Why did the British press have a downer on the CT?

[Jfro5867]

Hello all, had a manual CT a year or so ago and have recently decided to get a DCT one while they are still around. Might be my last bike, a keeper. So, have spent a lot of time over recent weeks reading up on the DCT. The CT seems to be very well thought of in Europe (by actual owners) but even journo testers in Europe liked it.

So why were the U.K. press so negative when they p themselves over the AT?

  I test rode a 1000cc demo AT manual last summer, to see what all the fuss was about, what exactly was I missing out on? Verdict. Nice enough but a touch too tall for me TBH. Don't want chain drive either. I feel confident in my abilities but no way would I want to do much off-roading on it, far too big and lofty. How many AT's actually go off-road? Not many I am sure.

Which brings me back to the CT, is it simply because magazines have to find stuff to whinge about or something else? CT is a road biased tourer so if it's heavy big deal? We don't all want to do wheelie's or back bikes into corners jamming on the back brake! We don't all want a TFT dash or 6 axis this n that. It's like bike manufacturers have run out of things to do so just create gizmo's for things no one wants? 

I watched a YouTube vlog on the new 1100AT, it has 27 buttons on the handlebars apparently all doing something? All the latest adventure bikes seem to be the same. Is PCP partly to blame because people just rent the bikes now so actual OTR price is irrelevant? I am buying my DCT with a loan. It's going to be mine.

I dunno. Need a lie down I think........

[Murphy]

Whenever I talk to bikers and DCT comes up, most of them go a funny colour and say they think changing gear is part of biking. Then I ask them about Quickchangers and Blippers and they wax lyrical . So how does that work then? I suspect that most have never ridden one, at least, not for any length of time anyway. If they did then they’d be hooked!

[andyrob]

Dunno either. I thank MCN for printing the 1st spyshot though. I was a bawhair away from a VFR12F (another bike that was derided in the press) till that day. Saw it, knew it was for me.

[scotsy]

I have had 2 x DCT CT's and now have a DCT AT (my first AT was a manual  ) and I only went AT because the CT was a heavy bitch to get round the house and into and out of the garage. I occasionally went off roading on it too so when it went in for the shaft recall work i was persuaded to take an AT out on a test drive. It worked because I went for a manual AT, there are situations when off road that are just plain are easier with a clutch. 2 years and 27K miles later i bought a newer AT but went back to DCT this time. Just over 2 years later again to today and another 26K miles i am just a couple of days from being 66 years old and gave up with the off roading as I cannot pick up the bike anymore if (WHEN ) i fall off.
I am thinking of getting a lighter bike again and quite fancy a CB500X but i would need to relinquish the DCT to do so.
I also hate the gadget driven way bikes are going, they spend more time pressing buttons before leaving a park-up you can be a mile down the frigging road before they notice you've gone!. DCT is great and enabled me to carry on riding in 2012 when my arthritic left knuckles were interfering with my enjoyment but I have soldiered on and this year I also bought a z125 Monkey for knocking about on, the clutch is nice and light so it keeps me in both camps.

Some of the downsides of DCT are :-

You cannot bumpstart them
You cannot free wheel them to a badly needed fuel station (got the T shirt) because they will NOT go into neutral until the wheels stop
You cannot get it from neutral into any gear if the wheels are moving
You cannot walk it down a steep section in gear (engine off) and use the clutch as a brake utilising engine compression (the handbrake is too awkward)
The extra 10kg premium over a manual bike

Would I have another V4 DCT tomorrow?


YES  but only if I got a Thomas Tank style locomotive turntable installed first 


Ian

[Hartley]

Why did the British press have a downer on the CT?
 Theres no doubt in my mind that the basics of the CT are very good, im also on my second. Manual first and now a DCT.
I think that the reason it was always on a back foot is because it is basic. (Other than the DCT obviuosly).
At the time the CT hit the showrooms the Triumph Explorer arrived too. Now the Tex had its issues but the marketing guys really hit the spot. A British bike that had more power and goodies than the market leader and  cheaper too. GS owners were leaving there beloved boxers to get on the Hinckley triple. I very nearly bought one myself, loved the looks, rode beautifully, was a Triumph i was just about to sign when the head issues came to light, two good friends already had them. It made me stop and see what was going on. Id not even considered the CT, i didnt even know it existed until my wife saw an add on the the back of a mag. The whole adventure bike world was looking at the TEX. The CT was very much in the background. Its been out 8 years and i still get experienced riders asking me what it is. 

