2014 Honda CTX700 Threadfest

[pauljr]

I had hope, it is gone.

[Lobby]

[Grainbelt]

Originally Posted by Anteraan

Bingo! V35's are wider, and can hold a full-face helmet. To me, that's what a hard saddlebag should be able to do.

I've had them for six years, and they've held zero of my size M or L modular full-face lids.

[Mobiker]

Well I was kind of hoping for the NC700s just for styling alone. I just can't get into the beak thing on the X.
These hold no interest for me due mainly to the forward controls.

[MariusD]

Im sure this is not what the majority on this forum wanted/expected but i personally like what Honda did here. I love my suzuki m50 and only wish it had a 6th gear and better wind protection, because those are its only shortcomings keeping me from long distance touring on it. These new honda products seem to address these issues and im betting these will be great commuters for cruiser fans. Ill probably check one out at the very least. I do wish these werent soft tail.

[RedRocket]

Originally Posted by dirtdreamer50

Yep. The NC700S is a better looking bike, to me. Guess they are trying to present us with a reprised version of the Pacific Coast, less some tupperware.

My duke 690 gets 55mpg and is a blast to ride. Don't figure I will be trading anytime soon.

Funny, but upon reading the Honda intro presented here earlier this AM, it appears they are marketing this line like they do the Civic, stressing comfort and ergonomics as selling points that appeal to the average driver. Maybe they know something we don't about their future markets. tp

They need to find a way to bring in more new riders to sustain the sales of the rest of the bikes.
Who other than testosterone fueled young men buying sport bikes enter the new bike market in any number?

[Maytag Repairman]

I was worried it was going to be something that would make me regret buying my nc700x. I really like the look but for the time being I've reformed and sworn off foot forward controls.

Part of the decision to buy the nc700x was that I thought the horsepower was a decent match for my wife's vstar 950. I thought she would be able to keep up. Not the case. The low end torque and DCT shift through the gears so fast I just leave her in the dust without much thinking about it. Seeing how well the DCT works for me she now wants to trade her bike for a maxi scooter. I'm hoping I can talk her into one of these instead.

[Mobiker]

Originally Posted by Grainbelt

I've had them for six years, and they've held zero of my size M or L modular full-face lids.

Just as a point of interest, I have Givi E36's - the older, economy model 36 liter bags and they hold a medium Shoei RF1000 just fine.

[Foot dragger]

Originally Posted by bobobob

Those look like Givi V35 cases.
I agree, it's a good looking bike and looks like it will provide pretty good wing protection.
But seriously, 3 gallons and forward controls?

It's scooter heritage shows through quickly.

[bobobob]

Originally Posted by RedRocket

testosterone fueled young men buying sport bikes...

I would give my right nut to be a testosterone fueled young man buying sport bikes again.
I mean the damn thing isn't doing me any good these days.

[RaY YreKa]

Originally Posted by RedRocket

They need to find a way to bring in more new riders to sustain the sales of the rest of the bikes.
Who other than testosterone fueled young men buying sport bikes enter the new bike market in any number?

Don't know about the USA, but in the UK the average age of a new bike buyer is, allegedly, 48.

I read recently that the average age of a motorcycle on UK roads is 11 years; so a lot of riders are on machines built and sold in 2002.

These new Honda's meet the Euro A2 licence, which means riders aged 19 can legally own one. So they will be cheap to buy, do 70+mpg, and have 8000+ mile service intervals. Gas is $8 a gallon here, insurance is a big cost for any young rider (a 19 year old in a small car would be paying about £2500 a year).

Many of our 70mph limits are being down-graded to 50mph, the roads are clogged, and pot-holed. These NTX bikes and the new 500 series are perhaps part of the answer (for the DL650 fans, that bike is already the UK's top-seller for Suzuki).

The maxi-scoot compare is a valid one; not only do we have a decent sized ride-to-work segment, but on mainland Yurp the cities are full of scooters. I've seen businessmen whipping through Spain on T-Maxes, and office workers on all kinds of scoots.

As for tourer, remember the USA is truly huge. A European might consider 600-miles a tour, whereas you folks might consider that a decent day-ride.

But lane-splitting is legal virtually everywhere; you can move pretty quickly though the landscape on a slim bike.

[ParaMud]

Have I heard any mention on how they copied the diavel?

[Lobby]

Originally Posted by MariusD

Im sure this is not what the majority on this forum wanted/expected but i personally like what Honda did here. I love my suzuki m50 and only wish it had a 6th gear and better wind protection, because those are its only shortcomings keeping me from long distance touring on it. These new honda products seem to address these issues and im betting these will be great commuters for cruiser fans. Ill probably check one out at the very least. I do wish these werent soft tail.

I think what Honda's doing it looking at marketing data and trying to design motorcycles that will entice new riders.

They've tried to market to us, but we're always whining that they're not making the stuff we like (see this thread for proof).

I hope they succeed, because if they do, they'll have enough cash in their motorcycle division to fund cool stuff for us.

Me? I'd like to see the VFR1200 RT shown earlier in this thread. It doesn't have to beat the K1600GT. It just has to be a good alternative to the R1200RT.

[mrbreeze]

We need to look at range, more than the size of the gas tank. If this thing is getting 70mpg, it will go over 200 miles on a tank of gas. That's very competive with other bikes out, and probably better than most.

Also Honda is probably expecting the price of gas to just keep going up, and they are probably right. Gas is already $8 a gallon in Europe, it may be $8 a gallon here before you wear out your next bike.

Also we are aging. Those forward controls and rear set bars will probably appeal to a lot of older riders with bad knees.

We really don't need another sport bike in the American market, there are already plenty of those to choose from. Honda does need to get more involved in the Adventure Touring segment, and I suspect they are working on something. As for now, I like the frugal, low cost bikes Honda is bringing to market.

I'm voting thumbs up on this one.

[ph0rk]

Originally Posted by mrbreeze

Honda does need to get more involved in the Adventure Touring segment, and I suspect they are working on something.

I wonder about this. Last two BMW dealers I have visited have had scads of r1200gs/gsa's, f800/700gs bikes lying around, as well as used models. Maybe they're just bulking up for the spring rush, but I don't know. I'd love to know what the last quarter sales in 2012 were like (of all bikes). Of course, the big four dealers all have scads of sportbikes and metric cruisers, too.


I'm pretty glad I don't own a motorcycle dealership right now. I don't think there's any danger of the industry tanking, but I sure wouldn't want to have to guess what tomorrow's rider wants to buy.