[cobraguy]

So we just got home from picking up the wifes CTX700D. When we got there they said all the accessories had arrived too. I installed the tall windshield right there in the parking lot. I loaded up the hardware in the bags and bungied them to the Goldwing. After she did a couple stops, starts, and turns in the nieghborhood we got dinner then headed home. My wife reports that in D the bike shifts almost exactly as she normally would, up and down. The bike feels very light to manuver on the freeway but doesn't get blown around when passing trucks like her old LS650. The tall windshield (14") pushes the air up and over her head. With her visor up if she sits bolt upright the wind just catches it and buffetts her helmet a little, She's 5'3". Sitting in a relaxed position she says she feels the wind on her arms but it doesn't push or beat on her. Her only complaint is her short legs are reaching for the foot pegs. I'm going to have to do some fabrication so she can have mid controls. I seem to do this on all her bikes except her Rebel. The turn signal, horn button is amusing to watch when riding behind her. It goes like this. Beep, damit(in my ear from the Scala)blink, blink, blink. The ride home was 100 miles and she loved every one of them.

 

[gregsfc]

Good report cobraguy. I'm glad she likes it. Hope you can find an easy and inexpensive solution to the far-reaching foot controls. Thanks for reporting your observations! I'm still doing some hard thinking on whether or not to get the tall windshield. I'm going to keep an open mind; keep gathering feedback from others; and see what kind of deal they'll give me on one upon delivery of my new bike.

 

[vquiason]

Congrats cobra guy. I too liike Greg am trying to decide about the taller windscreen. Rode it to 75 mph and had my 3/4 helmet with face shield and felt more of the wind this time. Cross winds were noticeable but not unnerving. My first time up to those speeds. I'm not sure if I would miss out on the wind at city speeds to get less at hi way speeds. So you just installed the taller windshield yourself? Did you need special tools? Are there good instructions that came with the accessory? Are there install videos yet? Thanks for sharing. Peace and ride safe.

 

[cobraguy]

She wears a full face helmet and prefers to ride visor open. We have Scala G4s so we can talk, highly recomend them. On her savage I'd get alot of wind noise and have to ask her to close her visor all the time. We rode 100 miles home at speeds from 55 to 80. She had her visor open the whole time and I never got any wind noise. This tells me shes sitting in a bubble of realatively calm air at speed. Her legs and hips got tired from the peg reach but her upper body was fine after the trip. My opinion is the tall windshield is well worth the investment. I also think it looks better.
The install was quite easy and requires only an allen key 5mm I believe, and a small screwdriver to poke the poppet fasteners. You remove the fairing insets that look like speaker screens, two srews and one poppet fastener on each. Then two more poppets on the nose piece and pull it forward. It has four snaps. With the nose piece off the windsheild base is exposed and you remove the four screws that attach it. Took me about 20 min. going slow.

 

[vquiason]

Thanks for the report. Might have to do it. Kinda leary of doing it myself though. I'm very visual and need to see it being installed.

 

[MisterHand]

Great Review. Hard to read it and not smile. I have 950 miles on my CTX700ND and will share impressions soon.

Cheers,
Tony (AKA MisterHand)

 

[Billnoroville]

Cobraguy, I doubt mid controls will appear soon. If I were faced with this problem
I would get another set of footpegs and have a heal tab welded to the stock foot peg to give relief. Then I weld a 1 inch square or shape to the right brake pedal to extend it back.
Looking at the service manual the pedal pivot and master cylinder and reservoir are all supported on one main bracket that looks like flat plate. Might be able to fabricate another mounting place that sets the parts back an inch or so, (maybe just re-drilling it will bring the pedal closer. One think is the foot peg is not on this flat plate. Anyway I imagine you will think of something if it is needed.

Nice thing it being a DCT is that you only have to worry about the peg on the left side.

 

[Jkbrooke]

She wears a full face helmet and prefers to ride visor open. We have Scala G4s so we can talk, highly recomend them. On her savage I'd get alot of wind noise and have to ask her to close her visor all the time. We rode 100 miles home at speeds from 55 to 80. She had her visor open the whole time and I never got any wind noise. This tells me shes sitting in a bubble of realatively calm air at speed. Her legs and hips got tired from the peg reach but her upper body was fine after the trip. My opinion is the tall windshield is well worth the investment. I also think it looks better.
The install was quite easy and requires only an allen key 5mm I believe, and a small screwdriver to poke the poppet fasteners. You remove the fairing insets that look like speaker screens, two srews and one poppet fastener on each. Then two more poppets on the nose piece and pull it forward. It has four snaps. With the nose piece off the windsheild base is exposed and you remove the four screws that attach it. Took me about 20 min. going slow.

