Guess my CB is going to be sitting idle for at least 4 weeks. Just found out I have a tear in the " medial miniscus" (whatever that is, all I know is my right knee hurts lol). Surgery is scheduled for august 23rd and recovery is supposed to take 4 weeks...which will be 3 days before my next scheduled motorcycle trip to West Virginia with my son, his Fil and my brother.


Arrrgghhh.

All I will have to do for 4 weeks is sit around and moderate youse guys!

Hey All,

Has anyone installed aftermarket turn signals onto their US market CB11 yet? I received my POSH units in today and they are quite amazing in build quality. However, one thing I noticed is that they lack any kind of rubber bushing such as the original units. Upon further research, it appears the Japanese market had different turn signal bases than the US market. These Posh signals would indeed be direct replacements for Japanese market bikes.

What I'm wondering is how you guys/gals are mounting aftermarket signals without any sort of rubber base to fill the big gap left by the OEM signals. Looking for some help and suggestions. I believe there are a few members who've already put on aftermarket units.

Thanks!
Hung

Just want to solicit some opinions on improving fork performance. Has anyone taken a look at their fork springs? Are they straight wound? I suppose replacing them with a progressively wound spring and maybe using a slightly heavier fork oil might improve the dampening and the ride. I wonder if anyone is making progressive springs made state side for the CB1100.

The Bee

So it has been a week now with the CB1000R and I have racked up 626 miles on her.

The dealership was too busy to do the 600 mile service (I forgot to schedule it) but I went ahead and changed the oil and cleaned and lubed the chain. Couldn't adjust the chain because I need some kind of spanner and the only tools it came with was a fuse puller and a 5mm "hex wrench"
I put the missing oems tools on order as well as a service manual.
Hopefully I can get the safety inspection done when I pick them up and make sure everything is breaking in nicely.

I used Honda GN4 10W-30 like the manual specifies and it says I am good until 8K miles but I will switch to either Amsoil or Honda's Synthetic at 4K miles.

[url=http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/832/55x2.jpg/]

I have been getting some good leans in and the bike is amazing, does everything I want it to do.
Wider tires and a bigger tank (4.5 gal).
I've been filling up at around 145 miles on the trip meter. First two tanks were just under 40 mpg and the last one was 42! I have been hitting up open road this whole time though, I expect my gas mileage to go down once I get back into my routine.

I really had to focus on taking it slow and relaxing. I had a pretty tight grip the first 100 miles or so, once I started getting used to her, I relaxed my grip and dipping into turns has been easier.
I hear it is easy to "accidentally" do a wheelie, I have been taking it easy though.

I've been riding just going by ear and how I used to ride the CB11, I look down at the speedo and I end up going over 50mph and I am either in 4th or 5th gear.


I'd like to keep her stock, but I am gonna have to add a few things:
I need mirror extenders so I see more then just my shoulders and I can look out for cops and hopefully keep my license.
I will be adding R&G Frame and Engine Sliders soon.

I really enjoy this bike and I am glad I switched.
I will miss all the compliments I got at pretty much every red light though.

Hi Gang-
I took great care as I'm sure all proud owners did breaking her in and changed my oil 2x w/ the suggested 10w30 Honda. So at 2100 miles I changed to the Amsoil 10w40 full synthetic and I gotta say this is feeling smoother and faster. I have a pretty good imagination but in this case I think it's the real deal. Could this oil truly have a performance impact? So those thinking about it I just wanted to share my experience and I can say I'm lov'n it...even more. Stay safe & hyper alert out there!

ChipBeck asked if I could post some pics of the K&H Low seat mounted on the bike to get a better idea of what it looks like so here we go. The rain stopped long enough for me to get some outdoor shots and of course I have to start with the glamour shot showing off the scenery:



Now back to the business at hand, what does the low seat look like on the bike?









How does the K&H Low seat compare to the stock seat?









Aloha,
Huladog

Sorry if this has been covered, but does anyone have experience or comments on this muffler for the CB1100?

Looks similar to Staintune, but $160 cheaper...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi7w60HF0VY

http://japan.webike.net/products/9696317.html

Has anyone found other options or customizations for the instrument cluster besides the back lit one from samurider or the few coverings? I've been looking around and can't seem to find anything else for it.

