Almost sold the CB

[ClassicVW_imp]

Even though I posted that I was considering luggage for my CB, I agree with what you said that it's not a touring bike. Its not. Since I'm in the process of downsizing my M/C fleet, I am just looking for a way to not have a long distance bike parked in my garage just for maybe an occasional weekend trip.
Yes, you can tour on most anything. You can also drag race on a 250, but it doesn't mean you'd be all that successful.

Heck, years ago a family of 4 would go on a cross country vacation in a VW Beetle. That don't mean it's a good idea in 2015 when highway traffic is moving at 80MPH. Or 2015 when my wife would need more than the Beetle's trunk space just for hair care products.....

[Novice_imp]

When one talks of touring it's like talking about camping. Seems to be two camps (no pun intended), the "drop me in the wilderness naked crowd" and the "where to I park this tour bus crowd".

My ideal touring items list: Leathers, helmet, socks, T-shirt, underwear, deodorant, toothbrush, cell phone, charger, AAA card, credit card, map, license, insurance card, a whole bunch of cash, and a small back pack to put it all in.

Just point me to the hotels and restaurants because if I'm in the good old USA, I'm not sleeping on the ground unless I'm on the lam.

CB should work fine for me.

If the family is going, a motorcycle is out regardless of how much storage it has.

[Cormanus]

Stick to your guns uscgmac. I really don't know whether the CB's a good touring bike. I've toured on it (with plenty piled aboard but no sail) and I like it, but I've never owned a touring bike and tried it. Maybe if I had, I'd be hollering in support.

Trouble is, I'm a one-bike kinda guy for various reasons and, as you say about the CB, it is an all round great bike, so I'll be touring on it for the foreseeable future. And I'll almost certainly continue to be very happy.

[uscgmac_imp]

Well I'm going to let the guys who want to call it a Tourer do so even though I don't really agree. I have a 2014 HD Ultra, now that's what you call a touring bike. Loading up our bike like a mule walking down the grand canyon is not always safe nor practical but doesn't mean that someone can't just pack light and just go. We all have our different views, I did not think that we would all agree on this to begin with. I respect the other opinions.

[Cormanus]

Yes. I suppose I took a long way to say that we respect your opinion too.

[Lord Popgun]

I agree with USMC. I love my CB, but for distance riding, I want my ST. And although Ferret would ride to the Moon and back on a Honda 125 if there was a road, he has an ST too.

[the Ferret]

I submit it's only the way we view touring bikes that have changed and not whether a bike is suitable for touring or not. lets go back to 1975. Certainly people toured on motorcycles in 1975 ( I did). The 2 top rated touring bikes were the BMW R75 a naked 750 twin cyl, 50 hp with a 5 speed transmission, that weighed 465 pounds.... and the naked Honda GL1000 a 4 cyl bike that boasted a whopping 78 hp, with a 5 speed trans that weighed 601 pounds. Both bikes rode on tubed bias ply tires. Neither bike came from the factory equipped with fairing or bags, but those accessories were added aftermarket, mostly by companies like Vetter, Krauser, Bates, Wixom etc. Yep even back then guys were hanging windsails on naked bikes, ruining the lines and I suppose the handling, certainly the looks. Yes people transversed the country from Maine to California in relative comfort two up. Compare that situation to the CB1100 a naked 4 cyl with 88 hp and a 6 speed trans (14 models) that weighs around 550 pounds.

Now the highways are still asphalt and go to the same places. The interstate system has been roughly the same since the 1950s, and when I ride to the rally in a couple weeks I will be riding I-75, 411 and 441, the exact same roads I road when I went their the first time with my wife ( then fiancé) in 1973.

Roads the same, bikes the same (actually the Cb 1100 is superior in every way compared to the BMW and Wing) .... What's the diff? Are you saying there were no touring bikes prior to the 1984 Honda Goldwing Interstate?

Our perception is the only thing that has changed. We now believe that a bike has to weigh 700 pounds, have 150 hp, and come equipped with a factory fairing, bags and a small luggage rack to be considered a touring bike...

And if you add those things aftermarket (as we used to do when touring before 1984) it can't be considered suitable for touring? Really?

[emptysea]

I'm going with "Retro- Tourer" LOL

And to toss in my two cents, no one is calling this bike a Tourer. Rather that say that it works well as a tourer, which it does. It's not perfect at the job to be sure, but it does work well. When compared to the ST or other purpose-built sport-tourers, it will fall short. That doesn't mean it's a poor platform for touring, just not as good as purpose-built bikes. I can load it with everything I need for a week-long ride, without hard cases or a windscreen, and enjoy the trip as much as anyone on a Wing or an ST. The only difference is that I have to stop for gas more frequently, but heck, the guys I ride with have to stop to pee every 150, so it's a wash.

[redbirds_imp]

In 1973 I had a BMW R/75. It was my only transportation, my commuter on work days and, with some old US Army backpacks and stuffbags, my touring bike on vacations. The only mods were a Vetter fairing and Fiaam air horns. Without a headwind it would do an indicated 105 mph and regularly delivered 50+ mpg. Of all the bikes I've owned since that time the CB1100 most gives the same sense of purpose as the R/75. Capable of just about any reasonable chore that one might expect a street bike to do.

[Redbird_imp]

I had a 1997 Valkyrie for 12 years. It was a standard, but I added the windshield, Champion hard bags, a Givi trunk, Baker Air Wings (which were amazing in the way they kept the warm air from the radiator on you when cold and by opening them, off you when hot out) and a Russell Day Long seat. I went on multiday tours with a group of GoldWing riders and I never wished once that I had one. I really liked that bike but the weight of it when moving out of the garage or around the parking lot finally convinced me that I would be more comfortable with a lighter weight bike. I was 71 then. So I sold it and got a NT700V. I had that for 2 years then got a used FJR. When I got the CB1100, and impulse purchase for me, I thought I would keep the FJR but I find I don't take multiday tours as much as I used to so yesterday I put the FJR up for sale. I'll use the CB1100 for touring as well as for local riding and I think it will work just fine for the occasional multiday trip. It will have a sail up front and bags and perhaps something like Baker Air Wings for touring. Not as tour specific as the FJR but at 75 now I could not justify having the FJR hanging out in the garage while I mostly ride the CB and do not do much multiday touring anymore. So, while the CB is not a purpose built touring bike, it should work OK for the occasional multiday trip.

Ken