Cruisin' the SR400

[GoldOxide_imp]

The members of the CB500 Forums often said it is more fun to ride a small bike hard than a big bike easy.

I liked the CB1100 enough to trade my CB500XA in on it. But both have their pros and cons.

The CB500 was inexpensive, light, agile, and had great gas tank range. It also would handle gravel or sandy roads well. But I avoided high speed highways because it tended to feel wound up at high speeds.

My CB1100 EX was expensive, is top heavy, has a limited gas tank range, and is a handful on gravel or sandy roads. On the plus side it is a beautiful looking machine with a great motor that is comfortable even at very high speeds. However as my favourite roads are twisty 2 lane rural roads in cottage country, I seldom use more than half of the CB1100's power. I found that my gas mileage and fun actually improves if I do not use 6th gear.

Sounds like if it was an option, to have kept both the CB500 and CB1100.

I rarely ride in 6th because in the Toronto region you routinely need to have power on tap to manage an unexpected situation. I would use 6th in long drawn group rides where speed is not a factor. In that case, might as well kick-up, grab a soda and slip into 6th.