I'm about to buy 2017 Honda Africa Twin (DCT model most likely). The retail price is right at $14,000.00. I wonder what are my chances of getting this bike for a $12,000.00 with no trade in. My thought at this point is to keep the CB and buy the Africa Twin straight out. My hope is to use it as a short to medium range touring bike, but also have the option to do some easy-to-handle off road stuff.
Also beside the issue of the price I'm somewhat hung up on getting the DCT version versus the standard version. The DCT has the automatic transmission, that can be manually shifted if the rider so desires. Has anyone in this forum ever owned one of these bikes?

Does anyone happen to know the size of the blanking plug that goes in the hole left when one removes the O2 sensors from a 2014 DLX exhaust? It seems that one of mine has popped out and now the exhaust sounds like a harley (woob, woob, woob.....not good). Vance and Hines sells 3 sizes (10mm, 12mm, and 18mm). Or better yet, if anyone has extras, let me know.

Thanks

I have a 2014 and I feel the gearing is too long, especially 1st to 2nd. I was playing with gearing commander and looking around online and found a couple sets, 17/43, 17/45 and a 16/45 and was wondering if anyone has geared down their 2014+ bikes?

95% of my riding (commuting to work) the speed limit is 60 so 3200 rpms in 6th feels like its just lugging it and I find myself in 3rd and 4th gear most of the time, up to 75 mphs, grabbing 5th on occasion as well but rarely do I actually use 6th gear. there will be some trips over to idaho/utah which will have me up in the 90mph range but being that the majority of my riding is local backroads or 60 mph freeway I feel this change would suit me well.

Anyone done this? Anyone know if I would need to get a longer chain? Worried a little about going up 5 in the back but not sure about how much larger it is in reality.

Thanks!

Hello All.

New to the forum. So hello! out there!

Just bought my CB1100 and love it. However first mod is exhaust. It seems a bit quite and want to increase my presence on the road for safety.

Any mod suggestions to make the exhaust loud?

Thanks!

See:
http://www.motoguzzi.com/en_EN/motorbike...V9-Roamer/
scroll down, expand "MOTO GUZZI MEDIA PLATFORM..." and read it.

This kind of thing goes in my view in exactly the opposite direction of why I ride a motorcycle - not to be connected to "the grid" but to escape from it. And what guarantee would I have that the software installed on my communication device will not communicate all my movements and whereabouts to those that I have no particular desire to be in the possession of this information? Is this something that anybody would want, and of what possible use would it be?

I've been M class certified for 5+ years now. When I took my class through Motorcycle Safety Foundation, I never even straddled a bike before and was introduced to a whole new terrain of machines I had zero knowledge of. The class supplied me with a Rebel that was well-maintained and if it came down to it I could probably lift the thing off the ground if need be. It was a great bike to learn on as you could really feel in control given it's dimensions/lack of power, but I used it only for a total of 20 hours that had me leaving the class begging for more power already.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks later where I bought (for ~$400) an '83 KZ440 from a friend of my Dad's that was a total beater. This bike was on it's last 100mi, but the perpetual cry of "start small, don't get anything too big" was pounded into my head. I should say up front that my reasoning for getting a bike was beyond just for leisure as I was living in Chicago with no car and wanted to start commuting/having a bike for actual daily tasks. The ability to have a reliable bike should have been more forefront than trying to "earn my stripes" as most people will say. The KZ was a total mess and ended up putting about $400 additional into it for the carbs. The bike was very loud too, but I didn't want to put more money into it as I really didn't care for the bike much to begin with. It was an embarrassing ride whenever I took it on the streets and I soon sold it for a couple hundred dollars.

My next bike was a '79 CB750F. Got it on CL for $1100 as I was pressured again to not buy something new or that big. I was willing to put some money into the CB750 as I needed a reliable bike to get me places and really enjoyed the styling/speed of the bike. I ended up getting $900 worth of work done on the bike for various replacement hoses, brake line/brakes, fluids,etc. After all the BS fees Illinois/Chicago demands of titles/registration/taxes, I was looking at $2300 worth of money put into 750. The bike rode well during the summer months but once temps started dipping below 50, I had to start carrying starter fluid because the bike wouldn't start without it. Then if the rpm's dipped too low, the bike would sputter out. I had to keep the engine permanently revved at stops to prevent the bike from dying out. The hand fatigue alone from that was pretty bad. Then when the bike DID die out, it wouldn't have enough juice to start so it needed a battery charge. I bought a portable battery charger for those all-too-common instances. The CB750s were apparently prone to electrical issues. At that time I really didn't want to put more money into the bike because I pretty much put what could have been a down payment on a perfectly new bike into the 750. Eventually the annoyance and unreliability of the 750 would cause me to sell it for a mere $500.

I know everyone has different experiences with their bikes, and I did get the CB750 looked at by an auto shop before I bought it. The repairs for it seemed pretty normal for a bike that old and at that time of sale the bike did run well. Fuel injection is a god-send that I held out too long for when looking for a bike.