Gentlemen,

A number of our members have replaced the stock handlebars on their CB11 with lower handlebars to give their bike a more sporting riding position and appearance. That look appeals to me as well and I am taking my bike in that direction. I love the appearance, craftsmanship, and attention to detail that Honda put into this bike but I knew before I even took it home from the dealership that there were four things I was going to have to change. The ungainly rear license plate bracket would be first on the list. For those who haven’t seen it I have posted a separate thread titled “Getting Rid of the Ugly Rear License Plate Bracket” detailing how to build a very simple and much prettier license plate mount. The unsightly exhaust pipe collector/catalytic converter with its sloppy exposed welds, odd shape, and steep funnel into the pipe leading to the muffler would be second (I’m still deciding how I’m going to deal with this). The rearview mirrors would be third, as they are extremely tall sticking up far more than necessary, and aesthetically I prefer an oval or rectangular mirror shape to the round mirrors on the CB11. I am not a fan of bar end mirrors as they are not pleasing to my eye. And finally, the handlebars. At low speeds I like the riding position that the stock bars provide but at highway speeds on any lengthy journey the bolt upright seating position makes for a very tiring ride. But my biggest objection to the stock handlebars is their shape. To me they look like miniature ape hangers and their appearance has bothered me almost as much as that rear license plate bracket. Once I installed the Road Comet faring on my bike the shape and height of those chrome bars as well as the very tall bright chrome mirrors really looked out of place. Here’s a photo of the faring with my stock bars and mirrors.

[url=http://s288.photobucket.com/user/chipbeck/media/CB7.jpg.html]

[url=http://s288.photobucket.com/user/chipbeck/media/CB5.jpg.html]

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So I purchased three sets of handlebars to decide which ones would look and work the best on my bike. The easy fit bars are predrilled to accommodate the positioning peg found on both the left and right hand controls, and they are about 1 ½ inches lower than the stock bars and are made of aluminum. The Yamamoto bars are lower still and incorporate more pullback but I would have to drill my own holes to accommodate the controls. And the Flanders low road bars are slightly lower than the Yamamoto bars but have less pullback. They would also need to be drilled to accommodate the controls. Setting all three bars in the triple clamp on my bike I like the shape and riding position of the Flanders bars the best.

[url=http://s288.photobucket.com/user/chipbeck/media/IMG_3202_edited-1.jpg.html]

I was about to install them when I read a post on this forum about one of our members who had installed aftermarket bars and experienced vibration so uncomfortable that he finally removed them and put the stock bars back on. His post gave me pause because my carpal tunnel problem makes handlebar vibration most uncomfortable for me in a short period of time. Nobody who has put aftermarket bars on their CB11 has been able to use the stock bar end weights.

How important are those weights and how do they work?

So I decided to start by taking a good look at those weights and how they are attached. I was very surprised at what I found. There is a whole lot of engineering, technology, and thoughtful design inside of our handlebars that very few of us are aware of. The black weight you see on the end of your handlebars is only a small part of the total system. When you wiggle that weight you can feel that it moves slightly and that it is not rigidly attached. That end weight is screwed into an even heavier and longer solid lead weight inside the handlebars that extends the entire length of the grip under your hand. That heavy lead weight has rubber rings at each end that are held in place by recesses in that weight. The outside of that rubber ring has a series of rubber fingers/ridges around it’s circumference that hold that weight suspended inside of the handlebars so that the weight does not contact the handlebar. This entire assembly has a spring steel clip on the bar end side with two small tabs that project into two holes drilled near the end of the handlebar. Those two tiny spring steel tabs are the only metal to metal contact that that big weight assembly has with the handlebars themselves. Those assembled bar end weights weigh more than the entire handlebar itself!! They are quite heavy. The Honda bar is fairly thin wall steel and those suspended bar end weights concentrate mass on the outside of the bar. As that bar starts resonate because of engine vibration, the buzz under the handgrips is dampened by the shock absorbing properties of those two rubber rings attached to those massive lead weights suspended inside the bar. Like rubber engine mounts, those rubber internal handlebar weights are insulated and do not vibrate in sync with the handlebar itself and instead dampen handlebar vibration just like a shock absorber.

[url=http://s288.photobucket.com/user/chipbeck/media/IMG_3235_edited-1.jpg.html]

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So I saw two problems with all three sets of my aftermarket bars. First, they were all aluminum with walls much thicker than the stock steel bars and so their smaller internal diameter would not allow the use of Hondas high-tech handlebar anti-vibration system. Second, they appear to be far more rigid than the stock bars and because they are rigidly mounted to the triple clamp they would certainly transmit vibration very efficiently.

