CTX 700 Forum banner

Bought my CTX700ND!

10K views 32 replies 14 participants last post by  Darth Emma 
#1 ·
Well... I did it! I went to the dealer this morning and bought my CTX700ND. I'm so psyched. I filled out all the paperwork and it's a done deal.

Honda Marysville Motorsports was awesome to work with and they gave me a very good deal.

I ordered the rear rack and hand grips for it too. The will install those when the parts arrive.

I will pick the bike up later this afternoon when my husband drives me over there to get it.

Thanks to everyone for all the great info. I'll post some pictures when I get it later today.
 
#4 ·
Got mine too last weekend and loving every minute of it! My 5'2 frame is getting used to the long stretch to reach the pegs and I need a back rest but going from a 1985 Honda Shadow 500, I couldn't be happier and the white full fairing is beautiful! Happy riding and be safe!
 
#5 ·
Darth Emma, Hope the pickup this afternoon went well and you had a great ride home.
If you don't post a picture soon someone might say it didn't happen. all in good fun.

Hope you never have buyers remorse and like the ctx for many years to come.
 
#10 ·
Here it is. It's huge compared to my scooter. I'm not sure I didn't get too much bike for me.

I think that If you go easy on it till you get comfortable at scooter speeds and going down the roads you did on your scooter you will be more at home on it. then bumping it up to freeway speeds will be easier. It is much longer than most scooters and more weight than most smaller scooters but Honda did a great job at making it easy to balance and control the weight better than a lot of other bikes on the market.

I think you will not have that feeling that it is too much bike after say 500 miles. Just a guess

Happy riding.
 
#7 ·
#8 ·
I don't think you will find it to be too much bike for you. I love the balance and handling of my 700D. I rode a Majesty for a year (my first bike) and this is a much better handling bike!
 
#12 ·
sounds like the only thing hurt was your pride. And that is a good thing.

When my dad gave me his 600 pound Harley I weighted maybe 110 pounds. I think I fell over 3 or 4 times in our driveway the first 100 miles. Finally got the hang of it. Motorcycles have no weight to speak of while riding, it's the low speed that gets everyone (or other cars but that's a different story).

a good thing to remember is always be balanced, planted on the seat, bars straight and watch for gravel at intersections. When you put that foot down (really down on the ground) the bike must be full stopped so your footing does not roll out from under you.

You want really good balance practice, try this. Many rallies have contests for the slowest bike race. There, you compete to be the last one across the finish line without putting a foot down. You feather the clutch, balance to almost a stop and anyone can win. Practice make perfect they say.


Be determined to "get it" and you will. Then when you are 75 and still riding you can remember your first tip over.

Now go find that empty parking lot.
 
#13 ·
Great advice. Thank you. And thank you for not making me feel like an idiot for buying a bike beyond my skill level. The thing is, the 250cc bikes in the riding school were not so heavy and I actually gained some confidence. That's what made me decide to buy an actual motorcycle. I thought I could handle this bike based on everone's comment and based on reading reviews of the CTX700.

I'm so glad to know this has happened to others with a new bike. It makes me feel like I can get the hang of it with some practice.

I know where there is a nice empty parking lot only a couple miles away. I'll be heading over there later this afternoon.

Thanks again.
 
#15 ·
Well, I did like you said and spent about an hour in a parking lot this evening doing small circles and stop and go exercises. I still don't quite stop as well as I'd like, but I didn't drop it! I didn't even come close. I just kept telling myself to keep my eyes up and stop nice and straight. I feel a lot better about it now.

I'm not quite ready to drive it in heavy traffic, but I feel like I will eventually get the hang of it with a lot more practice. I'll be spending many more evenings in that parking lot.

I looked over the bike from last night's debacle. I only have one very small blemish on the muffler. I told my husband it's a "battle scar" and I'll learn to respect it. But, when after-market exhausts come out, I'll have a good reason to buy one for it.

Thanks for all your encouragement!
 
#16 ·
Don't sweat it Darth.

If you can ride that crazy scooter and drag race a Camaro, then you can ride a motorcycle. I bought a CTX700 for my wife as her first bike. Yes I have my fingers crossed, but then again I haven't let her very far out of my sight on it. LOL

The key is WANTING to ride a motorcycle, and you do. You will be fine, just be careful and take your time.

For everything there is a first time.
 
