(07-28-2017, 02:29 AM)postoak_imp Wrote: [ -> ]Is it the red color or the ABS or the silver engine?
I just went to cycletrader and dealers have 168 new 2014 STDs for sale and of course 0 Deluxes. Prices are as low as $5968 (with, of course, the various fees to be added).
OTOH, a lightly used Deluxe, if you can find one nearby is about $8500.
Would it be a crazy idea to buy a STD and have it repainted, if the ABS is of no concern to you?
postoak,
For me it was the overall flow and balanced design of the DLX that really caught my eye. My first viewing was at a motorcycle show 3 1/2 years ago, where I spied the bike for the first time from the front: dual gauge cluster, dual horns, dual rotors, dual mirrors, dual fluid reservoirs on the handle bars, dual rear suspension springs, dual exhaust! Everything just looked "right," balanced and relaxed from front to back, and it was love at first sight! The red, black, and chrome color scheme was frosting on the cake!
When I happened by chance to go to our local Honda dealer one day some 3 months later, I discovered a brand new, just-out-of-the-crate 2014 DLX that had been sitting outside on the sidewalk for only 15 minutes before I arrived. I asked about it and was told that it had been ordered for a guy who insisted on getting a crated bike but had not yet taken delivery.
I then asked if the other customer was going to complete the purchase. They called the guy right then and there, and they said that he told them his wife put her foot down and said "No!" They asked if he wanted to perhaps buy more time with his wife by putting down a deposit to hold it for later, and he said "No, cannot do it."
So then I told them that I would buy the bike, and I walked right into the finance department and paid for the bike in full right on the spot! Best impulse buy I've ever made, and I keep pinching myself even three years later that I got so lucky! And yes, each and every time I get off the bike, I give it another longing glance before walking away. The bike rides as balanced as it looks! It flows and goes in a relaxed, refined, easy manner all around. Even my son, who has a 2010 Aprilia Tuono, says that he enjoys my Honda for everyday riding far more than his far sportier bike!
BTW, I did take the bike out to the track for one day, and it was a blast! Yet now that I've done that once, I don't feel a need to do it again. The bike held it's own pretty well, but the 3-cyl bikes in the 600 - 800 cc range were far more able to make use of their top-end horsepower to great effect compared with all the other 1-liter+ bikes like my CB1100.
Sorry for my rambling response, but it's hard to squelch my passion and excitement for this excellent piece of engineered fun! Best wishes for success and good fortune in getting a hold of whatever turns your crank!
fritz
