11-04-2015, 08:06 AM
(11-01-2015, 10:45 PM)EmptySea_imp Wrote: The tail light housing is plastic. The rear fender is chromed metal.
There a number of mods available to change the tail light housing, if that's an issue. For me, I just cleaned up the license plate mounting and got the look I wanted.
I just chopped the whole rear half of the fender off with an angle grinder, cheap plastic taillight housing and all. Of course, it was a bit of a necessity after I'd flipped the bike (and myself) end-for-end at 45 mph.
As it turns out, that little "off-roading adventure" was an excellent excuse to begin hacking the bike -- once the road rash, bruises, contusions, and various and sundry other souvenirs had subsided, which takes a few months when one is pushing 50. Anyway, it's now a very different beast than what rolled off the showroom floor, with a loud custom short pipe, cafe fairing, clubman low bars, bobtail and side-mounted license plate, not to mention a few scratches and dings to give it that authentic '70s ambiance.
If anything, I love the bike even more now than I did before. She didn't (quite) kill me, and I brought her back to life. We're like a comfortably married old couple, now.
(11-02-2015, 10:03 AM)MikeOxbig_imp Wrote:(11-02-2015, 03:11 AM)drodg58_imp Wrote:(11-02-2015, 02:15 AM)alphonsus_imp Wrote: The comments section is depressing. Seems that most people just don't get the purpose of this bike at all. Do so many people really believe that hp/$ is the most important characteristic of a motorcycle?
I know it is so sad that so many people think hp is the sum of a motorcycle. I don't mind the cafe racer remarks as that is such a growing segment that has brought fun back to motorcycling.
I know it is so sad that so many people think hp is the sum of a motorcycle. I don't mind the cafe racer remarks as that is such a growing segment that has brought fun back to motorcycling.
I actually enjoy the fact that many people underestimate this bike. I laugh when people look at the specs and say "costs too much" and "not enough power." Sure, on paper, this bike may not look all that impressive, but some things you just can't measure and calculate.
The CB is a true gem, and in a way a "sleeper" that many people may overlook, almost like a secret that no one knows about. They're the ones missing out. Do you really want to see a million others riding the same bike as us? I don't....
As do I. It has been my experience that such statements are invariably made by children with little or no experience at the squealing edge of a motorcycle's performance envelope. On the internet, it's likely many of the most vocal don't even know how to ride a motorcycle.
I've spent many years pushing bikes (and cars) out to the edge and I have the scars to prove it. I feel quite comfortable in asserting that 98% of riders never push a motorcycle beyond 50% of its true performance capabilities. I'll take any prancing liter-bike kid squalling about the CB not having enough performance out to the curvy bits and school him like a kindergartner.
Just as a sword is only as good as the hand which wields it, a motorcycle only performs up to the competence of the rider. Most people have neither the experience nor the guts to ride a motorcycle at a true performance level -- that goes double for 19 year-old kids on liter bikes who still live with mommy and daddy because they can't afford an apartment after paying for the bike insurance. Years ago I watch a smart-mouthed kid on a brand-new CBR600 nearly dump it in a curve right in front of me. Turns out he panicked when he felt a peg drag, because he'd never done it before. He was white as a sheet for fifteen minutes afterward. I nearly passed out laughing. Yeah, you're a future champ, buddy...