2014 NOS CTX700 6 speed conventional transmission incoming. Ideas.

Duffy

New member
The red New Old Stock (NOS) 2014 CTX700 is going to be on my breezeway within a few days. I'm looking forward to having the bike. I can start putting it through its paces.

I have a few questions that I'm concerned about. The bike represents some progressive innovations. Such as the catalytic converter. This is not new to me because I own an 1100 BMW Roadster that has a catalytic converter. It has never been a problem, other than that it probably contributes to the very faint exhaust note, and sewing machine vibe. I am ready for the CTX to produce a super ultra light exhaust note. I actually enjoy the quietness of the BMW, so I guess I should expect to like the modest nature of this new bike. I would like it if there was some way to get a stronger exhaust note out of the new bike though. Especially if I can do so economically and without adversely impacting the performance of the bike and the fuel economy. I have heard that messing with the stock exhaust system can cause problems with the electronic fuel injection program, etc. Any specific ideas regarding this bike and the quest for a more robust exhaust note will be appreciated.

One really positive thing I have going for me here is that I have a super good mechanic that runs his own business, including selling used bikes, but his main interest is in designing and building 'big' drag bikes from four cylinder Kawasaki's, etc. He races the bikes at Beaver Springs Drag Strip. He is advancing in age, although he is by no means an old dude; he has a lot of quality experience. Having him available to work on my new bike, instead of the amateur and novice mechanics at the Honda dealer, is a real plus. The local Honda dealer tries its hardest to hog up all the service work, of course, and resorts to some interesting tactics in order to do so, as you, I'm sure, can imagine.

Something I have not encountered before are the potential problems associated with the CTX700's 'rev limiter'. I have never had a problem from a rev limiter before. I am pretty sure that my 'new to me' Yamaha Majesty 400 Superscooter has a rev limiter, but if it does, it is mostly transparent and does not pose any noticeable problems of any sort. It has the Continuously Variable automatic Transmission (CVT), and I think I have noticed some rev limiting going on when I really pushed the bike recently, up a long incline. I wanted to see what kind of speed I could get out of it going up a long incline and I reached 72 mph before running out of room. It felt like, with more room, it would have kept climbing in speed for a while yet. At the same time it seemed like a rev limiter was keeping track of things.

With this in mind, I looked at the general comments on the forum here and didn't see any current topics mentioning a rev limiter or related problems. Should I expect to notice 'rev limiter' getting my attention? Is it an aggressive type of rev limiter, or something that does its job quietly in the background? I can understand where the rev limiter technology can protect the engine and produce improved mpg's.

I will be finding out a lot about this bike soon enough, but I thought I would ask some questions here and find out what kind of personal experiences some of you people here have had. There is zero substitute for experience. Bearing in mind that there is a great deal of experience concentrated on this forum, I thought it would be a good idea to ask some questions here.

I have been a long time rider. My dad bought me my first bike when I was 15 as a reward for me if I would get "all B's on my next report card". I got all B's and within a few days I had a shinny new red Honda 'Dream' parked in the drive way. Man I had a lot of fun on that bike. That is when I first learned that bikes are 'chick magnets'. Ha ha. Yeah. That bike was a lot of fun.

Since then I've always had a half way decent bike around. I gave my son my low mileage Honda XL185R several years ago and he is maintaining it very well. I am giving him my 2000 BMW 1100 Roadster.

So, with a lot of experience I will be rolling into this new CTX700, and, like with the Yamaha Superscooter, I am again 'toning things down' to a lighter, more easily manageable, yet interesting bike.

I never thought that I would be rolling with a scooter, but this Yamaha super scooter is really awesome and fun, from my point of reference. I think I will dig the CTX700 also.

Actually I think I will really dig the CTX700 since it is a conventional type motorcycle and has a six speed conventional clutch manual transmission. I like six speed transmissions and have not had one since my 1000cc super fast Kawasaki 'Concours' sport touring bike. I never found out how fast that bike would go. It would start to do the 'shake, rattle, and roll', shifting around in the lane, type of thing any time I got it rolling over 110 or 115. My BMW is rock solid at these speeds and feels like you are riding the blade of a sharp knife down the road. You think you are going maybe 80mph and glance down to see that you are actually going 110 to 115. This bike is a Thoroughbred and has a lot of confidence, just plain 'wanting' to go fast.

Well, anyway, I thought I would ask a few questions and got a little carried away. I hope I didn't offend anyone. If so I apologize. But then again, what is the forum here for if not to converse?

