2014 Honda CTX1300 and CTX1300 Deluxe - First Look

An ST1300 gets the Comfort, Technology and eXperience treatment.

Welcome to the second installment of Honda's Comfort Technology eXperience series (CTX), the CTX1300 and CTX1300 Deluxe. It's safe to say nobody really saw this one coming (until the spy shots we ran last week of the bike on a commercial shoot in LA), but it actually makes a lot of sense. The ST1300 is no longer fashionable, but its V-4 powerplant is still a jewel—and that longitudinally mounted 1261cc engine is what the CTX gets, displayed to really nice effect with its four chrome exhaust headers giving the bike a look like a cross between a Honda Guzzi and a T-bucket roadster. Okay, maybe not. Slight tuning changes, including lower compression and taller gearing compared to the ST, are meant to give the CTX better around-town rideability and fuel economy: its tachometer numbers turn red at 7000.

What it doesn’t get is a Dual Clutch Transmission. Honda says it didn’t want to bump the price up any higher than the $17K ballpark it’s already in with the ST’s manual five-speed gearbox, and the company also surmises this is a bike for more experienced riders anyway.

2014 Honda CTX1300 and CTX1300 Deluxe at EICMA 2013

The CTX series, Honda says, is all about combining higher levels of comfort and technology to create a unique ride, this time with distinctive V-4 engine pulse and exhaust note; the dual exhausts actually sounded pretty burly in the American Honda compound during our walk-around preview of the bike. And the low, 29.1-inch seat and cruiser ergos make it accessible to a wide variety of North American body styles and riding tastes. Passenger accommodations seem really good, too. The detachable hard bags protrude almost exactly as far as the not-too-wide mirrors, which should make this one a superb commuter. It's your basic Honda bagger, quite a bit smaller and lighter than the Gold Wing F6B.

For a few dollars more, the Deluxe model adds an audio package with Bluetooth connectivity (it’ll play songs off your phone cordlessly, which you can charge up with the USB outlet in the right cubbyhole), self-cancelling turn signals, ABS and Traction Control—plus blacked-out styling elements.

SPECIFICATIONS
ENGINE TYPE|1261cc liquid-cooled longitudinally mounted 90-degree V-4
BORE x STROKE|78.0 x 66.0mm
COMPRESSION RATIO|10.0:1
VALVE TRAIN|DOHC; four valves per cylinder
INDUCTION|PGM-FI with electronic control IACV, four 36mm throttle bodies, eight holes per injector
IGNITION|computer-controlled digital with 3-D mapping and electronic advance
TRANSMISSION|five-speed
FINAL DRIVE|shaft
FRONT SUSPENSION|inverted 45mm fork
REAR SUSPENSION|twin rear shocks with spring preload
FRONT BRAKES|dual 310mm discs
REAR BRAKES|single 315mm disc (Deluxe model fitted with CBS ABS)
FRONT TIRE|130/70R-18
REAR TIRE|200/50R-17
WHEELBASE|64.5 in.
RAKE|28 degrees 5’
TRAIL|4.5 in.
SEAT HEIGHT|29.1 in.
FUEL CAPACITY|5.1 gal.
COLORS|Metallic Black; Gray Blue Metallic; Candy Red
CURB WEIGHT*|724 lb. (CTX1300) / 731 lb. (CTX1300 Deluxe) *includes all standard equipment, required fluids and full tank of fuel—ready to ride.

Intro image.

Studio front 3/4 view (Gray Blue Metallic).

Engine close-up.

Studio right-side view (Candy Red).

Front view.

Instrument panel.

Rear view.