CTX1300 My First Thoughts

JRob

JRob

Joined
May 14, 2009
Messages
179
Age
56
Location
Spokane, WA
Bike
'14 CTX1300
After many years of riding a ST I broke down and purchased CTX1300 this past weekend. I've been eyeballing them for about a year and recently have seen some really good pricing. As of today I've put over 600 miles of tarmac under the tires. This isn't really a full review as I don't have enough time with it yet to go that far but I will give some thoughts from what I've experienced in the past 5 days.

After purchasing the bike I immediately rode her home 278 miles from Seattle to my home in Spokane. During that ride I experienced sunshine, rain, snow, and high winds (40-50mph). The bike handled very well in all environments. I noticed in particular that it was less affected by wind than my ST is which surprised me for some reason. Traction was never an issue and handling was positive though the rain and snow.

Suspension: This is quite different than the ST in that it is a bit stiffer ride from around 0-50mph when hitting sharp bumps. After that things are pretty similar. For whatever reason you feel it quite bit more than you do on an ST. It's not terrible mind you but it is definitely noticeable in the handlebars. The suspension in back is a twin shock setup and seems to work just fine either 1 or 2 up. The only gripe here is that you need a specific spanner wrench that does not come with the toolkit to make any changes. I don't believe the ST1100 wrench will work either but I haven't tried it yet.

Tool Kit: 1 screwdriver that is reversible. Same bag as the ST and it is the same Honda screwdriver as the ST kit. Nothing else comes with it though. I hear in other countries it has some additional tooling (like the spanner wrench).

Seat: Wow. It is probably the most comfortable seat I've ever sat on. If you were going to be banging out some miles you could easily do it on this bike. I've done plenty of 600 mile days on the ST and I know I could easily surpass that with the CTX. Its soft enough that what the suspension doesn't absorb the seat does. The other side of the coin: My wife says the rear ST seat is more comfortable and feels more 'confidence inspiring'. The reason for this is the ST has the 'up' lip at the aft of the seat while the CTX seat is more cruiser like and drops off. We're pretty sure that once we get the top box on that will help with the confidence side of it. Hoping miles will soften up the comfort side of things.

Exhaust: What a thing of beauty. This thing sounds awesome! It is kind of funny though as you still get the 'jetson' sound from the motor just like the ST. They nailed the exhaust note in my opinion though.

Just like the ST the CTX has it's quirks. The battery is located in the forward upper fairing which is odd. Getting to it isn't much of an issue except the panel never wants to go back perfectly. There are a few tabs on this panel and one of them often gets snapped when removing/installing the panel. The CTX1300 forum has loads of info on the problem and several fixes. (Much like you find on this form).

Storage: The saddle bags are bit narrower than the ST bags and seems like you can't get as much into them. There are also two pretty small storage boxes on the front fairing just forward of the ads cap. You might be able to get a wallet in the left one and something slightly larger in the right side. They aren't deep pockets like you find on the ST. I never put much in the ST pockets anyway for fear of melting stuff.

Engine heat: There isn't any... Today it was 80F and I rode almost 200 miles in town and on the freeway and never noticed any heat at all.

The ride is quite different than the ST with the 'feet forward' design. It is not however like a traditional cruiser. Your knees are at a 90 degree angle so your feet aren't fully forward. I was still able to stand up a bit to get air under my hind side without feeling like I was losing any control of the bike. We've also owned a CTX700 which has a more cruiser location to the pegs so this is much different than that as well. I had been concerned about knee fatigue but I've not had any issues at all. Riding the ST you can make 'snappy' turns where this bike isn't as quick. It is still able to rock it through the turns but it just has the feel of a much larger bike. Bottom line: it is super comfy and still a load of fun.

There are lots of accessories that you can add just like the ST. I will be starting with a windshield. The stock shield (in the USA) is what I believe they reference as 4". I think out of the fairing it may be 2". When I got home from SEA I immediately ordered the Honda touring shield. I was hanging on for dear life with the wind coming home. On 32 degree mornings heading to work it's been pretty cold too. I have also ordered the rear top box and will be adding a battery tender, heated gear wiring, and RAM mount.

I am overall super happy with the purchase. I've enjoyed every minute of being on it and with farkles I think it'll be even better in the future. The best part of this whole thing is that I had planned on selling the ST to help pay for the CTX. My wife is trying to talk me into keeping the ST... I married the right woman!

IMG_2338.jpg
 
Thanks for the initial review, it's nice to hear from someone who's been on the ST before getting on the CTX. I've like the looks of that bike since it came out and if I had a way, I think I'd trade my ST for one, but can't manage it just now. From their reception in the US, I doubt they'll be around long enough for me to get one.
 
Ya Jeff,. The best part of your story is the part about the wife wanting to keep the ST...!!!!! Smart woman....!!