[url=http://s288.photobucket.com/user/chipbeck/media/IMG_3215_edited-1.jpg.html]

Damn, once I saw all that went into Honda's bar end weight system I scrapped plans to use any of those aftermarket bars as I did not want to deal with any more handlebar vibration. Plus, I think the stock Honda bar ends with those weights look really trick and the bike does not look as good in my opinion without those weights in place. Back to the drawing board.

Where could I find a handlebar with the Flanders Low Street Bar bend and height I was looking for that would accommodate my stock factory bar end weights? I assumed my best shot at this was to go down to my local Honda dealership with my Flanders bars in hand. It didn’t take long for me to come across the Holy Grail. There it was! The flat black handlebars on the 2013 Honda CB500F appeared to be identical in shape to my Flanders low road bars AND…..they appeared to incorporate the identical bar end weight system found on my CB11. Below is a photo of my Flanders Low Road Bars and the flat black bars are from the CB500F. They are virtually identical except for color.

[url=http://s288.photobucket.com/user/chipbeck/media/IMG_3221_edited-1.jpg.html]
And they are the proper internal diameter.

[url=http://s288.photobucket.com/user/chipbeck/media/IMG_3219_edited-1.jpg.html]

Even better, the flat black rearview mirrors on that bike were oval in shape, much lower, and were exactly what I was looking for to go along with the Road Comet faring on my bike. I checked with the parts manager and verified that the bar end weights inside of the CB500F were indeed identical to those inside the bars of the CB11. Furthermore, the mirrors on the CB500F were threaded identically and mounted the exact same way as the mirrors on the CB11. So I ordered both mirrors and those handlebars. It took about a week for them to come in and with these parts in hand I rolled my CB11 back into my living room and went to work.

I set a bar stool up on each side of the handlebars of my bike so that when I took the hydraulic clutch and front brake reservoir/lever assembly off I could set it on those stools and keep them upright to make sure I did not introduce any air into the system. With both of those lever assembly’s removed I then removed the outside portion of the bar end weights on both sides by grasping that black weight and keeping it from rotating while I removed the Philips head screw. Next, although it took a lot of work because it is glued in place, I removed the rubber hand grip on the left-hand side of the bar. Although I blistered my right hand with all of the twisting and pulling that grip actually came off intact and in perfect shape! I had a spare on hand just in case I damaged it but my spare was unnecessary. Next I removed the two Philips head screws from the right and left hand handlebar control assembly’s. The left one splits apart and can be removed with the handlebar still in place. The right one requires that the handlebar itself be removed and slid away from the throttle pipe assembly as the throttle cables do not allow it to be slid off with the handlebar in place. To get your stock handlebar off carefully remove the four chrome caps by prying them up with the tip of a sharp knife. Next remove the Philips head bolts that secure the tops of the handlebar clamps. Now you are able to remove your handlebars while leaving all of the bikes cables and electrical connections in place. Once your stock chrome bars are off you will want to reinstall both bar end weights because you will need to grab them in order to pull the internal bar weight out. The two spring steel tabs sticking up into the holes near the end of the handlebars will need to be simultaneously depressed with a sharp object to allow that inner bar weight to slide out. When I took my inner bar weights out one of the rubber donuts came off and stayed inside the handlebar. It was easy to fish out with a hook I fashioned from a piece of coat hanger wire and I slid that rubber piece right back on to the inner bar end weight. Here is what that entire bar end weight assembly looks like once it’s removed from your handlebars.

[url=http://s288.photobucket.com/user/chipbeck/media/IMG_3239_edited-1.jpg.html]

Because the new bars are both narrower and lower the throttle cables must be routed in front of the guide wire mounted to the right-hand side of the headlamp. Next, the hydraulic line coming out of the clutch reservoir must be loosened just slightly so as to not let any air get in or hydraulic fluid get out and that hose should be rotated upwards about 25°. The same thing must be done with the hose coming out of the front brake reservoir only it must be rotated all the way around so that the hose is resting on top of the metal tab sticking out of the front of that reservoir instead of resting on the bottom of that tab. If you do not do this, those hydraulic lines will contact the top of the fork tubes and the clutch and brake assemblies cannot be mounted.

