Folks, I decided to get a bit artsy (artistic?) over the past week, grabbed an old 750 Four emblem, surgically removed the digit "7", played around with various forms of 1s, and ended up with this vectorized new emblem.

I hear you scream. Some with joy, some in pain. Please take a moment and let me explain.

Why not 1100 Four? Easy. Because what we ride is not an 1100. The label may say so, but that's due to some out-of-whack marketing department. What kind of company makes those number smaller than the actual cc displacement? Only the goofies from uh, uhm, well you know who I mean. It's an 1140 cc engine; that's closer to 1150 than 1100. But more importantly, and I know this is going to convince anyone, no matter how hardcore you may think you are: What rhymes with Seven fifty? Eleven fifty! Not Eleven Hundred. I really had no choice here.

If you are still not convinced, feel free to use the SVG linked below and knock yourself out. Make it an 1100 Four. Or an 1140 Four. The file is there for everyone to use and abuse. There are companies that make adhesive stickers, or stitch it on your favorite t-shirt, jacket, seat for a few bucks.

I hereby explicitly encourage everyone to grab the SVG file, modify it to your liking with colors, patterns, gradients and present your result in this thread.
The SVG has two layers named "Outline" and "GlyphFill". The GlyphFill has two separate outlines with the colors for "1150" and "Four"; I leave it to you to guess what the outline is. I used the open source program inkscape to draw the SVG. Most browsers can also render SVG (Firefox certainly can) and with Control-Mousewheel you can adjust the size in a wide range.

PNG image file (not SVG):


The corresponding Scalable Vector Graphics file is [url=http://www.schweikhardt.net/1150Four-E.svg]http://www.schweikhardt.net/1150Four-E.svg
(The forum software refuses *.svg as attachments; Ferret, Guth, if you want to change this...?)

I traded in my HD Sportster for a CB1100 yesterday. I can't say how much I enjoy the smooth, powerful engine. My favorite bike was my Triumph Street Triple but its pillion seat was a bit too small. The only gripe is its going to cost a lot to get this bike setup for a passenger. I'm thinking of GIVI or HEPCO with the back rest pad. Which is the better product and which product will ship the fastest?

Begin Rant:
The sales people--as I find with almost EVERY metric shop I frequent--didn't know crap about their product line. That is one reason I always tend to purchase HD or Triumph because those sales people tend to be fans, too. Except for the color of the bike and things he could read off the tag his only use was to run back to the shop and ask questions for me. How can you sale stuff you know almost nothing about?!? Except for that annoyance he was very nice and did run back to the shop to get answers to the questions I asked. I sure hope that mechanics they hire are more skilled in their area than the sales staff.
End Rant

I swore I would never get a bike with a chain but the shaft maintenance looks to be a big PITA and there is nothing with a belt that interests me. At least this bike, unlike the street, comes with a proper centerstand which should make adjustments much easier.

My first long trip will be down to College Station first week of May to help my daughter pack. After that trip I'll determine if I need a shield.

Dave,

Hope this is helpful

This is the method i used to cut down my EX shield,

This will give you 10 1/4" from the top of the key and what i found to be the best for wind protection and no buffeting;

Using masking tape mask both sides of the shield approximately 8 1/2 inches from the indent on both sides of the shield. (see pic's) Measure 8 1/2 from both sides mark the front side of the shield. Using poster paper draw a line across the shield onto the masking tape. Use a fine metal jigsaw blade and make your cut. Using a palm sander with med. paper sand until there are no rough edges or depressions in the plastic. Than use fine paper leaving the masking tape on. Bevel the edge until there is no more rough edges on the sides. Take off the tape and install.


[url=http://s1034.photobucket.com/user/cipolla57/media/photo_zpsd3fbb57d.jpg.html]

[url=http://s1034.photobucket.com/user/cipolla57/media/photo1_zpsfbf298cb.jpg.html]

[url=http://s1034.photobucket.com/user/cipolla57/media/photo2_zpsf4378abd.jpg.html]

[url=http://s1034.photobucket.com/user/cipolla57/media/photo3_zpsc1099cea.jpg.html]

Call it a fluke but I had two guys come up to me at a stop and rob to look at my motorcycle and complement me on what a clean example it was to be so old. Both guys had HD's of the big twin variety. Both had had 80's and 90s somethings CB's in the past of the 650 and 750 variety. I was kinda shocked to be honest.

We chatted a bit and I told them about the CB1100 and how I really would love to have one. They said a CB what? I described it the best I could as being a standard ect and they were eating it up. I bet these guys go look at one. I dont think a lot of people even know about them.

Anyway, it made me feel good for somebody to compliment and appreciate a 2,500 dollar motorcycle when they were riding something that cost 8 times that much. I am as guilty as the next guy about pre judging some Harley owners but just like anything else most are good guys and a handful give them a bad name sometimes.

I have been using dupont chain lube in the yellow can like this one.

http://www.amazon.com/DuPont-Teflon-Chai...B003OBP63S

Seems like it slings off a little and it may be my fault for putting it on too thick. Its really been a long time since I had a motorcycle with a chain. I put it on and let it sit for at least 30 minutes and usually more before I ride it.

I was thinking about trying the Honda stuff like this. Not sure who makes this for Honda but I have read some people really seem to like it.

http://www.amazon.com/Pro-Honda-Chain-Lu...chain+lube

Its been so long since I had a chain driven motorcycle I am kinda out of the loop on this stuff. Anybody have any good recomendations on what seems to work well and doesnt fling off all over the place?

I was wondering and I may just be being a bit anxious, but have any of you experienced a slightly loud clanking noise when shifting from 1st to 2nd?

For anyone interested, I've drawn a couple of different templates for tank knee pads. I used TechSpec Sharkskin and really like having grippy knee pads.

The templates are PDF files. You just print them out with a laser printer (I suppose and ink jet would work too) at 100% onto plain paper. Rubber cement or spray adhesive onto the back of the rubber sheet and cut on the line with a sharp utility knife.

I also applied gloss black vinyl wrap, trimmed just a little bigger than the rubber, to the tank first. It makes a nice border around the rubber and I know the paint will be intact if I want to remove the knee pads later.

I did the large ones first but realized most of the pad was above my knees. Also, from certain angles it looked like I was really excited to be riding! So... I sized the small ones to fit right under my knees and also mirror the shapes and lines of the tank and extend lines from the frame and air box covers.

The PDF files have Amazon product descriptions for the Sharkskin and the vinyl wrap.

Comments welcome!




[url=https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/15722409/CB1100/Knee_Pad_Large.pdf]Download template for Large Knee Pads
[url=https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/15722409/CB1100/Knee_Pad_Small.pdf]Download template for Small Knee Pads

Nothing that scary but just a reminder that not everyone yields when they are supposed to. I was taking it slow and steady with the rain and see people do this all the time so I was prepared. She never even looked my way.

[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyFjwKY8uX8]A quick 20 second video of the encounter

You won't believe what I paid for this original CB750 K0 - a real bargain and in red as well!

[url=http://s105.photobucket.com/user/keithnolde/media/DSCF4277_zpsf21322e3.jpg.html]

I had one of these rags for over 20 years they are great I just bought 2 new ones with cleaner. But you can just use rag with no cleaner ! Just wet rag ring out and wipe bike down I never use water hose and soap and water. Hope this helps some people!


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