Design Disadvantages of the CB1100

[calamarichris_imp]

A couple of points from Taylors book on engine design:

"V engines of 8 cylinders or more have excellent balance and freedom from vibrational problems. ... Two, four, and six cylinder V engines have balance problems. They are used chiefly in small sizes where the resultant shape is appropriate, such as in motorcycles."

Here's my list of design failings of the CB:

1. It's air-cooled. What were they thinking? It's so much easier to control engine heat, and thus provide more power for comparable displacements, with water-cooling.

2. There's no fairing. Riders are exposed to the elements, including wind-blast, rain, and cold. A large, modern fairing would not only resolve those issues, but would also provide a location to install features such as "Infotainment" systems, GPS, satellite TV, etc.

3. No luggage. Where the heck are you supposed to put your hair dryer if you take a road trip? A large top case and side-bags would go a long way here.

4. Chain drive. Are you kidding me? A shaft drive would be quieter, cleaner, and virtually zero maintenance. CB buyers are stuck with cleaning and lubricating chains for the life of the motorcycle.

5. I-4 engine layout. This engine design is simply outdated. A V-4 or horizontally opposed 6 cylinder engine would produce more power and fewer vibrations.

6. Single headlight. Two headlights would provide better visibility for both the rider and surrounding traffic. Shame on Honda for not investing a few dollars more here.

Honda has used a second oil pump/ cooler circuit for engine cooling. It remains to be seen if this is the disadvantage you believe it to be. Honda claims the result to be comparable to liquid cooling. I like the idea of not having to worry about coolant changes, corrosion, or leaks into the crankcase.

A V4 has inferior balance. If you look at what is and has been put under the hoods of vehicles, a V4 is very uncommon. What technical reason do you believe would cause a V4 to produce more power than an I4? A horizontally opposed six wouldn't pay homage to the "CB".
It appears that V4 and opposed 6 engines are so absurd that the tables covering engine balance didn't even bother to include them so I can't give you a comparison of secondary shaking force and moment. It really looks like the design decision to use those configurations is driven mainly by packaging concerns. Is this the type of design compromise you'd rather have?

Thanks for the interesting quote about V-configurations.

I think the oil cooler is a good idea. Suzuki's GSXR's from the late 80's-early 90's were a successful oil-cooled design. BMW's Boxers are another good example. I test rode and rented several of those Boxers, and IMO the oil cooler was effective enough to make the cooling fins on the Boxer's cylinders primarily retro-decorations. The cylinders never really got hot, even after a few hours at highway speed.
The last big air-cooled I4 that I can remember was Yamaha's FJR1200, and that bike had problems with the #2 & 3 cylinders (inside) getting too hot, especially when left with stock jetting to comply with emissions standards.