I'm looking forward to some positive feedback. I appreciate your consideration.
 

ofdave

Member
so welcome, Duffy
there will be no issue with the cat, As you know they are on every street bike today. The CTX is quiet- many don't like that and have gone to aftermarket or even no muffler to get some noise back. I tried two different exhausts and returned to stock. I believe an aftermarket for the NC700 (there are many choices) would work and provide a louder presence. Have not seen where anyone has tied one though. I am used to the stock and the quiet.
The rev limiter is an issue for those who come from a higher revving bike where winding up to more than 7 thou is normal. The CTX is pretty torquey from 2500 to 5000 and once you get used to that it is very seldom you'll ever rev much higher and hit the limiter. You will find that shifting at 4 to 4500 is normal and if you ride hard you'll be 5500-6000. Will you hit the rev limiter? Yep but you'll soon learn winding it out every shift is not really faster and you don't need to do that. It pulls real strong to about 5000. The rev limiter shuts the engine off, it's not a progressive operation. What you feel on the scoot is just running out of steam and normal.
Your CTX won't hit the 110-115 you get on your Bimmer-ain't gonna happen. You will be comfortable at 75-80.
You made a good choice. Take a few hundred miles to learn the CTX and it will be the one you pick to ride every .
 

Steven

Member
What Dave said. I have the DCT but when in manual the rev limiter is an all or none type of thing. You hit that before you realize it in first gear and the bike begins losing power. Keep in mind I'm not really used to manual on my bike so unlike Dave, I never got used to it. After first gear, it's no issue because you have more time to pay attention to the engine speed. Also like Dave said, it will cruise at 75-80 in relative comfort. I've had mine up to 95mph and still had more power available. It still felt fine at that speed.

One way the CTX is different than your BMW is it's quicker steering. This means it handles very well in town and at lower speeds, but at higher speeds you won't get that locked in a straight line feeling like your BMW. It's not a big issue once you get used to it. The key to riding the CTX is to just relax and don't try to manhandle it around corners, it's very responsive to rider input - Just use more body english and less arm input and the machine goes where you want it to. Oh, and when you're doing 60mph, it feels like you're going 60mph.

One word of caution, if you're a heavier person the shocks are less than adequate, front and back. I'm heavy and when sitting on the bike I compressed the shocks leaving only about an inch of travel left. If it's like this it will kill you on rough roads. You can adjust the sag on the rear shock and that makes a world of difference. Adjusting the shock is hard to do because it's hard to get to. Then you will need to shim up the forks too. At my weight, the rear shock compression damping is not good enough so while the bike will ride very smooth on moderate bumps, big bumps are too much for it to handle. If you're a normal weight, this whole thing is moot.

Another difference is that it's not a power house. Because of it's torque you won't notice it in normal traffic, but once you open it up, it's pretty tame. It's not going to rip your arms off with acceleration and when passing someone you have to be a little more patient.

All that aside, it's one of the easiest fun bikes to ride. It's small enough and feels light enough that riding it around town becomes a pleasure and yet is capable of taking to the highways.
 

Duffy

New member
I am prepared to roll with what the CTX700 brings to the table. The big BMW also red lined at a very low rpm, 6K plus/minus. I think I will really like the bike.

I used to ride the old BSA and Triumph 250 and 441 Gold Stars and the big 500cc single cylinder thumpers. Those bikes had loads of torque at very low rpm's and were super fun to ride. That type of surge of power was unequalled by the super screaming zonking two stroke Rice Rockets. The thumpers had a completely different type of power.

I think I will like working the six speed manual clutch thru the low rpm power bands. I am hoping that the type of power that I will see will be a high torque type of thing and will be fun.

At my age I have a desire to continue to ride motorcycles, but I want to ride lighter more maneuverable bikes. Bikes with a nice low seat height because I have short legs. The Yamaha Majesty 400 scooter and the CTX700 both have great seat heights for me and they provide me with the type of features that I most desire. A six speed manual transmission for the motorcycle and the continuously variable transmission for the scooter. Lots of storage on the scooter. Fat tires. Lots of room for adding features to the CTX, such as a radio and speakers, a tall windshield, so many things. But the light weight, easy to handle characteristics of the bikes is just plain wonderful.

I am glad to hear your encouraging words. Words from someone with experience. I plan to take delivery of the CTX early this week. I'm going to have some modifications made as soon as possible. I ordered the tall windshield, a glossy black HJC modular helmet and a couple other things. I want to order the center stand as soon as possible. I will probably gave the 12v power point installed. I will put on a Garmin GPS mount.

I don't want to mess with the factory exhaust system because I have heard a lot about the BMW guys messing up the fuel injection program by putting on aftermarket pipes, and also destroying fuel efficiency. Once Humpty Dumpty takes that great fall all the King's Horses and all the King's men, I believe, can't put Humpty back together again.

I plan to ride the new bike a lot and learn about it. Try to discover how to get the most out of the bike within its own unique parameters.

I'm looking forward to this.

Thank you for your feedback. How long have you been riding your bike? What bikes did you have before you got the CTX700?

I have not gone over 75 to 85 in a long time.

I might get a headlight modulator. These make your high beam flash on and off during the day and get the attention of just the right people; soccer mom's in Suburban's, old people in '87 Oldsmobile's and Cadillac's, etc. It is funny almost. They will see you suddenly and hit their brakes before pulling out in front of you. They just don't want to take that chance. There is no trick to safe riding, but I think the modulator does a good job at what it does and every little bit of help is welcome. I also watch those front tires too for movement. If they are not completely stopped, I get extra cautious.

