Here's what's in my garage for 2018

[Ulvetanna_imp]

Ulvetanna Wrote:The real fix is to get a '17 EX. Yes, the EX forks and shock will help some, but they are calibrated to work with the chassis of the EX, and I think the overall package is going to work much better than tossing $1500 at the Deluxe.

I honestly don't think the first generation CB1100 is going to have the ride or handling the later model has. If you are making these observations now, chasing fixes probably won't work.
Good point. The chassis are slightly different, though I don't think the difference extends beyond the different width and location of the upper fork brace. I could be wrong, but I don't believe Honda altered the rake or trail or anything else with the frame on the '17 EX, compared to the previous models.

I suspect that a suspension swap to the '17 EX's components will result in significant improvement; perhaps not identical to the '17, but close enough.

Good point. The chassis are slightly different, though I don't think the difference extends beyond the different width and location of the upper fork brace. I could be wrong, but I don't believe Honda altered the rake or trail or anything else with the frame on the '17 EX, compared to the previous models.

I suspect that a suspension swap to the '17 EX's components will result in significant improvement; perhaps not identical to the '17, but close enough. I bet the powertrain changes helped. I understand some modifications were done to the ECU, subtle changes in timing, fueling to change the feel. The whole package is really massaged all the way through.

Your take on the '14 was that it was rather crude; agreed, that's why I felt I couldn't really get what I wanted from the '13. Someone looking for really sorted handling and the kind of throttle performance I was seeking is not gonna get that from the first generation.

This forum is littered with the memories of highly-modified, but sold-for-a-song first-generation CB1100s. Some guys poured tens of thousands of dollars into their machines and still ended up selling them. I been around here, lurking, visiting since 2013.

There was [url=http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=9168]Motogeezer's bike, a real beauty, highly-modded. Just one example. I can think of one other, can't recall the member's handle, he'd done the bike up real nice with Ohlins shocks, all kinds of stuff. Then he sold it.

And so on.

Having worked on my '13 for four years, and still never getting it right, I think the whole package from the 2017 onward is needed to really get the bike to work as a seamless unit, for those who like to push the envelope and ride in a sporting fashion.

I don't know of a single attempt that's been really successful with respect to the earlier version.

I haven't managed to get to a dealer to take another look at that '17, which is a beauty, but I can say that the '13 whetted my appetite for more. I think your ride report, on the 2017, will be quite different than the 2014.