Bummed by a test ride

[co6aka_imp]

Ok I had another test ride, this time on a different bike, but this is still staying on the subject. A beautiful RNineT... Oh yeah, I loved her at the first look, too. Who wouldn't. Dealers were not allowing you to even sit on the bike in the showroom, much less take one out. And of course they were all sold out for many months...

But today I had a chance to put quite a few honest miles on my buddy's brand new bimmer on some beautiful country roads. Gorgeous bike... even the gold fork is looking good now that the exhaust pipes are getting tinted with gold patina from the heat... who would have thought. Fantastic sound, great street presence, but she ain't the bike for me: too vibey, too harsh, too assertive... she needs to be ridden hard, and flogged a bit, to be enjoyed. The CB1100 is a sweetheart in comparison: light, nimble, smooth, easy to ride fast or slow. Bimmer is more raw, more brutish. At the end of the ride I was glad to get off. I don't know why these folks over @motorcycle.com are going so gaga over the bimmer: yes, she's got the character, but that ain't everythin' .. I have a feeling they're just sucking it up too much to the BMW badge. Oh well, to each his own.

And while my buddy adores his new toy, I'm sure as heck glad that I didn't have to part with 15 large (or large portion of it) to find out she ain't a bike for me. Altho she surely makes for great postcards from the countryside.

[Randy B]

[rboe]

In that case you need to ride the Griso. Consider that the person giving you that advise owns both; the CB and the Griso.

Now the Griso is an acquired taste and if a dealer is not near by you will have to have a good level of self reliance. But she will reward you.

[postoak_imp]

Sorry to dig this back up but I wanted to add that I know just how the OP felt -- and also lack the words to describe it. This bike just doesn't sound right over 4000 rpm -- that's the max shift point where I feel comfortable, and yet, I've had it up to red-line and it pulls strongly right up to it, but something just makes you feel not right above 4000, and 3000 is better yet. "Strained", "busy", "noisy" are all words that come to mind. I came from a NH 750, and a normal authoritative shift was at 6000, but it was perhaps the Nighthawk's relative lack of power that made that normal.

As for a bike that you would feel comfortable revving higher, but with more acceleration than the Nighthawk, they all seem to have the Sportbikes forward-leaning rider position. Certainly the CB1000R does.

The Valkyrie is very similar to the CB1100 in respect to the above -- even more so since normal rev range for it is 2000-3000. But somehow even it seems more comfortable revving up to red-line.

[emptysea]

It sounds and feels just fine to me from 1000RPM all the way to red line.

[Rolls_imp]

Me, too, MTC. I wonder if lack of sound absorbing water jackets around this air cooled, finned engine might be giving off some harshness or strained sound that some hear?

[flynrider]

Sorry to dig this back up but I wanted to add that I know just how the OP felt -- and also lack the words to describe it. This bike just doesn't sound right over 4000 rpm -- that's the max shift point where I feel comfortable, and yet, I've had it up to red-line and it pulls strongly right up to it, but something just makes you feel not right above 4000, and 3000 is better yet. "Strained", "busy", "noisy" are all words that come to mind. I came from a NH 750, and a normal authoritative shift was at 6000, but it was perhaps the Nighthawk's relative lack of power that made that normal.

As for a bike that you would feel comfortable revving higher, but with more acceleration than the Nighthawk, they all seem to have the Sportbikes forward-leaning rider position. Certainly the CB1000R does.

The Valkyrie is very similar to the CB1100 in respect to the above -- even more so since normal rev range for it is 2000-3000. But somehow even it seems more comfortable revving up to red-line.

I think I know what you're feeling. I also have a Nighthawk 750 and have compared them back to back numerous times. The CB11 has a mild, relatively high frequency vibe right around 4K rpms. It may feel like it's straining to some between 4K and 5K. If you run it up to about 5K, that feeling disappears. It's a quirk of the engine that is not present on the 750's powerplant.

On my '13, typical freeway cruising in top gear nets about 4250 rpm. I've found myself unconsciously avoiding that rpm range by not upshifting to 5th at highway speed. Consciously, I know it really isn't straining at all and I'll usually upshift when I notice it. It's just a trait of the engine that I've gotten used to and don't really think about much anymore, although since I still ride my CB750 regularly, I can definitely tell the difference between the two.

[postoak_imp]

I ruminated on my morning ride about the initial dissatisfaction of the OP and I with this bike and I think it may be the old "more fun to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow" syndrome. I should really get a hold of a TU250 and see what I think of it, as an experiment.

Anyway, I found a solution for this and that's to stay in first gear up to red-line, which takes me to 52 mph. This is giving me the run in the upper ranges that I was missing. Doing this 3 or 4 times per ride won't kill my gas mileage -- at least I hope not (we'll see).

I wouldn't spend any time trying to figure out the buzzy feeling I wrote about. This is probably just my reaction to a more powerful, torquey engine.

[Ulvetanna_imp]

It's a great bike. There's nothing wrong with it. Brilliant fun.

[emptysea]

I like your style, postoak. I used to have a CBR250r and on the forum for that bike, folks were complaining about a buzzing/rattling sound at 5,000 - 6,000 rpm. I offered the solution of just running at 8000 rpm.