I know it's almost Christmas but my wife wants to buy me a mesh jacket and my eyes have crossed looking at the specs, reviews, etc. on these items. Need something that offers some protection, high vis, and moves some air. If you could only have one.....what would it be?

The new RoadRunner magazine (Feb 15) came in today.

Of particular interest to CBers is next month they are doing a riding impression of the 2013 CB 1100 (why not the 14 model in a 2105 magazine is a question I have..but any press for the CB is good)

2nd.... there is a new dual tone air horn advertised that looks very small and may be a good fit for the CB 1100 for those that want louder horns. Called the "Sound Bomb" at TwistedThrottle.com for $ 44.95. Listed as 120 db at 3 ft? (That's calling it a little close lol)

3rd... For those in the Pacific Northwest there is a tour listed from Washington around the Olympic Peninsula

Another from Arizona and New Mexico

And a third from Minnesota

There is also a test of 6 mini air compressors to carry on your bike for repairing flats including fill times on a flat rear tire on an FJR to 40 PSI.

OK, so I made a mistake and referred to a gaggle of CB1100s.

EmptySea pointed it out.

And then augmented the discussion

I like MTC's retrospective of CB1100s, but it seems to me to capture a rather sedate gathering; like a concourse. For me, it doesn't capture the sense of the CB1100 on the road; or a CB1100 with RLETs and a black Yoshimura; or AussieFlyer's cafe-style CB. That would be more like a roar, a thunder or a bellow of CB1100s, but I don't like any of those much.

Similarly, a warmth of Hondas is excellent, but it doesn't capture the banshee-like din of the Marquez/Pedrosa style of Honda. That's more like a howling of Hondas. Or a triumph of Hondas if you can stand the irony.

I recall a photo from our Taiwanese member (I think) of about 30 or so CB1100s in one place. And next May in the US will see a serious gathering of them. For that reason, I think we should try to produce one or more nouns to describe a collection of CB1100s. Bearing in mind that a collection of ducks can be either a flight (when in the air) or a paddling (when on the water), there seems no reason not to have a number of suitable nouns for the CB1100, depending on the circumstances—at rest, cruising Ferret like along country roads, howling through the twisties a la our former member Red Mist, blowing along on the freeway.

So, as entertainment for those confined to quarters by winter weather, how about joining EmptySea's quest for a group noun?

Has anyone figured out how to drink through a straw while wearing a full-face, non-flip, helmet? I confess to having never attempted this, but someone told me Saturday that it's easy and I just can't imagine that it's really all that simple. Enlighten me. I'm thirsting for knowledge.

I'm looking at getting a new exhaust in the future and I'm just trying to do some research before I make my decision. I am going for sound over noise level and I really like a throaty grunt sound like the Predator Exhaust for the Triumph Thruxton . I think I'm just going to go for the slip on exhaust as opposed to a full system. I was wondering if anyone knows anything about Cone Engineerings slip exhaust http://tinyurl.com/k35pm5m. I've only seen it mentioned once. Does anyone else have this or know anything about it? Any info would be great. Thanks in advance.

Believe it or not, most motorcyclists in the Chicago area have their bikes tucked away for their long winter's nap. Oh sure, we all see posts on social media from folks in colder climes who ride year-around, but we need to remember that only the most passionate of us take time to chronicle our rides and we are also the ones most likely to keep our bikes in a ready-to-go state. The vast majority of riders are fair-weather riders. The rest of us who ride in December are, I suppose, rebels..."Decembrists", if you will. (December 14, 1825 is the date of a Russian uprising against Czar Nicholas. The insurgents were referred to as "Decembrists" or "Dekabrist".)

Now, today was not a particularly cold day here, but it was misty and overcast. My bike was ready to go with its new exhaust and heated grips, so I layered up and headed to the lake.

I really need to learn how to plot a map and then post it here, but it's hard to do on an iPad, I think. So, for those who like to follow such things, I worked my way to the Skokie Lagoons, then north to Tower Road in the affluent suburb of Winnetka. East on Tower until I ran out of road and stopped for a picture or two at the lake. After that, it was north on Sheridan Rd. through The Ravines, and further north through Glencoe, Highland Park, Highwood, and finally turning west on IL176 in Lake Forest. West through some less affluent areas then back south along a neat little stretch named St. Mary's Rd.

About 65 miles round trip. Stopped on the way back to check on the status of snowblower repairs (it'll be ready next week), fueled up and packed the CB1100 in the garage with my two other bikes and still had room for the Jeep. Not bad. Not bad at all.

I love the new exhaust. I love the sound and maybe it's just wishful thinking, but the CB1100 feels quicker off the line. The roads were a little slick due to the combination of temperature and humidity so I could not really push it through the curvy parts, but it sure felt good to be out. Even though it was around 50 degrees, my hands would have eventually got too cold to have fun were it not for the Heat Demons. I just have to remember to turn them back on after shutting the bike off.

Here's hoping that we soon get another weekend this warm so I can go out and be "rebellious" again. LOL

Lake Michigan from Tower Road Beach




Ravinia Park is the home of a wonderful outdoor music festival each summer. Folks come by train and automobile and bring often elaborate picnic dinners to hear some of the best musical artists in the world. It is the summer home for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Maybe someday I'll be riding through these gates to see my son perform here -- never know. (A passing bicyclist stopped and asked if I wanted my picture taken and then proceeded to regale me with questions about my motorcycle, calling me "dude" at least three times. I don't think he would have stopped if it weren't for the good looks of the CB1100, but maybe he just wanted an excuse to rest.)