My head sits above the tall windscreen when I ride, I'm about 6 foot. I can't keep the top vent on my helmet open or it makes crazy noise and starts my teeth chattering. I can't imagine only having the small windshield. My arms get hit but it isn't too bad. The bike needs a throttle lock so you can give your arms a rest. I've put about 300 miles on, 150 today. When I was just burning around town my mileage was 55 mpg, today I was at about 100 mpg with mostly highway for anyone curious.

 

[cobraguy]

Jkbrooke 100 really. We went for a 94 mile putt cooking the new smell off of her. Gassed up at the end and only put 1.3 gal in her. Thats 72MPG with ths Mrs. riding her normal ride, and the bike in "D".

 

[Billnoroville]

My head sits above the tall windscreen when I ride, I'm about 6 foot. I can't keep the top vent on my helmet open or it makes crazy noise and starts my teeth chattering. I can't imagine only having the small windshield. My arms get hit but it isn't too bad. The bike needs a throttle lock so you can give your arms a rest. I've put about 300 miles on, 150 today. When I was just burning around town my mileage was 55 mpg, today I was at about 100 mpg with mostly highway for anyone curious.

you need one of these. 11-15 dollar gadgets. Your cant take your hand off the bar but you can rest your fingers from gripping and just rest your palm on it. Best cheap thing I bought for riding.

Kuryakyn 6315 but check ebay as there are many types for sale

 

[gregsfc]

you need one of these. 11-15 dollar gadgets. Your cant take your hand off the bar but you can rest your fingers from gripping and just rest your palm on it. Best cheap thing I bought for riding.

Good stuff Bill! I've often wandered during my 40 minute commute on my scooter whether or not something simple and cheap exists to relieve gripping with my right hand on the long, 55-mile mph stretch. I kind of get hand cramps now and then, but something like this would definitely fix the problem and make the commute much more comfortable.

 

[darkstar]

First 200 mile ride impressions: I bought the CTX700 DCT after riding a Honda PCX 150 scooter. Of course, I was immediately aware of the "extra weight", physical size, and for me, the extra "power". I find the ergs very good on a 90 minute ride… only a little arm/hand fatigue from holding the throtle. The slightly forward positioning of the pegs, for me, is excellent… at 61, pegs right under me tend to hurt my knees more… and the pegs on this CTX are not so forward where my 5'7" frame is stretching - a very natural position for me. I already love the DCT… yes, I do drive cars with standards, but find the DCT to work as advertised, and feel that with the overrides and manual shifting modes, I am not missing much - still feel like I can control the shifts, but enjoy the technology of the DCT. I have the stock windshield, so may need to get a taller one in the future… as am sure at long highway treks the wind buffering will be annoying. Most of my riding is in the the country to the Hudson Valley and Catskills - back roads and some nice roads doing 55-65mph. I averaged @ 62mpg on the first 200 miles. I am happy with that and think it will improve once I stop shifting so such on my "learning curve"! For me, the weight takes some getting used to… it feels lighter than the 516 lbs, but still a lot heavier than my scooter was… yet, it seems to handle excellently and turn well (once I got some miles in and adjusted to the size and weight). For those who wonder is it a scooter or cycle? Well, to me it sure is a cycle - a far beast from my PCX 150. Again, I feel like I control the shifting when I want to, just no need to use your left foot to instigate a shift - just your fingers on the buttons/paddles. I do not have the faring model, but did get the side bags, heated grips, 12V. accessory, and back rest with luggage rack. The heated grips have 3 heat options, and seem to work well… the plastic housing around the control on the handlebar seems pretty cheap though. The saddle bags can hold a good bit of stuff - quite roomy. Of course they add a lot of "width" to the profile, and some lbs. as well.Happily, using your key they detach in seconds, so I can take them off when there is no need to carry a lot of extra stuff… they have handles, so one can use them as luggage when you get to your destination. Nice fit, nice look, nice touches, nice storage. The 12v. accessory plug is in the cubby/glovebox - it is positioned in a hard to reach place, unless you have tiny hands… but for me, all I had to do was get my plug adapter into it once, and leave it… now I can charge up my phone, etc. as need by on longer rides. The back rest looks great, and the luggage rack while not very long, is just fine for my needs… convenient bungee cord hooks are provided on the rack and the frame.
Yes, I wish it did not utilize a chain drive, but to me it is not a big deal to maintain that… just a simple routine every 600 miles or after riding in rain. I hope to get a rear lift/jack to help with chain maintenance - it seems worth the small investment as compared to having to roll the bike and clean the chain (what a pain!). I am having trouble finding the proper lift solution, but being a new bike, assume soon many will be on the market that will fit this bike properly. As someone else on these forums suggested to me, I will check with my dealer for their input on this… sure they will have the proper one to sell to me (or get on Amazon, etc.)

