FIRST LOOK
P36
2014 HONDA CTX1300 AND CBR1000RR SP
SOMETHING NEW,
SOMETHING BETTER
Two new models from Honda
S
ay what you want about
Honda, but no one can
accuse them of sitting on
their hands and not building new
motorcycles. Case in point, the
two new bikes they introduced
on Monday, November 4 at the
EICMA show in Italy: The V-fourpowered CTX1300 and an uprated CBR1000RR called the SP.
A cross between a cruiser, a
sport tourer and a bagger, the
CTX is for someone wanting
something a bit different. The big
CTX is powered by a fuel-injected, water-cooled 1261cc V-four
(modified from its normal home
in the ST1300 sport-tourer) that
is traverse mounted and shaftdriven. The big CTX joins the
CTX700 and will be available in
two versions – deluxe and standard – and Honda is aiming for
a retail price in the neighborhood
of $17,000.
At least in its initial incarna-
tion, the CTX1300 will not
feature Honda's Dual-Clutch
Transmission (DCT). Instead it
gets a manual five-speed transmission that features taller gearing for touring. Honda says
torque has also been improved
and all the power of the CTX1300
gets to the pavement is via a wide
200-series rear tire.
The bike is a claimed 724
pounds and that's with its 5.1-gallon fuel tank, which sits below the
