So I'm in the market for a new deluxe but not sure if at this point I should just wait for the 2015s to come out (assuming they do but that is on another thread) for the price to drop more on the 2014s. No rush since the weather here sucks anyway and I won't really be riding it until spring.

I'd *really* like to test drive one first but the dealer that has one on the floor said if we came to an agreement on price and I agreed to buy it then and only then could I test drive it. The MSRP with freight and tax etc came to $13.7k and the lowest I could talk him down was $12.3K otd. I'd like to pay something south of $11.5K but at this point maybe I'm just being stingy. (I'm one of those a**holes that wants to get "a deal"). The weird part is that if I'd been able to ride it to make sure that it's all that I think it is, he probably would have had me sold on it easily.

There are several dealers around the Pacific Northwest that have them in stock but not assembled and no one I've found is willing to put one together just for a test ride. I can understand that.

Do you think I should wait for the price to drop or pull the trigger?

So in general the answer to my own question is "well if the bike is worth $12.3K to me then I should buy it" but does anyone else have any words of wisdom for someone on the fence?

thanks.

Seems some states laws say it is not a motorcycle...no handlebar, no saddle. I'm thinking it is more car than motorcycle?
http://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/sli...t-misfires

There´s a talk about valve timing defect "built-in" to our engines to create a "character" of old inline four. How would the CB feel with straight timing? Big enough difference to feel it? Where is this achieved, mechanical wise? Camshaft lobes? This is just something what popped up in my head on lazy Friday :-)

I want to put a tire labeled rear on the front. Why? Well I've been running the trails through the national forests around here and while my Avon Road riders are OK thought I'd put on some adventure labeled tires. Problem is there are only a few front tires that will fit 18inch rims and they require a tube. Tires in the 120x18 size for rear usage do not require tubes. I seem to remember that the rotation had to be reversed. Right?
thanks

Day 7: Sydney-Cooma

534 kms

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Six days had passed since I left home. I’d had a great ride to Sydney and a great weekend spending time with my son and catching up with an old friend. I had the pleasure of meeting Mrs Pterodactyl. Finally, on the evening of the sixth day, I got to enjoy one of Sydney’s spectacular storms. We get them at home too, but they’ve been scarce of late and it was good to be reminded of how much water can fall from the sky in a very short period. My son and I only just got in the door of the local pizza shop before the skies opened.

In the morning, the remnants of the storm were hanging about. There was no rain, but it was overcast and the forecast for later in the day was pretty bloody awful.

Pterodactyl and I met at a service station (that’s gas station in American) near to both of us, refuelled and launched ourselves into Sydney’s commuter traffic. Cleverly we were going away from the traffic along a route Pterodactyl had devised. It would be all new riding to me.

Pterodactyl sets a course south

A 30 kilometre ride had us at the Loftus Oval next to the entrance to the Royal National Park. Here we stopped to meet Jalalski (as he is known on the Australian Netrider forum) who was to be a our companion on the way to Phillip Island. And while there, too. Jalalski had made the pilgrimage south with Pterodactyl in 2013 and had decided he needed to upgrade from his GS500F to something larger. He’d done an amazing deal on a Triumph Sprint, a worthy companion for the CB1100s, and was looking forward to putting it through its paces.

From left, Jalalski, Pterodactyl, Cormanus

The ride through the Royal National Park is amazing, although many would say too heavily speed limited. The road is narrow with the bush often coming very close to both sides of the road and it twists and turns away enough to make a motorcyclist drool. There was not much traffic and we made good time.



Royal National Park


At the southern exit from the Royal National Park looking south to Wollongong and the Sea Cliff Bridge.

We didn’t ride the Sea Cliff Bridge as Pterodactyl had other plans for us. We took to the Princes Highway to skirt Wollongong, turning right when we reached Albion Park to head up the Macquarie Pass towards Robertson and its emponymous Pie Shop.

Princes Highway


Heading inland towards Macquarie Pass


One of the early corners on the way up the Macquarie Pass


The road narrows

Another great road. Well done, Pterodactyl. The climb up the pass is well worth the effort, although it is easy to get stuck behind a car for long periods.

By the time we got to the Robertson Pie Shop, it was considerably cooler, the sky was looking more forbidding and I thought we deserved the cup of coffee and Portuguese tarts. Both were good.

Our tour guide then took us back down the mountain to Kiama through the very pretty Jamberoo Rd. Although the ride from Albion Park to Kiama was effectively a 56 km detour, it was a damned sight prettier and more fun than the 17 km dash down the highway. That’s the joy of riding motorcycles: it’s often more fun to take the long way.

We travelled on down the Princes Highway stopping for fuel at Berry before turning left at Nowra to begin the climb to the highlands. The sky looked increasingly ominous and it wasn’t long before Pterodactyl pulled over, climbed off and started to haul on his wet weather gear. Jalalski and I followed suit. Not a moment too soon. Even before we were back on the bikes the rain started to fall. Hard.

I’d like to report it was just a shower and we were quickly through it. It wasn’t, and it was to keep going for the rest of the day delivering, to me at least, an object lesson in the inadequacy of nearly all motorcycle wet weather gear in really wet conditions. I confess it was a bit of a shock to realise that my hitherto waterproof boots were slowly filling up with water; that the seam in the crotch of my trousers was failing and parts of my jacket just weren’t doing their job. I suspect a set of ocean racing wet weathers may well be the only thing really up to keeping the water out.

