(06-28-2016, 08:25 AM)Ulvetanna_imp Wrote:

(06-28-2016, 04:02 AM)SUPERCRUZ_imp Wrote: An interesting thread over on the Triumph Forum. Thought I would share.

http://www.triumphrat.net/water-cooled-twins-talk/728370-t120-vs-cb1100a.html

Cheers

I noticed your posts there, of course, and you exemplified perfectly why the CB1100 is no longer for sale here in the USA.

The perception is that for some reason an air-cooled bike does not do as well in traffic or heat.

I have had a lot of air-cooled bikes and cannot support that notion which is why I call it a perception. I've owned and ridden plenty of air-cooled singles, all dual-sports such as the XL600 Honda and a few XT Yamahas. I was much younger and rode them hard. None ever overheated or failed. I had a 2006 Dyna Glide, air-cooled, and rode in extreme heat and traffic all the time. It never gave me the slightest trouble.

Yesterday I rode my CB1100, hard, 250 miles, in temperatures exceeding 102 degrees F. I bounced it off the rev limiter once and held sustained speeds on the freeway of 80 mph plus, keeping it tached in the twisties between 6-8K much of the time. The bike never hicupped, stumbled, or twitched. It also did not use a drop of oil. The valves were all perfect at 8000 miles as well.

So that is an erroneous perception, but people buy based on perception.

I understand these are the usual way those words are used, but in fact the experience of riding - unless the bike is a museum piece eliciting nostalgia - is what evokes a soulful and emotional response. If the experience is not a good one, the way the bike looks is not going to make up for it.

Soul and emotion can't really be provided by the machine, they are human qualities. What I look for, myself, is a machine that I can interact with effectively and intuitively. I am the one with a soul, I experience emotion. I can describe my experience in those terms but the motorcycle cannot provide them and doesn't have them.

To my eye, the Thruxton 1200 looks cooler than the CB1100. Way, way, cooler. But I'm pretty sure I will be happier riding the CB1100. And like a horse that may be long in tooth, and a bit swaybacked, but is reliable and easy to manage, the CB1100, despite its lack of bling and cache, will eventually win the rider over if given a chance.

That chance is not often given when the solutions aren't readily at hand and the next bike is gleaming on the showroom floor.

(06-29-2016, 02:22 AM)LongRanger_imp Wrote: I don't think the heat complaint is unique to the CB1100, or to air-cooled bikes in general. Over on the F800ST/GT forum, a number of folks complain about the heat coming from those bikes in hot weather, and they're water-cooled. Because of the fairing design, engine heat tends to be blown onto the rider's legs. I've experienced no such issues, but it is a heated topic (pun intended).

(06-29-2016, 02:56 AM)Capo_imp Wrote: I think the heat issue with air-cooled bikes is less about how much heat they throw off than the prospect of damaging the engine via overheating in hot weather/ stopped traffic. I've not had issues with either situation, and have some water cooled bikes that fry my arse and legs far worse than the CB.

(06-29-2016, 06:19 AM)Cormanus_imp Wrote: No. The engine temperature is the least of your worries when it's that hot. There's simply no escaping it.

(06-29-2016, 03:50 AM)Rboe_imp Wrote: I don't like riding in the heat, but the CB is better to ride than the Griso - in the heat. The left jug on the Griso heats up my leg pretty good.

If you do "abuse" and aircooled bike in the heat I'd be more worried about the oil holding up and just change oil more frequently.

I was very impressed with the Thruxton R and if I didn't have the Griso already I'd consider it. I'm considering it anyway. Then Harley came out with the Roadster and THAT bike is intriguing. But I don't really need another town bike, I'd like to have an open road machine and neither one fits that bill as well as the Griso (and the aerodynamics on the Griso still need some attention). I still entertain this notion that I'll do some road trips. sigh....

Unlike the 1960's, the choice between a Triumph or a Honda is not made so much on performance as nostalgia, which is going to vary from buyer to buyer. Luckily for Triumph buyers the quality of their bikes is so much better now, they can live the good ol' days without the pain of the good ol' days.

If I had the room and money I'd add an R and that Roadster to the fleet.