The CB1100 Community Forum

I have ridden many...many motorcycles. Worked in the industry from 1972 to 1989 and rode about everything produced during that time period from Japan, England and Italy. I test ride a lot of bikes even now since I live near a shop that lets me test drive anything on the lot or in the building, any time I want. A new model comes out, I go test ride it (Honda or Yamaha). They get something in used I haven't ridden, where's my helmet? be back shortly. I go to Demo days and ride everything they have, from R-1s to Strykers, from Piaggio 3 wheeled scooters to Can Am Spyders. I will ride anything.

Additionally we have 13 members in our family who ride. I get to ride all their bikes as well. My sons Ducati 696, my nephews NC 700X, my daughter in laws Ninja 300, another nephews SV 650, and another nephews KTM 690 duke, my brothers Triumph 790 (which used to be mine)

If a friend offers me a ride on his bike, chances are I will be back in 15 minutes. I've ridden Versys, and Vstroms, and R1150 and R1200R Beemers, and and Guzzi Brevas

I like ALL motorcycles!

But....the bike I find MOST satisfying to ride is a big torquey inline 4 cylinder liter plus bike. I like bikes that pull like a train, in any gear, at any time, that have a little bit of size to them, and a little bit of weight. When I roll the throttle on, I want the scenery to go blurring by..now. Don't want to wait for the revs to pick up. I don't want the power band of a 2 stroke in a 4 stroke. I want the power to be linear, building like a long low slope. When I'm rolling down the road at 55 in high gear and hit a little Burg with a 35 mph speed limit I just want to slow down to 35 cruise thru and then roll it back up to 55 when coming out the other side, without downshifting. Liter bike torque baby!

There used to be lots of them..GS Suzukis, XS Yamahas, KZ Kawasakis and CB Hondas. I was afraid the manufacturers would quit making them. Instead there seems to be a resurgence of this type of bike. Yamaha and Suzuki have both announce big " road burners" and of course thank goodness we have the CB 1100. Figure Kaw will be bringing their big Zrex back soon too. Great bike. They won't want to be left out of the market.

Thank goodness they are making a comeback!

(10-17-2014, 05:20 AM)The ferret_imp Wrote: [ -> ]I have ridden many...many motorcycles. Worked in the industry from 1972 to 1989 and rode about everything produced during that time period from Japan, England and Italy. I test ride a lot of bikes even now since I live near a shop that lets me test drive anything on the lot or in the building, any time I want. A new model comes out, I go test ride it (Honda or Yamaha). They get something in used I haven't ridden, where's my helmet? be back shortly. I go to Demo days and ride everything they have, from R-1s to Strykers, from Piaggio 3 wheeled scooters to Can Am Spyders. I will ride anything.

Additionally we have 13 members in our family who ride. I get to ride all their bikes as well. My sons Ducati 696, my nephews NC 700X, my daughter in laws Ninja 300, another nephews SV 650, and another nephews KTM 690 duke, my brothers Triumph 790 (which used to be mine)

If a friend offers me a ride on his bike, chances are I will be back in 15 minutes. I've ridden Versys, and Vstroms, and R1150 and R1200R Beemers, and and Guzzi Brevas

I like ALL motorcycles!

But....the bike I find MOST satisfying to ride is a big torquey inline 4 cylinder liter plus bike. I like bikes that pull like a train, in any gear, at any time, that have a little bit of size to them, and a little bit of weight. When I roll the throttle on, I want the scenery to go blurring by..now. Don't want to wait for the revs to pick up. I don't want the power band of a 2 stroke in a 4 stroke. I want the power to be linear, building like a long low slope. When I'm rolling down the road at 55 in high gear and hit a little Burg with a 35 mph speed limit I just want to slow down to 35 cruise thru and then roll it back up to 55 when coming out the other side, without downshifting. Liter bike torque baby!

There used to be lots of them..GS Suzukis, XS Yamahas, KZ Kawasakis and CB Hondas. I was afraid the manufacturers would quit making them. Instead there seems to be a resurgence of this type of bike. Yamaha and Suzuki have both announce big " road burners" and of course thank goodness we have the CB 1100. Figure Kaw will be bringing their big Zrex back soon too. Great bike. They won't want to be left out of the market.

Thank goodness they are making a comeback!

Ferret - where does the 2014 CB1100 DLX rank among the many, many bikes you've had the remarkable opportunity to ride?

