Honda CTX 700 Owners?

[lexilis]

Any CTX 700 owners out there? I am likely to buy one in a few months and it would be great to hear of experiences from other owners here in Thailand. I am going to go for the dual clutch / ABS version though though I was skeptical at first and I will certainly drive one before I commit. Big Wing here in Chiang Mai does not have test ride unit and I might have to go down to BKK to do a test ride. No big deal. I would be interested in hearing about:

-- experiences with Big Wing (do their mechanics seem to know this new engine?)

-- satisfaction (or not) with the autoshifting drive mode

-- responsiveness of the paddle shifters in the sport mode

-- comfort level with the feet forward riding position

-- overall satisfaction / value for money

-- class A insurance costs

Yeah the price is outrageous (it will be close to 460k with the panniers, etc) but this is the Big Wing monopoly on big Honda imports for you. I would wait maybe even a year if I thought Honda was to start manufacturing those in Thailand but that seems very unlikely.

[hansgruber]

I talked to a guy at the shell service station who was riding the integra which has the same dct gearbox. He said it was a little clunky through the gears especially going down the gears.

He said it's a bike with a identity crisis. Not really a bike and not really a scooter. It's trying to be both but he said it was still good fun with plenty of power.

[seedy]

Talked to a guy this spring in Uttaradit, staying in the bungalow beside us.

From BKK, had his for almost 30K km

Was trouble free, him and the GF been all over.

Only bike - and owner - I ever talked to.

[Thailaw]

I own a manual (6 speed)/ABS CTX, so I cannot comment on any of your auto/paddle shifter questions. I am happy with Big Wing, although my experience with the dealer having a brand new bike is limited. I have had it for 7 months and have 4k km on the clock. Parts are outrageously expensive, but most can be obtained from Bangkok in a few days; little to nothing in stock at the dealer. I went into a deep hole on a highway under construction late at night and broke a plastic front directional signal (B1900) and scratched the plastic side cover on the fuel tank (B7400). No operating issues, although it does get caught between gears when down-shifting more often than I would like. It is not good value for money IMO (its price is 40% tax), but I wanted a new, reliable big bike for touring (not a sport bike), so there weren't many choices. I probably would have preferred a later model, low mileage Shadow 750 if I could have found one, but I am not unhappy with the CTX. It has good power and is comfortable to ride for long periods of time. Around town, I always use my Forza and leave the CTX in the garage.

[BSJ]

I own a manual (6 speed)/ABS CTX, so I cannot comment on any of your auto/paddle shifter questions. I am happy with Big Wing, although my experience with the dealer having a brand new bike is limited. I have had it for 7 months and have 4k km on the clock. Parts are outrageously expensive, but most can be obtained from Bangkok in a few days; little to nothing in stock at the dealer. I went into a deep hole on a highway under construction late at night and broke a plastic front directional signal (B1900) and scratched the plastic side cover on the fuel tank (B7400). No operating issues, although it does get caught between gears when down-shifting more often than I would like. It is not good value for money IMO (its price is 40% tax), but I wanted a new, reliable big bike for touring (not a sport bike), so there weren't many choices. I probably would have preferred a later model, low mileage Shadow 750 if I could have found one, but I am not unhappy with the CTX. It has good power and is comfortable to ride for long periods of time. Around town, I always use my Forza and leave the CTX in the garage.

Those parts prices are a killer! Almost 10k baht for 2 things!

[Thailaw]

I own a manual (6 speed)/ABS CTX, so I cannot comment on any of your auto/paddle shifter questions. I am happy with Big Wing, although my experience with the dealer having a brand new bike is limited. I have had it for 7 months and have 4k km on the clock. Parts are outrageously expensive, but most can be obtained from Bangkok in a few days; little to nothing in stock at the dealer. I went into a deep hole on a highway under construction late at night and broke a plastic front directional signal (B1900) and scratched the plastic side cover on the fuel tank (B7400). No operating issues, although it does get caught between gears when down-shifting more often than I would like. It is not good value for money IMO (its price is 40% tax), but I wanted a new, reliable big bike for touring (not a sport bike), so there weren't many choices. I probably would have preferred a later model, low mileage Shadow 750 if I could have found one, but I am not unhappy with the CTX. It has good power and is comfortable to ride for long periods of time. Around town, I always use my Forza and leave the CTX in the garage.

Those parts prices are a killer! Almost 10k baht for 2 things!

Two pieces of plastic! The directionals for a locally made Honda are about B400 for the pair! The side cover is a 15" long piece of plastic (with the CTX emblem) for $250! A local bike shop said that I could have just ordered the CTX emblem and had the side cover resprayed, but I had already ordered (and paid for) the part. The Honda panniers for the CTX are (as I recall) about B40,000, with the rack. The Givi boxes (which are just as good or better) are B7,000 with the rack, but the rack won't fit the CTX. Shad makes panniers that fit the CTX for about B20,000. So, be prepared to get clobbered price-wise at every turn. And the first oil change, so I was told, is B10,000.

[DILLIGAD]

That's some expensive oil change! Was it performed by NASA or Lamborghini technicians??????

[lexilis]

Thailaw,

Yeah those are some high prices for those parts. As you said, be prepared to be clobbered by Big Wing pricing at every turn. I may yet spring for the Honda OEM panniers be cause I think they look really sharp but I havent decided yet. You said you had a manual/ABS. Is that possible? I thought that ABS was only offered with the DCT. Am I wrong?

[Thailaw]

Thailaw,

Yeah those are some high prices for those parts. As you said, be prepared to be clobbered by Big Wing pricing at every turn. I may yet spring for the Honda OEM panniers be cause I think they look really sharp but I havent decided yet. You said you had a manual/ABS. Is that possible? I thought that ABS was only offered with the DCT. Am I wrong?

You should check the Shad boxes -- they look very nice, and many people aren't very happy with the OEM Honda panniers. The Givi boxes can be made to fit if you are willing to have someone fabricate some racks for you. There is a CTX website and several posters show their fabricated frames/racks, and they are fine so long as you don't take the panniers off of the bike. PM me if you want some pictures. The Honda panniers are small and will not, as I recall, hold a full helmet.

I checked, and it looks like you are correct, the CTX 700n does not show ABS, only the 700nd -- Automatic Dual Clutch Transmission and Honda ABS. Sorry for the mis-information.

It is not only Big Wing -- the parts are imported and have a hefty tax imposed on them. But, I expect that Big Wing also has a hefty profit added in. If you buy parts from Mityon (the Honda monopoly in Pattaya) labour/installation is not usually added to the parts price. At Big Wing (also owned by Mityon) it is. When I hit the hole and dropped the bike, I was going less than 10 km/hr. They replaced a part of the plastic headlight cowling, the left turn signal and the left side fuel tank cover, 3 all plastic parts, and the bill with labour was B11,700. The mirror was slightly scratched on the bottom, which would also have been B1,900 for 1, but I lightly sanded it and sprayed it with flat black paint and it looks perfect.

Good luck.

[Noelpat100]

Guys is there anywhere in Thailand apart from Mityon Big Wing that I can buy a Honda CTX700 DCT ABS without having to wait for nearly a year for delivery? I just can't get any sense from Big Wing Pattaya, they just laugh and tell me 'cannot get'