I'm sure a lot of folks have good stories about going to pick up a new (or new to you) bike. I was recently reminded of this story...

For years after passing on the opportunity to buy one off of the showroom floor I dreamed of owning a Honda Hawk GT. My time finally came when a guy up in Seattle ended up posting his for sale. A really clean blue '88 model just like the one I passed on. Perfect! I didn't own a truck at the time, but a buddy of mine did and he owed me a favor. It turned out that he was up for making the trip and hauling the bike back. He even suggested that we make it an overnighter as he had a friend who lived in Seattle so there would be a free place to stay. We drove up on Saturday morning and made a full day out of it — even took in a Mariners game that night. The next morning we headed over to pick up the bike and finally head back to Portland on Sunday afternoon.

Picking up the Hawk was the highlight of the weekend, but my story comes from the fact that a second buddy joined us for the trip. Neither of these guys were into motorcycles mind you. I had informed my buddy with the truck that another friend had agreed to lend me his aluminum loading ramp so that we could easily get the bike in and out of the truck. Saturday morning came along, and my first buddy with the truck stopped to pick up the second buddy before heading to my house to pick me up. As the story goes, the first buddy told the second buddy that after they picked me up there was one more stop to be made before leaving for Seattle so that I could pick up a ramp. Apparently with a look of shock on his face, the second buddy looked at the first buddy and replied "Jeez, he hasn't even bought the thing yet and he's already planning on doing stunts with it?"

Classic.

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum, and doing my research on the bike before i buy. Finding a DLX has been a challenge, lots of 2013's out there.

I found a Black 2014 STD at my dealer willing to sell at $7999.00 + Tax, $95 doc fee, $15 title, and $30 for temp tag.

Is this a great deal? or should i be looking for more. i assume they want to move this bike as it's not their most popular model.

I could pick up a 2013 they have for $7500, but i think the extra gear and instrumentation is worth it. any thoughts on that?

thanks!

I recently purchases a Euro/Japan factory seat which is about 1/2" to 3/4" lower than the US model. My 29 inch inseam has been enjoying it so far. However, it did slightly change the ergonomics and now my handle bars feel a bit high. I'll probably be looking into slightly lowering the bars a similar distance but this got me thinking...

Besides seat and paint options, was there anything else different between the Euro vs. US bikes? Google wasn't much help.

So as many of you know, my wife, who has logged on several thousand miles on the back of my bike is now going to begin her journey as a rider on her CB300F.
I figured 2 things -
[li]Let her lead so that I can watch her and she can drive at her own comfort level[/li] [li]Get some kind of Bluetooth Communication device so we can talk with each other
[/li]
I'm not sure if there is a Bluetooth helmet communication thread already posted, if so, I'm sorry about this. If not, this might be a great thread for all riders looking to communicate with other riders.

So I started to research various devices and the first thing I had to focus on is that my wife and I both wear full-face Aries so we would not need the boom mic. I first thought I was going to buy the uclear Force HBC 200 but after further investigating I decided that it was between the Scala rider PackTalk Duo and the Sena SMH10R Duo. I read as much as I could find on both but in the end it was the YouTube Video reviews that made me decide on the Sena SMH10R. It is very low profile with nice noise canceling and clean clear audio. The wiring tucks in nicely behind the pads of the inner helmet and it just seems well thought out. I started to price them and then went to our trusty eBay portal and found a guy who was selling 2 sets of the Duos for $255 with Free S&H. I immediately went to the fine print to see the "Refurbished" notification but when I scrolled down to there it stated in Bold -
"NEW SENA SMH10R . DUAL PACK
YOU GET FULL 2 SETS OF HEADSET WITH ACCESSORIES.
UNIVERSAL HEADSET - WILL FIT FULL FACE OR OPEN FACE HELMET
IN ORIGINAL RETAIL PACKAGING
No this is not a refurbished unit. 100% NEW."
So with that and this guys YouTube review amongst many I pulled the trigger and bought 1 of the 2 sets.
https://youtu.be/KFLIVdBoE2M

If you currently have a communication device that you use and like or don't like - please chime in so we can start getting all that are interested headed in the right direction!

PS - if I posted this in the wrong section, I apologize and simply move it to wherever it makes sense.
Another good YouTube review - https://youtu.be/HJiesPab-qo

This may strike some of you as hilarious but my current (and first) bike is a 2012 CBR250R that I have set up for touring. It fulfills its role nicely for the most part. Where it falls short is on the interstate (not speed; it will hold 85 mph but it simply wears you out after a couple of hours due to high revs and getting pushed around by vortexes near semis), passing power on two-lane highways, and heading up long grades and/or into a strong headwind. 98% of the time these shortcomings are of no consequence as I ride the deserted twisty backroads of Kentucky, but I take longer tours a couple weeks a year. My riding pals sometimes consider destination more than the ride and want to bust off interstate or highway miles at high speed.