And to your last point, this is what Kawasaki is bringing to Europe in 2015, a 1300cc inline 4:



Rip off that ugly oval side plate and it looks pretty darn good. And I bet there's no speed limiter or purposeful detuning on that one. (

(10-17-2014, 05:53 AM)CB4ME_imp Wrote: [ -> ]

(10-17-2014, 05:20 AM)The ferret_imp Wrote: [ -> ]I have ridden many...many motorcycles. Worked in the industry from 1972 to 1989 and rode about everything produced during that time period from Japan, England and Italy. I test ride a lot of bikes even now since I live near a shop that lets me test drive anything on the lot or in the building, any time I want. A new model comes out, I go test ride it (Honda or Yamaha). They get something in used I haven't ridden, where's my helmet? be back shortly. I go to Demo days and ride everything they have, from R-1s to Strykers, from Piaggio 3 wheeled scooters to Can Am Spyders. I will ride anything.

Additionally we have 13 members in our family who ride. I get to ride all their bikes as well. My sons Ducati 696, my nephews NC 700X, my daughter in laws Ninja 300, another nephews SV 650, and another nephews KTM 690 duke, my brothers Triumph 790 (which used to be mine)

If a friend offers me a ride on his bike, chances are I will be back in 15 minutes. I've ridden Versys, and Vstroms, and R1150 and R1200R Beemers, and and Guzzi Brevas

I like ALL motorcycles!

But....the bike I find MOST satisfying to ride is a big torquey inline 4 cylinder liter plus bike. I like bikes that pull like a train, in any gear, at any time, that have a little bit of size to them, and a little bit of weight. When I roll the throttle on, I want the scenery to go blurring by..now. Don't want to wait for the revs to pick up. I don't want the power band of a 2 stroke in a 4 stroke. I want the power to be linear, building like a long low slope. When I'm rolling down the road at 55 in high gear and hit a little Burg with a 35 mph speed limit I just want to slow down to 35 cruise thru and then roll it back up to 55 when coming out the other side, without downshifting. Liter bike torque baby!

There used to be lots of them..GS Suzukis, XS Yamahas, KZ Kawasakis and CB Hondas. I was afraid the manufacturers would quit making them. Instead there seems to be a resurgence of this type of bike. Yamaha and Suzuki have both announce big " road burners" and of course thank goodness we have the CB 1100. Figure Kaw will be bringing their big Zrex back soon too. Great bike. They won't want to be left out of the market.

Thank goodness they are making a comeback!

Ferret - where does the 2014 CB1100 DLX rank among the many, many bikes you've had the remarkable opportunity to ride?

And to your last point, this is what Kawasaki is bringing to Europe in 2015, a 1300cc inline 4:



Rip off that ugly oval side plate and it looks pretty darn good. And I bet there's no speed limiter or purposeful detuning on that one. (

Ferret - where does the 2014 CB1100 DLX rank among the many, many bikes you've had the remarkable opportunity to ride?

And to your last point, this is what Kawasaki is bringing to Europe in 2015, a 1300cc inline 4:



Rip off that ugly oval side plate and it looks pretty darn good. And I bet there's no speed limiter or purposeful detuning on that one. (

OK so I'm going to state the obvious here.....

That is a Yamaha.

Honestly the CB 1100 is the best all around motorcycle I can remember riding. Its got the best fueling, probably the second best brakes (the BMW R1200R ranked 1st for me) , handling that is above average but not stellar, the second most linear power band (GS1100E ranked first for me...what a tractor) the second best ergos,( behind my 77 KZ1000), the best clutch and transmission, the smoothest motor, and stunning good looks.( esp the DLX but I am biased on that point). Total the points and it's the best overall IMO. Others may rank bikes differently.

I have not ridden the Euro 1300 Yamaha. I have ridden the 1250 Suzuki. I'll be riding a ZRX 1200 next week. I have ridden the XS 1100 Yamaha, and the VMax, and the CBX ( which is way cool and sounds awesome but for a daily rider I'd rather have a CB 1100) and all iterations of the Honda CB 750/900/1000/1100 series.

Maybe it's a Kawasaki disguised to throw off the people taking spy shots......

