1000+ mile trip on the CB1100

[schwartzkm_imp]

Ride Report

I just got back from a short road trip with my dad and racked up a bit over a 1,000 miles on the bike. While things are fresh in my mind I thought I would cover a few things with the forum.

The seat is horrible. I’m one of those unusual people that have been completely happy with the stock seats on my previous bikes. This will be the first time i’m going to purchase a seat because the stock seat is completely unacceptable.

The engine is very smooth. I come from a history of V-Twins (two harley’s—FXST and XL1200), Parallel twin (Bonneville) and a triple. I never took the triple on a road trip but can’t imagine it being smoother than the I4. I love the engine!

MPG was very good. I use Fuelly to track MPG and do my best try to fill it up to the same spot each and every time. During a stretch from Ennis, TX to Huntsville I wracked up a whopping 59mpg! I was trying to see how good I could get so was cruising at 60-65mpg and drafting behind a semi but that is still insane mpg. I don’t think I dropped out of the 50’s the entire trip and that was even cruising at 70mph for multiple 70+ mile stretches. (The longest I could go was a 100 miles due to the painful seat. I usually ride a 130 and than stop at the next town on all my other trips on my other bikes. The seat was just too painful. I couldn’t imagine using this seat for one of my longer tours…its got to go.)

I rode without a windshield and was just fine. On a cruiser riding at 70mph you would be holding on for dear life due to the feet forward position. It was a non-issue with this bike. I can’t wait to get my new seat so I can see how I feel running a 130+ miles at 70mph to see if I still feel the same. As it was on this trip, the seat was so terrible I couldn’t stand more than an 1 1/2 hours before I had to stop so maybe I might feel different if I increased the distance between stops.

Overall this bike is a real joy to ride. I love the engine and feel the CB1100 is everything I was looking for in the Bonneville but couldn’t find. I loved the Bonnie but the engine—even with all the mods—lacked the top end that this bike has. I do not ride at insane paces and to be honest the Bonnie was just fine but it is nice to roll-on at 70mph and have a lot on tap. I can see this bike staying in my garage a long, long time.