While this ride report is by itself a stand-alone story, it's really Part 3 of a saga. Part one has been written about by Kiowa Eagle - where he rode from SE Pa to meet up with his friend Gary in Western Pa, and they arranged to ride for a day with RickCB and his wife in SE Ohio. Then, in Part 2, KE and Gary moved over to WV where they met up with Mtneers so that all could ride the "Back of the Dragon" in Tazewell, VA. I'll leave it to them to further elaborate on those adventures.

In Part 3, those three intrepid riders made their way south to meet up with me in Little Switzerland, NC. in mid-afternoon on this past Wed. After exchanging greetings, we headed down Rt 226A, "the Diamondback", to my home on Lake James. After getting everyone settled into their quarters for the night, we did a short Happy Hour boat cruise on the lake, before retruning for a nice evening of local BBQ take-out and pleasant conversation on the porch and deck.

Next morning, Thursday, it was kickstands up at 7:00 am with first stop being the summit of Mt. Mitchell. Our route there took us up Rt 80 to the BRP then up to Mt. Mitchell State park. We made one brief stop on the BRP which affords a view of Mt. Mitchell, then off to the summit.







After a brief hike up to the summit for the traditional picture, we took off on the BRP to meet up with Houtman at the Folk Art Center, on the BRP in Asheville, took some pics, then off for a pleasant lunch at the Pisgah Inn, south of Asheville.







No dessert today, as the storm clouds were moving in. So we suited up in rain gear, said goodbye to Houtman, and continued on the BRP down to Cherokee, NC, near the end/beginning of the BRP. Turns out that Houtman got drenched getting back to Asheville, but we only say a brief sprinkle on the BRP. After a fuel stop, we continued on Rt 19 to Bryson City, then picked up Rt 74 on to our "home" for the next several days at the Quality Inn in Andrews, NC.




After a pleasant evening happy houring in the outdoor gazebo, it was kickstands up at 8:00 am Friday, and headed up 129 to do the "Tail of the Dragon" in Deal's gap. Gary had to split with us for a few hours to get tires changed, so we did the Dragon in both directions, then headed out on the Cherhola Skyway for a very pleasant ride. We met back up with Gary in mid-afternoon, and decided to take the long way back to the hotel via Rt 143, 28 (the Moonshiner) and 74 back to the hotel.

The loose plan that we developed at happy hour in the gazebo was to ride the Dragon again, then allow folks who had to get back home by Monday to split off and begin their journey. Weather was perfect on Saturday morning, so we headed out at 7:00 am, stopping at the Deal's Gap Motorcycle Resort for a coffee.



While there, we all decided to just do the Dragon one direction, and split up on the Tenn side, with Gary making his way for Pittsburgh, and Mtneers, KE, and myself making our way back to my place for Saturday nite. We stopped at the overlook at mile 9 of the Dragon and to our surprise and delight, another CB1100 pulled in. That's where we met our new friend Suzuki, and invited him to become a forum member.



At our split on the Tenn side, the three CB forum members took the Foothills Parkway to Rt 321S (and Penn State fans, I didn't get to stop in Happy Valley TN). 321 took us to the town of Townsend TN, where we fueled, and headed thru the Great Smoky Mtns Nat'l Park to Gatlinburg. I'll pause here to say that all three of us described that 18 mile ride as the best scenery we had ever seen. Level, new pavement, twisty, and running along a beautiful mountain stream with trees forming a canopy over us.

After people-watching thru Gatlinburg, we continued on 321, where we picked up another Foothills Parkway all the way to I-40 in TN, just about 10 miles from the NC border. If you haven't been there, there's a stretch of about 40-50 miles of beautiful scenery, even though it's Interstate driving. We did a quick lunch stop 20 miles west of Asheville, then pushed on to MR Cycles in Asheville, where I ordered a set of Pirelli GTs. With perfect weather still - low humidity, near zero clouds, we headed North on the BRP, back to Rt 80, and back to my place for an enjoyable evening on the deck.



So... long story, but I'll make a quick re-cap: 690 miles in 3 days; 3 trips across the Dragon; saw a CB1100 "in the wild", and only got slightly inconvenienced by rain. We turned the return trip back to my house (about 140 miles) into a 275 mile adventure thru beautiful parts of TN. Only bummer was that MSCB1100 had been planning to join us in Andrews, but work conflicts got in the way. It was a great ride, made even better by sharing with great friends! Sort of a mini-rally before the real event in PA!!!

Then the sad part - saying goodbye (til the next time) at 7:00 am Sunday so that Mtneers and KE could head home. And please feel free to add on to my re-telling of the experience!

And thanks to: MSCB1100, Offroadfx4, SCCBrider, Houtman, Mtneers, and Kiowa Eagle -- because of you all, I've put many, many miles on the CB and seen much more of NC than I have in any summer previously!!
Oops, I forgot an important pic. As the Eagles rock group says on their "Hell Freezes Over" album: "...and here's how it all started..."!

