Prior to purchasing our new Honda CB1100EX we had one other bike on the shortlist - the Triumph Bonneville T120. Our local dealer, Pidcock Triumph offered a test ride of up to an hour so we had a good chance to road test it properly.

The demonstrator was a T120 Black. A mean looking version with black motor, exhausts and wheel rims (spoked wheels). The mufflers on this bike had been changed to Vance & Hines.
Sitting on the bike I could easily touch the floor flat-footed (a very important factor for me these days after playing "dropsie" on the RT a few years ago). With Kelly on board minimal extra sagging was noted which if anything helped further enhance my confidence. The sitting position is upright, relaxed but not lazy (as I tend to sit on an NCX). The CB is very similar but with the footpegs set slightly back in comparison which suits me better. Bars at just the right height, the fully integrated heated grips are a fantastic basic feature (other manufacturers take note here). All the wiring for these is "invisible" and I presume runs inside the bars. A single push button on the left grip selects ON/HIGH/LOW/OFF etc. - elegant simplicity. The clutch (cable operated) is exceptionally light.

Two "clocks" make up the instrument cluster and are tied together visually with a very nice "figure of eight" surround. Speedometer on the left and rev counter on the right, both have a small backlit LCD information panel with various parameters of information shared across the two. I'll not go into this lot except to say that it is "comprehensive".

The right hand grip is of course the throttle - being "ride-by-wire" with two modes selectable - Normal and Rain. We left it in the default - normal position. The combined kill switch and starter button is a good idea.
The motor started easily (no throttle) and settled into a characterful tickover (270 deg like the 865 Scrambler) but much, MUCH deeper (Vance and Hines remember). Setting off, the low down torque was very apparent and the easy riding character of this bike is only spoiled around town by the rather tall gearing - made worse by the significant (but expected) engine braking. A degree of clutch feathering is thus necessary to prevent nodding and helmet bumping. But is something one could easily adapt to. The suspension is very good, much more premium than the 865 and 900 bonnies but is quite a bit firmer than the set-up on the CB1100EX which I can only describe as a magic carpet by comparison and can achieve this this without excessive fork dive too (probably down to the Showa "Dual Bending Valve" technology on these).

At 224kg (dry) for the T120 vs the 255kg (kerb weight) of the CB1100EX, I wouldn't describe either bike as heavy being used to the 300kg+ of the HD. The T120 though needs a considerable amount of counter-steering to get it to turn into bends, but once encouraged will maintain the chosen line easily enough and then requires a little of the same to get upright again. By comparison the CB1100EX needs no such coaxing and is a doddle. Others (more experienced at these things than I) describe the EX as an ideal "beginners big bike" and I wouldn't disagree.

Performance:

Deserving it's own heading as always, we were unable to fully exploit the available performance of the T120 nor did we wish too. I can generally get the measure of this without specifically testing for it. That's not what we yearn for these days and is not what either of these bikes are about anyway. The 270 twin in the T120 and the in-line 4 of the CB are very similar with regard to power and torque. The CB ahead in the former, whilst as expected the T120 ahead in the latter. The T120 did get a bit "vibey" through the bars and footpegs near the upper reaches of RPM but by this point, maximum torque is over and is not the way we ride a motorcycle these days anyway (which is why the NC was so good).
The smoothness of the CB vs the considerable engine braking of the T120 are perhaps two areas of difference that might make the choice easy for some. The Bonnie obviously has character (but so does the CB now with its 2 x two-into-one exhausts tuned specifically for this) but of course, the two are as different as apples and oranges in this respect.

Brakes:

Very good indeed on the Bonnie, both for effect and for feel, I would have been totally satisfied too were it not for the exceptionally good brakes on the CB which work so well with the silky smooth motor and the rest of the drive train that smooth riding is very, very easy especially two-up. By comparison, those on the T120 felt a little, dare I say ahem... wooden. Oops I've said it.

