Hi, firstly please forgive me if this has been posted before but here in the UK NGK only have one spark plug listed for our bikes - LMAR8A-9S, which we all know is just the standard type.
I see that upgrade "high performance" plugs have been found listed in Japan, but I found that the Honda Africa twin uses the NGK iridium version of our standard plug and has the all important stainless sealing washer.
Part number SILMAR8A-9S (90992)

These are super expensive here in the UK but they will be easier to find as the Africa Twin is very popular world wide.
Just another option for any high milers on here that hate changing plugs! LOL!

Ride safe folks,
JT

Considering changing out the stock exhaust on my 2014 CB1100DLX, 4 into 2, with a 4 into 1 stainless from Delkevic.

Anyone have a used set or want to trade by chance?
Otherwise I’ll bite the bullet and buy new.

What mods/adjustments are required?
The center stand can stay, correct?

Thanks in advance,
Inditx

Not yet available in the U.S. but coming soon?



I'd like to meet the person(s) at RE who come up with the paint schemes, shake their hand(s), nominate them for an award...or something. I think they are marvelous for the most part...they make me happy just to look at them.


Not only several colors, but slight variances of paint pattern:




Matching Kickstand! Who does this?


I realize they are not for everybody, but I just think RE is doing some really cool things with their motorcycle platforms.

These make me think about cleaning the garage to see if there is room for just one more. I won't, but somebody wrote recently "I think pdsdse should buy what he wants" or something like that. I just can't get the simplicity of that out of my mind.

: )

The maroon is my favorite.

CB1100 owners. I am looking over my new to me 2014 std. on the left side of the frame up near where the top frame and the right hand front downtube meet, there's a flange/gusset/web. there are two holes AND a welded on threaded nut. On my bike there is nothing screwed into this welded on nut. Now manufacturers wouldn't put that there just for fun. Something must have been screwed into that nut that perhaps the previous owner took off?? Or maybe it's for mounting something for the deluxe model and not the std model? I tried to attach a photo/file. Look at the red (small) arrow which is pointing to the threaded hole. Is something missing from my scoot?
thanks,
tdbru

P.S. I'll try and post picture next entry. says too big.
photo

After getting stranded with a dead battery on my CB 1100 last week (thanks to the help of strangers pushing I got it bump started and rode it home) I became concerned about what would happen in the same situation with my NC DCT (which is coming up on 4 years old on original battery) or my wife's X Max scooter CVT (2 years old), neither of which could be bump started. The weak link in an automatic motorcycle imo. So, I started researching jump starters.

I learned that jump starters can't be run thru the battery tender jr pigtails I already have on my bikes because of too much volts or amps? something to do with the battery tender jr wires being too small. So, it was either rig up my own wires that would mate to a jump starter or find someone who already made them. Research and talking with other motorcyclists led me to a company called Noco which had everything I'd needed... pigtails to hook up to my batteries, charger/maintainers for extended storage and the jump starter itself. I know some people don't believe in battery maintainers, but I have had excellent experience with them over the last couple of decades, and will continue to use them, and having a system all designed to work together just made sense to me. So, I contacted the company, asked them some questions, which they always answered the same day (Unlike contacting Cardo for my helmet comms which sometimes took a week to get a response from) and placed an order.

Tonight, the Amazon driver dropped me off a package during dinner



Tomorrow I'm running over to a buddy's house who, unlike me, actually likes to work on things lol, and we will hook one of these pigtails up on the NC. Another day we will tackle the X Max.

Hopefully I will never have to use the jump starter. But if I'm out and the NC or X Max fails to fire, it will be comforting to know I can get it going again and get home.

Everyone on this Forum loves their CB1100. We love walking and spending time with our loved ones even more! Those realities are why I decided to upgrade the engine / crash guards which were on my CB1100 EX. I have never gone down on the street in the 45 years I have been riding motorcycles, but stuff happens.

The guards on the CB1100 when I purchased it were just okay. Although they were made of steel, they were a little thin. The welds were not as nice as they could have been. The finish was good, but the mounting relied too much on u-bolts. The attach points on the CB1100 were too few. I was concerned that if I had a bad incident which placed the total weight of the motorcycle and me on the crash bars, they may snap or bend.

I recently upgraded to SW-MOTECH crash bars:

https://sw-motech.us/p/4052572023358?sku...escription

The cost was $230 and resulted in a thicker, more sturdy, better finished set of bars. The mounting is also significantly enhanced relative to the off-brand bars I had previously. The welds were also much improved. Installation was straightforward. And most importantly, I have the peace of mind that I have a set of bars which can protect me and the motorcycle if something terrible were to happen. Have a great week and I hope you can sneak in a ride today!

In Northern California, riding a motorcycle is often a delicate dance between obeying the laws of the road and making pragmatic decisions about driving with the flow of traffic. Where I live, it can often look like a Mad Max sequel when car drivers and even motorcyclists decide that it is time to drive significantly over 70 miles per hour. Because I enjoy taking short day trips to pretty places where highways and interstates are my only options, I have often found myself making that calculated choice.

