Symmetry

[SanPete_imp]

This thread is getting out of control. I wish for the cold weather to stop so these men can leave their homes before they go mad.

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[rboe]

On the up side. Once you're riding, you can't tell what your bike looks like.

The German plane was design for a certain mission; recon, so it was function over form and it did it very well. Burt Rutan has done the same thing (since he had more material choices to work with his turned out rather good looking).

Gentlemen,

With both bikes and women, you may not be able to see much of them during a ride but your mind's eye still knows and cares.

Chip

Gentlemen,

With both bikes and women, you may not be able to see much of them during a ride but your mind's eye still knows and cares.

Chip
I for one don't want to be seen sneakying up on an ugly bike and riding it home so I'll keep my good looking bikes.

[RetroKitch_imp]

This thread is getting out of control. I wish for the cold weather to stop so these men can leave their homes before they go mad.

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Okay, all kidding aside....

While I was only a little kid when the CB1100's earlier ancestors were new and common, I was first exposed back in the '70's to the little CB175 in our family. I guess her symmetrical exhaust and side covers influenced me to the point that to this day, that "symmetry" is my preferred styling element and is reflected in my current stable

[SanPete_imp]

Ferret, as others have eluded too, maybe you can put a fake chain and sprocket on the right side also, will make it look even more even.

Then there would be no place for the rear disc and caliper..which balances out the chain and sprocket on the left side.

Bikes look better with 2 rear view mirrors instead of just one on the left ( which is legal in the U.S.)

They look better with dual discs on the front instead of just on 1 side of the wheel.

They look better with either a single headlight in the center or two equal size headlights side by side, than with 2 different shaped / sized headlights side by side.

Symmetry... It calms me

Just an FYI.
The Florida Statutes 316.294 does not specify which side.

Symmetry is all around us starting with the human body, that is why we gravitate toward symmetry on everything we create. Just split anything in half and you have two almost identical pieces.

When it comes to the CB I have always favored the side without the muffler. I believe calamarychris post a picture on another thread of the left side of the CB saying that picture was what attract him. A less intrusive pipe like the yoshimura RSC cleans up the right side on the 2013. But the 4 into 2 of the deluxe is just what the 2013 needs. Yes, I like symmetry too.

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[ride4now_imp]

gheil..where did you find those pics of the deluxe? The one from 3/4 rear down low looking up is unusual and stunning. Love it.

Honda's website...it has the 2014 in all it's glory! Both versions...

I'm with Ferret... compare the look of this...


With this...


Symmetry is important in design... Think Apple vs. HP. Or
Cadillac vs. Lincoln. Or a Nest thermostat vs. a Standard.
Is one inherently better than the other? Personal opinion....

But you can't deny how this bike looks....








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Personal indeed.

While some folks like The ferret will be comforted by the symmetry and stronger nod to the past offered by the Deluxe version, and others like myself are more turned on by the contrast offered by the original design, I'm guessing that most here will agree that either option looks better than a bike covered almost entirely in plastic.

Personal indeed.

While some folks like The ferret will be comforted by the symmetry and stronger nod to the past offered by the Deluxe version, and others like myself are more turned on by the contrast offered by the original design, I'm guessing that most here will agree that either option looks better than a bike covered almost entirely in plastic. You are right, most here will agree with that. However, every time I fire up my modern superbike and put in a day's riding, I am reminded of why I am not in that majority.

Thinking of the twin pipes, there is a real-world reason -- now meaningless with respect to function -- why most guys think twin pipes look better.

Back in the days of hot-rodding, a separate exhaust for each cylinder or each bank of cylinders did in fact yield more power. Thus, dual exhausts were more desirable because "everyone knows they mean more power". With V8 engines you had your headers and maybe an "H" pipe connection between the two under your car (this provided better torque), with the signature twin exhaust tips coming out under the bumper.

This thinking then projected onto aircraft; the exhaust stacks on later model piston aircraft were sometimes designed to provide additional thrust at high power settings. This was mainly associated with the Merlin V12 engine installed in the high-performance fighters and bombers of the time (P-51 Mustang, DeHavilland Mosquito, Lancaster). Visually, the sight of these pipes spitting flames whilst warming up for a night bombing mission became iconic. Later, Top Fuel and Funny Car drag racers were known for emitting fountains of blue-white flame from their eight individual exhaust pipes (one for each cylinder) so the notion of "the more pipes, the faster" became ingrained in our moto-culture.

Then we moved to the jet age, and a large cylindrical object facing rearward came to mean "more thrust". So more pipes suggests more thrust and more power; the buying public responded very well to these kinds of styling cues. Witness the emergence of fins on the automobiles of the late 1950s. They denoted power and speed.

