2014 Honda CTX700 Threadfest

The local non-HD riding class here used small displacement cruisers with rediculously low seats (25-27") and feet-foward ish controls. (Kawasaki EL125 and Suzuki GZ250).

The CTX bikes will feel similar to the bikes they trained on, or more similar than just about anything else, and don't look overly cruiser-ish for those that don't want that.

Please stop it.

The RotW has no idea WTF you are talking about, except that it's car talk.

Who "disagreed" with me, dude? I've never once expressed an opinion, one way or another on how this bike is put together (other than saying the naked version was "friggin' beautiful" based on the 1st picture released). I'm not Hondas customer for this bike. Not even close. I've actually already paid for the 1st CB1100 my not-so local dealer gets in. But that doesn't make me any less excited to see a company try something different to bring new riders into the fold.

What is insightful about bashing a product that wasn't built for you to begin with? Ford guy "I hate Chevys!" Chevy guy "Why do you hate them?" Ford guy "Cause they suck!" Chevy guy "You ever owned one?" Ford guy "NO!" Chevy guy "You ever ridden in one?" Ford guy "HA! Are you crazy?" Chevy guy "You ever driven one?" Ford guy "Kill me first!" Chevy guy "Uh I don't understand. Why do you hate them again?" Ford guy "I've already explained this once CAUSE THEY SUCK!"
Where's all the insight the Ford guy has added to the conversation?

Sorry, I do think it's closed-minded to bash the hell out of a product that I've never touched, never ridden, never sat on, never seen in person, wasn't in the market for, is made by a company other than the one I normally buy from, doesn't compare to bikes that cost 1.5x or 2x as much, isn't made for the segment I like, or a 100 other possible reasons I've seen expressed in this thread.

Maybe the RotW whatever the f**k, that is may learn something about how companies succeed and fail studying the auto industry.. we could use the motorcycle industry of the past 75 years that dwindled from hundreds down to a hand full of competitive companies.
Besides, I was discussing shared platforms mentioned in the previous post. VW was mentioned there, as one of the most successful, and I do believe it is part of the auto industry.

Ye gods, the colors!

Rest of the world - his point being that a more generic example would have been more instructive.

I think you are saying that a bike with more sport touring ergos would be better - and I think that is correct, if Honda were trying to sell this to me or you - but they're not. I am a bit confused (concerned) about who they ARE trying to sell it too, just as you seem to be. I think they are trying to develop a new market. They see America as a great big country that is becoming more and more urban. They see America as an economy that is becoming more and more like the rest of the world - high gas prices, lower wages.... and figure people are going to be looking for inexpensive ways of getting around. I think they are expecting to bring in people who would otherwise never have considered two wheel transportation, unless it was a scooter. I don't know what the scooter market is doing, but if the local mega-dealer's showroom floor is any indication, scooters are in demand.

Honda has developed a motorcycle/scooter hybrid (the NC series, which includes the CTX) to take advantage of what may be a developing trend. They may be ahead of the curve. Or they may have missed a turn and be more lost than last year's Easter Egg. I hope they know what they are doing. I hope they bring in a whole bunch of new motorcyclists. The NC first salvo is a hit - the NC700X. The next salvo is the CTX700. New riders almost always want to be able to get both feet on the ground. Low seat heights appeal to them, which is why so many of them start out on small cruisers. They aren't thinking of their two wheeler as a long distance touring bike. They just want to ride it to school or to work, so the feet forward pegs are not a problem either. As far as performance, well if you;re comparing it to a 50cc Vespa or a 1994 Geo, the CTX will kick butt!

The number of scooters around town and campus has quintupled in the last five or six years. There are easily twice as many scooters as motorbikes on campus on any given day, and the ratio is tilted even more heavily in favor of scooters on bad weather days.

Excellent.

Well done.

Ride the World.

You can buy stickers that say that, from this forum.

the people who know supply chain stuff say what VW is doing is truly unique.
please read the article before you comment.

http://autos.yahoo.com/news/has-vol...oly-grail-of-carmakers--192022985.html?page=1


they are are doing platform engineering where front and back pieces and skins change per model (2 door vrs 4 door, different roof lines etc, but the underpinning ares the same.

GM & Chrysler just did badge engineering. add a new badge and a new grill but it's the exact same car so no specialization per market and need. and a cheap way to do it.

Honda is doing platform engineering with the 700 chassis and so will KTM with it's 2 other brands.

As for Honda they are in the business to sell alot of vehicles worldwide. They are doing that, but you don't like what they are selling to you.

Trust me, i'm no huge Honda fan as of late, but they are innovating outside the box and producing products that sell and priced aggressively.

Be careful eakins, or Ray will come after you too for talking cars, too. You win Ray. I have no idea what your post was about, so you win this one... tp

VW is going beyond simple sharing some parts. It's the whole underpinnings are the same to save costs, but the external look & trim level of the car is different to distinguish the cars. From a cost savings perspective it's an amazing concept that has never been done at this level across the board.

