I said, he has a CB900C and favored the new CB1100 that was there. That is a nice bike also.
Anyway, I have to back up a few days before I go on. I don't recall what started the conversation. I think she said something about what we always do is shop around for the best price before we just go off and buy something. I replied that I did that and have quotes from almost all the dealers in the area. Then she asked how much a Gold Wing costs. Any GW 4 years old or newer costs more. Conversation ended with “just go get the d****d bike” and that she didn't want to hear any more about buying bikes or retiring or such and also that she gets to go out and buy something big too. (She already bought granite countertops and has other big ticket items in mind that I am perfectly OK with proceeding to get, but those are all for her since I am fine with less pricey options). Is that how it's done Ed?
Now back to the test ride... or should I say
final test ride!
Headed right out to a nearby county road with 55 mph limit and gave it go into the wind and back again being pushed by the wind. It was
windy Saturday.
Deal was written and one option added. Dealer promised 22% off on accessories and based on all that has been said here and that final test ride in the wind I decided maybe the tall shield might be a good idea after all. So added that to the deal for the discount that made it $99!!! Actually I was still on the fence about the shield but when that price came in at just under 100 I made up my mind in favour of it. The MSR deflector wouldn't have fit on the short shield anyway and costs 30 more than the price I was given for the Honda tall shield. And what
really made up my mind on it is they would ship it to my home for zero shipping charge! OK, go for it.
Oh wait, did any of you think my friend and I rode our
bikes there?
NOT.
We went up in his truck (in background of photo above).
His gf did ride in the back seat on the way up, but rode shot-gun on the way back.
The ride to the dealership took almost 3 hours. The ride home took somewhat longer. The bike had 1.3 miles on it since the dealer took it to fill the tank before I got there. My little test ride was 2.9 miles so that put 3.2 miles on the clock when I signed for it. Price quoted for the bike was 15600 + road use tax + title/registration/plates + a document fee ($30!) + tall shield.
Now, about that wind. The ride home was great, except for that wind. The bike handled beautifully. I just leaned over to compensate. I would have to say the CTX1300 handled the wind way better than my ST1100 would have, or has. The odometer now reads 153 miles. Wind during the first half of the trip home, about 80 miles of it, was a steady as in constant 35 mph out of the east with very regular gusts to 44 mph (checked with NWS when I got home). I was headed mostly south so the wind was dead on to the side.
See photo below for the lopsided well scrubbed patch on the rear tire. The second half the winds lightened up a little to a constant 20 mph with gusts to 31 mph... still out of the east. Some sections I was headed straight into the wind but most of it was across the wind. My neck was feeling a little tight from that. I remember feeling the same with a constant high side wind on my ST1100 though. The taller shield will help with heading into it but I don't expect to be in that kind of wind very often.
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Oh, I did check for the shipping damage that was reported here and only found a half inch scratch on the brake reservoir cover. They replaced that. It was also noted that the battery cover didn't really fit as well as it was intended and they tried 3 new panels and they all fit the same. The tech said they will continue to look into it and suspects the left middle cowl and is requesting a spare from Honda to verify. Seems if I push in on this cowl the battery cover fits fine. The cover I ended up with does seem to fit better than the original. I'll cover a few adjustment items I did in another post and also a little blurb about the seat R&R.
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