short ride today

ofdave

Member
took the day off from my part time job-just because
did some stuff around the house and then a short ride (40 mi.)
took a couple pics, first one when stopped for drink from the thermos, the second stopped on a state road (72) near a park-high 70's and near perfect-should have gone all day

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randy1149

New member
I took a 70 mile ride today myself. I'm fully retired so I don't have a job to take off... the decision to ride or not to ride is top priority on my daily to do list. But I won't have alligators to deal with.

I really like the CTX in red. When I was in the market for one last April I wanted a '14 because of the color, but the dealer couldn't one so I had to take a '15 in the blue which I'm not crazy about. I think the CTX in the red or white are the nicest.

How's that windscreen working for you?
 
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ofdave

Member
the windscreen (MRA) does real well.
Zero buffeting, can ride with the face shield up, turn my head - no wind.
It is narrow though so I get a lot of wind right on my shoulders, great in warm weather but chilly below 65.
Have noticed more than once that I get bugs on the inside, I guess they bounce off my helmet back on to the shield.
"course I get them on the bottom of my boots sometimes too
One thing about FL-we have bugs!
 

Merlin III

New member
Today the temps are supposed to top 60 degrees and I will do some riding and attempt to adjust the suspension some more. I can definitely see that I am going to have to be more methodical about the process.
 

randy1149

New member
Today the temps are supposed to top 60 degrees and I will do some riding and attempt to adjust the suspension some more. I can definitely see that I am going to have to be more methodical about the process.
Gunna be 72 in my neck of the woods, 20 miles north of NYC.

The suspension on the CTX is a trade off at best and Honda didn't do anything to at least be able to adjust it easily. Was there any particular reason you went aftermarket shock? A hard ride is mine and I don't help it by running the tires around 40 PSI front and rear... I'm a tire mileage freak. I've got over 6K and there's very little wear shown. I should get 12K front and rear.
 

Merlin III

New member
Gunna be 72 in my neck of the woods, 20 miles north of NYC.

The suspension on the CTX is a trade off at best and Honda didn't do anything to at least be able to adjust it easily. Was there any particular reason you went aftermarket shock? A hard ride is mine and I don't help it by running the tires around 40 PSI front and rear... I'm a tire mileage freak. I've got over 6K and there's very little wear shown. I should get 12K front and rear.
Like all motorcycle enthusiasts, I am looking for the perfect bike for me. The CTX fits that description with the seat height, engine, and DCT. The rest of it? Well, not so much.

The riding position uses your back as a shock absorber. I tried to rectify that by getting the long floorboards so that I could move my feet more toward me and that helped some. I next got an AirHawk seat pad which also helped, As I observed yesterday, the air Hawk acts like a tire in that it's inflation level is low and it therefore absorbs small bumps and vibration in general. It sort of gives you the benefit of maybe running your tires at 25 PSI :) .

Still, with those mods I was still able to bottom out riding solo on an Inter-State Highway and medically damaging my back big time. I still have back damage a year later. I had traveled that road many times before on my BMW R 1150 GS without bottoming out or hurting my back. I had to make a decision whether or not to get rid of the CTX or attempt to fix it. I went with hopefully fixing it with a new aftermarket shock.

Still, with all said, I am not sure that the CTX is the best bike for me. I am currently looking into the possibility of getting an older BMW R1200 C cruiser with a 29 inch seat height that has a good adjustable shock. A big bonus to that bike is it's looks and that it HAS NO PLASTIC on it. My daughter is eying a good deal on the CTX if I go that route.
 

randy1149

New member
I fully understand your situation. When I first got the CTX I was riding on my spine as you... and many others. Everybody was replacing their seats as a fix for the problem... and for some it did. After a little analyzing I came to the conclusion the footpegs where too far away and the relationship between the seat and handlebars forced me sit in such a way I was sitting right over my spine, even though my bike is a '15 with a modified seat to make you sit forward from the '14. My inseam is only 25" so the '15 seat helped but not a fix.

So I changed the footpegs for the floorboards to get my feet back towards me. It helped but not completely. I moved the handlebars forward so I can lean forward off my spine... better but still not completely. I needed to be able to move the floorboards not only back and forth I needed to also make them go up and down so I can move the boards further down.

The final fix was the Kurykyn #8837 2" offsets. With the offsets the floorboard is back AND down from the footpeg mounts. My legs are now closer and toward 90 degrees. I don't sit on my spine anymore and can ride for hours without a problem. When I see a bump comping up I can also lift my butt off the seat with the boards.

In the attached pix you can see the elevation between rear of the board with the footpeg mount. The floorboard now mounts around 2" lower then if it were attached to the peg mount and my heel is that much lower on the board. This worked for me, I can't say it would work for anybody else. The problem is the bikes riding style only comes in one configuration... we come in millions.

If nothing else for less than $50 the offset gives you more floorboard location than without it.

The "pad" on the brake I made it from one of the original handle grips and cable ties when I replaced them with heated grips.

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