All Test Drives – 2014 Honda CTX700 Test Drive: Not So Simple! – MNC technical update: all about the Honda CTX700

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2014 Honda CTX700 review: not so simple !

All Test Drives - 2014 Honda CTX700 Test Drive: Not So Simple! - MNC technical update: all about the Honda CTX700

At first glance, the Honda CTX700 is just a new bagger type offshoot from the NC700 platform. Either a kind of utility custom … But behind its unpretentious appearance hides in reality an interesting and original motorcycle. Test.

MNC technical point: everything about the Honda CTX700

Engine

The CTX700 uses the parallel twin-cylinder set at 270 ° of 669.6 cc common to the NC700 S, X and D (Integra!). Or rather "the old" twin, since the three brothers took a few cubic centimeters this year (75.4 cc exactly, read in particular our).

Typed long stroke (73 mm bore x 80 mm stroke), this engine outputs 47.6 hp (35 kW) and 60 Nm of torque, which makes it eligible for the new category A2 of the so-called "progressive" motorcycle license. . Equipped with a single camshaft distribution, it is very tilted forward (62 °) in order to lower the center of gravity and free up space.

Wanted to be sober and not polluting, it draws on all the know-how accumulated in the automotive industry by Honda in terms of reducing internal friction. The pistons are thus coated with a special resin and the cams are made of extremely light aluminum.

In addition, the operation of each part is optimized: the water pump is driven by the camshaft and the oil pump is fixed on the same axis as the balance shaft. And if the twin has one injector per cylinder, the admission is done through a split duct with a single butterfly.

Finally, the last "mechanical" trick to prevent it from consuming, an ignition failure placed at only 6500 rpm. Result: Honda announces record consumption of the order of "3.58 l / 100 km"! MNC for its part recorded consumption ranging from 4.48 to 5.2 l / 100 km, despite strong gusts of wind (and rain …) during part of our test.

Economical, the CTX700 also benefits from service intervals of 12,000 km while its iridium spark plugs will have to be replaced at 48,000 km. The final chain transmission will probably not last that long! On the CTX700, a specific injection mapping and silencer have been developed.

Equipped with a short catalytic converter directly placed at the engine output to promote efficiency when cold, this vertical twin adopts the second generation DCT double-clutch gearbox as standard. More compact and more responsive – but still just as heavy (10 kg) – this Dual Clutch Transmission "2.0" has seen its shifting laws modified for more enjoyment and sensitivity.

DCT: box of tricks !

Discovered in 2010 on the VFR1200 DCT, this device, unique in motorbikes (a little less in cars where it has been used for ten years) is based on a "conventional" gearbox, with forks and barrels, connected to two multi-disc clutches in oil bath.

Managed by an electronic control unit connected to hydraulic circuits, one takes care of odd ratios (1st, 3rd and 5th), the other of even gears (2nd, 4th and 6th). When the first is switched on, for example, the central unit pre-switches – in just 70 milliseconds! – the second gear, then releases the clutch of the first at the same time that the second gear is locked.

The CTX700 is logically without a clutch lever and offers two operating principles. The first (AT) is 100% automatic and has two modes (“D” for Drive and “S” for Sport). The second (MT) is of semi-automatic type: the pilot up and down gears via the "+" and "-" triggers present on the left stalk.

When the engine is started, the system is automatically in neutral. All that remains is to choose between automatic "D" or "S" modes via the control placed on the right handle or to actuate the "AT / MT" tab placed behind the right stalk to engage the "manual" mode..

However, even in manual mode, the system "filters" the requests which seem unnatural to it: it is for example not possible to downshift when the engine speed is too high, nor to risk under-speed by increasing several. reports without speeding up. Likewise, the system will automatically downshift to first if you stop the bike in sixth (at a stop for example).

More annoying, the Dual Clutch Transmission still requires a little time to think about between each gear change, even in manual mode ("MT"): in vain you quickly press the trigger "+" or "-" twice in a row, the device only go up or down one gear at a time.

At any time, it is possible to switch from automatic to manual, and vice versa. The pilot can find out about the gear and the mode engaged via a small window placed at the bottom of a fairly complete entirely digital on-board console (read the "Instrumentation" part of our technical sheet).

Designed for calm driving or duoing, the automatic "D" mode shifts smoothly and quickly. More lively, the "S" mode is more suited to sporty driving but it generates more jerks, especially during downshifts.

Small specificity since 2012: the system has an auto-adaptive mode whose characteristics are situated between those of automatic mode "D" and those of mode "S". Called "Q" by Honda engineers, this invisible function for the pilot is automatically activated if driving in D mode becomes too "energetic" or, on the contrary, not sporty enough in S mode.

This “Q-mode” allows the DCT to adapt as closely as possible to the pilot’s wishes, which sometimes gives the impression that the system is truly “intelligent”. Finally, as on the first generation of double clutch, it is possible to manually up or down a gear even in automatic mode, in order to downshift around a curve for example..

Honda has added an "auto-return" function, which means that after a few seconds without any action on the paddles, the system returns to the selected automatic configuration ("D" or "S").

Cycle part: simple but effective !

Like the NC700 and the new NC750, the cycle part of the Honda CTX700 is based on a Diamond-type frame made of steel tubes. Simple to manufacture and therefore inexpensive, this double cradle is largely robust enough to handle the overall modest power of the twin cylinder.

To accommodate its specific case racks and lower saddle (70 mm lower than NC700S) in particular, the CTX700 has on the other hand a redesigned rear loop. This transformation forced Honda to reduce the volume of the gasoline tank (from 14.1 to 12.4 liters) and especially to move it..

The bottle is now in "traditional" position, between the legs of the pilot, and no longer under the saddle. As a result, the very practical trunk that previously occupied this space has disappeared….

The chassis is connected to peripherals which are also quite basic: a telescopic fork of 41 mm of non-adjustable diameter and a mono-shock absorber adjustable only in preload. Compared to the NC700S from which it came, the CTX700 saw its geometric values ​​be slightly "customized"..

Already very long on the NC700S (1525 mm), the wheelbase takes an additional 5 mm, while the caster angle opens by half a degree (from 27 to 27.4 °). This results in irreproachable stability, but also directional heaviness at low speed. Finally, the travel of its shock absorber is lowered by 10 mm (110 against 120 mm).

Braking is entrusted to a device comprising a single 320 mm floating disc at the front and a 240 mm disc at the rear. For the anecdote, know that if these discs are of type "Wave" (with petals), it is not to make pretty but to make savings … The rear element is indeed cut inside the front disc to reduce waste, and this petal shape facilitates the operation: smart !

Delivered as standard with ABS, the CTX700 strangely loses the combined C-ABS "rear-front" system, however present on older generations of NC700s. Too bad for a custom-type motorcycle, with which it is therefore usual to resort mainly to the right pedal…

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