Some of you may recognize this as one of the streets Joel Goodson raced down in his father's Porsche 928 while being chased by Guido The Killer Pimp in "Risky Business". CB1100--There IS no substitute.


I haven't been at this pizza place since I was a kid. I'm planning on having a winter dinner with all the folks in the area with whom I've ridden this year and I'm thinking that this may be the spot.


This could possibly become my favorite picture of my CB1100.


One car garage containing three Hondas with room left for a Jeep. OK, so I'm not Hondahoarder, but still...

So… Friday nite I’m riding the CB1100 back from Brickell to Miami Beach via the 195, my girlfriend who’s following in her car has fallen behind, so I’m tooling in the right lane at around 55mph waiting for her to catch up. As the exit for 2nd avenue approaches, a white SUV in the middle lane realizes at the very last second that this is their exit and swerves suddenly into me.

No turn signals, nada (as the locals say). Problem is, I’m directly in their intended path and there’s no time to swerve or brake. I’m an experienced rider, taught the Canadian equivalent of the MSF course in Ontario for a couple of years, but there was simply no avoiding this one.

With the impact, the bike was knocked out from under me and I found myself sliding, the tumbling, then finally sliding again to a stop in the divider between the exit and the highway. Coming to a rest where I did, kept me away from oncoming traffic or I wouldn’t be here telling this cautionary tale. It’s amazing what you have time to think about in moments like these. I distinctly recall thinking (“this is going to really hurt” just as I fly off the bike, then (“shoot, I wonder how much of this my body can take”) as I’m tumbling along the highway.

Thank heavens it was a cool evening (for Miami), so I had full gear on.

After catching my breath for a moment I tried to sit up and check myself over, and was astonished to find that I was basically ok. A moment later I’m on my feet and looking for my bike that’s slid about 50 yards down the exit ramp he/she/it was trying to make - no they never stopped……..

A couple of kind folks including 2 lovely nurses stop to assist me and we get the CB back on its wheels and off to the shoulder where I can better assess damage to it and me.

The bike: trashed left rear view mirror and rear turn signal, passenger foot peg and left handlebar counter weight ground to 2/3 their previous width, and deeply scuffed left side engine cases. My brand new series 2 handle bar was also bent out of shape. Tho it felt normal on the ride back home, I’ll take the bike to a pro to check if the forks got tweaked. The headlight chrome trim me is slightly scuffed, but that’s about it, the bike is still rideable and I’m walking, thank my lucky stars!

That my gear literally saving my skin is the reason I’m typing this on my Mac at home rather than getting a crash course (pun intended) on the latest reconstructive surgery and skin graft techniques.

This is my Bering jacket, which has the heaviest leather of any bike gear I’ve ever owned and CE armour in elbows and shoulders. It’s been perforated in both elbows and seriously scuffed of the fore arms (I figure I must’ve been trying to keep my head off the pavement as I slid).

[url=http://s654.photobucket.com/user/Almuli/media/Misc/jacket2.jpg.html]
[url=http://s654.photobucket.com/user/Almuli/media/Misc/Jacket1.jpg.html]

These are my favourite Hein Gerick winter gloves, note the worn down knuckle protectors. The outside wrist area is also perforated, can’t figure how this might’ve happened. My hands are totally fine, but I shudder to think the mess they’d be without the protection.

[url=http://s654.photobucket.com/user/Almuli/media/Misc/Gloves.jpg.html]

My favourite Shoei helmet is no more….. I was so annoyed I tossed it before taking a picture, but the face shield gives you an idea. The impact was to the left temple area and had I not been wearing it, plastic surgery would’ve been in my year end plans instead of Christmas.

[url=http://s654.photobucket.com/user/Almuli/media/Misc/facesheild.jpg.html]

Even with the armour my elbow took a good whack and I’m pretty sure I have bruised a rib or two cause it hurts when I cough. Two days after the crash I’m already feeling a lot better, so I don’t think anything’s broken. Other than that I have a few minor abrasions where my jeans didn’t do as good a job as my leathers.

[url=http://s654.photobucket.com/user/Almuli/media/Misc/Elbow.jpg.html]

On a brighter note, I just got an email informing that my Comet fairing and color matched side panel have just shipped, so tomorrow I'll order the damaged bits - I'll have her looking nice pretty soon.

Quite some time back during a bit of nostalgic daydreaming I recalled the white caps that were sold by Bell Helmets. I remember having one when I was young, but I have no idea what I ever did with it.

I visited to eBay out of curiosity to see what I might find. Surprisingly I turned up nothing. Then I googled the darn things. I found almost no information out there on the web about this apparently elusive item. (In time a few grungy examples showed up on eBay for insane prices.)

That would have been the end of the story had I not found the same basic white cap (minus the spiffy patch) for sale locally for cheap. While the original caps were hard to come by on eBay, the patches were not. So I bought one in order to make a Bell Helmets cap of my own.

It actually turned out better than I expected. Now that I've finished the cap, I'm not exactly sure how much use I'll get out of it. Honestly, it doesn't really matter as I was on a bit of a mission. It does strike me as the perfect headgear to wear for activities like washing and polishing the CB.

Anyone else remember these?

Does anyone have this exhaust installed on their 2013? I like the look and the sound from utube vids .

I've seen several posts from riders who have removed the black and silver stripe from the (2013) CB's tank. What is the best technique?

I've removed many a stripe and dealer stickers from vehicles by heating them with a hair dryer and then puling them off, a trick I learned from a body shop buddy of mine. However, the CB appears to have a coat of clear on top of the stripe which is integrated with the paint on the tank. I'm afraid removing the stripe might leave an indent where the stripe was.