01-12-2017, 08:14 AM
(01-11-2017, 09:36 AM)The ferret_imp Wrote: Got in a short ride today as I took my ST down to the shop for some much needed maintenance getting ready for the 2017 riding season. New front tire, front and rear brakes, air cleaner, spark plugs, new fluids in clutch and brakes, new coolant fluids, and run down a coolant leak I can smell but can't see (common on high mileage ST's...mine is at 83,650) most guys just ignore it but since they will have all the plastic off, might as well look around.
I borrowed a slightly used Honda CTX 700 DCT/ABS to ride home. I had ridden one other DCT before, so I knew what it was supposed to feel like, but it still can only be described as different feeling. I rode it strictly in auto mode, ie not using the paddle shifters to change gears, but I did ride ot it in both D drive and S sport. In drive it upshifts very quickly. S sport modes holds the shifts a little longer. Upshifts and down shifts are all done automatically and all you have to do is work the throttle and brakes. You can easily feel each shift, up and down as little clunks. Unnnnnn clunk, unnnnn clunk, for upshifts..... Dnnnnnm clunk, dnnnnnnn clunk for downshifts. I really didn't care much for the feet forward riding position, and thought the ergos would not have been bad if the pegs had been 6 inches further to the rear. I had jo trouble keeping up with or ahead of traffic even, but at one point I approached a light and just before I got to it it turned yelllow. I don't like busting yellow lights but this time I was just to close, so I grabbed a handful of throttle and ...very little happened lol. Not a lot of response in Drive mode, but I made it thru before it turned red. Made it home before it started raining again.
I have been thinking about getting a smaller lighter around town, winter bike, and this is the class of bike I have been considering... SV 650, CB500X, NC700, FZ-07.
But alas this is not the bike for me. Will be glad to take it back tomorrow or Sat when my ST is done. Other than oil/filters and a couple of tires, this should get me to the 100,000 mark on the ST.
I bought a new 2013 CB500XA in May 2014 for less than $6900 Canadian out-the-door. As I had ridden a lot of large motorcycles until 1989, I was unsure that this would satisfy me for long. I was pleasantly surprized! The light weight, close ratio 6-speed transmission, and good fuel injection make this bike scoot.
It is light and nimble which makes my twisty back road day rides enjoyable. Over the last three summers I have averaged 81 miles per Imperial gallon (29 KM per liter), and it has a 300 mile (500 KM) fuel range. Despite only having a 6 month riding season, I have ridden over 33,000 happy kilometers on it.
The biggest complaint on the CB500X forum is wind blast and wind noise at high speeds. This is common on most "adventure styled" motorcycles. As I am 6'2" tall I added a tall windscreen that helped push the wind blast to the top of my helmet. I found 3M E-A-Rsoft yellow neon earplugs were the best solution to the wind noise. They are very soft, comfortable, don't pop out after riding a couple of hours, and really deaden the noise to a comfortable and healthy level. CB500X models from 2016 on have a taller windscreen with vents that have improved the riding comfort for those less than 6' tall.
A number of CB500 owners had ridden or owned CTX motorcycles before buying the CB500X. They did not like the extremely low red line of the CTX as it required a lot of shifting, The motor is actually half of a Honda Fit car motor.