The true beauty of this motorcycle. (another LONG read)

[Capo]

I just want to commend you guys on an amazing, elliptical, deep, it’s definitely the middle of winter, thread. It’s as if everyone decided ‘hey, lets eat some mushrooms and write stuff! Excellent!’

In the middle of a long work related travel run, I’ve been off the grid. But now sitting at the San Francisco airport just digging in to this. It’s remarkable, and a testament to the people of this bike, this forum. And whatever gets you through the night.






Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[use2b_imp]

That straight up torque right off idle is one of the tings i love most about this bike
dyno taken from samurider https://www.samurider.com/?p=9192

[egleaves_imp]

If you read my report carefully you will notice I said accelerating from my normal cruising speed of 3500 rpms in 4 th or 3500 rpms in 5 th ... (and that it would be a different case if you revved high in the lower gears ... 1st, 2 nd and 3rd up to 6 grand and then just kept upshifting until you got to 4th and 5 th, and eventually 6 th) ... but since I don't usually ride above 3500, that's where my starting point on my way to 6K began. I found the sundial comment appropriate in that situation. The tach needle doesn't "swing" or "sweep" it climbs laboriously seemingly to take forever to hit that 6k plateau.

I stand by my assessment as I just did it several times today.

VLJ I ride my ST1300 exactly the same 2500-3500 rpms. It saw 100 mph once a few years ago on a trip out west with my wife in Montana ( actually 110). It saw 90 in Utah on my way home from my Cali trip (speed limit was 80). It regularly sees 75 here ( speed limit is 65). I no longer feel the need to push my luck on the highway. From the time I was 16 until about 40 I found out just how fast every motorcycle I rode was. Lived through that somehow, now I ride for my pleasure and my pleasure says take it easy. I was very apprehensive riding as I did today. Everyday I assure my wife when I leave that I will come home to her, and I do everything in my power to keep that promise which includes riding as if I WANT to return home.

I read in some of your posts you are beginning to battle that demon yourself, hence the desire to slow down. You appear not to be ready to surrender though.

Ferret, I meant no disrespect. I don't doubt your report, so perhaps I stated it wrong when I suggested that I disagree with you. I think what I meant to say is that my experience has been different. We all have unique riding styles along with different reasons for being drawn to to this bike. I might describe my style as spirited, but I do strive to be a sensible rider and a smooth operator. I've never come close to speeds described by VLJ. Nor do I have the experience of most people reading this thread. We're all a little different with a common thread and I enjoy the thoughtful conversation here.

Also I'm a little excited about Sunday. I get chatty when I'm excited.

[Guth_imp]

Jeez Capo, if my posts were fueled by mushroom induced inspiration or something of the like, I'm afraid that they would likely be measured in Gigabytes rather that how many square inches of screen consumption they account for.

I've had my CB1100 up to the redline in the first few gears more than once. If I'm being honest, I'll admit to enjoying it — but not really that much and certainly not enough for it to be commonplace whenever I'm out on the bike. Maybe other guys find more enjoyment in this practice than I do. I do so more with the intention of providing the engine with a little rev-therapy and to satisfy my occasional curiosity. But this just isn't how I like to ride the bike. When I'm out on the CB1100, I simply don't find enough satisfaction in running the engine up to the redline. I'm okay with that, I'm not one of those guys that wants to drive/ride every vehicle fast, all the time. Some vehicles inspire this more than others, but I've always found different things to enjoy about every vehicle I've owned. I'm a bit of a chameleon in that way.

While I don't get all that much satisfaction out of running the CB1100 up to the redline, I sure can't say the same about my S2000. That little car isn't exactly fast by todays standards but it is still an unbelievable hoot. It is practically the polar opposite of the CB1100. Unlike the CB, I really have to be sure to try and measure my driving when I'm behind the wheel of the S, else I chance racking up quite a few tickets because repeatedly running that engine up to the redline is unbelievably satisfying. I don't think that I will ever tire of it. Downshift to pass? Bonus! That means I get to upshift again. I actually don't mind this in the case of the CB1100 either. I like to shift — I just go about it differently on the CB.