So, on reflection I preferred the CB1100EX. I did like the "honesty" of the bike (described so eloquently by Simon "TEX"). It really is air (plus oil) cooled and thus true to the original, whereas the T120 (like the new 900) is liquid cooled. That said, the width of the hot Honda engine which was a joy on a cold extended road test last Sunday might be a bit much in the heat of July. We shall see.
Our choice was made easier by the fact that the Triumph dealer was way out with their valuation of the HD (£1500 out!). Plus their excuse for being so tight was along the lines of that the Dyna is an extinct model now and dealers are struggling to get rid of them. General opinion would say otherwise with a late registered Dyna (as ours was) will be much sought after once the hype of the new Softail Low Rider wears off. Try finding a Low Rider or Glide for sale for less than £8,000!

I hope this little review has been interesting for some, and if it's been useful then even better. Please, please get out and try both these bikes if you can - if only to see if any of you agree with my amateur report in any way.

Ok guys, here's my bike. I want to get a 2017 tank and I'm struggling between black and limited grey metallic. What do you think?



Black tank:
https://www.samurider.com/?p=26006/#itemImage


Limited tank:
https://www.samurider.com/?p=27880/#itemImage

The boy actually being a man, my son. B had the day off and it was going to 62 degrees so we thought we would get together for a ride. Gams (Mrs Ferret) watched his three kids. Just local roads. A little over 50 miles. he was on his FJ-09 and I was on the CB. Between work and 3 kids under 6 he doesn't get to "play ride" as much as he would like, but he rides to work and back most days all year round. We had
a great time today.

A couple of pics











HELLO

Are there any of the big motorcycle superstores (Cycle Gear, etc) in the general vicinity of the rally location in Berea, KY?

I'm pretty good for gear but I'm always looking for a bargain and I am a sucker for clearance bins/racks.

We don't really have big stores like that here on the east coast, motorcycle wise that is.

Nice 2014 Deluxe sold $12,200 firm??

https://www.cycletrader.com/listing/2014...5001983908

The yellow hue was starting to show it's ugly head again so i shined them up today. Turned out pretty nice.

Like I said, it flashes from the center outward. Not low on fuel. Sometimes it stops right away, other times it will continue flashing a long time. Anyone ever experience this? Think my fuel gauge in tank is sticking?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

a colleague was any days befor of a trip with his el - Scooter in our environ here

[url=https://onedrive.live.com/?authkey=%21AC5grxmKmQbv3WY&cid=9A26C1C4D8AAD5DC&id=9A26C1C4D8AAD5DC%212385&parId=9A26C1C4D8AAD5DC%212378&o=OneUp]https://onedrive.live.com/?authkey=%21AC...78&o=OneUp

I have a problem with starting my Honda CB1100 (2013) motorcycle.
I had a small accident (slide).
I do not have a spark on the motorcycle, the motorcycle does not start.
After turning the key, the HISS lamp goes out and the fuel pump is working.
By pressing the start button, the motorcycle does not start, no spark.
All fuses without damage. I am looking for nothing, nothing results.

Hi All,

Hopefully this doesn't double post, but it looks like my original post didn't take. Anyway, here is my question....

I've been riding my entire life. I currently have a BMW 1200 GS and an old but minty beautiful R1200C.

After College, my daughter moved to the left coast and surprising to me (she was never much interested in riding as a kid) she took a safety course and got her motorcycle license.

Her thinking is that she wanted to buy a cheap Rebel off of Craigs List and asked that I check some bikes out when I visited. As background, I get out there once a month on business, and have often thought that I wouldn't mind having a bike out there for me when I visit.

So, I checked out these Rebels and they scared the bejeeebeees out of me when riding them (not to mention the fact that the ones she was looking at had carburetors and didn't like to start in spite of the warm SoCal weather) . I can't imagine riding such a small bike on the freeway. Now my daughter's commute is 5 miles on surface streets, so it wouldn't be crazy I guess, but such a small bike seems scary to me.

I've been interested in the CB100EX myself and have done some test rides locally. The bike is a big friendly teddy bear of a motorcycle with impeccable manners. And my daughter is very responsible so I'm not worried about her going crazy on it.....

The question is if it's outrageous to think that a new (but very responsible) female could handle the 1100EX? She's 5'8 with long legs, so I don't think that height would be too much of an issue. I'd hate to encourage her to ride it if it were too much though. Food for thought anyway. My daughter's ideal would be something like a used SR400 with the kick starter. Sounds good in principle, but having tried one on the road, it blows around a bunch.

Thoughts appreciated...