#17 ·
Darth Emma you're not alone! I'm 5'2 and my weight is proportionate (not gonna say my weight in a forum)! I took "lessons" from my husband in a parking lot on a junker 250 and got some confidence. I then took the safety course and back to the parking lot to keep practicing. Then bought a 500 Honda Shadow and it was a great bike. I first dumped it in a gas station full of customers when I accidentally stalled it. And I didn't "gently" lay it down, it fell on top of me and my helmet hit the pavement. I wasn't injured what-so-ever, but my pride stung for several months after. I couldn't go that gas station again for a long time! Then I fell over on a hill when it stalled trying to use the back break.

What I'm finding though, is that the CTX 700 is so much more smoother than probably the 250 you used for your course (and my old Shadow). When I'm coming to a stop at lights, I put my feet out in advance and get ready to plant them at the right time, which helps me stabilize myself and the bike before actually coming to a stop. Kind of like training wheels without hitting the ground. Gives me some comfort and I also know that I can put my feet back on the pegs at a moments notice, should the light change, etc.

So...keep practicing and don't worry about laying it down. Happens to us all. Someone told me that you're not a true motorcyclist unless you've dumped your bike at least once. Bruised pride makes you tougher and that much more aware of the need to get the mechanics down pat. You will find that the more you us the techniques you learned in your class, the easier riding will become. I use those techniques every time I ride still to this day and won't ever forget those lessons.

Good luck to you and dust off, chin up and practice practice practice! ;-) Jul's
 
#19 ·
hm, i rode a bv350 for about 5K miles previous and i prefer the handling of the bv quite a bit -- i could throw it into corners much harder and later, and of course it had that urban flickability for impulse swerves/corners/turns. i find the ctx700 a little cumbersome in the fashion of all cruisers.
 
#20 · (Edited)
dumping your bike is part of learning to ride. since image is such a fundamental part of the hobby, few will admit to it. however, as a regular group rider, i've seen so many dumps from n00bs and pros alike that i take all claims of "never dropped a bike, no sir, heh heh" as nothing more than self-propaganda... ;-)

if you find yourself worrying about drops such that it inhibits your development, invest in frame sliders. (hopefully, someone will make some specific to the two models of ctx soon, but there are a few universal kits.) they will make you less worried about damaging your plastics/levers. however -- and i hate to say this at the risk of being discouraging -- if you're ACTUALLY dropping the bike a LOT, (like double-digit drops in the first 1K miles) you might wanna spend more time on a scooter or smaller/lighter bike.
 
#21 ·
Hey, your bike looks just like mine... and being like mine I doubt it's too much bike for you. It's really quite a tame bike if you ride it that way. You might try just keeping it in D mode for awhile and avoid riding it in traffic. The most dangerous thing about motorcycles isn't really motorcycles at all... It's cars. D mode is very smooth and gentle and you could almost pretend you're on a scooter if you ride it slow and easy. My suggestion is to be cautious and don't do things you're not comfortable doing. There isn't any way to ride a motorbike that isn't fun IMO.

Tony (MisterHand)
 
#22 ·
I've been out riding quite a bit the last few days and I'm getting the hang of things. I continue to practice in a parking lot for about half an hour, but now I'm following that up by taking it on back-road cruises and I LOVE it! It is so fun when I have a long flat straight section of road (with open views to both sides) and I can just hit the throttle and feel the acceleration.

I am having a lot of fun with it now. Thanks to all of you for your helpful advice!
 
#32 ·
Great idea with the parking lot practice. I spent the first two weeks riding through a giant neighborhood built on a steep incline. Streets were on a grid system so the place is riddled with stop signs. Was a great place to practice the start/stop drills, starting on an incline, tight turns up/down hill, etc. Made me feel a WHOLE lot more comfortable in a lot shorter period of time.

Keep it up! It's a freedom like no other.
 
#26 ·
VERY NICE, those rear grab handles look great on the Naked Nike and I am sure they really help hide the looks of the mounting plates. If you have a second could you possibly take a photo as if you were sitting on the bike? I would like to see how they routed the wires for the grips? I would really appreciate it, I read the directions for installing the heated grips and the way Honda has the wires routed is hideous. They actually have you tie the wires to the handlebars across the 4 mounting bolts.
 
#28 ·
I'm straight from a scooter to this bike, and it's my first bike. In fact, except for a couple of short lessons, I'd never even ridden a bike before taking delivery on a CTX700. I find this bike easier to ride than my 350 cc scooter except for shifting while performing certain maneuvers, but since yours is a "D" model, I expect you'll find it very easy after getting used to it. Due to its low center of gravity, it is very predictable in the turns and very smooth too. What I did was just ease in to it, and since I'm still getting better at shifting, I'm still easing into it, but it's no big deal.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top