All that stuff is history. Now, power and speed comes from design features that cannot be seen at all. It comes from extreme refinement of the intake and exhaust tracts, of lighter, better materials, and most recently, computer control of every aspect of the engine's performance. Yet, the notion of loud, multiple pipes still resonates with the buying public. To this day we see the uprated versions of cars with two pipes. For example, my own V6 Toyota Venza has dual exhaust tips, but when inspected, it can be seen there is just a single large diameter pipe from the engine joining a large silencer at the rear of the car. This silencer has twin outlets. Not at all necessary, but even to women, who usually don't pay attention to such things, the idea of dual exhausts means more power, more prestige.

By contrast my V8 Tahoe has a single exhaust exiting the rear of the vehicle under the bumper. It works just fine.

That is why we persist in thinking symmetry is better. But it has now been relegated to a choice of style only, not function.

Personal indeed.

While some folks like The ferret will be comforted by the symmetry and stronger nod to the past offered by the Deluxe version, and others like myself are more turned on by the contrast offered by the original design, I'm guessing that most here will agree that either option looks better than a bike covered almost entirely in plastic. You are right, most here will agree with that. However, every time I fire up my modern superbike and put in a day's riding, I am reminded of why I am not in that majority.

Thinking of the twin pipes, there is a real-world reason -- now meaningless with respect to function -- why most guys think twin pipes look better.

Back in the days of hot-rodding, a separate exhaust for each cylinder or each bank of cylinders did in fact yield more power. Thus, dual exhausts were more desirable because "everyone knows they mean more power". With V8 engines you had your headers and maybe an "H" pipe connection between the two under your car (this provided better torque), with the signature twin exhaust tips coming out under the bumper.

This thinking then projected onto aircraft; the exhaust stacks on later model piston aircraft were sometimes designed to provide additional thrust at high power settings. This was mainly associated with the Merlin V12 engine installed in the high-performance fighters and bombers of the time (P-51 Mustang, DeHavilland Mosquito, Lancaster). Visually, the sight of these pipes spitting flames whilst warming up for a night bombing mission became iconic. Later, Top Fuel and Funny Car drag racers were known for emitting fountains of blue-white flame from their eight individual exhaust pipes (one for each cylinder) so the notion of "the more pipes, the faster" became ingrained in our moto-culture.

Then we moved to the jet age, and a large cylindrical object facing rearward came to mean "more thrust". So more pipes suggests more thrust and more power; the buying public responded very well to these kinds of styling cues. Witness the emergence of fins on the automobiles of the late 1950s. They denoted power and speed.

All that stuff is history. Now, power and speed comes from design features that cannot be seen at all. It comes from extreme refinement of the intake and exhaust tracts, of lighter, better materials, and most recently, computer control of every aspect of the engine's performance. Yet, the notion of loud, multiple pipes still resonates with the buying public. To this day we see the uprated versions of cars with two pipes. For example, my own V6 Toyota Venza has dual exhaust tips, but when inspected, it can be seen there is just a single large diameter pipe from the engine joining a large silencer at the rear of the car. This silencer has twin outlets. Not at all necessary, but even to women, who usually don't pay attention to such things, the idea of dual exhausts means more power, more prestige.

By contrast my V8 Tahoe has a single exhaust exiting the rear of the vehicle under the bumper. It works just fine.

That is why we persist in thinking symmetry is better. But it has now been relegated to a choice of style only, not function.
Yeah... But my twin pipe MKS looks better from the rear!
Don't get all worked up now...

[the Ferret]

On the up side. Once you're riding, you can't tell what your bike looks like.

The German plane was design for a certain mission; recon, so it was function over form and it did it very well. Burt Rutan has done the same thing (since he had more material choices to work with his turned out rather good looking).

Gentlemen,

With both bikes and women, you may not be able to see much of them during a ride but your mind's eye still knows and cares.

Chip

good to see you back posting again Chip. You were missed.

And for the record, I don't believe I stated symmetry was necessarily better.. I believe I said I LIKED symmetry better .. Prefer it if you will.

[howlindaug_imp]

I'm waiting for a 4-into-1 that routes under the engine, over the rear fender, under the seat, terminates behind the seat with a 2-3 diameter hole surrounded by a 4-inch LED taillight. Picture that! Put a louvered baffle mechanism under the seat that blocks the heat in the summer and open it in the winter for a toasty bum. Of course there's no room for any of this but I do get cycloptic symmetry!

[DSD_imp]

Your point is well taken on symmetry. I remember
Peter Egan talking about going out to his garage
with a beer and just setting down and and looking
at a bike. I can relate to that.
Once my doctor said my feng shui was off, I think
he gave medicine for it.

[Cormanus]

gheil..where did you find those pics of the deluxe? The one from 3/4 rear down low looking up is unusual and stunning. Love it.

This may well be heresy, but some of the planes of the tank from that angle brought to mind Kryton, the brilliant android in the British TV series Red Dawrf.

It's a great photo.

[ride4now_imp]

I would have preferred a 4 into 2 setup on the 2013. The right side of the bike has that huge chrome exhaust while the left side is dark.

Short of installing a entire new exhaust system, I tried to mitigate the difference between the two sides by swapping out the black pieces on the left for brighter ones and going with the smaller Staintune on the right.

You did a good job... Your bike looks great!!