Hey all. New member located in eastern Iowa that just acquired a beautiful Red 2014 Deluxe model from the Chicago area with only 5,500 miles and in pristine condition. Not a mark or blemish on it. OEM add-ons are Tall Windshield, Center Stand, Back Rest, and Luggage Rack. Non OEM mods are custom Corbin seat and saddle bag protector bars. Felt very fortunate to find this gem.
I've been riding motorcycle for 45 years and have never owned anything other than Honda. Yep. Brand loyal. That's me. As a kid, I beat the crap out of those machines and they just kept runnin'!
I started with a 75, then 350, then 500, several 750's which is when I fell in love with Honda's V-four motors and drive shaft, then a Goldwing. I became less interested in touring and like many others, got tired of manhandling that big beast, so a few years ago, I was deciding between the CTX1300 and the CTX700 and was still a little bit leery of the CTX1300's weight, so I purchased a used CTX700 knowing it wasn't completely what I had in mind, but I knew my younger speedy days were pretty much behind me and the weight allowed me to maneuver so easily.
Well.....a few riding seasons later and after some experiences of NOT having enough power and being blown around a little too much, I just felt like I should have maybe not moved that far down the HP food chain. Don't get me wrong. It's a great bike for what it is designed to do and there are some great aspects about it. I just think my experience and that old V-4/drive shaft combo kept nagging at me, so I started looking again. I trailered it home last Friday, and it was warm enough for me to take a couple of rides Sat just to test it out more completely before more dog gone snow fell today.
OMG!! Schwing!! I immediately fell in love. Weight distribution is everything the members here said it is, and I'm so pleased with the bump in power it provides and handling. I think I might have also peed in my pants a little too when I heard the thing start up. Man, that's a beautiful sound. I truly feel like I have found a bike that will be with me for a very very long time. In fact, I haven't even really started riding it, but I've not felt this comfortable/right in a long time and it feels really good again. Woop Woop!!! Thanks to Soichiro Honda and Takeo Fujisawa for starting this dream so long ago.
