The CB1100 Community Forum

There's a "I don't ride BMW's Anymore" thread going on the Triumph forum, and after piling on with my tales of BMW woe, it made me think of Saturday morning.

At Cars and Coffee on Saturday, I was staring, well drooling actually, on a CBX, hoping the owner would return soon and fire it up to leave.

While I was drooling, a guy on a newer model liquid cooled R1200GS backed in nearby, and put the bike on the center stand. A crowd gathered as he was letting the bike sit and idle.

I strolled over to see what was what. He had fitted the bike with clear plastic valve covers (said he found them on Ebay), and everyone was watching the valvetrain whirl away. I noticed something interesting. While the left cylinder was awash in a tornado of oil, there was barely a trickle swishing around in the right cylinder.

He said there was a ticking on the right side, and he thought that by buying the clear covers, he might be able to see something weird. Well, oil starvation will do that sort of thing, I guess. I started mentally cataloging the esoteric parts I had purchased over the years to try to diagnose or fix what was supposed be an indestructible machine. Bespoke battery chargers, expensive tools, scanners, etc.

Another BMW guy walked over and told the guy that some liquid cooled GS bikes have oiling problems, and let him know that his right cam probably wouldn't last much longer.

All the while, the CBX sat, unnoticed. I wanted to hear it, but my wife reminded me that we were supposed to be going to rescue my mom, who was stranded with a dead battery, not waiting to listen to motorcycles. Oh well, priorities, I guess.

(01-13-2020, 05:51 AM)Gone in 60_imp Wrote: [ -> ]There's a "I don't ride BMW's Anymore" thread going on the Triumph forum, and after piling on with my tales of BMW woe, it made me think of Saturday morning.

At Cars and Coffee on Saturday, I was staring, well drooling actually, on a CBX, hoping the owner would return soon and fire it up to leave.

While I was drooling, a guy on a newer model liquid cooled R1200GS backed in nearby, and put the bike on the center stand. A crowd gathered as he was letting the bike sit and idle.

I strolled over to see what was what. He had fitted the bike with clear plastic valve covers (said he found them on Ebay), and everyone was watching the valvetrain whirl away. I noticed something interesting. While the left cylinder was awash in a tornado of oil, there was barely a trickle swishing around in the right cylinder.

He said there was a ticking on the right side, and he thought that by buying the clear covers, he might be able to see something weird. Well, oil starvation will do that sort of thing, I guess. I started mentally cataloging the esoteric parts I had purchased over the years to try to diagnose or fix what was supposed be an indestructible machine. Bespoke battery chargers, expensive tools, scanners, etc.

Another BMW guy walked over and told the guy that some liquid cooled GS bikes have oiling problems, and let him know that his right cam probably wouldn't last much longer.

All the while, the CBX sat, unnoticed. I wanted to hear it, but my wife reminded me that we were supposed to be going to rescue my mom, who was stranded with a dead battery, not waiting to listen to motorcycles. Oh well, priorities, I guess.

So did your wife / mom come back to pick you up from the shop after they got the car running?

No, unfortunately we were on a mission to buy a new battery and take it to install in my mom’s car so she could get to her kitten rescue society volunteer gig. Neither my wife or mom would be able to complete the task on their own so, alas, I couldn’t stick around.

Drooling over a dime-a-dozen GS and the CBX goes unnoticed. No accounting for taste.

Clear valve cover? Neat.

Any kitten pics?








Just kiddin'!

No CBX pics?

AAA would have delivered and installed a battery within an hour. No need to figure which battery group size, stand in line at Pep Boys, return the core, or reset the clock and radio stations. You could have been listening to sweet music from the 6.

Strangely, I didn't take pictures of the CBX. Looking on my phone, the only thing I did take a picture of was a Reliant Regal three-wheeler.

Kitten pics? I have thousands of them. Mom is the Kitten Pied Piper of San Diego County. At any time, she has a batch of at least five that she's nursing back to health to be adopted.

AAA? Yeah... 'bout that... That's the reason I went to go help. Last time she did call them. They charged her $230 for what turned out to be an 18-month battery for a standard GM car. That's elder abuse in my book.

(01-14-2020, 03:13 AM)Gone in 60_imp Wrote: [ -> ]Strangely, I didn't take pictures of the CBX. Looking on my phone, the only thing I did take a picture of was a Reliant Regal three-wheeler.

Kitten pics? I have thousands of them. Mom is the Kitten Pied Piper of San Diego County. At any time, she has a batch of at least five that she's nursing back to health to be adopted.

AAA? Yeah... 'bout that... That's the reason I went to go help. Last time she did call them. They charged her $230 for what turned out to be an 18-month battery for a standard GM car. That's elder abuse in my book.

I've had good luck with AAA, both with the price and longevity.
They have an on-line battery quote - just input car model, etc.

I get 'em from Costco. Good warranty, Visa points and we're there almost every week anyway.

Yeah, loved my R1200R up until it started going down the list of known glitches for that bike. It developed every one, and I was able to sell it before it became a complete money pit. Luckily, I got enough for it to move straight over to my CB. I can sleep easier now.

Funny, did a search, can't find clear valve covers for Hondas.