Since the 2017 and later CB's are equipped with LED headlights, lots of owners complained of poor illumination and worst the electrical wiring diagram does not properly explain its operation, so after some research I decided to install a pair of "Motowolf" auxiliary spot lights.
Each light is rated at 7,800 lumens (@ 6,500 kelvins - white lights) and projects to a maximum of 300 meters while consuming only 45 watts (9 LED's), the pair is sold for around $60.00 USD from their US depot.
After the installation & aiming, I tested on roads with no street lights and to say the least, I very happy with the result.
Note: Better result can be obtained if the spotlights were located farther apart from each other.

Pictures are taken under different conditions; Low beam, High beam and the spotlights.

Low Beam


High Beam


Spotlights


Spotlight


On bike

So, before I cut ties with my second, and last, CB1100 I had the pleasure of discussing front fork arrangements with Jon Taylor at Ricor. They didn't have a fitment for the CB1100 yet, but with the 41mm standard fork arrangement,there might be a small following. As it is, I never got around to the install, so With Jon's okay, I am offering up the free trial basis of their Intiminators.

Hey all, job may have me move to the UK later this year and I have zero clue what to expect when/if I ship my CB from the US. One concern are my some of my mods and whether they'll create issues importing or registering my bike. Specifically, my header and the rear fender delete. Thoughts?

so, i rode a gsxr250 yesterday. boy what a disappointment. scooter power. that's it. i really expected a little more.

Sold my trusty CB1100, a bit reluctantly, but I did.
Looking to replace it with a middleweight bike, ideally under 500 lbs and under 1,000 cc's. Everyday pavement only solo rider for country roads and possible long distance when the sidecar rig just won't do it - like the mountains out west and good old W VA ,my next door neighbor. Sidecar fun but too much work for multiple days riding the mountains.
Tired of the "Adventure Bike" craze with the pointed beaks, though the ergonomics are comfortable. Weight, seat height, moderate power are my primary criteria. Numerous used BMW 1200's, FJR's, K14's around but I want lighter weight and mass, I'm not getting any younger. BMW 1000? Too much for me.
Don't want an exotic, I live too far from a big city to easily get parts and service so no Italians or Austrians.
Thought the Yamaha Tracer 900 would fit the bill perfectly, then I checked them out in person. What can I say, the Honda and its' "fit and finish" spoiled me. Sorry Tracer.
Triumph 900 Tiger and its triple engine are nice, good fit and finish, all the bells and whistles (and then some) but the beak!. Does give good weather protection. Nice rider but pricey.
BMW 900? Its' a contender. Really fell in love with the looks of the BMW F800GT, apparently 5-7 years too late. Honda 800 with its water cooled V4 is to drool over but riding position a bit aggressive. Several Honda 1200's available at amazing price but the weights a killer for me.
Any suggestions? New or used.
This forum is blessed with experienced knowledgable riders without an attitude.

The Webike website says this Dimotiv side stand enlarger fits the 2017 CB1100EX, so I place the order. The package arrived today and before I opened it, I placed it down by the side stand to see how it would fit. Sure doesn't look like it fits to me. The package says it fits the 2013-2016 models.

While I wait for Webike to respond to my return request, I thought I'd double check here to see if anyone was able to make this fit on a 2017? Is the side stand significantly different on the 2017 compared to the 2013-2016?

Qualifying just over

Guess who got pole? You'll never guess .....so here's the answer

Johan ZARCO on last years Ducati GP 19

followed by Quatararo and Morbidelli on the two Petronas Yamahas

Race tomorrow morning

I really should have bought a tire changing machine when I thought about it 25 years ago. It would have paid for itself in no time.

And I should have bought a hydraulic motorcycle lift so I could work on my bikes without sitting on the floor or bending over and killing my back. Too late now.

But today I broke down and bought a fancy-dancy professional-grade tire inflator with a built-in liquid-filled gauge. It snaps right onto my air compressor. Should have bought one of these years ago! Now, no more having to repeatedly stop to check the pressure with a questionable handheld gauge each time I air up.

Anyone else?

So I traded the stock seat for a Sargent, 20% better but still looking. Been reading through all the posts and only slightly closer to a decision. So...here's my 'dilema': The crunched up crotch and constant feeling of sliding forward in the seat (area.) My favored position is few inches (about a fist) back from the tank/forward edge of the seat.

The swoop/scooped/lower seating in driver(?) position seems to be the issue. I never had that problem with my CB550 or the CB750, so I'm thinking the most 'retro' styles are what I should be looking at, i.e. Daytona Cozy (tall). Maybe even the Tiros K?

I've already looking at having Sargent re-do the seat, and even a good, local guy who can do seats. Still, I'm looking at all options.

I would appreciate anyone's similar experience and/or opinion.

Incidently, the Sargent seat will soon be for sale.

Sodbuster