Well...clearly more to the Deluxe than I had originally sussed.

The jumpseat backrest is a take-it-or-leave item for me (of course, my wife has a different opinion on that.) Personally....I rather prefer the look without the backrest. My wife tells me that I prefer WITH the backrest.

I've never had heated grips before.....my most recent ride was an 1100 Katana (the only brand-new bike I've ever owned...the F6 to be the second) from back before such things existed (and now you know why my wife is so enamoured with the backrest). So I don't know whether they're a big deal to me or not. Probably not, as I don't do a lot of cold weather riding (this is NC, we have true cold weather for about 4 weeks a year....rarely the same 4 weeks from year to year.) Not to mention that aftermarket grips would be a dead item down the road.

Cruise control may be an issue, however. Never had it....but on past bikes ( pre-Kat....Dare I say the 'V' word from company Y?) I had several of the friction type thumb-lever throttle locks (does anyone still even make those?) which were quite handy.

Centre stand is a go/no-go item....whether I put it on or Honda does. (The mounting lugs are on the frame either way, right?)

Self canceling turn signals were a dream come true, back when I had them. Of course, the Kat told me I didn't really want them after all ( also...the Kat would fire right up late in the day, but never had much interest and had to be coaxed in the morning. A lot like a wife, that Kat was). I suspect I'll probably punch them off out of habit either way.

The better resale value of the Deluxe is an attention grabber. But....I'm of an age where this is probably going to be the bike they bury me with anyway. So...another coin-flip.

I like the idea of buying standard and using deluxe money to extend the warranty. But my understanding is I can do that for quite awhile after the sale anyway....when the wallet recovers.


So....decisions, decisions......




.....sT