T120 Test by Peter Egan

[Ulvetanna_imp]

Ulvetanna,

Looks like you aren't set up for Private Messages so I'll ask "out loud".

Have you installed a dyno-tuned Power Commander on your bike? I have one on mine and I can't overstate the difference it made. I also have the ECU re-flash but I think that is less noticeable. The Yoshimura full exhaust is certainly a weight savings and I love the sound it makes. The combination of the three is transformative. I know this is so because I have ridden my bike to the Honda store and then jumped on their unadorned standard. No comparison.

I know a few riders wish for sixth gear on the CBs. Even on the interstate, I only use 5th when I'm "settling in" for a slog. I'm happy in 4th. I've owned faster bikes but I will never be mature enough to ride them within the safety zone. I finally accepted that fact a few years ago.

I used to be a Triumph guy because that was the shop that was most fun to gather and ride. One of my favorites was my '98 Thunderbird Sport. The one I had to sell before it killed me was an '02 Speed Triple. I am enamored with the new Thruxton, but I eagerly await the Bobber arriving at the dealer. The reality is, however, that I am being influenced by appearances not function. My CB is clearly every bit as capable as those bikes. I just think they are sexier. But I am very happy on my Honda. Although I might have sold it quickly before the Power Commander!

I was in fact alluding to exactly those kinds of mods when I mentioned "five percent".

The reason I say five percent is because in the first three gears, the CB1100 is timing-retarded with the stock ECU flash. That five percent can be regained with just a reflash.

I've got a different bike Guhls flashed for me, made a very big change in the acceleration in the lower gears, it really woke the bike up. That's the "five percent" I'm talking about, it's already there, but it's not quite enough of an annoyance that I'm willing to cough up the $350. The engine is certainly strangled a bit stock.

I can't do the noise, three holes drilled in the end of the pipe is it for me, and top end is fine, I'd be looking for a reflash at the maximum. Otherwise I think the bike is right there.

The Triumph looks like a really neat bike and probably fun to ride; I don't ride socially, and I don't care what the bike looks like when I stop to take a break, there is no one around with whom to exchange mutual admiration. So that is not a factor. It's just how the bike works. I ride in so much heavy freeway traffic, I know for sure that 72 rwhp is not going to get it for me in a 541-lb motorcycle. I don't care what it looks like. It is for sure going to look like a motorcycle, two wheels, an engine, lights, a seat, a fuel tank somewhere.

Now, to me, the CB1100 does look very beautiful and is very, very well-made and well-finished. Though I bought my Standard July 2013, I was "undecided" on that bike as a keeper until a few months ago when I got serious with it, and also, a key factor was that Conti started offering the RA 2 Classic Race, a fantastic tire.

The CB500 bars were a fantastic improvement, and a few adjustments got them just right for me. Ikon shocks, same, just cleaned up the handling. Stainless lines everywhere, HH pads.

I was ultimately able to adapt the bike to exactly what I wanted; it's just fast enough to hold its own in the worst traffic, has great brakes, turns exceptionally well, and still looks great whether I want that or not.

As far as buying bikes on looks, yes, the industry knows that. The folks making big money in the motor press are all in advertising. Many start out as journalists or writing copy of some kind; the sharpest and most ambitious always move into advertising or corporate in some capacity. And they know what buttons to push. That tends to bring out my cynical side.

But then again, buying a bike is an emotional choice, so it makes perfect business sense to make such statements. Hoyer is just doing his job, and rather well, I'd say.

If someone likes the bike, buy it. But if it's only around for a couple of years, something was wrong somewhere. Egan himself voiced this concern; as much as he was wistfully sentimental about the bike's visual similarities to the Triumphs he enjoyed from the 1960s, the practical consideration of ample horsepower was right up there on his list of concerns.

The CB1100 carries as much visual cache as the Triumph, to the untrained eye, perhaps more, considering its lack of guile in any significant regard. The Triumph does, as Egan mentioned, pack a pair of falsies, and liquid cooling is just not part of the 1960s motorcycling tableau. Either bike will turn heads, either will get you down the road.

I think some of this really does come down to what the forum member posted regarding some folks' disdain for Japanese motorcycles; there's those who like twins, British twins mainly, and those who cherish the Japanese inline fours. Each rings a bell somewhere.