I have covered 9000 miles since taking delivery of my CB back in March of last year and I am extremely pleased with most aspects of the bike however I have had reason to question the quality of the suspension. The problem probably lies with me rather than the bike as I sometimes push the bike in a way it was not meant to be ridden. Riding with friends on more modern machinery, the pace sometimes becomes a little competitive and here in the UK we don't have many straight roads and I've felt the bike to be not quite as sure footed as I would like it to be and not as positive of other bikes I've owned. With this in mind I have invested in new suspension all round from Maxton Engineering. The front forks were stripped out completely and Maxton internals were fitted comprising of their cartridges, springs and preload spacers and I now have control of rebound damping via a small screw in the centre of the fork leg cap. The rear shockers also have rebound adjustment via a wheel at the top of the unit and more sensitive preload adjustment by way of a wheel at the base of the shocker. The rear shockers have been designed to be 10mm taller than the Honda units as Maxton considered the fork rake angle to be rather stretched. The taller shocks tighten the rake angle to give sharper steering and a slightly more sporty riding position. The whole system was set up on Maxton's rolling road with my weight simulated on the bike. All I need now is some dry, warm weather to test it out.
I was surprised by the design of the Honda front suspension - see my Thread 'Weird Suspension Design'
Looking good my friend, hope it all works the way you're wanting it to
(01-08-2016, 02:41 AM)Paulb_imp Wrote: [ -> ]I have covered 9000 miles since taking delivery of my CB back in March of last year and I am extremely pleased with most aspects of the bike however I have had reason to question the quality of the suspension. The problem probably lies with me rather than the bike as I sometimes push the bike in a way it was not meant to be ridden. Riding with friends on more modern machinery, the pace sometimes becomes a little competitive and here in the UK we don't have many straight roads and I've felt the bike to be not quite as sure footed as I would like it to be and not as positive of other bikes I've owned. With this in mind I have invested in new suspension all round from Maxton Engineering. The front forks were stripped out completely and Maxton internals were fitted comprising of their cartridges, springs and preload spacers and I now have control of rebound damping via a small screw in the centre of the fork leg cap. The rear shockers also have rebound adjustment via a wheel at the top of the unit and more sensitive preload adjustment by way of a wheel at the base of the shocker. The rear shockers have been designed to be 10mm taller than the Honda units as Maxton considered the fork rake angle to be rather stretched. The taller shocks tighten the rake angle to give sharper steering and a slightly more sporty riding position. The whole system was set up on Maxton's rolling road with my weight simulated on the bike. All I need now is some dry, warm weather to test it out.
I was surprised by the design of the Honda front suspension - see my Thread 'Weird Suspension Design'
Does Maxton have a website and contact person for CB1100 owners?
(01-08-2016, 12:18 PM)736cc_imp Wrote: [ -> ] (01-08-2016, 02:41 AM)Paulb_imp Wrote: [ -> ]I have covered 9000 miles since taking delivery of my CB back in March of last year and I am extremely pleased with most aspects of the bike however I have had reason to question the quality of the suspension. The problem probably lies with me rather than the bike as I sometimes push the bike in a way it was not meant to be ridden. Riding with friends on more modern machinery, the pace sometimes becomes a little competitive and here in the UK we don't have many straight roads and I've felt the bike to be not quite as sure footed as I would like it to be and not as positive of other bikes I've owned. With this in mind I have invested in new suspension all round from Maxton Engineering. The front forks were stripped out completely and Maxton internals were fitted comprising of their cartridges, springs and preload spacers and I now have control of rebound damping via a small screw in the centre of the fork leg cap. The rear shockers also have rebound adjustment via a wheel at the top of the unit and more sensitive preload adjustment by way of a wheel at the base of the shocker. The rear shockers have been designed to be 10mm taller than the Honda units as Maxton considered the fork rake angle to be rather stretched. The taller shocks tighten the rake angle to give sharper steering and a slightly more sporty riding position. The whole system was set up on Maxton's rolling road with my weight simulated on the bike. All I need now is some dry, warm weather to test it out.
I was surprised by the design of the Honda front suspension - see my Thread 'Weird Suspension Design'
Does Maxton have a website and contact person for CB1100 owners?
Does Maxton have a website and contact person for CB1100 owners?
Here is the link for Maxton. Although they are a UK business they have customers worldwide. They are well known in the racing world but the bulk of their business is for road bikes. They do a lot of work for people who have trailie type bikes but only want to ride on road. My bike was the first CB1100 they worked on and they took the opportunity to obtain as much information from it as possible on their rolling road. The man to talk to is Richard, great bloke.
http://www.maxtonsuspension.co.uk/
Wow.
Looking forwards to your evaluation.
Paul, that's just what I was thinking about... And a UK company too. Would it be rude to ask how much that set up cost? If it is then no probs, or you can PM me, if you prefer. I do quite a bit of two up, is the preload easily adjusted?
Have you had chance to try it out yet?
Kev
(01-17-2016, 06:41 AM)beardyweirdy@me.com_imp Wrote: [ -> ]Paul, that's just what I was thinking about... And a UK company too. Would it be rude to ask how much that set up cost? If it is then no probs, or you can PM me, if you prefer. I do quite a bit of two up, is the preload easily adjusted?
Have you had chance to try it out yet?
Kev
Kev,
It's not cheap, it cost £1140. Preload on the back is easy, it just winds on a fine thread so there is infinite adjustment. The front is more difficult as it requires the top nuts removing and spacers inserted, no big deal but less convenient. For pillions you would probably only alter the back. I've not had the chance to test the setup except for the ride back from Maxton but I do like the raised shocks which gives a very slightly more sporty riding position. When the snow melts and the salt is washed off the road I'll write a full a report.
Paul