(10-17-2014, 05:58 AM)Randy B_imp Wrote: [ -> ]

(10-17-2014, 05:53 AM)CB4ME_imp Wrote: [ -> ]

(10-17-2014, 05:20 AM)The ferret_imp Wrote: [ -> ]I have ridden many...many motorcycles. Worked in the industry from 1972 to 1989 and rode about everything produced during that time period from Japan, England and Italy. I test ride a lot of bikes even now since I live near a shop that lets me test drive anything on the lot or in the building, any time I want. A new model comes out, I go test ride it (Honda or Yamaha). They get something in used I haven't ridden, where's my helmet? be back shortly. I go to Demo days and ride everything they have, from R-1s to Strykers, from Piaggio 3 wheeled scooters to Can Am Spyders. I will ride anything.

Additionally we have 13 members in our family who ride. I get to ride all their bikes as well. My sons Ducati 696, my nephews NC 700X, my daughter in laws Ninja 300, another nephews SV 650, and another nephews KTM 690 duke, my brothers Triumph 790 (which used to be mine)

If a friend offers me a ride on his bike, chances are I will be back in 15 minutes. I've ridden Versys, and Vstroms, and R1150 and R1200R Beemers, and and Guzzi Brevas

I like ALL motorcycles!

But....the bike I find MOST satisfying to ride is a big torquey inline 4 cylinder liter plus bike. I like bikes that pull like a train, in any gear, at any time, that have a little bit of size to them, and a little bit of weight. When I roll the throttle on, I want the scenery to go blurring by..now. Don't want to wait for the revs to pick up. I don't want the power band of a 2 stroke in a 4 stroke. I want the power to be linear, building like a long low slope. When I'm rolling down the road at 55 in high gear and hit a little Burg with a 35 mph speed limit I just want to slow down to 35 cruise thru and then roll it back up to 55 when coming out the other side, without downshifting. Liter bike torque baby!

There used to be lots of them..GS Suzukis, XS Yamahas, KZ Kawasakis and CB Hondas. I was afraid the manufacturers would quit making them. Instead there seems to be a resurgence of this type of bike. Yamaha and Suzuki have both announce big " road burners" and of course thank goodness we have the CB 1100. Figure Kaw will be bringing their big Zrex back soon too. Great bike. They won't want to be left out of the market.

Thank goodness they are making a comeback!

Ferret - where does the 2014 CB1100 DLX rank among the many, many bikes you've had the remarkable opportunity to ride?

And to your last point, this is what Kawasaki is bringing to Europe in 2015, a 1300cc inline 4:



Rip off that ugly oval side plate and it looks pretty darn good. And I bet there's no speed limiter or purposeful detuning on that one. (

Ferret - where does the 2014 CB1100 DLX rank among the many, many bikes you've had the remarkable opportunity to ride?

And to your last point, this is what Kawasaki is bringing to Europe in 2015, a 1300cc inline 4:



Rip off that ugly oval side plate and it looks pretty darn good. And I bet there's no speed limiter or purposeful detuning on that one. (

OK so I'm going to state the obvious here.....

That is a Yamaha.

Randy, I was just checking to see if you were paying attention.

(10-17-2014, 08:05 AM)CB4ME_imp Wrote: [ -> ]

(10-17-2014, 05:58 AM)Randy B_imp Wrote: [ -> ]

(10-17-2014, 05:53 AM)CB4ME_imp Wrote: [ -> ]

(10-17-2014, 05:20 AM)The ferret_imp Wrote: [ -> ]I have ridden many...many motorcycles. Worked in the industry from 1972 to 1989 and rode about everything produced during that time period from Japan, England and Italy. I test ride a lot of bikes even now since I live near a shop that lets me test drive anything on the lot or in the building, any time I want. A new model comes out, I go test ride it (Honda or Yamaha). They get something in used I haven't ridden, where's my helmet? be back shortly. I go to Demo days and ride everything they have, from R-1s to Strykers, from Piaggio 3 wheeled scooters to Can Am Spyders. I will ride anything.

Additionally we have 13 members in our family who ride. I get to ride all their bikes as well. My sons Ducati 696, my nephews NC 700X, my daughter in laws Ninja 300, another nephews SV 650, and another nephews KTM 690 duke, my brothers Triumph 790 (which used to be mine)

If a friend offers me a ride on his bike, chances are I will be back in 15 minutes. I've ridden Versys, and Vstroms, and R1150 and R1200R Beemers, and and Guzzi Brevas

I like ALL motorcycles!