On my CB1100 EX, wind is a non issue up to 70 miles per hour. Above 70, I had to lean into the wind and brace myself by clutching the handlebars tightly. I still had control of the motorcycle, but I found it a little tiring at high speeds for an extended period. To offset that, I recently commissioned a build of a Road Comet 2 bikini cowl. This current generation appears to reflect all of the great feedback from this Forum and has proven to be quite effective in lessening the stress and strain I felt by shifting the wind upward and to the side. It took me 90 days to receive the Road Comet 2 from the time I ordered it. It was delivered on the exact day it was promised by Webike.net. The cost was $340 USD, including shipping. The color match and materials are outstanding. It is so good that I assert it meets an OEM Standard.

While riding my motorcycle at high speed, dare I say breaking the laws of the land, there was absolutely no vibration with the Road Comet 2. Nor did I detect any additional wind noise while riding with my Shoeii GT-Air II helmet. My motorcycle handles as well with the Road Comet 2 as it does in its naked state. The mounting system is incredible and straight forward. See my pictures below.

Please remember to order fresh RLETs with your Road Comet 2. Otherwise, the RLET Police Force may cite you for failing to obey the laws of the CB1100 Forum!

If you live in a place where chaos rules the road and speed may be your only option, the Road Comet 2 may merit consideration. Regarding its aesthetics, I believe that it actually enhanced my motorcycle, not detracted from it like many after-market cowls. I do welcome your feedback on that assessment and wish everyone a lovely Sunday and an even better week for you and your loved ones. David

Well this sure is a cutie...


I've likely mentioned that upon retirement, the Mrs. and I will be spending lengthy portions of each year in her native Costa Rica. I bought a Suzuki DR650 two years ago specifically to import to CR thinking it would be a great dual purpose bike to have there. Then I discovered the import tax on it would be around $4,500. Ouch. I started thinking maybe it would be better to use that money and simply buy something in CR and keep the DR650 Stateside. So I've been looking the last year for some possibilities.

Because the area where we will live has lots of rock-dirt-gravel roads, these two bikes are the front runners:

Honda XR150L at $3,300


The slighty larger Honda XR190CT at $3850


But then tonight I came across the Honda CB350 H'ness--it could be a kid brother to the CB1100:




I think it looks gorgeous! Wouldn't handle the jungle terrain like the others, but maybe I don't care!

I'm actually heading to CR in Jan of '25 to take a group of students from our college on a study abroad trip. I've done it 4 times before and I've either owned a Honda CGL125 or used a loaned Honda Tornado 250 as my transportation. So while I was planning on buying there when I retire, maybe I go ahead and buy now so I can use it for the upcoming trip and then it will be there for future trips.

Hmmm...What to do!?

Using Microsoft Edge. Its been fine for maybe a year. I recieved a pm from an old member asking about the messed up format. After answering his pm, when I returned to the forum all of a sudden mine is messed up again.

So far google has been no help. When I try fixing it according to instructions on google it doesnt work.

I think my son in law fixed it last time but I can't remember what he did.

Anyone have a clue how to fix it?

Its fine on my ipad in Chrome.

Only issue is on PC in Microsoft Edge.

DIY or take them to a shop?

My mechanical skills are only as good as youtube videos, service manuals and forum input. I've probably changed tires 5-6 tires on dual purpose bikes. Tried one street bike tire change and gave up after 10 minutes of trying to break the bead. And I didn't want to mess up the rims with tire irons.

But with all three motorcycles needing tire changes and two of them street bikes, local shops wanting $100 per wheel if on the bike / $75 off, I decided to try out the Rabaconda Stree Tire Changer.

[url=https://us.rabaconda.com/]https://us.rabaconda.com/

Not making a video as there are plenty, a few:

Street bike with tubes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0_FTR8nk0I
Goldwing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_NqbdvRRKQ
Harley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKLhvaZNHgg

It's pricey at $650. But my justification was $150-200 per bike, that's $300-400 for my street bikes. Next time around, the machine pays for itself and I can loan it out to friends or have it available for long-distance travellers who want to visit.

HUGE selling point: it's very portable, comes with a carrying case and weighs 36lbs.

Nice all the videos, but would I be able to do it? Would I be able to get the wheels off the bike, new tires mounted / balanced, and back on and not fudge things up?

I watched about 7 videos, read online comments and read the manual. Last night, got the W800 rear wheel off and I was done. Tonight, got all my notes together and went at it.

Took my time, got the stand set-up, looked things over, rewatched videos...and started. Took me a few minutes to realize just how to go about it, but broke the bead and had the tire off in just a few minutes of actual work time.

Getting the old one off


Literally, just minutes


And then on with the new. This took more time as the mechanism that does the heavy work slipped off a few times and I had to start over, but still...less than 20 minutes and it was on:


This is what moves the beads over the rim as you ratchet with the long lever


Zero scratched rims.

The W800 has tubes and it wasn't really that difficult to work with. I guess we'll see tomorrow if it holds air. Still need to balance the tire and get it back on the bike, but the Rabaconda works...very well! The W's front tire still has some life, but next up will be the Honda CB1100 rear.

In short, it works as advertised. If you read the manual, watch some videos and take your time, it's totally do-able w/out much frustration.