I saw in another thread, Chip Beck requested a thread about my soft luggage.

If you've seen the picture of Ferret and Mrs Ferret in 1977 on our Kawasaki KZ 1000 and the picture of us 35 something years later, and practically every picture of a bike I've ridden over the last 4 decades, you see one thing in common. Some kind of soft luggage. Usually a tank bag and/or a tail pack. Even if the bike comes with hard luggage and a trunk.

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I discovered Eclipse soft luggage in the early 70's.(still in business btw). Eclipse soft luggage and Vetter Fairings could turn nearly any UJM into a half way decent touring bike. There are advantages and disadvantages to soft luggage.

Advantages: light weight, holds a lot, easy to mount, moves from bike to bike, less expensive than hard luggage, any or all can be easily removed once you get to a destination allowing you to ride a lighter bike, you can kick it getting on and off and it won't leave a mark, no ugly brackets left on bike when not using luggage

Disadvantages: not vandal proof, easier to steal, not rain proof. Saddlebags tend to crab in at bottom if heavily loaded, can impede on passenger space.

There were and are a ton of manufacturers of soft luggage..Eclipse, Bagman, Cortech, Tourmaster, Givi, Nelson Riggs, Wolfman, Firstgear, Dowco, to name a few
Tank bags will run from $50 to $200, tail packs from $90 to $200 and saddlebags from probably $ 100 to $250. I tend to buy mine when I find it on sale. Motorcyclegear.com is but one place to find good prices on soft luggage. Google is your friend.

Soft luggage volume is measured in liters. Why I have no idea because one thing I have never hauled on trips is liters. The only thing a liter tells me is that if one holds 20 liters and one holds 30 liters. The 30 liter one holds more.

I normally use two different sets. A small Cortech set for daily riding and day trips.

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And a larger set by Nelson Riggs for multiday out of state trips

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I also have a set of Matching Nelson Rigg saddlebags that I have used on other bikes, but have not used on the CB due to the location of the rear turn signals. When I find a suitable solution to that issue the saddle bags will be used on the CB as well.

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Tank bags have become such a part of my motorcycling I consider them wallets for my bike. I stick everything in my tank bag. Maps, sunglasses, camera, first aid kit, pen and pad, garage door opener, cell phone and more.

The tail trunk collects rain gear, spare gloves, thermos full of hot tea, a place to stuff a sweatshirt, ball cap etc..

Taking a break, then I 'll continue .....

SOOOOOOOOO...

i was gonna take videos but life happens. Yesterday my friend and I went looking at moto guzzi V7s (he wanted one). While we were test driving. we went around a roundabout and both hit a slick spot of oily asphalt and both went down.


@~*^ty news:
-lotsa damage to the moto guzzi (all easily replaceable)

-about $700 in damage to my bike.


Great news:
-My buddy bought the moto guzzi and had them replace the parts that were broken with new after market parts he wanted anyway!

-my bike looks like nothing happened at all. seriously. The brunt of the impact and ultimately the most costly piece to replace was the aluminum cowl. The clutch cover on the side needed replacement too. there was mirror damage. (replaced that already) but my new wheels were not touched and the new exhaust wasnt touched. i did get a scratch in my tank, but it was through one of the silver stripes. it never made it through the red paint underneath. not even a dent. I AM LUCKY. Obviously I went down on my left side. lots of road rash on my arm, but i'll survive.

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Any way that morning i had a chance to install the posh signals on the rear and they look great!

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i also had a chance to plasti dip the side covers and i love it! i ordered matte black vinyl to do them in. I was just testing with the plasti dip.

i also put on a side mount plate kit (pictures to come) my old plate light is bright enough that you can still see the plate lit! (again i'll post stuff soon.)


i promise, videos to come....

Greetings to the other CB1100 riders. I wanted to find out of one of the actions on my bike is shared with other riders. My CB "clunks" into gear when I downshift gears - particularly first and second gear. By "clunking" I mean that there is a very physical sensation as the gears transition. The clunk is not limited to instances when the bike is moving and I downshift to engine brake. It happens when the bike is not moving and I downshift as well.

Upshifting is smooth.

Thank you for any input.

anyone know if there is sidecar mounts being made for the new CB1100 ?
Thanks
Steve

Is it just my fat butt, or does anyone else bottom out the exhaust going slow over these wretched things?!?!?

I took a 25 mile test ride today on a CB1100, I was really looking forward to getting to ride the motorcycle.
It wasn't what I was expecting, I love the way it looks, and it is a Honda which is always a good thing.
I was disappointed in the power and it was kind of buzzy, hadn't rode an inline 4 for about 35 years so I wasn't sure what to expect, but coming off a BMW R1150R it is way way different.
I still want to like the bike though!
Do you get used to the vibes when it hits about 4500 rpm and above[/b]?
does it smooth out with age?
Just curious, because I REALLY like the look of the bike.

Those of you reading the luggage threads know about my quest for luggage. To summarize, I wanted something 1) big enough to hold my jacket 2) locked to the bike 3) top loading 4) looked good on the bike. My search led me to the Krauser Skyline bags (owned by H-B). Best looking bag in my opinion; however, it is very pricey and I got mixed info on the dimensions. I thought about the Xplorer topcase (also H-B) but I am not a fan of the look of topcases and just couldn't pull the trigger. So I decided on the c-bow mounts and street bags. The c-bow mounts work with a variety of other bags, including the Skyline so I figure I can always upgrade down the road.

Anyhow, I just installed them and have some initial impressions. As with all H-B products, they are well made. The bags snap and lock onto the mounts quickly and easily...removal is the same. My jacket (Olympia with back, shoulder, elbow armor) fits without any issue, especially if you expand the bag. Bags came with rain covers; although I think they are generally waterproof to begin with. Then again, given our weather in the Carolinas this summer, maybe they should have included several sets. As for the look, I'll let you be the judge. While not Skylines I think they fit the lines of the bike nicely.

c-bow mounts alone (they are chrome although hard to tell in one pic):







Street Bags mounted:

Was my first ride since I brought her home this week.
It was like the tail bonding thing from avatar(for the sci-fi guys)
Was starving after a couple hours
Having trouble posting multiple pics in same thread
That's a breakfast sandwich!

Late last week I took delivery of a 1983 CB1100F that I purchased from a fantastic gentleman in New Mexico and subsequently had the bike shipped to the east coast. I'll post a thread on the riding experience comparing these two bikes after I get the older one inspected (some issues with turn signals have to be worked out) and I have a chance to put some miles on it.

For now, here are pics of the bikes!

In the yard



Newer and older, side by side



Which one to ride this afternoon?

I am looking to get a fork brace in the near future and wanted to get some feedback on the quality of them before I buy. I have found 2, Agras and Kijuma. If you have either, let me know what you think.

Thanks