Me and my CTX vs. The Honda CBR500X

Steven

Member
Since I upgraded my suspension, that only leaves coolness. Thanks. There's a lot to be said about mid-sized bikes.
 

Geophizz

New member
I only got to ride it for 15 minutes on roads. The dealer was slammed with customers, and they asked me to keep it short.
 

MJC

Super Moderator
So you can go to the dealership and he just lets you test bikes? Where do you live and at what dealership is this? Many places around here would not even let you sit on the bikes. I could see why your dealer was slammed! And I bet he has good prices too..........
 

burdicda

Member
My dealership in Melbourne Florida took the only new that year 2016 CTX DCT ABS w/fairing and had to dealer prep it just to let me test ride it...gas, oil, battery, all other fluids, and do the dealer dct/ecu prep reset, then just turned me loose on it with no stipulations
haha I could have rode it for the day....I took it with my best friend on his bike out for a ride in the countyside, put 10 miles on it and told em I liked it. The very next day I brought Nine grand cash in hundreds and counted out whatever it was and paid em and drove off on it.
 
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Mister Hand

New member
My dealership in Melbourne Florida took the only new that year 2016 CTX DCT ABS w/fairing and had to dealer prep it just to let me test ride it...gas, oil, battery, all other fluids, and do the dealer dct/ecu prep reset, then just turned me loose on it with no stipulations
haha I couldn't rode it for the day....I took it with my best friend on his bike out for a ride in the countyside, put 10 miles on it and told em I liked it. The very next day I brought Nine grand cash in hundreds and counted out whatever it was and paid em and drove off on it.

I really like the idea of buying from the dealer who lets me test ride bikes. Why even bother with the other guys, unless it's to just sit on the bikes or merely look at them.
 

randy1149

New member
I really like the idea of buying from the dealer who lets me test ride bikes. Why even bother with the other guys, unless it's to just sit on the bikes or merely look at them.

I ditto mjc... around here if your waiting for a dealer to test ride a motorcycle, you'll never own one.
 

Woodswoman

Member
I ditto mjc... around here if your waiting for a dealer to test ride a motorcycle, you'll never own one.

You've got that right, Randy.

I've been able to test-ride one motorcycle, ever, before buying. That was my Victory Cross Roads. (They weren't kidding, either; one ride, and I owned it.)

Every other machine I have ever bought was purchased on faith. I've made a couple of expensive mistakes on that account, too.

Thankfully, "Flicker" wasn't one of them. :)

.
 
When I worked at a Suzuki/Triumph/BMW shop while at university (early 1970s) we had one of almost every model (including 650s/750s) available as demonstrators. Things sure have changed since then.
 

Geophizz

New member
So you can go to the dealership and he just lets you test bikes? Where do you live and at what dealership is this? Many places around here would not even let you sit on the bikes. I could see why your dealer was slammed! And I bet he has good prices too..........

Bettencourt Honda in Bridgewater, MA. They are awesome.
 

kujawskir

Member
I've done a few test rides here in Central PA too, at different dealers. I also took a few demo rides, one 2-up with my wife. The demo rides are the best. The dealer's worker leads a group of five or so riders on different models through curves, corners, stops, highways, and you get way more time and distance than I feel comfortable taking when I go for a test ride.
On demo day they're taking a bunch of one and two year old models already marked down and exposing them to potential new bike buyers. A few 100 miles is not going to change their true bottom line that much. They draw in a small crowd, feed them Chili or BBQ while they wait for the next group ride, and notice the jackets and gloves on sale, the shape of that new Monkey, how tall is little Johnny this year, anyway?

Sure, they have strict requirements for license, insurance, safety equipment, they might even require local address on the license so it's easier to get to you if damages occur. You're almost taking more risk than they are with that waiver you sign.
 

kujawskir

Member
OK, last question, it sounds bad, but I don't mean to pre-plan this. It's not easy and the paperwork is not worth your time.

Have you checked the "buyer's remorse" laws in your state if they don't allow test rides? If I had a dud I'd take it back as early as possible the first day and give it back in the best condition possible. True remorse is not vindictive, you're as sorry as you could be it didn't work out and you list the true reasons what you got was not what you thought you were buying or why it won't work for you.

Now if they have a model that should remedy those reasons, it sure would be easier to know with less paperwork if you could just take it around a block to two or at least roll across the parking lot.

No, I DON'T mean to do this as a way to force them to do test drives. You must make every effort to get the right model first and not have remorse. You may have to go to court and demonstrate your reasons. When someone says they ended up with something they didn't like and they knew it during that first ride home, that sounds like the reason for "buyer's remorse" laws to me.

I've never yet had buyer's remorse nor used any of those laws to return something.
 

kujawskir

Member
Forgive me, I'm home sick with extra time on my hands - This reminds me in the late '70s I was in HS needing a replacement calculator. K-Mart had an update to the model I previously had, but I didn't want to wear out the buttons like I did before. It was in a locked counter, and I told the clerk if the feel of the buttons seemed better than my old one I'd buy it. She didn't want me to open it before buying, so I said "This is K-Mart, I could take it home for 29 days, carry it to school in the rain, scratch my initials on it, the dog could chew on the box, and you'd still give me a full refund. OR, I can carefully open it just to feel the buttons and it will still be in original mint condition for you to sell at full price." Suddenly the no opening boxes policy changed.
 
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