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I just had my first ride no a Honda 700

Michael Moore

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www.eurospares.com
I just got back from my first ride of about 90 minutes on the CTX. The screen height didn't seem bothersome and the screen seems effective, but I still don't like the looks of it.

The DCT is very effective for launching away from a stop light. The DCT was fine to ride with. I did some manual shifting and tried both drive and sport modes and doing a manual override while in auto mode, and while they are all different, they were all fine. There's plenty of power for my needs/wants.

I've got to adjust the bars/brake lever because the bar is a bit high and the lever low so I was able to use only the finger tips and my hand was getting tired. An adjustable lever may be in order. My thick RR gloves and possibly a thick hand grip may contribute to the issue. The front brake seemed OK but not hugely powerful, maybe that will improve when I can get a better grip on it.

The rear brake doesn't seem very effective and there was something that my right ankle wasn't happy about, I don't know if it was the peg position or just an old ankle.

The engine feels harsher than I'd expect from a 90 crank with balance shaft, I guess that's the vibes left in for the pseudo H-D experience. But it is mostly noticeable in Drive when the trans is shifting up very early and RPMs are staying very low. I'm not sure if the engine is actually lugging or not, but that is the impression. On the other hand, I doubt that Honda would have the shifting programmed to be so low that the engine was going to be unhappy. Sport mode holds the gear longer and to a higher RPM so I'll have to experiment with staying in S instead of D.

The suspension doesn't seem very good, with a harsh road feel over cracks/ripples and jolting on bigger bumps (recessed man hole covers). Money will definitely get spent to fix that.

I'm not sure if it was the Aerostitch suit (which I'd never worn before) combined with my jeans being bunched up, or if there's some corner of the back tank cover and/or a raised spot on the Corbin seat but while I wasn't uncomfortable I could tell that a spot on my upper/inner right thigh was getting some noticeable light pressure.

The bike feels very light if doing some swerving back and forth or leaning in slow corners. I'm going to need some parking lot practice, I stopped off in a few and did some circles, and I tried dragging the rear brake a little as I'd seen that mentioned as a technique for a bit more control.

The FF riding position was fine, but I think when I come to a stop I'm dropping my left foot straight down from the peg (as normal) except that peg is farther forward so there's less support stability. I'll have to get used to pulling my foot back some.

The local Vultus owner stopped by this morning and we had a nice visit. I found the bike very nice to sit on (somewhat lower seat height than the CTX). I liked the OEM back rest a lot, and I think the floorboards were more comfortable and better positioned than the CTX peg.

His bike has had the rear brake converted to LH grip lever (he also has a Honda Silverwing maxiscooter) and the foot pedal deleted, and I'm going to order the parts to do that right away as I'm not keen on the position of the rear brake pedal. The Vultus looks a lot better in person than in photos, though it will still help if you like manga/anime styling. He mentioned his biggest adjustment was getting used to the large offset between the steering stem and handlebar grips making it easy to oversteer a little in slow turns. I may have been experiencing some of that on the CTX.

It was strange to be riding on the street and it will take some getting used to. But I've no big complaints about the bike other than the niggles mentioned above, and hopefully after addressing them the next ride will be an improvement.

Now that I've ridden it once in the state I received it I can start taking useless trim panels off and making other changes. :)
 
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