These plastic hand covers came off my Yamaha T700 b/c they're too flimsy for real offroad protection. but on my dlx, it'll do nicely to keep the chill off my hands for the short , mild winters down here in austin.


the support bracket fits perfectly underneath the rear view mirror stalk.

when temps will dip below 40F, i wrap these hand warmers (sw-motech) over the the plastic hand covers,. adds a nice bit of comfort.



and the MRA two piece adjustable windshield bolted to handlebar takes care of upper torso


side view

It won't be long before my chores are completed and I can go to bed. When I wake in the morning it will be Christmas Eve and the madness of final preparations for Christmas Day will descend.

There's a great deal to be said about 2020; happily for you I'm going to say almost none of it, except ...

Thanks you all for another entertaining year on the Forum. Thank you for making a moderator's life easy by playing nicely. Most importantly, thank you for being a great bunch of blokes to hang out with in a virtual kind of way.

A special thanks to our omnipresent, but often silent, leader, Guth, for providing the sandpit and toys.

From me and my CB1100 to you and your CB1100 and your other bikes and your family, very best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a happy new year in which, amongst other things, the threat of the corona virus diminishes and we all get to ride some more.

Best wishes.

I have been reluctant to use my magnetic tankbag on my 2017 CB1100EX because tank bags are hard on paint. SW Motech has had its Evo line of tankbags that snap on a tank ring that that mounts to the fuel filler, but with the way the 2017 tank curves down front to rear, a flat bottom bag looks terrible and the one Evo bag with a curved bottom curved too severely to fit. A new line of touchless bags called Pro bags has a model called the Engage that curves down, but less severely than the old Evo Engage and it now fits and looks good. It is an expandable bag that goes from 7 to 10 liters and is a perfect size for my needs to carry a few things on a day trip. I did need to buy the optional 12mm spacer kit to keep the rear of the bag off the paint but it is made for this and integrates well. Twisted Throttle has been the U.S. source for SW Motech parts, but there is now a factory store in the U.S. I think the price of the Pro Engage is mismarked on the factory site because it is currently $50 less than Twisted Throttle's price, but all other Pro bags are a couple of dollars cheaper on Twisted Throttle. The new Pro line has a redesigned lower profile tank ring with magnetic attachment that pulls the bag into position before it snaps in place, and still used a hard attachment that is spring loaded. It is pretty cool.

Found this interesting, so some of you may enjoy it as well....

https://global.honda/products/motorcycles/history.html

I recently purchased a 2014 CB1100 and took the first ride other than riding the bike home after purchasing. The ride home after purchasing was somewhat sketchy as the battery looked like it was original and the bolts on the poles weren't secure causing the bike's fueling to go on and off. Talk about a buck' bronc; I managed to get it to the front of my driveway before it quit completely. Not fun! I had recently totaled my 2016 Moto Guzzi Eldorado and through the proceeds got a 1998 Moto Guzzi EV (my 4th Guzzi) as it has all the bags etc. and I like to travel on a bike. The CB is more for 4cyl fun. I had a Gen 1 Yamaha FZ1 with all the farkles which I loved to death. So, I haven't had a 4 cylinder since then with the exception of a Suzuki GSXR 750. I subsequently had only V-Twins in the arsenal. It was little bit of a re-learning experience on the CB. I was not disappointed. 80 mph is only 4250rpm in 5th gear at least according to the speedo. It seems like it doesn't need a 6th gear but it is nice to have. Suspension is not bad for stock but it could use a steering damper. Has anybody fitted one? Windage is not bad as the Eldo was a lot worse at 80mph even with a fairing/windshield. I put on a Boosterplug to richen up idle to 4000, a Delkevic mini 8", a cafe' fairing is on order and the bike really needs to have bar end mirrors as I put some on that I had in the workshop as the bunny ears that were on the bike were not to my liking. The brakes are quite good and you have to be a bit careful on how much you use. A real nice bike in a lot of ways...

fine stock sound and the video in superfine landscape like we have it here at time very often...

[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=328&v=Iyyk_4oJuUQ&feature=youtu.be]https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=328&v=Iy...e=youtu.be

Trying to get classes ready for winter term in January (still all on-line at our college), but too many tech problems, too much zoom ...and too much dry weather on an Oregon December day for me to be inside.

I think one winter, must have been about 15 years ago, we had 35, 36 consecutive days of rain, and I don't recall seeing the sun during that time. Maybe a few sunbursts--a term I really dislike because of its implications. So when phone said no rain today and temps would reach high 40s, maybe even 50, I knew work could wait.

I was all set to go north by northwest out of Portland on 30 which hugs the Columbia River and head towards Longview and Clatskanie, but the low grey cloud bank off in that direction looked ominous, so I crossed the river on the 205 bridge and headed east on hiway 14 in Washington...towards plenty of daylight.

It's a route that I've done often, but just never before in December. Head east on 14 through Camas, maybe cross back over to OR at the Bridge of the Gods, or go a bit farther and cross at Hood River. This was a gift that needed to be opened today, for tonight the rains return.

Just east of Camas, looking across the Columbia with Mt. Hood in the distance.


I had on thin liner gloves, my winter gloves, and rain overgloves--the 3 keep my hands just warm enough.

I absolutely love this view...I've posted similar photos prolly 5 times before...but never on a December 18th:


Been feeling a little tight in the hip of late, and riding the CB1100 usually makes it more noticeable, so I added another bleacher pad.


Looking beyond the bike and up, you can see hiway 14, which is the spot where I took the two previous photos:






That right there is a Honda Shadow


The Bridge of the Gods is a gorgeous bridge to cross, but the weather was too nice to start the return back. Somewhere after Stevenson and before the Hood River bridge:


The bridge has $2 toll for cars, but only $1 for a motorcycle. Back on the Oregon side:

Not miles (that record was 29,105 miles in 2017) but in days ridden in a year. Today's ride was the 339th day I've ridden this year...and there are still 13 days to go in the year! (prev record was 338 also in 2017)

I should hit 21,000 miles this year (only need 188 miles)

Incredible, considering I was wondering just how much I was going to get to ride this year with the medical issue I had last year. I wondered if I'd make my goal of riding until I was 70 in mid May.

I set no goals for this year, only to ride when I felt up to it, hoping to make the East Coast CB Rally in Pennsylvania (I did) and the family Men's Fall Trip to North Carolina (made that too)

Ended up being a great year despite Covid

Not feeling too bad right now, hope that carries on into 2021.

In today's worldwide situation, we should try to stay positive and smile about anything that makes us smile. I thought it would be nice to start a Joke thread. Non-offensive, good-hearted jokes that make us feel better.

Here is one, for the older guys on this forum:

An elderly couple had dinner at another couple's house, and after eating, the wives left the table and went into the kitchen. The two gentlemen were talking, and one said, 'Last night we went out to a new restaurant and it was really great. . . I would recommend it very highly.' The other man said, 'What is the name of the restaurant?' The first man thought and thought and finally said, 'What is the name of that flower you give to someone you love? You know... The one that's red and has thorns.' 'Do you mean a rose?' 'Yes, that's the one,' replied the man. He then turned towards the kitchen and yelled, 'Rose, what's the name of that restaurant we went to last night?'

If anyone is interested in sailing ( if you can call it that ) this is happening in my backyard, it is the preliminary to the real series and may be worth watching;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne-covgb3ao

Streaming live and available afterwards etc.
Having fun shooting video of these teams with my new nikon p950 along the course, no match for the tv teams footage but fun to come home and watch my results on the pc.