Had some intermittent precipitation.....for a mini tour round Highlands by CB1100EX.
1400miles over a (damp) week in the English summer (lol)

Day1; Mid Lincs to Jedburgh

3/4 way Monday sunny and hot....but amazing how wet you can get, quite quickly....still the aga where I stopped managed to dry stuff, ready for the next downpour! Bike was OK in an old ramshackled garage too.
Bike now needs a wash.
And not just the rain that is persistent and stair rods when it occurs...
Waterproofs (almost!).
Just the job (CB1100) when inclement and torque makes riding easy.
CB great on the A696 & A68 as I traverse the Northumberland National park.

Day2: Jedburgh to Resipole

A couple of showers interspersed with October/November type temperature---well not July temp. Still arrived at lodgings dry this time.
Some mixed roads from MotorWay-Dual Carriageway-smaller A road and then B roads, some with lochs and grass down middle! (Lochs to side too but some undulations would have been good for ducks!)
Bike works well at sensible speeds and being more sit up an beg works well when its damp and the torque makes things quite easy.
A bit heavy at standstill, but on the move easy and manageable.
MPG seems to be around 60-70! depending on type of road. Makes an OK tourer....even if at times am aqualung might be handy!

Day3: Resipole to Melvaig

Dry(ish) for 85% of the day, a bit damp at end of ride but lucky really judging by forecast.
Had a trip round the west coast; called at Applecross and the 'interesting' road to that...narrow track with some serious hairpin bends both going up and down...a little scary at times, especially when it got damp. Still made it there and back in one piece.

Got to my b&b and slowly drying out. Looking at the Atlantic as I type this...
Honda continues to impress it might need a better seat, but mine might be just unused to longer rides.... But maybe something to do some research on.
64mpg still and a nice riding position.

Luggage: Kreiga US20 (on seat) staying dry and just the job for my week away.

Day4 - Melvaig to South of Jedburgh

Don't believe it, shhhhh a dry day and some summer sun too as I meandered across to Inverness and the moseyed south via A9 past Pitlochry, Perth and round Edinburgh, over the (bumpy) Forth Road bridge (next to the rail bridge, lovely bit of steelwork, and the New road bridge on the right which isn't completed yet).

Honda continues to sip fuel (now 63.5mpg after some bigger MotorWay near Edinburgh) and still makes a passable tourer - riding position not sports bike like which helps and knees are not too screwed up.

The 'wee Beastie' (midges) has had a nibble or two, but survived.

Day5: South of Jedburgh to Home

Looked to be going to be damp again, but delaying departure a wee while was best....

Highlights:
Dolphin in sea on west coast
Sea Eagle in same area
Some amazing views, lochs mountains and glens: wonderful
Scary road at Applecross
A dry Thurs
Manageable, comfy Honda
Kreiga US20 luggage
Accommodation
Food :-)

Lows:
A bit damp at times, although riding not too bad except couldn't see the edge of the hairpin at Applecross.
Herr bimmer at Applecross on an RT1200 who forgot what side of the road to drive on....expect he was scared of hairpin in the clouds too!
Brexit....grrr.....Almost escaped brexit, yawn, 'cept for some Germans at b&b who seemed to find it fascinating and interesting....still the footy result may have dampened their enthusiasm for a wee while.

So a good (if damp at times) mini tour. Won't be waking up to lochs or sea for a while

Only mods to the bike: the fork gaiters and the rubbers on clutch and brake lever

Tomorrow I am buying a new 2014 CB1100 black standard.
I plan to keep this bike for MANY years to come. Towards that
end I want to break in the engine properly. The Honda manual
seems a bit lacking on this subject.
Any advice on the best new engine break in process I would much
appreciate. Big thanks!

Just an FYI, if your hi beam dash light shines when your switch is on low beam, that is a warning that the 3 prong wire connector is not making proper connection to the headlight bulb. Thus, the bulb will not light up. I changed bulbs recently and pushed the connector too far onto the bulb and experienced this. Removal of the connector and slightly bending the parallel prongs on the bulb created enough tightness to eliminate this problem.

Here's a fairly well done, CB1100 related video I discovered today on You Tube. Both bikes are being ridden two up while touring some of the best known landmarks out in the desert a hundred mile or more East of Los Angeles.

ENJOY!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW9HqOywefo

This is more of a placeholder question than anything, but I'm sure as time goes on and there are more totaled bikes/parts available, more engines being rebuilt, and as the book value of these bikes drops into the $3k-$4k range, this may start to be in the realm of possibility...

Has anyone been inside these engines to determine if the 6-speed trans could be a drop-in replacement for the stock 5-speed on the pre-'14 bikes? Did the actual tooling of the engine cases change between '13 and '14?

Just curious what everyone has been doing (when not enjoying their CB) during their summer weekends. This last weekend was a bit rainy in Minnesota, so I tackled a project I have been considering.

For starters, my wife spotted this small cable spool on the side of the road, following some construction in our area. It's the perfect height for a porch table.


I started with a "dust coat" of black spray paint, followed by the palm sander until it looked properly "aged."



Next up was masking off a portion of the table for a blue field with a few stars.




Well, with that done, the next logical step is to add a few stripes.



Moved it out into the sun for the first application of urethane to seal it all in.


I will apply a few thicker coats of urethane until the top is smooth and uniform. I still have plans for the middle and base so the whole thing has a finished look. I'm pretty pleased with the outcome so far.

So, who else has some projects going on, not necessarily motorcycle related that they want to share?



Sent from an undisclosed location

Figured I'd show you guys the progress I've made on my CB so far.
Here's the before:

[url=http://s1205.photobucket.com/user/carvin112/media/IMG_1763.jpg.html]

And here's the after:
[url=http://s1205.photobucket.com/user/carvin112/media/IMG_2996.jpg.html]

[url=http://s1205.photobucket.com/user/carvin112/media/IMG_2994.jpg.html]

In the local dealer buying a lawn mower, and they had one of these -- up on a pedastle in a place of prominence where it belongs... Honda seem to have gotten a little more reasonable on the price too.

No... NOT mine. I'm not sure of the rules, but the Honda dealer in Clearwater has a new 2014 STD on the floor for $7999.00. I could post the phone number and other info but I'm afraid I might get whacked... so I won't. Good buy though if anyone's looking.

Well the CB and I have bonded. This is absolutely the sweetest bike I have ever owned. Honda got it right with this one. Here are a couple pics from the BRP today.