As for "power", I can't see needing anything more powerful than this. I easily passed trucks, etc. on NYS Thruway… I do not normally speed, but did get up to 80mph passing some trucks, and it had plenty of kick left. The acceleration is very good from the get go… honestly, I am not street racing this thing, and can't imagine needing more. I think Honda made a good choice with this engine.

Sorry for the length of this first impression review, but hope it helps others decide if this bike is meant for them. Being a newer rider, these impressions are just my true feelings, untainted by those who argue about 0-60 and manual or not. In conclusion, I think it will be a very very good bike for my needs.
Happy riding to you all!

 

[shadowman]

wonderful review. thank you for taking time to share so thoroughly!

 

[Jkbrooke]

Jkbrooke 100 really. We went for a 94 mile putt cooking the new smell off of her. Gassed up at the end and only put 1.3 gal in her. Thats 72MPG with ths Mrs. riding her normal ride, and the bike in "D".

Yah, I couldn't believe it based on my original tank but the dealer may not have filled it completely to the top level. I drove all freeway, no throttleling, 60mph when I finish this tank I'll average it, the gas gauge maybe a liar but I'm only down 1 bar after a hundred miles

 

[Jkbrooke]

Darkstar, where exactly did they put your accessory? They put mine directly straight in, flush mounted. I haven't tried to plug anything in it yet but may buy the dual USB by griffin to stick in it. Those mount flush and just change it to USB. You can charge just about anything via USB. The difficulty may bet ring together my gps plugged in.

 

[darkstar]

Hey Jkbrooke… the 12V accessory is in the glovebox, but WAY to the right. If you look straight into the glovebox, you may not notice that it actually has additional room/area to the right and left… I did not see that until I used a flashlight to take a look… it was than that I saw the 12V plug was all the way to the right side. At first I was not happy about that, but after I managed to squeeze my hand with a 12V plug into the receptacle, I realized it was a wise position… as it kept the plug unit out of the way (all the way to the right), leaving me a bit more storage room in the already cramped place. Since I do not intend to plug and unplug this often, I am very happy with the tech putting it into that position. I think if he put the plug straight on, it would be very visible and easier to get to, but once used, the plug and cord I am putting into the receptacle would just take up more room from easy access to my phone, etc.

 

[Jkbrooke]

I bought a flush mounted dual USB for the accessory outlet, gives me plenty of clearance with both sides of the cubby to use, fitting my wallet and cell phone to each side. My tank averaged at 68 mpg although first gallon seemed to be much higher than second gallon. I went 170 miles on 2.5 gallons. Installed an airhawk R and it seems to work pretty well but raises you up a bit more although alleviating any pressure points. I ride to Sturgis on Friday so that will be the real test of the seat and mileage.

 

[TheMagster]

I love reading all the feedback. I just did my first overnight trip on the 700D. Rode about 375 round trip and you couldn't wipe the smile off my face.

Cobra - I too have a little reach problem with my short legs, but I got used to it very quickly. It ended up not being as much an issue as I thought it might. This is the first bike I have had to tippy-toe on, so that is a new experience for me. The only time it really presents an issue though is when my toes hit pavement and the grip kind of is, well, NOT there. Like when there is some sand, leaves, rocks or sticks, my toe kind of rolls and I have to quickly reposition.

Have to work out the new packing configuration. My other bikes had tails bags and trunks, as I am sure this one will sooner than later. Until then, I am getting used to where to put stuff.

I would love an actual cruise control.

4 days left of work, then it is time to hit the road and see what she can do on a longer haul.

Everyone have fun and ride safe.

 

[TheMagster]

Oh yeah, had the horn/turn signal snafu myself a couple times. Guy on the sidewalk was not amused.

 

[Jkbrooke]

Darkstar, how do you tell the three settings? I don't have any kind of indication that they are even on. Does it start at high or low? Maybe my heated grips weren't installed properly.