Let's see those bikes

Sun is out for now, so leathers are hanging out to dry

 

My son and I just returned from a 4300 miler to Colorado. I ride a CTX1300 he rides a VTX1800. Bikes performed perfectly. I love that state. We did about 160 miles of Colorado dirt roads. He wasn't all that happy about that but I was leading. hehehehehe











I need two new tires

 

Eh, I've seen, and ridden on worse (NOT plan A by the way )



EDIT: THIS IS A JOKE AND I AM IN NO WAY SAYNG THIS IS A SAFE TIRE.

 

If you realized just how dangerous that is... very small amount of rubber between you and safely putting the kickstand down. When I change tires like that, it I wish I could show people how easy it is to simply push one finger into the deflated tire and have it cave in completely. I'm not replying to be the safety police, just thinking out loud.

Beautiful scenery!

 

As I stated, not plan A. And I do realize that it is a major issue. Which is why I didn't go on the funeral ride I was supposed to attend that day - I used the car. I didn't ride for a couple of weeks until I could get it in to have the tires replaced.

Sorry - I was trying to be funny, not get anyone's hairs up.

 

I've seen it once on one of my tires where you can just start seeing a tiny bit of cord. I stop riding until I get new a tire at that point.

 

I bought the2014 CTX1300 on a Honda close out last August. $6800 for a bike with 1 mile on the odometer. It now has 10,000 miles. I am very happy with the OEM Bridgestone tires. It is a rare thing for me to get 10 grand out of tires.
I will go Bridgestone again and am currently pricing a pair.

 

My Honda likes Bridgestones too. Sounds like you got a smokin' deal!

 

That deal sounded to good to be true. My son found it on the interwebz. I did not believe it so I called the dealer up next morning to get the "rest of the story".

Honda sold these V4 cruiser/tourer things with an identity crisis for $14999 new in 2014. Of course at that price they were a sales flop. This Appleton Wisconsin dealer in August of 2017 bought 24 of these CTX13's at a Honda manufacturer auction in Chicago IL still in crates from the Japan factory.

Honda already had $5000 of Bonus Bucks on these units when the dealer bought them. He was selling them to guys all over the country at $6800 and the salesman told me they were making just as much money at $6800 as they were at $14999 because they bought them in a huge lot. The downside was I had a three year old bike the minute I drove it off the lot but for $6800 and a full one year Honda factory warranty I could see no wrong in doing so.

The V4 IS Honda's mother lode motor. I've had three Honda V4's and they really sing to me. This one puts out bout 90 horsepower and it is very good power with lots of torque down low. I have had dozens of bikes I go through them all regular like but this one is a keeper,,,,

 

When I was still bending wrenches in '05-'06 we had the same kind of deal on '03 (IIRC) VTX1800's. Honda was blowing these things out because they had built way too many, plus they had a killer rebate on 'em too. We were getting them in by the semi load! At one point all the techs had quit doing repairs and we just set up a VTX assembly line...sold something like 75 of them in one month!!

 

Guilty as charged! I was one of those guys! Paid $8600 cash for an 03 VTX1800 in Sep of 04. I was riding with guys on 03's whose loan was more than I paid for mine new. They were not pleased about this.
One of the few bikes I truly miss. That bike took me many places I should not have been and all I have is a scanned pic,,

 

I think we were selling them even cheaper than that...IIRC it was $6800 for a "C" and $7200 for an "R"...but that could be wrong...few years back now.
I remember after I left seeing guys try to sell used ones asking more for them than we were selling new for the prior year...a lot more...and older model to boot!
Those are pretty good bikes...pretty trouble free. I always liked the big bore twins, from all the jap mfgs...good bang...er, thump for the buck! VTX had almost 4" bore, 110 cubic inch displacement from 2 cyls!

 

My wife and I left Southern Ohio around 1300 on Saturday. We rode 200 miles to Ft.Wayne Indiana and stayed at a hotel. Sunday morning we took two lane roads and back country roads to Holland Michigan. We are trying to stay off the interstate and enjoy the scenery.

 

We rode along the lake were possible and had some great views.

Apparently we had too much time in the saddle so my wife wanted to trudge up the dunes. It kicked my butt.

Tomorrow we cross the Mackinac Bridge then head down the other side of Lake Michigan. We have some family in Escanaba so we will stop and visit for awhile. 600+ miles so far and an average of 44.5 mpg

 

That's something I've never experienced till our 2k mi trip last year. We both had,, saddle sores. The last day we just wanted to be home and off the bike.

 

You are lucky, I start getting sore after a couple hours...even on the 'Wing! Lesser bikes are even worse!
I've tried all the tricks and aftermarket seats...some of it helps a little. I am just not cut out to be a "Iron Butt" member...

 

look into a Saddleman gel pad combined with an Alaska Leather Sheepskin
you can thank me later

 

you will get big time over here for that.3 points on your licence,and £60 fine.

 

The most comfortable motorcycle seat I’ve ever had is the Road King Police model. It has a wide saddle and an adjustable air bladder underneath the seat frame. Very comfortable.

 

We left the dune area in the morning and wrapped around Torch lake. It is Michigan’s second longest lake at 19 miles long. We made our way to the Mackinac bridge and crossed over to the U.P.

Sault Sainte Marie was our final destination for the day.

We checked out the lock system for Lake Huron and Superior then headed to the hotel. So far we are around 900 miles for the trip.
Tomorrow we will ride the Superior lake front before heading south to Escanaba.