(03-16-2026, 11:18 AM)dave Wrote: I apologize if this question has been asked before. I could pull out my service manual and look it up, but sometimes owners / mechanics discover better repair ideas often overlooked by service manuals.
On the CB1100, do the camshaft drive gears need to be removed to allow removal of the camshafts, or can the camshaft drive chain be loosened, and slipped off without removing the gear(s)?
I recommend just leaving the valves alone, the cb1100 valve train was based off a cbr1000rr engine from the early 2000's. The valve train from that bike is extremely similar to the cb1100, but the cb1100 has a far lower redline because its air cooled (also has different valves, guides, and retainers but overall design and metallurgy is same as their race bikes). There is a forum member who had 175,000 miles on his cb1100 and never adjusted or checked the valves. There are plenty sub 100k miles with 0 issues. If you aren't having issues starting or really off fuel consumption, then there is no reason to be doing the adjustment. I have called multiple professional mechanics and all told me that it really is not worth adjusting, every single cb1100 they have checked had been to spec. The valve train is extremely overbuilt for the tune and rpms, and will likely never fall out of adjustment.
If you are having issues starting there is a number of electrical issues, that would also be a culprit. Faulty stator, faulty battery, Faulty wiring somewhere, faulty starter, faulty ecu, etc. There is a ton of simple fixes that might actually be causing your starter issues, Valves would be the last place I would check.