Thanks again for the feedback. Hopefully we will be around here for a while.
 

Duffy

New member
I am looking forward to getting into the CTX vibe. I'm sure it will take some practice.

Honda's are really great bikes.

Another way to stiffen up the front shocks is to put heavier oil in them. The dealer or your mechanic can advise you on this. Another thing that can often be done is to change the shock 'springs'. Internal springs that can be replaced with heavier duty ones, plus the heavier oil. This combination could help you out a great deal. You might want to investigate it with your mechanic. Bottoming out the suspension is not doing anything good for the bike.

Thank you for the encouragement and feedback. I hope we are around here for quite some time. Thanks again. It is feedback like this that I need.
 

Duffy

New member
I pick up the red CTX700 today hopefully.

I hurt my hand two days ago. I had one screw in my end of the board and my girl friend lifted up her end of the board, and the end of the board at my end pivoted on the screw, a couple inches up and the end came up like a pincer against the adjacent board, with the side of my index finger getting pinched at the leveraged stop point between the two boards. The skin was pinched in crushed into oblivion right at the contact moment that the leveraged board pushed against the screwed on stationary board. Result; pain, blood, and the end of the work on the fence for a few days.

It is my clutch hand index finger and should not interfere with riding the bike home. Once I have it home I will see how much maintenance can be done by me and my mechanic. Hopefully almost all of it.

What goes into the 800 mile, or whatever, maintenance check up? Is that something I should have Honda do for liability reasons? I have minimal confidence that they could even effectively change a tire.
 
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ofdave

Member
I guess I have been lucky-never had any problems with a dealer in 30 years.
The 600 mile service can be done in your garage for sure.
I believe in taking the bike(any bike) to the dealer for the first service. I also believe in being known to the dealer.
Many will let you watch, just ask nicely and let them know you want to learn about the bike and not check their work.
And you will learn.
When it's all done slip the mech a ten and thank him for taking good care of your baby. If there's a next time he'll remember you.

I think many bad dealer experiences evolve from a bad attitude going in. Look for a bad experience and you'll sure as heck find it.

You (or your mechanic) can do nearly anything to your bike if you have the shop manual-a highly recommended purchase. The hard copy is more useful to me.
About the only things you can't do yourself are electrical diagnoses of the ECU as you don't have the factory programs.

Given that your new bike is a '14, ask your mechanic if he thinks it is a good idea to change the brake fluid-the book says two years to change. I realize it's new but you might get his opinion on it.
 

Steven

Member
Here are the maintenance schedules...

CTX  Schedual 2.jpg CTX  Schedual.jpg

I have a pdf service manual I can send. Does anyone know the link to download it from the web?

If you change your oil, be aware that many people have had a hard time getting the filter off. You need a really good wrench to do it.
 
Duffy, I bought the Honda in part because I too have a history with bigger singles (Matchless, BSA, Yamaha, Ducati) and 650/750 twins (Ducati and Laverda) and I was interested in something with a similar powerband.

Don't worry about the rpm limiter, you'll soon adjust. When I had a 250 Ninja I was riding around thinking it had plenty of power and then realized that I was shifting at 7000 RPM as usual, instead of the 13500+ that was available. I was barely getting into the powerband, I guess my rpm limiter was working in reverse. :)

The springs in the bikes are for light riders and being progressively wound (as I think they are) a heavy rider sees the lighter rate portion coil bound and ends up riding in the heavy rate which is probably stiffer than would be picked for a straight-rate spring. And as Steven says, it is easy to find just sitting on the bike uses up a lot of the travel.

The damper rod forks with their velocity-sensitive orifices don't deal well with high-speed compression and thicker oil will exacerbate that problem. Race Tech Cartridge Emulators, Cogent Dynamics DDC (direct drop-in cartridge), and Intiminators all add control elements to the damper rod and there are several cartridge conversions (I've got one by Matris on order) available too.

Luckily, solutions to the suspension are easily dealt with by the application of money. There are a lot of makers of aftermarket dampers these days, the hard part is figuring out which one to pick and how much money needs to be spent. I think Steven has a Penske on the back, and I bought a lightly used Ohlins from an NC700 owner after getting a good report on how that worked on a CTX.

As with everything else, dealership experiences work both ways. A friend of mine quit his service writer job at a big multi-line dealership saying "no more dealing with wacked-out customers!" Some shops are good, some are bad, many are "OK". But from the reports I've seen of these 670 Hondas going 100K miles without more than routine maintenance I suspect you may not have a lot of interaction with your local dealer if you are willing (or have someone who is) to handle minor servicing of the bike.

cheers,
Michael
 

Duffy

New member
This is very good information Michael. Thank you. I guess at 200 I'm not to heavy for the suspension, but I will see. Plenty of rough roads around here.

I started a new bike thread.
 
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