I know this subject differs from state to state, country to country. In my state (Washington State) we are not required to carry insurance on motorcycles so many do not have it. Unless, of course, they are financing a bike. The bank then requires the borrower to carry full coverage on the bike. I have liability insurance on all of my vehicles but nothing with full coverage.

I am shopping around for an insurer that will cover one bike at full coverage and was wondering if I could get some experienced opinions on the matter. If you live in the states please help advise me on who to go with and what to get. If you live in Washington State, all the better.

Thanks

For all you guys that ride Harleys, please don't take this as an anti Harley thread but a lesson on being careful what you say.

I rode a charity fund ride on Saturday and while waiting to start the ride a fellow on a Sportster struck up a conversation about my CB1100. He expressed his disdain for all Japanese bikes and how he would not be caught dead riding one.

At rides end we were served a good barbeque lunch and had a drawing for door prizes. As we were all getting ready to leave, the event organizer began asking around if anyone living nearby had a bike trailer and could help a fellow rider get his disabled bike home. I volunteered to fetch my truck and bike trailer and guess who had the sick bike.

I didn't mention our earlier conversation as I drove the Sportster rider to his home.

Well, I traded the CB1100 for a new CTX700 DCT ABS Not that I had any problems at all with the CB1100 but the new bike will fit better to my riding style. I am 67 and I need a little smaller lighter bike. I am going to sell the balance of the bikes and keep perhaps the Vespa Scooter. This is mostly a concession to age but also just having to much "stuff" to look after. I took a pretty hard hit on the trade as you always do trading a new bike in. But I ended up writing a check for $1800.00 difference out the door and I am getting a bike I am just a little more comfortable with.

I considered other bikes but decided what I really needed was the 700 not a 1300.

So Twiggs in Hagerstown MD has a near new CB1100 to sell for any local persons interested.

I just gotta say this big 1140cc powerplant is a free-revving brick. Other than not having much lean angle, the engine works as well as any sportbike, I keep it betwixt about 5-8 grand all the time in the canyons and just gives me the kind of control I'd expect from a real sporting machine. Lots of authority, zips right up to redline, never protests, pulls HARD, and sounds real nice. FUN to ride.

Shocks are next on the list of mods.

I haven't seen a night shot of the gauge cluster yet. So here ya go.

Review posted in honor of the forum's 1-Year anniversary:

Summary:
There are several airbag vests on the market for motorcycle riders. This review is for the Hit-Air [url=http://www.safermoto.com/air-bag-vests/mlv-py/]MLV-PY. It's manufactured by Hit-Air in Japan and distributed in the US by [url=http://www.safermoto.com]www.SaferMoto.com. As discussed further below, I find it a useful piece of safety gear that adds high visibility and an additional layer of impact protection should I fall off my bike.

Cost:
I believe my vest was shy of $400, purchased at a motorcycle convention from Safer Moto two years ago. A replacement air canister cost perhaps $18. I don't have current prices, as the Safer Moto website requires prospective customers to register before revealing prices. Perhaps this registration requirement is meant to be competitive? Not very user friendly, though.

Description:
Hit-Air makes several airbag vests and jackets. I picked the MLV-PY model for several reasons. First, its color and light-reflective strips increase your visibility. The light strips, in particular, reflect light something fierce. Next, I picked the vest design, as opposed to a jacket design, to work in hot and cold weather alike, and with my jacket of choice. In hot weather, the vest flows air like it didn't exist.

Protection:
The biggest benefit is protection. The rider installs a small tether on the bike (see below), which in turn connects to an air canister located on the vest. The theory is that, in a fall, the tether disconnects from the vest as the rider moves away from the bike. That inflates tubes located within the jacket. Once inflated, the vest protects parts of the neck, chest, ribs, back and sacrum. There is also a small inflatable pillow located behind the canister. The vest may be reused by replacing the spent canister.

Using a tether-based airbag is very divisive in the motorcycle forums. In the hope of being useful, here is a summary of those arguments: using an airbag vest (1) creates a false sense of security and encourages reckless behavior; (2) the vest is an inadequate replacement for a jacket and back protector; (3) the vest doesn't protect the rider from all crashes. Having used the vest for two years, my responses are follows:

(1) Sense of Security
Using an airbag vest doesn't create a false sense of security, any more than using a helmet or riding gloves would.

