This absolutely bothers me. I don't understand what else I would ever want. Over 100 mph top speed that I would never utilize and 65 plus mpg, which should be seen as revolutionary for this class of bike.
I mean, there may be an electric bike that comes along later that makes more sense from a fuel usage standpoint if they were to be able to start competing on price, or something similar or even better due to technological gains that I might chose later on after the CTX700 wears out, but to trade up for the factors mentioned by these reviewers, I don't understand at all.
I'm still somewhat of a beginner; I've ridden only a little less than one year, but even so, I think that there is no way a 700 cc, powered-two-wheeler, that ways almost 500 lbs and has around 50 horsepower and 44 lbs of torque and is plenty capable on all public streets should be considered a beginners' only bike. It's all I would ever need, and, in some respects, it's already too much.
I do think it should be easy enough to learn to ride for a beginner, so, in that way, it is a beginners' bike. But where I'm at a loss is this MC culture that is constantly promoted by the MC media and enthusiast groups that say when someone gets out of their cage to ride on powered two wheels, that he or she will constantly need to either: progressively go faster or progressively move up in weight, or both, so that, by the time he or she has reached life long satisfaction in this recreational activity (not for transportation according to these folks), he or she will be owning and riding an 800 plus lb touring bike that gets 30 mpg, or a super sport bike that goes from 0-60 in three seconds and gets 30 mpg. To this crowd, there is no other reason to ride other than complete exhilaration, complete luxury, or to give them an extreme look that they can convey to others to say "see what I am" or "see what this bike makes me".
I say phewy to all that mess. I have chosen to ride, because I wanted something different and fun, but a prerequisite to all that is that it must be a huge downsize from a car; it must make practical sense; it must be much lighter in weight; and it must get 40% better fuel economy than my 44 mpg car. Why would I get out of a cage that weighs 3200 lbs and gets 44 mpg and 100 horsepower that is completely satisfactory from a performance aspect and then step on a bike that gets no better fuel economy and weighs one-fourth the weight while giving up all the convenience of a car with no other benefit than just having a little more fun commuting.
I did run across one review that I can't find now where the author seems to really get what Honda is trying to do. According to this author, they are not going after the current motorcycle enthusiast target market. Too many of these folks already have a preconception about what a motorcycle should be and will be taken aback just to look at its layout and look at the specs, because, in this culture, this MC does not do or convey what these people believe a MC should do or convey, and therefore, do not understand why any MC company would come out with anything like it. If you read the comments below these articles, you will see what I'm referring to; absolute disdain for this machine and to Honda for creating such a threat to their culture.
In this one particular review, the author hints that many urbanites of the younger generation are being courted by Honda. This generation has grown up with air bags and a huge focus on safety in our society, so many of them may perceive a motorcycle as a very dangerous vehicle. This generation is also, according to the author and I agree, very apathetic to vehicles. These folks are more into digital devices and see transportation choices as an after thought. They want something that's cheap; cheap to operate; and easy to maintain. They don't want to think about their transportation choice. They want to get in or on it and go, and not even think much about what it is.
Secondly, the author hints that Honda is going after scooter graduates like me. These are folks that chose a scooter for practical reasons for transportation and ended up with a scooter, because they didn't like the choices in motorcycles.
Thirdly, the author hints that Honda is going after the single man or women that lives in the city and is looking for something to get around on and would ordinarily chose a three or four year old Honda Civic beginning their first real job after college.
Fourthly, the author hints that Honda is going after the older rider who wants to ride again but wants something easier to ride than the extreme products that have been offered up to now.
According to this author, Honda will have a real hit. I think they may, but they will have to do much more mass t.v. marketing and hit on all these points to reach the crowd that they are after. There not going to get to these folks with the same old, tired marketing in motorcycle and recreational magazines. If they are trying to reach the masses with a new reason to ride, they're going to have to spend some money to teach this crowd that it is a viable choice for transportation for the new generations. Otherwise, the whole industry is in trouble for the future.