We stopped in Braidwood for something to eat and a coffee and decided not to take the planned route as it involved a reasonable stretch of dirt and Pterodactyl was a bit concerned about crossing one low-lying creek on the way through. We detoured via Queanbeyan, just over the border from Canberra, Australia’s capital, and then punched into a strong southerly wind for the 100 or so kilometers to Cooma .

It was approaching dark when we finally arrived at the Swiss Motel. We were relieved to find an old fashioned oil-filled heater which did stirling work drying all our wet gear.

Dinner at the Alpine Hotel was welcome and acceptable, if unmemorable.

I want one of these:

But, I also want this:

Problem is, I can't afford the KLR and the Grom is really pretty useless, so I found what might be the bastards child of the two:

Realistically, the Grom is just a toy...modern day, street legal monkey bike. You also have to spend about a grand extra to make the suspension handle a 200 lb rider. Then, you are limited to a top speed of around 60 mph and a bike not legal for the freeway.

The KLR is a jack of all trades bike and it is comfortable for day long rides and allows you to go anywhere. I had a 1991 KLR and I still regret selling it. I would enjoy a new one, but don't want to pay new money for one when I know I could find a nice used one with farkles for $3k.

I fully realize that my lack of patience and a propensity for being impulsive often lead me astray. I found a 2009 Kawasaki KLX250SF for a price that makes it hard to pass up. I almost took it home yesterday, but I wanted to sleep on it. After doing so, I still want it. I figured that I can get my money back out of the bike if I decide it isn't right. It'll run fast enough for short runs on the highway and can handle a dirt road. It's also a ton of fun to hoon the snot out of a low powered bike without much worry of breaking the speed limit. Everybody needs a hooligan bike, right?

Today's ride was short. Around 30 miles. We had a late night last night celebrating my mother's 72nd birthday. I hired a flamenco guitarist to play through dinner as family and friends enjoyed roast pork loin, avocado and tomato salad, warm rolls and plenty of wine. My brother opened a single malt scotch and the dancing started soon thereafter.

Felt a little ragged this morning. A strong cup of coffee got me going. Nothing on the agenda. A rare occurrence lately. I rolled the CB out of the garage and onto the driveway. It was time to finally address those stained pipes. That Optiglanz stuff is frighteningly effective.

I wish there was something as effective to erase a night of too much red wine and whiskey. The sun felt good even though my eyes still stung. A ride to the coast could only make me feel better. I've read that sea air is rich with negative ions. Breathing in those negative ions supposedly increases levels of serotonin which leads to greater feelings of happiness. I've also read that the sound of waves can alter our brain waves resulting in deep relaxation.

Negative ions. Brain waves. Whatever it was, it worked. My tinted face shield protected my eyes as I rode west. I filled my lungs with as many ions as they could hold. The ocean always centers me. Calms me. I've ridden her waves for the past 30 years. But not today. A left turn onto Sunset Cliffs Boulevard. Dream homes on my left. Sparkling blue water on my right. Soul cleansing.

My head cleared, I headed east. Pulling into the garage I fully recognize how fortunate I am. Tis' the season to be thankful and I am blessed in so many ways.

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Forum sponsor Superbrace ran a competition recently with the prize being one of their fork braces for the CB1100. I won it. Disgruntled members of the forum have claimed all sorts of skulduggery. Not on my part; I can't speak for theirs.

Late last week the shiny Superbrace turned up in the post. This morning I finally had time to fit it. It's always a bit of fun venturing into the Cormanus workshop (so-called) where improvisation is the name of the game and it's never clear that the right tool will be available. In spite of today being no exception, I can say that the Superbrace is easy to install, even for a clutz like me. If it took a little more than the promised 15 minutes, it was because I had to find and watch the teaching video on the forum.

Once on it looks good and like a bit of OEM gear.





I've had a certain anxiety about this moment of truth, because I'm no Freddie Spencer and I've not been sure that I was going to detect any difference once I put the Superbrace on. I haven't had any trouble with the front end and probably would not have bought a fork brace. Anyway, I put on my newly repaired mesh jacket (a welcome bit of gear in the unseasonable spring heat) and went for a quick ride along one of my favourite local roads to try it out.

To my surprise, I can feel a difference. The front of the bike seems different. Firmer, stiffer—I'm not sure what the right word is, but the steering feels more positive to me. Maybe it's my imagination, but some of the right-handers felt a wee bit easier and a couple of bumps didn't seem quite as disconcerting as they have in the past.

Thanks heaps to the guys at Superbrace for the great prize and for the obvious work that's gone into this product. I'll certainly be leaving it on the CB and hope to travel many happy kilometres with it.

At the Grotto this morning (CB has been getting way too much ride time due to a battery problem with the Griso).

I just read a complimentary post to Tink from Mentalyguitarded suggesting that he publish a coffee table book with his wonderful pictures. I agree with MG's assessment of Tink's work and it got me a-wonderin' ....

Would folks be interested in purchasing a hard cover photo book of pictures of Forum members, their bikes, and the beautiful destinations they have visited?

I don't know much about how to do this yet, but my nephew has "published" several of these to commemorate various events in his life so I could pick his brain on how to do it. A very quick web search tells me that we could set it up so folks could go online to make the purchase.

If there's enough interest in purchasing something like this (looks like the cost is in the $30-$35 range, but I didn't look very hard for the best price yet), and IF folks are willing to have their photos used (I'd probably have members contribute a few of their faves via email or something), I'd be willing to put something together. I'd also be perfectly willing to let someone else with more experience take charge of this.

Let me know your thoughts.

Matt