(2) Replacement of Other Gear
The vest is meant to work in tandem with a jacket and back protector, and not to replace them. For example, the vest has minimal coverage, and thus you would want a strong abrasion-resistant jacket protecting you from road rash.

(3) Scope of Protection
I imagine that some incidents, like a low side slide that keep you close to the bike, may keep the vest from inflating. On the other hand, there are potentially a great many incidents that could eject you from the bike, where the rider would want a cushion of air to absorb impact. I also like the fact that an inflated vest partially immobilizes your neck, which may protect against some types of whiplash.

Kindly note that my observations are based on theory, as I've never crashed. Everyone has a personal risk profile, however, and it's up to each of us to decide how much protection we want while riding, and how much we are willing or able to pay for such protection. In my case, the peace of mind that the airbag vest, and increase in visibility, provides is worth the price tag.

UPDATE - Enclosed is a [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoGDwBiTYdU&feature=related]link to a television news piece about a rider who credits his life to a similar tether-based airbag jacket.

Other Information:
In an earlier airbag vest thread, one user wondered if the vest would inflate if the rider dismounted the bike without first detaching the tether. The answer is no. The tether doesn't disconnect easily; there needs to be real force before that occurs. This is based on personal experience. Also, click [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBfVCLxv4ZU]HERE for a video showing the force needed to disconnect the tether, and the speed of vest inflation. My tether is just long enough to let me stand on the pegs, but no more.

Enclosed are photos of the vest.

Front. The little black clip at the bottom left of the vest is where you connect the tether from the bike.
[url=http://s835.photobucket.com/user/RobertKangLaw/media/Personal%20Album/Motorcycle/Vest1_zps894dd231.jpg.html]

Back. The large gaps flow air like a sieve.
[url=http://s835.photobucket.com/user/RobertKangLaw/media/Personal%20Album/Motorcycle/Vest2_zps4ed7b224.jpg.html]

Here is the vest reflecting the light from my camera's flash.
[url=http://s835.photobucket.com/user/RobertKangLaw/media/Personal%20Album/Motorcycle/Vest3_zps0bf34c19.jpg.html]

This is the tether, which is connected to a bolt under the seat.
[url=http://s835.photobucket.com/user/RobertKangLaw/media/Personal%20Album/Motorcycle/Vest4_zps164bed65.jpg.html]

I hope this review proves useful. Let's all enjoy riding safely.

Hi, all you lucky b....... with '14 models. (The b word sounds better in the Oz dialect, and in fact can be term of endearment to your good mates.)

Anyway to the point. I have had a long discussion with Adam at Staintune with regard to the '14 models. Adam said that a number of enquiries had been made from the US and Germany both directly to Staintune as well as to the New York distributor. This indicates a market exists and that Staintune therefore would be interested in fabrication. The sticking point is they do not have a system to produce the drawings/jigs. As you know not available in Oz as the '14 will not be released here. I think someone pointed this out in another thread. But all is not lost.

Adam stated quite clearly that if anyone was willing to send Staintune Australia a system, then Staintune would fabricate from that system. The bit that may be attractive to someone is that the sender will get their system, and nice new Staintune mufflers, returned to them free of charge. Sounded reasonable to me.

The process would take some time, maybe up to eight weeks. Alas, it's spring and summer in your part of the world and the road gods beckon you to ride, ride, ride. You say "No way I would send those bits to that far away planet at this time of the year". Sounds reasonable to me. So what about when winter fills your driveway with 6ft of snow and you are marooned in your cabin with 40 crates of beans and and an endless supply of bourbon? (Not forgetting the umbrella girl that accompanied you back from Austin.) That may be an opportunity to give your ride a rest. Unless someone beats you to it of course.

Anyway mates, don't shoot the messenger. Instead, contact Adam at:
[url=mailto:sales@staintune.com.au]sales@staintune.com.au
or
+61 2 48713 188

Cheers

A friend of mine invited me to ride with a small group of riders on a variety of bikes (everything from a Triumph Daytona to a vintage BMW to A Harley) to an event/rally called The Moonshine Lunch Run. If you have not heard of it, here's an excerpt from the event's website, [url=http://moonshine-run.com/Moonshine/Default.asp]Moonshine Lunch Run


A Bit of Moonshine History

The Moonshine Lunch Run isn't your typical gathering of motorcycle riders. For starters, it happens in the middle of nowhere: Moonshine, Illinois, population 2. It happens at a place that's hard to find: unless you have the coordinates, GPS won't get you to Moonshine. It happens in early spring when the weather is usually cold or wet, and often both. It's never been and never will be a commercial event, so there are no sponsors to promote its existence.