There was nothing special about the CT on paper it and thats what the press believed too. Nothing in the specs put it above any of the compitition (except weight). It was an adventure bike based on another bike that was a failure, the VFR1200.  Ive always felt Honda were lazy with the CT. They launched a bike into what was the most compititive part of the market and put little or no effort in, It wasnt cheap either.  Honda just ignored the market and inturn the CT  8 years on sale an whats different to the first one sold, adjustable screen? Buy a Highlander today and its actually an inferior spec to the original WTF?

I get the points about not wanting all the toys, thats fair enough, i also now own a Himalayan, its got bugger all on it and i love it but in the big Adventure Bike market, most buyers do want some of these things, at least make them an option, CT and CT SE maybe. Realistically, the CT cannot be compared to these bikes and thats why its not in any group tests and never gets a mention.

Honda now seem to be fully behind the AT and i tend to agree with you JFRO, i rode one and it pretty much left me cold.  Whats annoying is that i see a massive gap in the Honda range, Theres the sub 100bhp AT which many will tour on, though two up with full luggage, is it really enough these days? Then youve the 30K Goldwing.

What you need is a 130- 140bhp bike that will carry two in comfort fully loaded up, sort of like a CT but with some one at the Big "H" who gives a sh#t involved.

It was ignored because in the eyes of many, at similar money, it just wasnt good enough. 

[Younger06]

Cruise and better suspension..........sorted!!!!

It could easily be face lifted with a bit of styling, cruise control and the TFT from the AT, and maybe an upgraded LED headlight unit. The weight isn't a deal breaker, it's only an inconvenience when shuffling the bike around..........when it's rolling it can hustle with the best of them in the twisties (if the road surface isn't too bumpy)

[Jfro5867]

Interesting entries chaps. I too never new the bike even existed before I bought my manual CT. I literally wandered into my local Honda dealer because it was raining and my wife was shopping so I thought I would kill 20 mins in there instead. It was in a line of other bikes and I had to ask what it was! I knew straight away it was my kinda bike. A bit like my favourite bike (1100 Pan) in what it is, not looks of course. I agree Honda did nothing to promote it, can't even remember it in any bike magazine TBH. I don't know this to be true but I do wonder how the 'system' works and how certain bikes get promoted as the next best thing, while others get left in the weeds. Not 'sexy' enough for the journo's maybe? Not sure a whiz around the block is enough to really highlight a bikes virtues (and failings). I think the CT is a really handsome bike with real road presence. I have cruise control in my car but use it maybe once a twice a year when I go on motorways up North so I get that in say America or Oz where distances are huge it would be nice but in the U.K. unless you trogg up and down motorways all the time commuting I know I wouldn't ever use it. In a way perhaps Honda are listening to criticism because the new AT has had everything thrown at it, all 27 buttons! But then journo's say it's too complicated and a pain to use?! I find It's all riddled with contradictions. I do agree that Honda now has a huge gap in its lineup between AT and Goldwing. Maybe they are stepping away from this segment?

[scribbler]

Great Post from Hartley..balanced and fair as usual. I take a more cynical view. Back in 2012 Bike magazine could have been mistaken for a BMW brochure! When the CT was launched Bike named it the cross dresser. Massively unfair and to my mind a deliberate ploy to deter UK riders by demeaning a bike which could have posed a real threat to BMW's GS. Bike have barely mentioned it in the last 8 years. Check out the bike directory at the back of the mag which gives the date of latest road tests. .the CT's is 2012 when it was launched.
You also have to factor in that BMW had a substantial advertising budget and while this shouldn't influence editorial, it clearly does.
Bizarrely Honda seemed to take all this on the chin and should have done much more to promote the bike. Like so many other CT riders I came across mine by chance ..took it for a test ride and loved it.
Such a shame that the bike's quality hasn't been brought to the attention of UK riders so that more people could enjoy the CT's delights.