I bring up my experience because if you're serious about wanting to ride and are urged to toe the line of, "don't get anything too big right away", I can't say I agree with that statement. The difference between my 1100 and 750 didn't seem too different. The 750 felt much lighter, but there wasn't much difference I could tell beyond that in terms of normal city/highway driving. If I could do it over again, I wish I'd had bought the CB1100 way earlier. I'd have saved much more money and time instead of taking the bikes to repair shops for something that wouldn't even benefit me in the end.

What are your guys' thoughts on starting off riding? If you have the money and are serious about wanting to ride a lot, do you think that jumping the gun on something new and a larger engine size is naive? I think a disclaimer on sportbikes should be said though. If you're buying a sport bike just for the weekends, that could easily not end well for many newer riders.

I realize this opinion may be unpopular and it's only through my experiences I came to that conclusion.

in another thread about price gouging on a motorcycle, Guth made the observation it was because of the location (So Cal) where the dealers had a 12 month business and didn't have to discount. It got me to thinking about why I wouldn't live there and enjoy living where I do. I know for most of us jobs and family dictate where we live. But for others there are choices of where to make their homes. I choose to live in sw Ohio. We do have family here, but my wife and I are both retired and could realistically live anywhere.

For me there isn't enough good weather, pretty scenery or good roads in Cali to make up for the cost of living, congestion, rudeness of the public, cost of gas etc, and although the scenery was spectacular on our recent trip to Colo with LR, the same thing applies there, along with 8 months of winter. Up where CA200 and Ole live, it's really pretty in summer, but winter is far too long and far too cold for me so I couldn't live there, and down in Fla where Nemo lives it's too hot for too long, too many insects and snakes and reptile and the roads are horrible and traffic is bad as well. Hurricanes are a real threat. Over where Flyn lives it's too stinkin hot to go out for 4 months of the year, but the rest of the year is nice, beautiful scenery too. Not sure about cost of living but it's can't be cheap seeing as how it's so popular.

Good thing I live in SW Ohio I guess..not too hot ...we've had three 90+ days this summer (usually about 19 days though but rarely, rarely over 100 degrees), Not too cold (We do get below freezing but rarely below zero... I was able to ride all but 13 days in Jan and 3 days in Feb this year which are our two months we can count on for winter. Rains too much to suit me, but honestly I ride everyday and manage not to get wet most of the time. It might rain in the morning or evening a couple days a week, but not usually both on the same day, so plan rides accordingly. We rarely have tornadoes and never hurricanes that I recall. Drought has never been an issue and either has forest fires. Flooding is only an issue next to the Ohio river, or a major feeder creek in the spring every 10 years. Cost of living is cheap, people are friendly, roads are good traffic light outside of the major cities, bugs snakes and reptiles are few (lotta coons and deer though). The city I live close to is conservative but pretty vibrant with professional baseball, football and soccer teams, a nationally ranked zoo, and orchestra, a nationally ranked amusement park, hosts a major tennis tourney every year. Plenty of downtown growth, niche restaurants and micro breweries for those that enjoy such things.

It's also an easy 1 day ride from here to Michigan, Indiana, Illinois,Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia, North Carolina, The Blue Ridge Mountains, The Great Lakes, Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

I would like to have a second home in AZ maybe where I could go in Jan and Feb. Leave after Christmas and return to Ohio in March or April, so to miss the worst of our weather, but that isn't going to happen.

Can't imagine living anywhere else.. how about you? What are the good and bad about and what influences for a motorcyclist living where you live?

I am contemplating painting my CB and am wondering if anyone here has removed their Honda and CB1100 badges. Are they just stuck on with adhesive? Will I ruin them if I pry them off?

The current paint job (black 2014) is so nice I am hesitating. If I decide to do paint it, however, the project will a little out of my comfort zone, which in my experience are the most satisfying projects (if they are successful).

Thanks,
David

I installed some amber [url=https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018UWBPK8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1]LED lamps in my CBR250R's turn signals for increased brightness. Due to current draw apparently, they also flash at a faster rate. I actually think they are more attention-getting than the fairly slow OEM flash rate.

Original incandescent rear turn signal for comparison:




LED rear turn signal:




LED front turn signal:

I just rolled in and unpacked from a short weekend trip to an ST rally. I rolled on just short of 500 miles, but then I was taking a straight route home ... in the rain. I arrived safe, wet, and happy. For a short time today I missed having a barn door of Tupperware to keep the wet off. AND, I do need to get rid of the Dunlop's. Absolute %^&* in the rain.

The CB caused some questions amongst the sport tour crowd. There was a bit of nostalgia for the minimalist rides of 'the good old days' But then only 1/3 of the bikes there were ST's. Honda is missing a market by not replacing high mileage rides with a new model. A few Gold Wings, two JFRs, two CTXs, three BMWs, a VFR1200X, and a handful of others.

and a good time was had by all,

Ride on,
Jim