Some eye candy for Moto Guzzi fans.

420 lbs, 1150cc engine, 30,000 euros (motorcycle daily)





Wicked looking om the back.

I experienced a slight problem installing the SW-Motech Crash/Engine Bars on my 2014 CB1100A (Canadian).

http://aviciouscycle.ca/MainPages/produc...uctid=7550

They supply two longer engine bolts, but no nut with each and advise that the stock washers and nuts be used. The bolts they supplied were the wrong thread pitch for the stock nut and could not be used without purchasing new matching nuts. Either they wrongly packed the incorrect bolt, or the '14 CB1100 Canadian & DLX use a different thread pitch (unlikely). Instead I used the stock engine mount bolts which were just long enough when I substituted thinner stainless steel washers which I had on hand. I figured that this was safe as the crash bar flanges act as washers to distribute bolt load anyway and there are still a few threads extending from the nut.

There is also no way the bars can be installed using the bolt/assembly order they suggest. You will need to feed ALL Three bolts thru the bars first, then mate the bar up to the bike. Once I figured that out, the other side was a breeze.

Other than that, they look good (as in the link), matching the black frame and darker accents on the engine. Chrome bars wouldn't look as good on this model. Let's hope I don't need to test out their crash worthiness any time soon

Me and my friend with a Yamaha yzf600 just spent the weekend in socal with our bikes.

We started from our hometown in Stockton and made our way down to Santa Maria on Saturday.

For Sunday, we started our day at 10am by taking on a Santa Maria-Ojai loop that starts on Hwy 166, goes down some pretty awesome twisties and sweeps on 33 to Ojai where we happened to find an art/music event in Libbey park. Then we moved on to Santa Barbara where we wandered around Cabrillo Blvd along the beach for a couple hours, and finished the loop back to Santa Maria by 7pm.

On Monday, we started heading back north to Monterey via Hwy 1 for some pretty epic scenery and more twisties and sweeps. We ran into some pretty nasty traffic on the 101/156 junction, but we eventually made our way east on 152, then went up i-5 and back to Stockton before 8pm.

A picture of our route.


Took off my Dart fly screen and went pure stock. Used a Joe Rocket tank bag and a Kriega R20 backpack w/ a cargo net as my tailbag


Our first full meal at a Wingstop in Gilroy- if you're a big fan of Wingstop, I recommend coming here- their wings were pretty huge, plus they have a local specialty flavor-hot garlic.


Hwy 166 near New Cuyama


Hwy 33 near Reyes Peak



Santa Barbara



SizzlinGogi for dinner back in Santa Maria. Highly recommend if you're into Korean BBQ, the marinated short ribs was their tastiest meat




Impressions on using the CB as a long distance touring bike:

the 2 big things that would make this a great touring bike would be highway bars & a more comfortable seat. After about 1-2 hours of continuous riding, the seat starts to get uncomfortable real fast. But if you take occasional breaks, it's fine. The highway bars are a big must- my right leg was pretty uncomfortable throughout the ride, and I'm a pretty short person (5'4) so I can only imagine how worse it would be for a taller rider.

The CB's fuel economy hampered my overall experience with constant fillups. My fuel gauge would go to "empty" every 2 gallons, and I know it's a 4 gallon tank, but I never did the research on how many miles I would have beyond that.

The CB kept up pretty well with my friend's yzf in terms of both speed and handling. Granted, they have similar performance numbers, but it's great to know that Honda's not just making a gimmick bike, but something that can hang with the rest of the crowd.

Some other interesting stuff about our trip:
California weather is very fickle; I probably had to switch between hot & cold gear around 2-3 times/day

Road conditions of socal roads>nor cal roads; very apparent especially on Hwy 1

My friend let me borrow a Sena intercom for the trip. It was pretty useful to have for gps directions, it's definitely gonna be on my wishlist along with a GoPro; my pictures don't hold a candle to the scenery I saw on the road

The Arai Defiant is a horrible helmet when it comes to wind noise; it nearly muted any music playing on my Sena speakers at speeds over 70. I'm considering getting the Shoei Qwest as my touring helmet.

On our last fill-up at a Chevron near Los Banos, 3 Hell's Angels pulled up and pumped gas next to us. Nothing happened, but me and my friend were just laughing through our intercoms saying 'Mann what are the chances of that happening haha'

This trip makes this hands-down my most memorable Memorial day weekend so far. My friend admitted to me that he had second thoughts about us doing such a long trip (we only have about 1 year's riding experience) but pulling off this trip really boosted our rider confidence and made me glad I chose the CB.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Anyone here have any hands-on experience with the Triumph STR? It caught my eye today. Still trying to plan the next stable member!

Hey, all, I've begun my trip, and will try and fill you in along the way. Trip started for me with a couple of nights in London with a good friend, capped by an enjoyable, intimate evening with writer PJ O'Roarke, who read from his new book on The Baby Boom generation, and provided great commentary, insights and laughs in the interview.

I'm off to the IOM in the morning, will Marshal tomorrow's practice session, and get settled in for an amazing 10 days. I pick up my rental bike on Thursday. Here's the report from today's practice session, they are already hitting huge speeds and dicing over the mountain:

http://www.iomtt.com/News/2014/May/27/Tu...ctice.aspx

I have OEM Dunlops which are nearing replacement at 6,909 miles. While I'm satisfied with the Dunlops, I'd change tires/brand to one where the front tire (and I assume the rear) don't have the centerline groove found on the OEM Dunlop front tire.

What are my options?

Rode Katie to work today and got caught in a summer rain squall on the way home. I guess, based on what I have seen in other bike adverts, that she is fully depreciated now and I will never be able to sell her. S'ok by me.

Ready to pull the trigger on a pair of these. With the 4.25 rear rim these tires are within the guidelines for fitment. The rear is a 160/60-18 this may throw off the speedo a bit, how much I'm not sure. The wider tire and profile may also slow up turn in as well ( although these tires are more rounded than stock) I think I'm going to give them a try. Always had great success with my Pilot Power 2CT's. I could always drop the front a 1/4 or 1/2 inch if the steering is heavy.

Edit: Link
http://motorcycle.michelinman.com/tires/...road-3#dim

Having test ridden the 1100, I was/am sold on the bike. I was wondering how good the headlight is at night. The sport bike I have has wonderful lights for riding at night, but the ZRX1100 I had before it was not very good. It was a lot better than the old KZ's I had when I was younger. Its really a moot point since I'll be picking mine up June 7th, still it would be nice to have a little input from current owners.

So i have yet to buy but i have done a very bad mock up of how i would want to mod the bike. Would be curious if any of you could offer some help with the ideas. First off i am 6'2" and i was thinking of flipping the bars. Next do something with the rear fender and a little bit of a seat redesign. Also, i would flip the mirrors under the bars. Also, a slip on and possible rearset relocation. I know there are some faults in the photoshop mock up so dont be super critical about that please. But everything is true to size.
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