The CB1100 Community Forum

When I drive through country like that, and I'm by myself, it's a perfect time to listen to a podcast, or a Ken Burns documentary. You don't need to watch those, it's mostly just audio with archive photos. I listened to his whole WW2 series between Utah and Illinois once.

See Id be worried listening to something in my helmet that Id miss a strange noise my engine was making right before it cause catastrophic damage.

(09-30-2025, 05:40 PM)the Ferret Wrote: [ -> ]See Id be worried listening to something in my helmet that Id miss a strange noise my engine was making right before it cause catastrophic damage.

You ride a Honda... what kind of catastrophic thing can possibly happen?

Knock on wood knock on wood knock on wood

(09-30-2025, 06:58 AM)the Ferret Wrote: [ -> ]Just bring lots of money for gas lol. I just returned from northern California ( visited Lassen Volcanic Natl Park). Gas varied from $4.49 gal to $5.19 a gal depending on location and scarcity of fuel stations. I filled up before I left home in Ohio @ $ 2.87 a gal. Last night I filled up here for $2.75 a gal.

So I true. I have paid $6 per gallon. It is a good thing my CB1100EX is able to achieve 50 MPG!

(09-30-2025, 11:45 PM)rdprdp01 Wrote: [ -> ]

(09-30-2025, 06:58 AM)the Ferret Wrote: [ -> ]Just bring lots of money for gas lol. I just returned from northern California ( visited Lassen Volcanic Natl Park). Gas varied from $4.49 gal to $5.19 a gal depending on location and scarcity of fuel stations. I filled up before I left home in Ohio @ $ 2.87 a gal. Last night I filled up here for $2.75 a gal.

So I true. I have paid $6 per gallon. It is a good thing my CB1100EX is able to achieve 50 MPG!

Oy! Eventually Mrs. G and I will be moving to the San Diego area, and gas it more expensive than it is where we live. Not looking forward to that, but who knows, that's quite a few years away still.

(09-30-2025, 11:45 PM)rdprdp01 Wrote: [ -> ]

(09-30-2025, 06:58 AM)the Ferret Wrote: [ -> ]Just bring lots of money for gas lol. I just returned from northern California ( visited Lassen Volcanic Natl Park). Gas varied from $4.49 gal to $5.19 a gal depending on location and scarcity of fuel stations. I filled up before I left home in Ohio @ $ 2.87 a gal. Last night I filled up here for $2.75 a gal.

So I true. I have paid $6 per gallon. It is a good thing my CB1100EX is able to achieve 50 MPG!

Sadly my friends, gas prices are on the rise in the San Francisco Bay Area. I am certain that the cost per gallon will exceed $6 USD before Christmas.

In comparison, the cost per gallon in Austin, TX, another liberal enclave in the United States, is $3 USD per gallon.

The costa delta can be explained easily:

California government officials will issue a permit for a fuel station but not a petroleum refinery.

More miles are driven in California than any other state.

Gas has to be refined elsewhere and imported, adding cost and transportation costs and I suspect greater emissions.

With respect to the well-intended policy makers, the real impact is less money for working-class families.

It is a good thing the total cost of operating an over-built, incredibly reliable, air-cooled CB1100 is low no matter the cost of a gallon of gasoline.

While many stations in the Phoenix, Arizona, US, area will advertise their cheapest fuel at around $3.25, anything better will cost you closer to $4.50. I think it has a lot to do with what the market will bear as well.

(09-30-2025, 05:40 PM)the Ferret Wrote: [ -> ]See Id be worried listening to something in my helmet that Id miss a strange noise my engine was making right before it cause catastrophic damage.

Preface:  I'm not trying to convince anyone to have or not have audio in their helmet.

In all the time and over all the miles you've ridden, how many times have noticed a strange sound your engine was making and were able to stop your bike before it caused catastrophic damage?  And, of those times (if any), how many of those strange noises were soft enough that you wouldn't have heard it with audio in your helmet?

Also --- you can tell the median age of this group is getting up there with all the comments about gas prices. LOL

I've noticed that any time that I don't wear earbuds and can hear the sounds my bikes make at low enough speeds that wind doesn't drown out mechanical noises, I am bemused by what I hear. The Triumph makes a sound like Mom's old sewing machine. The Enfield makes a staccato belt through it's Indian-made mufflers, and the CB1100 makes a low thrum through the Staintune. Each engine makes it's churning, tapping way through life.

When I took a shake-down ride on the Triumph last weekend after completing the valve shim changes and related cam removal, I thought I purposely rode through the slow streets without any earplugs to listen carefully. I thought I heard something different, but pulling off and putting ears next to the running engine, it was all my imagination.