My brother who told me just last year that he was giving up riding forever, has had a change of heart and is buying a new bike very soon. He was leaning toward the Ducati Scrambler until he discovered a new 2014 CB1100 at a local dealer discounted to just $7400. He has arranged a test ride on the CB for tomorrow morning and if he likes it he's pulling the trigger.

Maybe a new CB in the family.

Day 2 route map: 524 miles, ~11 hours



I stopped to camp just south of Lolo, MT. I woke up to cold and sunny weather, packed up camp, bundled up, and headed south.

I made my first stop at the Lost Trail Pass summit rest stop. My hands were numb due to the temps dropping to 35*F on the pass.






From there I continued south to Salmon, ID. It warmed back up to 50*F by this time and the forecast was for warmer weather there so I removed the rain jacket and headed southeast.

What I didn't realize was that road was actually a mountain pass. The longest stretch of straight road over a mountain pass in the world is my guess.

I cut across the north side of Idaho Falls towards Jackson, WY. This pic was a stop at the top of the pass just west of Jackson. This is where traffic got busy. Glad I just brushed the area and turned south from there.



US 191 south of Jackson into Rock Springs was a decent ride withlittle traffic.


The weather turned to rain as I approached Rock Springs so I opted for a hotel over camping that night.

But I did catch a nice rainbow just north of town.

I picked up a pair of Biltwell Bantam gloves and have to say, they are quite comfortable. Leather on the palm and underside of the fingers and thumb as well as across the knuckles. Some type of quilted synthetic material on the back of the hand and ends of the fingers. And, my favorite, a nice fleece liner inside and across the top of the hand. There's no armor in these gloves but for $39, they seemed like a great value. I hope they last.

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Overtightened the top bolt for the left rear shock, after noticing it was loose, ad the head snapped off, leaving the bolt in the hole. What a puny little thing it is, that it cannot handle my manly ratchet twisting!

Anyway, please jump in with suggestions on the right tool/ tap/ beer to extract the stud before I begin experimenting with a chainsaw.

This morning I got a screw in my front tire. It definitely leaks because when I pulled it out it there were some bubbles forming around it. It was raining. If it would have happened on the way home I would just replace it, but I just got to work though. I'm considering patching/plugging it just to limp it home where i will definitely replace the tire. My question, given where the puncture is will it be safe to ride it with a plugged tire? I'm getting conflicting information about plugging a motorcycle tire from a quick internet search.

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I'm thinking about ordering/installing this gearbrake smart brake light module on my CB. Anyone here try it yet?
http://gearbrake.com/

My fathers first motorcycle was a 27 Indian Scout. He rode Indians up until they went out of business in 1953 then he switched to Harleys (before eventually shifting to Honda's and Yamaha's. In dad's honor, I thought it would be neat to ride an Indian Scout someday, made easier since their new release and favorable reviews.

My local Indian dealer was having a demo days so between watching grandkids from 7:30 am until 10:30 PM and showing up for some dental work at 1:20 pm, I hightailed it across the expressway 25 miles and dropped in, just in time to sign up to ride. I chose the $11,999, 550 lb, 6 speed, 100hp Scout in red. The one I was given had an accessory windshield and leather or leather like saddlebags. The ride was pretty long for a demo days ride, 2 bouts of freeway maybe 10 miles total and probably 15 miles of curvy back roads, of course with a factory supplied leader and tail rider to make sure nobody got lost or did anything stupid. There was probably 7 or 8 in my group and all were on Scouts, save one guy, who rode a dark horse something or other. In all specs but seat height, the Scout should match similarly to our CB1100. Seat height being like 25 inches on the Scout and about 31 on the CB. When you came to a stop on the Scout, your feet hit the ground quick lol and at 5'6" I had both feet flat on the ground and both knees well bent.

the review:

I expected the Scout to be better than it was. Much to my dismay there wasn't much to like about it honestly. It vibrated a lot, the transmission was clunky, the brakes were weak and wooden, the clutch engagement was vague and medium stiff, the forward pegs/seating position was uncomfortable (for me), there was no cornering clearance, and the exhaust was loud. (With 8 of them in close proximity it was hard to hear yourself think). The suspension was terrible, the switchgear was cheap and the digital gear indicator showed N through 6, but first was just a couple of dashes --- and not a 1...and the grips were hard. No complaints about the seat as I don't even remember what it felt like. The mirrors worked ok. I went in there with an open mind. Honestly. I love all motorcycles, no matter who makes them,...as long as they function well. I had read good things about the Scout. If the one I rode was typical, writers would have to be on the take to write positive reviews IMO. Maybe the one I rode was just a bad one. I don't know. It was what it was, and what I speak of, is the unbiased truth.

I rode away saying 2 things. (1) I really love my CB 1100. What a great motorcycle. Comparatively speaking it is a diamond in a zirconium mine. and (2) Anyone who would buy a Scout over a CB 1100 or a T-120 Bonneville must not know much about motorcycles.

Immediately after getting home I texted a riding buddy in Cols Ohio with my review. He had ridden a Scout and said he liked it. After listening to my review he said that I was prejudiced, and I told him No, I was spoiled. The CB is such a nice bike it is hard to accept mediocrity. He said I didn't like any motorcycles other than the CB 1100 and I reminded him I loved my ST 1300, and that had recently ridden a T-120 Bonnie, an NC 700 Honda and an SFV 650 Suzuki and I liked all of them. All ran well, handled well, were smooth and braked well. All functioned as motorcycles should function imo.

Color me disappointed in the Indian Scout.

After riding my CB for about 100 miles I hopped on the Rebel for a quick ride and noticed I kept hitting the horn by accident. I just realized the placement is reversed for the two bikes. Anyone else experiencing this small annoyance?

Dear friends of a good ride,

recently I had to go to Sardinia to see a man about a horse.

Well, I decided, to pick up this chance for a nice motorcycle ride. It was a 4 days trip, 2,048 km over all.

Friday, June 3

In the early morning I started at my home town Filderstadt, direction south. I took the chance to go some sideways to check the route of a tour, I wanted to guide my friends the next Sunday after this Sunday.

After that I went south thru Switzerland, destination Genova, Italy, Mediterranian Sea.

At the Gotthard pass it was still quite chilly



and a lot of this white stuff was still laying around.



From Genova I took the overnight ferry to Porto Torres, Sardinia.

Saturday/Sunday, June 04/05

At Sardinia, somehow the weather was .... different. And there were really nice roads with freaking nice curves and no traffic at all, e.g. like here with view at Alghero,



and other really nice views, like this one from Monte Limbara.



Meanwhile you find some nice sidewalk cafe for some rest.



At Sardinia you can really use the whole tire.



Time went by fast as hell and Sunday evening I was alread waiting again at Porto Torres to embark the ferry to Genova.



and said good-bye to Sardinia.



Monday, June 06

At the St. Bernadino pass back over the Alps, it was quite chilly again.
However, the weather was much more agreeable than last Friday.







But then, back down the valley at the foot of the Alps, it was really nice again, time to change to t-shirt.



Sardinia is really nice. I have to come back in a while, may be for some more days...

I changed my oil and filter at 400 miles. Why you ask? Because I do not like to let the orig oil run any longer than that in any new engine. I know that the metal that wears off everything while breaking in flows around with the oil, so I get it out. I do not want to talk about anything I have said up to this point!

I changed my oil and filter at 400 miles. I have seen this before and always wonder what it is I am really looking at. The old oil seems to have a slight metallic sheen to it. It even seems to be made up of two dissimilar fluids that really do not like to mix in the drain pan. Some of it likes to float like froth on beer. (You know it is just beer but it is lighter in color and wants to just sit on top.) As I swirl the pan it does not want to mix together easily. What as I looking at? Is the slight metallic sheen on the first old change normal? The metal does not settle out when it sits. I think it is light metal like aluminum.

For those of you that want to know... I used Honda 10w30, and noticed no change in anything. I do not want to talk about that either.