I'd score it more 3-0 or 2-1. When I used to teach beginner MSF, many students would come up to me at the end of the course and ask my opinion about a good beginner bike. They were most interested in standards and cruisers, not sportbikes, adventure bikes, touring bikes, or dual-sports. They were price-sensitive and didn't want much to do with the Harley crowd or performance sport bike crowd. Most were very sensitive about seat height.

- Mark

Like VW, Chrysler did it with the Echo and PT. Same platform, just different skin. Both had their buyers when produced. Different strokes....tp

:huh

You deciphered it pretty well in your response, then got pissy about it.

My apologies. Fighting nasty sinus/headache stuff. Makes one edgy...

Saw this AD on YouTube. http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=YJj7tvKGMEc&desktop_uri=/watch?v=YJj7tvKGMEc

This is kind of how I feel about almost all new cars. As someone who grew up with older cars (pre 1970) I find what they are calling cars today totally disgusting. Yes, everything works better, they last longer, at least mileage wise, but they are UGLY (especially SUVs), mostly made of plastic, loaded with electronics, emissions, and safety crap. They are so far removed from the cars I grew up with that they no longer fit my definition of cars. They are so highly refined that even the sound and feel of a car is gone. I refuse to own one. I have to drive them at work, and they are indeed very efficient transportation appliances. But nothing more. No fun whatsoever. Fortunately I own a couple of "real" cars.

Now, if you compare this bike to the '66 Triumph Bonneville I once owned, and had a love/hate affair with for 3 1/2 years, you can kind of get the same feeling. The Triumph was real steel, not plastic. It made noise, It vibrated like crazy. It looked like a motorcycle, at least to me. And in fact, had it been reliable, it would have been the perfect motorcycle.

But that is not what all the bashing here is about. You are bashing this bike, while ranting and raving about how great other plastic bikes loaded with electronic, emissions and safety crap are. Most all new bikes, especially Japanese bikes, are the same. They are all loaded with junk a motorcycle doesn't need, they are all mostly made out of plastic. They are all devoid of any character and personality (except a few cruisers)

I do have a couple of old school bikes to putter around on and work on and tinker with. And they are a lot of fun. And if I were 30 years younger, I would probably be out riding around all over the country on them. But I am reaching the age and condition where I can't take the pounding for that long at the time, and I want reliability. The only thing I don't like about this bike if the EFI. I am a carb guy through and through. And I know carbs can be reliable. I have put over half a million miles in carbed bikes without problems. But from what I can tell, it is not the EFI everybody is complaining about. So what is it? I want the naked model, and it has much less plastic than many other bikes. I also want the manual shift non ABS model. So what is so different about this bike than any other new bike? It is even chain drive. Styling? Just look at most of the modern sportbikes and see how ridiculous that sounds. They look like something out of a cartoon. This bike is much more conservative looking. It has the same engine as the NC700 that everybody is so crazy about. So what's left? The riding position. The one thing I love about this bike, the feet forward, pull back bar riding position that I find so comfortable, and the reason I have ridden cruisers most of my life, seems to be what infuriates most everybody about this bike. That, and the fact that it has these things, and yet does not look like a cruiser. Most everybody here dismisses cruisers entirely, as a class of motorcycles (and the largest selling class of motorcycles in the U.S.) They will go anywhere any sport or sport touring bike will go, and a lot of places such bikes won't go. But they don't look right, and they don't have rearsets and low bars. Here is a bike that looks like a sport or sport touring bike, depending on how you set it up, but has a cruiser riding position. THAT seems to be what has everybody all in a dither, and the main thing I like about it.

You might compare the automatic version with a scooter, but the rest is pure motorcycle, at least as much so as any new motorcycle can be. And I have no problem with scooters, I own three. You seem to have the same elitist attitude that you complain about many Harley riders having. It's not for you, so you bash it. You just cannot accept the existence of something you don't like, so you feel threatened by it.

I personally believe this bike will be great for Honda, and for a whole lot of would be riders who may be intimidated by many current motorcycles. I think the comfortable riding position and automatic transmission will appeal to a whole new type of rider, who maybe never considered riding before. But Honda will have to get the word out, if these people are ever going to find out about this bike. Though completely different, I see this bike as being similar to the original Super Cub in concept. It is not threatening and does not have the outlaw image of todays Harley choppers and crotch rockets. It actually has more in common with the family sedan than bikes like those. As a lifelong rider, I for one would love to see more people take up the sport. And this bike just might help make that happen.

Too much hyperbole for me.

I'm out.

Have at it.

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Brother can I ever relate to that. I am coming off of a 5 month long headache. I'm not irritable by nature, but that sure did it to me. Heal well!

The panniers in this vid look full-sized, not just the slim ones.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RcSQrOpfvg