The pre-drilled holes in the bar ends to accommodate the bar end weights are identical on both the CB11 bars and the CB500F bars so the bar and weights slide in and lock into place perfectly. However, the holes drilled in the CB500F bars to accommodate the peg in both the left and right handlebar controls are not exactly the same so I needed to measure the location of that hole in the CB11 bars and drill a corresponding hole in my new CB500F bars. I marked the spot with a black magic marker and drilled a small pilot hole with the bars in a vise grip protected by a thick wrapping of newspaper and then followed up with a larger drill bit to make the proper size hole. That done I put the stock bars and my new bars side-by-side and verified that the holes in the exact right position. Bingo! Now I was ready to mount them.

Before mounting the new handlebars you must slide the right-hand end into the throttle control pipe as you will not be able to get it on once the handlebars are cinched down to the triple clamp. With the handlebars loosely clamped into place, replace both the left and right hand controls onto the bar careful to slide the alignment peg into the corresponding hole before you tighten them down with the two Philips head screws. Once they are in place, remount both the clutch and front brake assemblies. Carefully check your clearance to make sure that nothing hits your beautiful red gas tank. If it does just rotate the bars slightly forward in the handlebar mounts on the triple clamp to create more clearance. While all of this is being done cover your gas tank with a thick terrycloth towel to make sure nothing scratches it. Before you cinch everything down carefully check the clearance one more time between your controls and your gas tank to be sure that nothing hits. The way my bars are mounted is as shown in the pictures below I have over 3/4 inch clearance at full handlebar lock.

Before you remount your left hand grip you will want to coat both the bar under that grip and the inside of the grip itself with a thin film of Pro Honda handgrip cement available at your local dealer. Slide the rubber grip back on and allow it to dry for a couple hours before you ride the bike. Check that both your front brake, front clutch, and throttle all work smoothly and properly. And finally, with your bar end weights fully assembled, slide them into the handlebars so that the locking tabs are aligned with the two holes that those tabs lock into.

And finally, the coup de grace, my beautiful new oval low mirrors! Remove the locking and mounting bolts from the bottom of your stock rear view mirrors and screw them on to the new black mirrors. Then screw that assembly into the mounting holes on the brake and clutch reservoirs. Absolutely bitchin! They look outstanding IMO. These lower mirrors in conjunction with the lower handlebars have given my bike a whole new personality and they look absolutely great with the Road Comet faring. When I first bought the CB500F handlebars I intended the powder coat them brushed aluminum or possibly even chrome them which would cost about $50. However their flat black color matches all the other flat black in that area of my bike as well as the beautiful flat black mirrors. I like it a lot and I’m going to leave it just like it is now.

This is the first low handlebar conversion I’m aware of that uses the stock bar end weight system. Every part I have incorporated are genuine top-quality Honda factory parts that fit and function perfectly. I’m sure some will like this look and some will not. The important thing is, I really like it and that is the purpose of this whole exercise. For those that may want to duplicate it here are the factory Honda part numbers. I asked for a 10% discount and got it. The handlebars cost $48 and the two mirrors were $49 each. The ProHonda Hand Grip Cement was $4.

2013 Honda CB500F handlebar part # - 53100-MGZ-306
2013 Honda CB500F right mirror part # - 88210-MGZ-305
2013 Honda CB500F left mirror part # - 88220-MGZ-305

Here are several pictures of the end result both with and without the Road Comet fairing. All the best.

Chip

[url=http://s288.photobucket.com/user/chipbeck/media/IMG_3260_edited-1-1.jpg.html]

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Yeah, I followed Luis' example and traded the CB1100 in. As much as I wanted to love it, I just couldn't.

Anyway, the other local Honda dealer had a holdover 2011 Stateline on the floor with 9 miles on it. Well, it has 82 since the ride home and some blasting around town. Good grunt, nice exhaust note, bitchin' styling. If I won the Powerball, I'd have kept the 1100 as a garage ornament, but to me a bike is no good if you can't ride it. Bad knee and numb testes made the 11 almost impossible to live with, so it had to go.

As much as I wanted an 11 in the beginning, I could hardly believe I traded her in. But the Stateline was good deal and it fits my fat frame and it cruises oh so nice... Yeah, I made the right choice. I'll stick around and keep up; this is a nice place to be. Plus the CB11 makes for some good bike porn, so theres that. Thanks all.