Took the day off work to take advantage of a dry cool day here in the Pacific NW. This was my first ride over 50 miles and I did 160 miles out to the coast, up to Bellingham,WA and back to Lake Stevens,WA.
This bike is great. I can't give enough compliments to the smoothness, handling and ease of riding this bike exudes.
The clutch is like glass, never misses a shift, doesn't shake or vibrate and the seating position is perfect. I was out for about 5 hours, including a coffee break downtown in Bellingham, and several stops for pictures. I am trying to get a feel for the bike before I plan some bigger rides this spring and summer with my girlfriend. I have a rear carrier ordered and will be getting a waterproof bag for longer day trips and overnighters.
I got 53 mpg today without trying to take it easy and was impressed with that.
It has been stated in many different posts; people just don't know what they are missing with a CB1100!

After coming back from Salt Lake and installing the RAM X mount my daughter and I rode out to the small town of Morgan on back roads and stopped to take this picture of the bike with Snow Basin Ski Resort in the background..I'm standing at about 5,000 feet and the mt's behind me top out around 9,200 +/-. To the right side of that mt is where the 2002 Winter Olympics Downhill event was held.

Got my front tire changed by the dealer and got my bike out the shop. Decide to go for a ride and about 5 miles into the ride I look in the mirrors and plooms of smoke. I attempt to slow down and it seems my rear brake is not responsive. I think at the time that the smoke is due to brake fluid on the exhaust so I turn it around and decide to head for home. I go for a mile or two and look at the gauges to see the oil light flickering. I decide that I am going to make it the rest of the way without pulling over as the bike is still running well. Oil light is still flickering. I make it to my destination and turn off the bike. I pop the seat and look to see the reservoir fill is below the lower level. I then look to see the oil and there is nothing showing on the indicator. Left it for a few hours. Pull the filter to find another gasket under the filter (doh!!). I put about 3 quarts in until oil showed in the window indicator. The rear brake reservoir fill looks good now. Maybe oil was on the rear disc and that's why the brakes didn't feel right. Not sure. Really thought it was brake fluid issue for a long time. Guess I was in crisis mode. Do you think the engine could be damaged? It never showed signs of engine(i.e. knocking) on the ride home.

For those looking..

1. http://www.cycletrader.com/listing/2014-...-117317574

2. http://www.cycletrader.com/dealers/Honda...-117288112

So while at work Wednesday morning, I was playing with the idea of looking for a new toy I might "need" for the COBDR tour I am planning on doing in July.

http://www.backcountrydiscoveryroutes.com/COBDR

Having well connected friends has its advantages as within a hour I had gotten a strong lead on this excellent condition Yamaha WR250R with a few practical farkles (Big Clarke fuel tank, hand/brush guards, skid plate, tank bag, rear rack, led turn signals/tail light). After a couple of e-mails, she is now mine. I pick her up next week! She should be perfect for those fun dual-sport rides where the BMW GS is too much size/weight/power and when my KTM is too intense. This is probably the first bike (out of like 55!) that I have ever purchased without seeing it in person...The sale manager at the dealer an hour away is a friend so I know things are good.

I'm really looking forward to trying out some trails on a bike that is 287 pounds lighter than my GS!

Take care,
Eddy

Sent from my SM-G860P using Tapatalk

So about 18 months ago I took the CB in for the dyno tune. We pulled the exhaust - and in doing so we made a rookie error and scratched the heck out of the frame. Really bad, deep scratches on both sides...stupid me.

Luckily, when the exhaust is mounted you really can't see the scratches, but they're there and they've always bugged the crap out of me (this is my first brand new bike, i was not happy that is was scratched up almost immediately).

I have been thinking about a way to fix it other than taking the bike down to the frame and repainting...i considered touch up paint, but that would end up looking sloppy. I didn't want to spend the time or money on a frame repaint, but the longer it was there the more it ate at me.

Then it hit me - I went online and spent $5 for some gloss black vinyl wrap. $5 and about 5 minutes later its wrapped up and you would never notice it. I called the wife out and told her specifically what to look for - i just didn't tell her where it was - she never found it!!

SO, the point of this post - if you've scratched your frame by pulling the exhaust and think the vinyl wrap will work for you - shoot me a PM and I'll send you some! I bought 5sq/ft so I have a ton, and this stuff isn't going anywhere (I don't see myself having to reapply anytime soon).


In the pic below the downtube is wrapped down to those bolts...if I can remember i'll do some close up pics tomo

I hope Huladog is okay, safe.

Hawaii is getting pounded by very high waves, some up to 70 feet.

Are the oil drain plugs on the CB magnetic?
I know the quality of the machining during manufacturing is excellent but my other bike has the magnetic plugs and I do find swarf on them. Thought if the CB doesn't have one it might not be a complete waste of money to replace and installation is simple enough even I could probably manage.

For those who follow motorcycle road racing you already know that beIn Sport will now host both WSB and Motogp for 2016 along with Moto America. If you have Directv as I, the sport package including this channel is about $13 a month. I just called and made the change at Directv this morning. World Super Bike this weekend.