[coneye]

Looks like i will not be joining you guys , and buying one at least not for a while ,
Has a last ditch effort , today i rang around all my local honda dealers , and asked , if there getting them in , when there getting them in . and more importantly , WILL THEY HAVE A DEMO

The answer is a resounding , definete , Not getting one , maybee but definetly not yet , and definetly NO DEMO .

Only one dealer has one in , and NO DEMO , i even rang interstate , and NO DEMO , so i done what i did'nt really want to do , i registered my rocket and renewed the insurance that had run out so nearly a thousand dollars spent today , , when i take into account , i just put a battery in , and renewed the tyres , , thats around 1700 dollars just just spent in the last few weeks , so . Im gonna have to keep it for a while .

 

[TennesseeSmith]

The dealers are in a real bind on the demo bikes. Most buyers don't want a new bike with a bunch of miles on it already. That means the dealer has to sell the demo bike at a big discount. The dealer has to justify the discounted price against the number of additional sales he will make by offering a demo. For the vast majority of the Honda dealers, they just can't afford to offer demo rides.

Most Honda dealers will be lucky to get one CTX1300 per year. They are guaranteed to lose money on the bike if they allow test rides. Only one of my local dealers has been able to get a CTX1300. The one he got was damaged in shipping and he sent it back. Honda told him it would be a couple of months before they would have parts to fix the bike, yet they expected him to pay the cost to keep the bike in his inventory. I don't think Honda is helping the dealers much.

I once bought a new car that had 105 miles on the odo. I asked the dealer how he considered that "new". He said they offer test rides in all their cars, but one of the sales guys rides along to make sure the unit is not abused. It would be hard to do the ride-along with a bike.

I've bought all of my bikes without test rides. So far, I've never run into a problem that would have been avoided by riding the bike first.


I hope you can find a CTX in your area next year. If the weather is good it's not bad to travel a bit to buy the bike.

My CTX700D ended up in a rental fleet in Franklin, Tennessee. Maybe you can find a CTX1300 as a rental bike next year.

I've never ridden a Rocket. But it seems like you've got a pretty nice bike to ride until you can get the new one.

 

[flytrap]

So there is some progress on this issue. My local dealer 3 months ago told me they would not get one because he didn't think it would sell. Yesterday I went in there......oops. Black CTX 1300 now sitting on the showroom floor.

 

[coneye]

The thing is , here in Aust , demo bikes generallly will go for on average $1500 less , But and don't quote this has gospel , the dealer will get a rebate from the manufacturer .

I know of a yamaha suzuki dealer , who has offered me a demo bike at the recued rate with no mileage on it , , has he has offered to put one on demo , and sell it at the reduced price , , the catch being, it has to be a demo for x amount of time , so its at the back of the workshop for that period. .

In the case of Honda though, it definetly seems to be the dealers are all scared of bringing in stock and being stuck with it , One dealer telling me how he was virtually forced to buy a vfr , could'nt sell it and after 2 years , he was still trying to get more money for it , than the current ones , simply because honda dropped there prices and he was trying to sell 2 year old stock for more than the new ones , he reckons in the end he had to sell it cheaper than he bought it and not counting floor space losses , he lost 4 grand on the bike alone .

Seems to me from what i gather , times are hard , and they are simply too scared to touch anything unless its a proven seller , and Hondas refusal to help out with the demo models just enhances there problem

I'm 95% sure after anaylizing everything its the bike i want , it ticks all the boxes , but so did the t bird, the bonny, the rocket , the v strom, the vulcan , the streetbob the yammy , ha ha , and ythats only in the last 6 years .

It does seem to tick the boxes much more than any other bike , my rocket is a great bike , but i've had 2 heart attacks , triple by pass , throat cancer , and got 6 years older and 14 kilo heavier since i bought it , and now want a lighter bike ,

But i want that test ride , If honda are gonna bring out a new model and not have them available for rides , i think there on a loser ,

Suzuki , brought out the 1000 v strom , and the first bike my dealer got was a demo , he said suzuki are rebating just about every dealer , to put on a demo model , whats more its working , cos he's sold a few , I bought my v strom off him based on me getting threw the keys and virtually bullied into having a test ride , the day he got the v strom he rang and said its here come and take it for a couple of hours , I did'nt i sat on it and it was too tall , but the offer was there ,

Jeez , this CTX, i can't even find a dealer willing to stock them , not a good sign .

 

[Ravgardner!]

That story sounds like something Steven King would author. Don't these dealers want to sell bikes?

The dealer in Cortland has a Blue standard on the floor.

Just curious, where are you located?

Rav

 

[gadgetman]

My dealer - Mickey Finns in Berlin CT has had a Black Std in showroom for some time (in fact he got that before mine arrived) and I know he is anxiou$$$$ to $ell. :350x700px-LL-66dd6d He also has Blue still in crate though I don't know if std or deluxe like mine. Could be a good bargin (or 2) if properly approached! I have dealt with Mike (sales manager) since '88 and he is very low key, reserved and honest... vs typical pushy guys.:smiley-happy0034:

 

[coneye]

That story sounds like something Steven King would author. Don't these dealers want to sell bikes?

The dealer in Cortland has a Blue standard on the floor.

Just curious, where are you located?

Rav

Australia--- Oh i think they want to sell , just too scared to but the bikes in from Honda , and then be stuck with them , It happens a lot here , , Like i said i was looking at a super tenere , but i've rang approx a dozen dealers interstate has well has local , and NOT ONE has the up dated 2014 model .
There all saying the same Yamaha will not release them until they get rid of there back log of 2010's 11's 12 's and 13 's . Which makes it very hard my local dealer just managed to get rid of a 2010 he has had on the showroom floor for 3 years , he had to sell for less than he payed , and swears he will not have another one unless , Yamaha give him a rebate to put a demo on , and like he says , when they refuse to actually send him a 2014 , anyway thats going to be impossible .

Honda seem to be excatly the same , basicly look at the internet , read the magazines and order one , , Anyway who cares , i've registered and insured my rocket yesterday , along with new tyres and a new battery , the weather here will start to get better and the rains will stop soon , soon , So the Beast is all ready to hit the road again ,

Whoo hoo , Ocean road , Alpine road , and Tasmania here i come . :smiley-party0005:

 

[randyo]

FWIW....Action Honda in Hudson, FL (just north of Tampa), was using Craigs List to invite people to test ride the CTX 1300.....

Randy O

 

[sleepngbear]

FWIW....Action Honda in Hudson, FL (just north of Tampa), was using Craigs List to invite people to test ride the CTX 1300.....

Randy O

Good to know.

And welcome to the board! :smiley-happy0034: