The Finished Chip Beck Spec CB1100-PHOTOS

[ChipBeck_imp]

Gentlemen,

It has now been over two and half years since I acquired my 2013 CB1100. The day I purchased it I had a vision in my mind of what I wanted it to look like when I was finished. I didn’t think it would take this long but some of the mods were more difficult than I anticipated and my work schedule limited the amount of time I was able to work on it. It would have taken twice as long and not turned out as well without the collective knowledge garnered from this forum. I had multiple goals that occasionally conflicted with one another. Visual aesthetics, function, and rider comfort all needed to be combined in a package that did not change the basic early 1970’s character of the bike. The finished product needed to look as stock as possible after eliminating some elements that I found visually or functionally objectionable. I considered starting over with a '14 six speed bike but many of the visual details I find most appealing on the CB11 disappear on the blacked out 2014 standard and I don’t like the shape of the gas tank or the single tone engine and wheels on the 2014 deluxe. I don’t object to the five-speed transmission per se but I think top gear is way too low on the 2013 bikes. After changing the gearing I am much happier with the ‘13 CB11. Many of my mods are detailed in the “how to” section of this forum if any member wishes to duplicate some of them. Some of my mods are simple, quick, and easy and some of them required a considerable amount of work.

I am interested in member’s comments, both good and bad, and I’m not thin-skinned so please fire away with what you think. All modifications are the personal preference of the rider and there is certainly no right or wrong. Below are listed the 21 modifications that made the final cut on my CB1100. I made many more but some of them were reversed and others were changed and revised. So here ya go……

1. Removed all stickers from the fuel tank.

2. Removed front fork slider reflectors.

3. Removed stock handlebars and replaced them with genuine Honda CB-500F flat black handlebars that retained the stock bar-end weights and dampening system.

4. Removed stock chrome rear view mirrors and replaced them with genuine Honda CB-500F flat black rear view mirrors that are lower and slightly wider.

5. Removed the huge stock plastic taillight and the stock license plate bracket with all of its reflectors that obscured most of the chrome rear fender and replaced them with a Lucas type hooded chrome metal taillight with an integral license plate bracket that is smaller and lies flush with the rear fender.

6. Removed all 4 of the jumbo plastic turn signals and replaced them with Lockhart Phillips polished aluminum turn signals that have a similar shape but are much smaller. These signals use the same bulb as the stock turn signals and are just as bright.

7. Removed the stock seat that I thought was visually perfect but functionally unacceptable as it had me constantly sliding forward into the gas tank and uncomfortable for multi-hour rides. Had a Corbin seat made to my personal specifications (Chip Beck Spec) that looked as stock as possible and is comfortable all day. I also purchased a K&H seat but much preferred the Corbin.

8. Attached battery tender cables to the stock battery to facilitate battery tender use without removing the seat.

9. Installed a flat black license plate frame with stainless steel hardware to match other flat black elements on the bike such as my mirrors, handlebars, fuel injector covers, and engine.

10. Installed a 7th Gear Design 19 tooth steel front sprocket which raised final gearing 5%.

11. Installed a 7th Gear design 37 tooth steel rear sprocket which raised final gearing an additional 5.5%. The combination of those two sprockets raised my final gearing 10.5% and lowered RPM at 70 mph from 4000 to 3600 RPM.

12. Removed the charcoal colored, plastic left hand rear engine side case and replaced it with the polished aluminum side case from the 2014 deluxe.

13. Designed and fabricated a Chip Beck Spec lower attach point mod that allowed me to use all 3 rubber mounted attach points on the 2014 deluxe aluminum side cover. I detailed this modification in the “how to” section of this forum.

14. Installed a Road Comet 1 faring painted silver to match the 2013 CB11 side covers with a smoked standard windscreen. This faring takes a lot of pressure off of my chest at highway speeds. The standard screen results in less helmet buffeting than the larger touring screen.

15. Designed and installed a Chip Beck Spec faring mod to eliminate annoying headlight bleed to the interior of the Road Comet 1 faring at night.

16. Replaced stock rear shocks with custom Ohlins shocks set up for my weight and equipped with black springs.

17. Replaced stock air cleaner with a K&N air filter.

18. Removed the huge stock muffler and replaced it with a Staintune polished stainless steel slip on that retains the stock look but is smaller and sounds awesome.

19. Designed, fabricated, and built a stainless steel cover to hide the ugly 4 into 1 exhaust collector and catalytic converter with all of their unsightly welds. The cover was affixed with stainless steel welds to the stock stainless header.

20. Had the stock header with my newly installed cover coated with Jet-Hot’s super high temperature bright chrome finish. This finish does not turn bronze like the stock header nor will it rainbow like conventional chrome on a single wall header. It’s been on my bike for several months now and it looks bloody amazing! Finally, my entire exhaust system is bright, shiny, and one color end to end.

21. Installed a Power Commander V with an O2 sensor eliminator plug for better fueling at low rpm's and slightly fatter mid-range power.

I have ridden my CB11 to California and back and on a number of other long, high-speed rides. The combination of the faring, lower handlebars, and Corbin seat make it a very comfortable all day mount. But half the enjoyment I get from this bike comes from just looking at it before I get in my car to go to my office every day. The art of the motorcycle. In every way I am really happy with the end result. All the best.

Chip

[url=http://s288.photobucket.com/user/chipbeck/media/Mod%20a1.jpg.html]

[url=http://s288.photobucket.com/user/chipbeck/media/Mod%20a6.jpg.html]

[url=http://s288.photobucket.com/user/chipbeck/media/Mod%20a4.jpg.html]

[url=http://s288.photobucket.com/user/chipbeck/media/Mod%20a3.jpg.html]

[url=http://s288.photobucket.com/user/chipbeck/media/Mod%20a8.jpg.html]

[url=http://s288.photobucket.com/user/chipbeck/media/Mod%20a9.jpg.html]

[url=http://s288.photobucket.com/user/chipbeck/media/Mod%20a17.jpg.html]

[url=http://s288.photobucket.com/user/chipbeck/media/Mod%20a12.jpg.html]

[url=http://s288.photobucket.com/user/chipbeck/media/Mod%20a11.jpg.html]

[url=http://s288.photobucket.com/user/chipbeck/media/Mod%20a18.jpg.html]

[url=http://s288.photobucket.com/user/chipbeck/media/Mod%20a14.jpg.html]
2

[url=http://s288.photobucket.com/user/chipbeck/media/Mod%20a16.jpg.html]

[url=http://s288.photobucket.com/user/chipbeck/media/Mod%20a13.jpg.html]

[url=http://s288.photobucket.com/user/chipbeck/media/Mod%20a15.jpg.html]

[url=http://s288.photobucket.com/user/chipbeck/media/Mod%20a21.jpg.html]

[url=http://s288.photobucket.com/user/chipbeck/media/Mod%20a10.jpg.html]

[url=http://s288.photobucket.com/user/chipbeck/media/Mod%20a5.jpg.html]

[url=http://s288.photobucket.com/user/chipbeck/media/Mod%20a20.jpg.html]

[url=http://s288.photobucket.com/user/chipbeck/media/Mod%20a7.jpg.html]

[url=http://s288.photobucket.com/user/chipbeck/media/Mod%20a22.jpg.html]

[url=http://s288.photobucket.com/user/chipbeck/media/Mod%20a2.jpg.html]

[url=http://s288.photobucket.com/user/chipbeck/media/Mod%20a19.jpg.html]

[Brookland27_imp]

It really is a fantastic bike chip and In the short time I've been a member on the forum I've read and enjoyed all of your losts/ tutorials . In fact I'm currently pining over the cb500 bars with retained bar ends vs renthal low with crg bar ends. Thanks for your work and I adore your bike.

[Rick Froscheiser_imp]

I think you did a great job setting up your CB the way you wanted it. It looks very nice. I really like your cover for the collector and cat The exhaust looks real nice.

[Pterodactyl_imp]

That is one beautiful bike, made better by being a labour of love. Well done.

Cheers

[emptysea]

Perfect, but for one thing....

FAR
TOO
CLEAN

Great work and thank you for documenting every bit of it. Many of us have confidently modified our own bikes thanks to your detailed descriptions.

[capttwb136_imp]

Very nice job. Love the header/exhaust cover. Did you change rear shocks for better handling? How much difference did they make?

[Desert viper_imp]

Tastefully and expertly modified Chip......great looking bike. Thank you for your very informative tutorials and your time involved to post them. Glad you're on the forum! Randy

[gossman_imp]

Guess it's time to sell it. Whenever I seem to get something dialed in I end up having to sell it. If I keep it stock then it hangs around for a bit.

[ChipBeck_imp]

It really is a fantastic bike chip and In the short time I've been a member on the forum I've read and enjoyed all of your losts/ tutorials . In fact I'm currently pining over the cb500 bars with retained bar ends vs renthal low with crg bar ends. Thanks for your work and I adore your bike.

27,

I've got a Renthal handlebar and for this application I don't recommend it. The Renthal bars are much stronger and harder to bend than the thin wall stock bars BUT.....the stock bars are thin for a reason. Their slight flex combined with the massive internal rubber mounted lead weights very effectively dampens vibration. More than one member here has mounted thicker bars and then switched back to stock because of excessive vibration. The CB11 engine is solid mounted, not rubber mounted like some other bikes so controlling vibration at the bars and pegs is more important.

Chip

Very nice job. Love the header/exhaust cover. Did you change rear shocks for better handling? How much difference did they make?

136,

I'd like to be able to say that my riding skills can take advantage of Ohlins shocks but truthfully I'm not an expert rider and so functionally I didn't expect them to do anything for me. I bought them because I thought their machined aluminum construction was really good looking and with black springs they look great on the CB. At about a grand for 2 shocks though it's an expensive style point. The stock shocks worked just fine for me but these machined aluminum Ohlins visually compliment the beautiful machined aluminum front fork lowers so I ordered a set.

Chip

[Pterodactyl_imp]

That's an interesting truth you have spoken Chip. I thought about changing the rear shocks for Ohlins. Like you, I think they are a good looking piece of kit. But apart from the aesthetics can I get any real advantage from them? And advantage over what? No, I am not an expert performance rider. If you want your bike to look great, as does yours, then go for it. But poor old Last Blast has a kind of tatty, well used, but looked after, appearance. Your bike looks immaculate. A credit to you and the planing you put into "your bike" - The Chip Beck Special. Once again, well done mate.

Cheers