06-18-2020, 10:08 AM
Hello all. I bought a new '17 CB1100EX a couple months ago and have some questions. I've put 600 miles one it. Before this bike, I had a '74 350F for 5 years. Other than a Bonneville for about a month between the two, that's the extent of my limited experience, so some of these questions will be more on the beginner side, if you don't mind bearing with me. Many thanks for chiming in on any/all of them that you might have input on.
1) When pushing the bike around, off and in neutral, I hear a slight 'shhhhh' coming from the front wheel. Does this objectively mean the brakes are too close, or can this be normal? My other bikes were silent in this regard.
2) Around 50mph, I hear a relatively quiet (but loud enough to be heard at speed obviously) very high-pitched intermittent mousey squeak. It sounds like it's coming from in front of me but hard to say. Any ideas?
3) What are the practical implications/benefits of having a sixth gear? This is my first bike with it.
4) Related to #3, any rules of thumb about gearing and when to shift on an engine of this size? I'm just following my intuition. Is there a good 'cruising' RPM that's good on the engine?
5) This one will be hard to explain, but if i'm cruising along at a steady speed & rpm, no acceleration, sometimes I feel an intermittent 'falter'. Like it loses power for a 'blip'. Doesn't happen during acceleration. Might also happen during deceleration without braking. Any ideas what might cause this?
6) I find myself stalling when taking off from a stop, in first gear, occasionally. I'd assume it's user error and not mention it, and it doesn't happen that often, but it'd never happened to me before on the other bikes I've ridden. It feels kind of random so I can't tie it to any technique other than noticing: if it's gonna happen, it'll probably be when I'm on an incline and dirt/gravel terrain. Is it just that I'm not used to the weight or might it reflect an adjustment that needs to be made?
Other than these lingering questions, it's been really nice. I'm still getting a feel for it obviously but it seems comfortable, stable, and good handling for what I'm doing with it. Mainly back roads, county roads, and state highways in a rural area.
1) When pushing the bike around, off and in neutral, I hear a slight 'shhhhh' coming from the front wheel. Does this objectively mean the brakes are too close, or can this be normal? My other bikes were silent in this regard.
2) Around 50mph, I hear a relatively quiet (but loud enough to be heard at speed obviously) very high-pitched intermittent mousey squeak. It sounds like it's coming from in front of me but hard to say. Any ideas?
3) What are the practical implications/benefits of having a sixth gear? This is my first bike with it.
4) Related to #3, any rules of thumb about gearing and when to shift on an engine of this size? I'm just following my intuition. Is there a good 'cruising' RPM that's good on the engine?
5) This one will be hard to explain, but if i'm cruising along at a steady speed & rpm, no acceleration, sometimes I feel an intermittent 'falter'. Like it loses power for a 'blip'. Doesn't happen during acceleration. Might also happen during deceleration without braking. Any ideas what might cause this?
6) I find myself stalling when taking off from a stop, in first gear, occasionally. I'd assume it's user error and not mention it, and it doesn't happen that often, but it'd never happened to me before on the other bikes I've ridden. It feels kind of random so I can't tie it to any technique other than noticing: if it's gonna happen, it'll probably be when I'm on an incline and dirt/gravel terrain. Is it just that I'm not used to the weight or might it reflect an adjustment that needs to be made?
Other than these lingering questions, it's been really nice. I'm still getting a feel for it obviously but it seems comfortable, stable, and good handling for what I'm doing with it. Mainly back roads, county roads, and state highways in a rural area.