But....the bike I find MOST satisfying to ride is a big torquey inline 4 cylinder liter plus bike. I like bikes that pull like a train, in any gear, at any time, that have a little bit of size to them, and a little bit of weight. When I roll the throttle on, I want the scenery to go blurring by..now. Don't want to wait for the revs to pick up. I don't want the power band of a 2 stroke in a 4 stroke. I want the power to be linear, building like a long low slope. When I'm rolling down the road at 55 in high gear and hit a little Burg with a 35 mph speed limit I just want to slow down to 35 cruise thru and then roll it back up to 55 when coming out the other side, without downshifting. Liter bike torque baby!

There used to be lots of them..GS Suzukis, XS Yamahas, KZ Kawasakis and CB Hondas. I was afraid the manufacturers would quit making them. Instead there seems to be a resurgence of this type of bike. Yamaha and Suzuki have both announce big " road burners" and of course thank goodness we have the CB 1100. Figure Kaw will be bringing their big Zrex back soon too. Great bike. They won't want to be left out of the market.

Thank goodness they are making a comeback!

Ferret - where does the 2014 CB1100 DLX rank among the many, many bikes you've had the remarkable opportunity to ride?

And to your last point, this is what Kawasaki is bringing to Europe in 2015, a 1300cc inline 4:



Rip off that ugly oval side plate and it looks pretty darn good. And I bet there's no speed limiter or purposeful detuning on that one. (

Ferret - where does the 2014 CB1100 DLX rank among the many, many bikes you've had the remarkable opportunity to ride?

And to your last point, this is what Kawasaki is bringing to Europe in 2015, a 1300cc inline 4:



Rip off that ugly oval side plate and it looks pretty darn good. And I bet there's no speed limiter or purposeful detuning on that one. (

OK so I'm going to state the obvious here.....

That is a Yamaha.

Randy, I was just checking to see if you were paying attention.

Randy, I was just checking to see if you were paying attention.

I actually much prefer the 2014 (and before...) Yamaha XJR1300 we have had here in Euroland:



Although I am sure I have not tried as many bikes as Ferret, I also a bit of a serial tester, and I love to ride just about any bike. However, unlike Ferret, my favourite type of bike has always been torquey twins like what Ducati have specialized in. The Japanese twins were not bad either with the obvious Honda RC51, VTRs etc. I also really liked the Yamaha TRX, although not so much the TDM.

The CB11 is the first in-line four that I have bought, and before trying it I really didn't think I would like it. Well, I guess I am at that stage in my life where smoothness becomes more important to brute force....

You know Henrik most of the V twins (not transverse) I have ridden have been American HD's, and although lots of people obviously love them, I find them quite lacking. Vibration make them un pleasurable for me. Still I owned 6 of them, always thinking the next would be better. they never got better. Finally gave up on them.

I sold Ducatis for a number of years, (also Moto Guzzis) and rode many but they just never endeared themselves to me. Too quirky. My son always wanted a Ducati, so in 2009 he finally got one. I have ridden his 696 Monster numerous times. Maybe it's just the motor is too too small but you have to rev it above 6000 to get anything out of it. It's like riding his wifes Ninja 300. let the revs drop below 6k and you'd better be downshifting or it will start bucking. Same with my buddies V Strom 1000 that I've ridden. Hardly the torque monster V twins people keep talking about. The Guzzi 850 transverse V I've ridden was torquey. But again, too quirky for me.

If you ever get the chance to try one of the modern Moto Morinis, like the Corsaro or the Scrambler (all based on the same engine but with different mapping), you should. In my opinion, one of the best twins ever produced. For sure, below 2000rpm it is no good, but from there on it is simply amazing. The more recent Ducatis I agree need to be revved too high, and this is also why I preferred the ST2 over the more powerful ST4 and ST4s. I would ride it between 3 and 5k revs and it was just full of power.

I agree about HD's though. Never liked them, but it is more because I just don't like to ride cruisers. My dad had a Heritage Softail which looked good, but I hated to ride it. Tried all the others, even the V-Rod, and it is just no for me.

Oh yeah, the R9T is also a sweet twin. Previous BMW airheads never really did it for me like the R1100S which I really wanted to like.

But I suppose that after 30 years of riding twins, I know can look forward to another 30 years of riding four in lines!