(03-27-2014, 05:57 AM)calamarichris_imp Wrote: No need to apologize. I'm a pre-Millennial, so I don't have a completely puny attention span.

I know those people. They Summer here in North Coastal San Diego County. The nicer hotels fill up with them, and our local campgrounds fill up with the Saharizonans with all their Confederate/Nascar flags, cigarette butts, burning garbage in their campfires, and 6-gpm (it's gpm, not mpg) RV's.

An MSF safety course instructor said two things that have stuck with me over the years. (Jeebus--over 21 years now! That was in '93.):

~"Due to their superior acceleration, braking, and handling capabilities, motorcycles are the safest vehicles on the road." [Pause while incredulity builds in the classroom...] "UP TO, the point of impact."

~"Riding a motorcycle in traffic is like being the only Saxon on the field without any armor on. Sure, you can duck, weave, and dodge all those other guys in their clunky armor, but once they even nick you, thy game is over."

(03-25-2014, 12:01 PM)Dakota_imp Wrote:

(03-25-2014, 08:08 AM)Deanohh_imp Wrote: This is a little rough cause I don't quite get the primary ratio.

the 13 5th gear is 30/29= 1.0345 which is taller than the 14 5th gear (1.074) and tha 13 has a taller sprocket ratio.

at 70mph in 5th, the 14 turns about 200+ rpm more than the 13.

at 70, the 14 in 6th turns about 200 rpm less than the 13 in 5th.

Unless I'm wrong, which is entirely possible.

200 rpm? Hardly seems worth the effort. I don't feel bad at all having a 5 speed.

(03-27-2014, 01:40 PM)calamarichris_imp Wrote: Boots are a lot cheaper to replace than engines. And I'd rather be the guy with the overdrive who never uses it, but still has it, than the guy without. It's not about top speed, it's about engine preservation and prolongation. More rpm equals more piston speed equals more cylinder wear. 200 additional RPM is quite minor for that one minute you're measuring it to determine the gearing. But if you spent just 6 hours riding that day, that would be an additional (unnecessary) 72,000 rpm spun in one day.
I understand why there is a large incentive among many in our midst not to let the resale value of our existing overdriveless bikes slip, and I sympathize, but I'd probably buy a Vespa or even another Harley before I'd buy a 5-speed. But that's just my opinion, which is based pretty heavily on my riding conditions in the wide-open American West where I live.


Okay, it's a little bit about top-speed. Star Trek would have been pretty boring if Zefram Cochran had never invented warp drive.

(03-24-2014, 02:36 PM)calamarichris_imp Wrote: Hey, Cormanus, thus far it's either CB11 or Bonneville T100 with a few mods. So far we're leaning pretty heavily toward the prettier Bonneville, but an honest OVERdrive might be enough to lure me. (But both Triumph and Big-H are lucky that Kawasaki ain't bringing the W800 to my puny, small-minded Isle, because it's a superior bike in every respect.)

(03-27-2014, 01:40 PM)calamarichris_imp Wrote: Boots are a lot cheaper to replace than engines. And I'd rather be the guy with the overdrive who never uses it, but still has it, than the guy without. It's not about top speed, it's about engine preservation and prolongation. More rpm equals more piston speed equals more cylinder wear. 200 additional RPM is quite minor for that one minute you're measuring it to determine the gearing. But if you spent just 6 hours riding that day, that would be an additional (unnecessary) 72,000 rpm spun in one day.
I understand why there is a large incentive among many in our midst not to let the resale value of our existing overdriveless bikes slip, and I sympathize, but I'd probably buy a Vespa or even another Harley before I'd buy a 5-speed. But that's just my opinion, which is based pretty heavily on my riding conditions in the wide-open American West where I live.


Okay, it's a little bit about top-speed. Star Trek would have been pretty boring if Zefram Cochran had never invented warp drive.