Moonshine is a just bunch of people who like to ride motorcycles long distances � often thousands of miles � to be in the company of other people who like to do the same. And, in keeping with tradition, they have a hamburger. That's about it.

Pretty early in the season, but we lucked into excellent, if windy, weather. Not too much in the way of scenery from Chicago to the middle if Illinois, but I did manage to get a few pictures.

Had to meet at 5:00am so left the house at 4:50...pretty freakin early!


Zero Dark 30. One of the guys forgot his gas tank key (moron) so we waited around until 6:00 for him. Wound up leaving without him, but 45 minutes behind schedule
[/img]


235 miles later, we arrived at the Moonshine Store. Over 1000 bikers were already there or would be arriving shortly.
[/img]
[/img]

I did mention that they have burgers there, right? More specifically, Moon Burgers., and they are fantastic!!
[/img]

Oddly enough it was the BMW, not the Harley, that needed the jump.
[/img]

Lots of bikes...lots and lots of bikes
[/img]

Decided to try out Ferret's camera-on-a-lanyard technique..not much to capture, but you can see the expansive beauty of farm country
[/img]

Arrived home twelve hours later...500 miles later...and two sore knees later...
[/img]

If you are anywhere even close to Moonshine, IL you should try to go to this event. It was incredible. Met two guys who got their "Iron Butt" that day, riding in from Kansas City and a nice couple who travelled all the way in from New Hampshire. My Facebook friends say I didn't earn an Iron Butt, but for riding 500 miles in 12 hours, I earned my "Tin Can" LOL. If you go next year, let me know. I'll buy you a Moonburger.

Review posted in honor of the forum's 1-Year anniversary:

Like many, I purchased a SuperBrace for the CB1100. Since I was local, I purchased it on-site and Scott, the proprietor, was kind enough to install it for me. The benefits of this addition are subjective, but worth it in my opinion. Compared to my other ride - a Honda 919 - I perceived a looseness while riding the CB1100 at speed or in the twisties. The brace helped with the looseness while riding at speed. I haven't tested it out while in the twisties. I'll update this report after doing so. However, I'm glad for this accessory.

Here is the brace. It's attractive and matches the lines of the CB1100 well. As an FYI, I have the ABS CB1100. Others on this forum asked if the SuperBrace interferes with the ABS cables. The answer is no - everything works fine.

[url=http://s835.photobucket.com/user/RobertKangLaw/media/Personal%20Album/Motorcycle/Superbrace1_zps69a6cb47.jpg.html]

[url=http://s835.photobucket.com/user/RobertKangLaw/media/Personal%20Album/Motorcycle/Superbrace2_zps19f2f21e.jpg.html]

Scott was kind enough to give me an inside tour of his facility. Here are photos from that tour:

(1) Raw Material
SuperBraces are carved from solid aluminum billet, which explains their rigidity. Here are some bricks of the stuff, and an unpolished SuperBrace.

[url=http://s835.photobucket.com/user/RobertKangLaw/media/Personal%20Album/Motorcycle/Superbrace3_zpsc1d94d59.jpg.html]

(2) Manufacturing Process
Next, here is a photo of the manufacturing process. These braces are carved to very minute tolerances. I have a video of this equipment at work, but am having trouble posting it. Will post when I figure it out.

[url=http://s835.photobucket.com/user/RobertKangLaw/media/Personal%20Album/Motorcycle/Superbrace4_zps1015e9a6.jpg.html]

(3) CB1100-Specific Photos
Finally, here are photos of the very equipment that carved the SuperBraces for our CB1100s.

[url=http://s835.photobucket.com/user/RobertKangLaw/media/Personal%20Album/Motorcycle/Superbrace6_zps96ebad22.jpg.html]

[url=http://s835.photobucket.com/user/RobertKangLaw/media/Personal%20Album/Motorcycle/Superbrace5_zps0f9285d0.jpg.html]

I hope this little tour of the SuperBrace facility was interesting to our forum members. Scott is very passionate about his work, and the craftsmanship in these braces is evident. Thank you, Scott for taking the time to show me - and this forum - around your facility.

Just wondering if the 2014 double walled 4 into 2 exhausts will mount to the 2013 and how much it would cost. Does anyone make a double walled chrome 4 into 1 header for the 2013. Thanks.

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