Anyhoo...entering my fourth riding season with the CBR250R, the finance minister has approved the acquisition of an additional bike.

Here's where my heart/head is at:

The CB1100 really pulls at my heartstrings and is just so unbelievably beautiful. I think it is the best-looking bike ever made except for the classic British twins. It is also a pleasure to ride despite its excessive weight. It does not come equipped for touring but I imagine effective aftermarket windshields/fairings and hardbags are available. I have one dealer close to where I work and another (larger, more professional) one about an hour away. My reservations for touring mainly revolve around the chain (however I can live with it), the valve clearance inspection interval (7,000 miles), and potential cost and pitfalls (mechanic botching) of adjusting shim-under-bucket considering cam removal is required. Also I worry about air cooling in summer traffic. On the plus side, I think I would yank the fairing and bags and really enjoy the CB1100 on a daily basis.

The BMW F800GT appeals to my intellect. Very similar rake and trail to my CBR250R, with a similar riding position (I have Helibars on my bike). Equipping it for touring is an exercise in optional adders. I fear for my wallet and my closest dealer is two hours' ride away. However it is very light (only 100 lbs. more than my 250) and promises potential for spirited rather than relaxed riding in the twisties. On the downside...the bike is sporty but somewhat odd-looking and just doesn't seem like a bike that inspires passion. It seems like a bike intended to hold you over until you "upgrade" to an R1200RT. That being said, I could see this bike being a great weekend day-tripper or two-day-tripper.

Another draw to the BMW is the low and ultra-low seat options as I have a 29" inseam. Suffice to say that I am on the balls or toes of my feet even on the CBR250R. The CB1100 puts me a little higher (still manageable) but I have a Japanese friend who told me that lower seats are sold in Japan. These can be seen in some of the early CB1100 pictures of bikes sold outside of the US.

If funds were no object...I'd take both bikes. But I would like to solicit experiences and opinions from those here who do lay down serious miles on their CB1100 and can report objectively on its suitability as a touring machine.

Here is my 2013 CB1100 with my Sergeant seat re-cover with new, taller super-cell foam, Endurance pegs, Arrow muffler, an old 2001 Givi wind screen, Triumph fork deflectors, Ikon shocks, Grip Puppies, RLETS, and my license plate mod.

Some of you may recall I had purchased an HJC IS MAX BT Modular helmet after seeing someone on this forum wearing one. Unfortunately mine had this horrible mice in the attic rattle some other online users also experienced and attributed to a poor fitting door on the air vent or the IS (internal sun shield) mechanism. At any rate it was unbearable and I returned the helmet.

After wearing a couple of my full face helmets since returning the rattle trap, I found I really missed a modular, and would inadvertently grab the bottom of the chin piece on the full face, which of course wouldn't lift.

After trying on a slew of HJCs, Bells, Shoeis, Arai's, Schubert, Gmax and a lot of other helmets up at Iron Pony in Columbus last weekend, I ordered a new lid from Revzilla since I had a bunch of bonus bucks there I needed to use up. It's still an HJC (They just fit me well). This one is the HJC CL Max 2. NO internal sun shield, but I did order the optional dark smoke shield. Changing the shield was a piece of cake compared to my old helmets. Really nice set up. Took literally a minute without tools. Online reviews were mostly favorable a 4.6 out of 5 by Revzilla cutomers. Anyhow here it is.

[url=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/theferret111/media/image.jpg1_zpsybf0wvnv.jpg.html]

Ride review hopefully tomorrow depending on weather.



.

Hello everyone!

I'm in south Korea.
this CB is japanese special ver.
let's feel the spring!

I read most of the posts on the RC1 but still have a couple of questions.

Any 6 foot tall riders with RC1 experience please weigh in. How is the wind/buffeting with the standard windshield height? Other than the light coming through around the headlamp opening any other perceived drawbacks?

Anybody with first hand experience with the Motoco fairing?
http://www.motoco.co.jp/honda%20cb1100+k...00+k4.html

Fun little video, catchy music. Riding on wrong side of road and he sounds like I imagine Ptero and Cormanus do

https://youtube.com/watch?v=NTScsW6A8D8