(03-27-2014, 02:13 PM)Guth_imp Wrote: If that is where I was going to be riding, then ultimately I'd be more worried about my access to coffee than how many RPMs my engine was turning.


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(03-27-2014, 01:40 PM)calamarichris_imp Wrote: Boots are a lot cheaper to replace than engines. And I'd rather be the guy with the overdrive who never uses it, but still has it, than the guy without. It's not about top speed, it's about engine preservation and prolongation. More rpm equals more piston speed equals more cylinder wear. 200 additional RPM is quite minor for that one minute you're measuring it to determine the gearing. But if you spent just 6 hours riding that day, that would be an additional (unnecessary) 72,000 rpm spun in one day.
I understand why there is a large incentive among many in our midst not to let the resale value of our existing overdriveless bikes slip, and I sympathize, but I'd probably buy a Vespa or even another Harley before I'd buy a 5-speed. But that's just my opinion, which is based pretty heavily on my riding conditions in the wide-open American West where I live.


Okay, it's a little bit about top-speed. Star Trek would have been pretty boring if Zefram Cochran had never invented warp drive.

(03-28-2014, 07:58 AM)davidsargee_imp Wrote:

(03-27-2014, 01:40 PM)calamarichris_imp Wrote: Boots are a lot cheaper to replace than engines. And I'd rather be the guy with the overdrive who never uses it, but still has it, than the guy without. It's not about top speed, it's about engine preservation and prolongation. More rpm equals more piston speed equals more cylinder wear. 200 additional RPM is quite minor for that one minute you're measuring it to determine the gearing. But if you spent just 6 hours riding that day, that would be an additional (unnecessary) 72,000 rpm spun in one day.
I understand why there is a large incentive among many in our midst not to let the resale value of our existing overdriveless bikes slip, and I sympathize, but I'd probably buy a Vespa or even another Harley before I'd buy a 5-speed. But that's just my opinion, which is based pretty heavily on my riding conditions in the wide-open American West where I live.


Okay, it's a little bit about top-speed. Star Trek would have been pretty boring if Zefram Cochran had never invented warp drive.

I am one that does not care about the 6-speed. Unless the lion's share of your riding occurs at highway/freeway speeds, you will not use it that much. I had a CB900 Custom, with a dual range transmission, you could say that it was a 10-speed. Then, like now, my riding habits really didn't justify a need for 6 gears.

ALL bikes, and cars, for that matter, slip in value. Except for a few rare cases, a new bike or car is worth the most it will ever be worth, before you drive it away from the dealership. Resale value is not a big priority for me, no way of knowing what it will be worth when I, (or my kids, after they inherit it), finally sell it. I doubt the resale is suffering all that much over "only" having a 5-speed tranny. There are a lot of bikes out there with 5-speed transmissions, people buy them.

I have no quarrel with anyone that likes Triumph Bonnevilles, or the Kawasaki version, they are pretty bikes, but they don't compare to the CB1100. I researched the Bonny, the only thing the triumph twin offers is aesthetics,(and that is a matter of perspective). Functionally, the CB1100 is hands down superior in every way, (even with just 5 speeds). The Honda is smoother, has more power, better suspension, a much better finish, it is undoubtedly more reliable, etc. The Honda is simply a more capable bike, and when I was shopping, it cost less than the Bonny. For me, there was no comparison.

(03-27-2014, 03:12 PM)calamarichris_imp Wrote: Kudos on your research, however, I still stand by my lack of contradiction.
If Honda had never produced a 6th speed on the CB11, I wouldn't even return to this forum, because I'd already be riding a T100 with the peashooter pipes and Thruxton bars.
But the CB11's 6th speed (and the 39 or 38-tooth sprocket) are enough to give me pause. (I'd probably make one or two tweaks to the CB11 too.)

So blame Honda for my annoying presence here.

If it's not the piston rings against the cylinder walls, what is it then? (Now it's your turn to expose your neurotic dysfunction...)