ToddC
 
Excellent post - many thanks. I've seen several CTXs here in Canada with the larger screen and it looks really good as well as being more practical on the highway.

Pete
 
I'm curious to hear more about the differences in the behavior of the engine?

There are quite a few comments about how detuned is the engine when compared to the ST. For myself, I would trade some of the final end (which it has even in excess...) for more torque with no problem.
 
I like the CTX1300 but the honest answer is that it is slow. My boss bought one about 2 years ago. He and I were taking a quick ride for lunch and jumped onto the interstate on ramp, I told him in the intercom (Sena 20S) that we would be giving them all they had on the ramp as there was no traffic to worry about. My ST1100 with over 100k miles really left him in the dust. I asked him if he had held back or missed a shift but he said that was all the CTX had.

Fast forward to just the other day, now I am on a ST1300 and he is still on the CTX1300. He takes off from a green light with out warning (I normally lead the rides) and I easily caught him and could have passed him at will in what ever gear I happened to be in.
 
Though I've never ridden one but from everything I've read the factual answer is that it is slower than the ST and slow is relative and subjective. The Hayabusa is fast. Ergo the ST is slow.


Savago said:
There are quite a few comments about how detuned is the engine when compared to the ST. For myself, I would trade some of the final end (which it has even in excess...) for more torque with no problem.
Click to expand...

I think this is to the heart of the matter. That's exactly the reason for retuning the power band. It doesn't matter how slow or fast the CTX is as long as it suits the rider.

Most of the comments claimed the CTX was Honda's replacement for the ST. Obviously it's a different bike for a different rider. Ergo not an ST replacement.
 
While that is certainly true about a Hayabusa and an ST, the difference is they do not share all major drive line components like the CTX1300 and ST1300 do. I was expecting closer performance results.
 
I knew going into this purchase that the engine had been retuned for more torque on the low end. This bike does not have same quickness as the ST but I guess I knew that going in. Now that may lead some to think this bike is slow. It is not. You can definitely get it launched and in my opinion it still rips. In the past 7 days I have ridden with several friends on various bikes from sport to cruisers. I've not had any issue keeping up with them at speed or from the light.
 
Sounds like your boss was shifting at a lower rpm than you were. That would always result in what seems like lagging back even if he was "giving it all it has." The power range (torque) is such that the CTX lends itself to shifting at much lower rpm than the ST. Many ST riders think they would lug the engine at the rpm where I regularly ride mine without any issue.
 
rjs987 said:
Sounds like your boss was shifting at a lower rpm than you were.
Click to expand...

Yes. It would be interesting to switch bikes and repeat the 'experiment'. Not that it would keep up with an all out launch but that it would acquit itself from being 'slow'.

Not to mention (again) that when the CTX first came round it was pointed out that a lot of riders don't even visit the upper range of ST performance let alone live there. The CTX was built for them. It makes perfect sense to put the power where it might actually be utilized.

Unfortunately the CTX didn't sell well. I don't know if Honda was trying to syphon off some H-D traffic but making the shorty wide screen the Standard screen may have alienated potential buyers. To me the taller windscreen changes the hole character of the bike. Whatever the reason I'm disappointed it didn't do much better. But maybe like the CB1100 Honda is letting lie fallow for a bit. Or not.
 
I think also, Honda has the F6B - a Goldwing without the top box. Seems to be pretty close to the CTX, and has a proven record. I wouldn't mind having one of those too, but I like the looks of the CTX, and right now, a CTX is cheaper.
 
Wahrsuul said:
a CTX is cheaper.
Click to expand...

That's a metric most of can't ignore. I like the CTX. But being a big Rhino fan the push would go to the F6B partly because saying that is so much cooler than CTX. :grin: If I got a CTX I guess I could call it an F4B but nobody would know what I'm talking 'bout.

But I don't have room for a second bike a all let alone a ride that big. :sigh:
 
The switch out bikes test sounds interesting. May have to try that with him.

While not on the subject of motors, I am shocked Mother Honda has not taken the awesome LED headlights from the CTX and put them on the Goldwing yet.
 
nlopitziii said:
...the difference is they do not share all major drive line components like the CTX1300 and ST1300 do.
Click to expand...

Except that they don't. When the CTX parts fiche hit the streets, I did a comparison between the two engines and found that while they look a lot alike on the outside, almost nothing that makes up the business end is the same. The CTX has different (smaller) throttle bodies, fuel injectors, cams, valves, pistons, connecting rods, exhaust and a different ECM running the whole show. (The knock sensors are gone, too, probably because of the lower compression ratio.) Everything from the crankshaft to the rear wheel is the same or similar, but all of that stuff is along for the ride.

--Mark
 
That is enlightening, I had not looked that close. Knowing that now brings up the question of how much fun would a CTX1300 be if it had a full power ST motor in it.
 
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