2017 CB1100 EX First Ride Review

[PowerDubs_imp]

Morning guys...

I can't believe this is still being debated.

I get it- the shiny expensive newer motorcycle has to be improved right?

Sorry- it is 100% the exact same engine. Go look at the parts break down.

Guth, do you think the obvious change in the engine note—not the exhaust volume, but the additional crunchy texture so easily heard in the comparison videos, and felt throughout the bike—can be explained solely by a shorter inlet tract and a smaller exhaust system?

That doesn't sound very plausible to me.

It doesn’t seem plausible that changes to the only 2 places the engine emits noise could change said noise?





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It doesn’t seem plausible that changes to the only 2 places the engine emits noise could change said noise?
No, it doesn't seem plausible that those two changes would create the different type of vibration felt throughout the bike, as well as the noticeably more arrhythmic texture of the sound.

The difference is similar to but nowhere near as pronounced as the difference one hears and feels when switching from an old R1 to a crossplane R1. Shorter inlets and slightly smaller OEM exhaust pipes can't explain such a noticeable change to the basic feel of the bike, never mind the different tone.

Sure it can. You just aren't experienced with such things apparently.

Go listen to a 2004 VW R32. It has a *very* distinctive warble to the exhaust. Yes- all VR6 have a unique sound- but none exactly like the 2004 R32 (only year Mk4 sold in the U.S.)

The same engine was sold in numerous other cars- Audi TT, Vw Touareg, Porsche Cayenne, Audi A3, VW Eos, etc- none have the same distinct awesome sound the R32 has. Yet the engines are the same, same cams, same valves, etc.

The difference is the R32 has a very special designed muffler with chambers in it that cause reflections that manifest as aural texture. Although the engine inherently still sounds good when the muffler is swapped out- nothing sounds as good as the factory muffler.

*Now- go look at the internal design of the new CB mufflers. Multi resonances going on in there as well- on purpose.

If it turns out that the reports were wrong, and the only changes made to the '17 were in fact the shorter inlet tracts and exhaust system, and those two small changes somehow made my bike feel and sound that much different from Eric's '14, well, who cares how Honda did it, right? All that matters is that they did it, and one blip of my throttle was all it took for me to realize that the '17 not only sounded but also felt very different from the '14, and quite a bit cooler.

As for the possibility of erroneous info popping up in various reviews, sure, it's entirely possible, but the reviewer in the link I provided who stated that the '17's combustion chamber and fins were altered to help Honda meet the new Euro 4 requirements was mighty specific with those particular bits of reportage. Either someone at Honda fed him that info or he made it up out of thin air, and the latter seems wildly unlikely.

That page is just rehashing the original info from many years ago. At no point is it actually saying 'these changes were made from the 2013/14 model'.
What you hear with staggered cyls, crank journal timing or cam timing is out of time pulses.

Take a look at the new muffler-




Instead of a typical straight through perforated tube- they are creating their own pulses within the muffler to enhance the sound.
....AND here is one of the 2 camshafts, you can see it hasn't changed-

https://www.louispowersportsonline.com/p...10-mgc-000