So while the engines in S2000 and the CB1100 share a very similar redline figure, the way they each go about reaching their respective redlines (and the way they make me feel while doing so) is notably different. But I'm truly okay with that. For lack of a better way to put it, I truly enjoy the CB1100 in the way that I feel that it was meant to be enjoyed. I'm guessing that this is probably due to my somewhat chameleon-like personality when it comes to vehicles in general, whether we're talking about cars or motorcycles.

I'm not left wanting a faster, sportier, better handling bike when pulling the CB into the garage after being out for a ride. This bike does what I want it to do and it does it well. Perhaps just as importantly for me, after I've tucked it away, I still can't help but stop for a moment and just stare at it for a while. I find this to be particularly satisfying.

I don't get the sense that VLJ has the "chameleon" gene in his makeup. For his sake I'd love to be wrong because I really do think that the CB1100 is a special machine in it's own unique way.

[lash_imp]

"I'm not left wanting a faster, sportier, better handling bike when pulling the CB into the garage after being out for a ride. This bike does what I want it to do and it does it well. Perhaps just as importantly for me, after I've tucked it away, I still can't help but stop for a moment and just stare at it for a while. I find this to be particularly satisfying."

Man, thats the way I feel everyday I ride! I am going to the new Goldwing but if I could keep the cb1100 I would ,no question..

[the Ferret]

If you read my report carefully you will notice I said accelerating from my normal cruising speed of 3500 rpms in 4 th or 3500 rpms in 5 th ... (and that it would be a different case if you revved high in the lower gears ... 1st, 2 nd and 3rd up to 6 grand and then just kept upshifting until you got to 4th and 5 th, and eventually 6 th) ... but since I don't usually ride above 3500, that's where my starting point on my way to 6K began. I found the sundial comment appropriate in that situation. The tach needle doesn't "swing" or "sweep" it climbs laboriously seemingly to take forever to hit that 6k plateau.

I stand by my assessment as I just did it several times today.

VLJ I ride my ST1300 exactly the same 2500-3500 rpms. It saw 100 mph once a few years ago on a trip out west with my wife in Montana ( actually 110). It saw 90 in Utah on my way home from my Cali trip (speed limit was 80). It regularly sees 75 here ( speed limit is 65). I no longer feel the need to push my luck on the highway. From the time I was 16 until about 40 I found out just how fast every motorcycle I rode was. Lived through that somehow, now I ride for my pleasure and my pleasure says take it easy. I was very apprehensive riding as I did today. Everyday I assure my wife when I leave that I will come home to her, and I do everything in my power to keep that promise which includes riding as if I WANT to return home.

I read in some of your posts you are beginning to battle that demon yourself, hence the desire to slow down. You appear not to be ready to surrender though.

Ferret, I meant no disrespect. I don't doubt your report, so perhaps I stated it wrong when I suggested that I disagree with you. I think what I meant to say is that my experience has been different. We all have unique riding styles along with different reasons for being drawn to to this bike. I might describe my style as spirited, but I do strive to be a sensible rider and a smooth operator. I've never come close to speeds described by VLJ. Nor do I have the experience of most people reading this thread. We're all a little different with a common thread and I enjoy the thoughtful conversation here.

Also I'm a little excited about Sunday. I get chatty when I'm excited.

Ferret, I meant no disrespect. I don't doubt your report, so perhaps I stated it wrong when I suggested that I disagree with you. I think what I meant to say is that my experience has been different. We all have unique riding styles along with different reasons for being drawn to to this bike. I might describe my style as spirited, but I do strive to be a sensible rider and a smooth operator. I've never come close to speeds described by VLJ. Nor do I have the experience of most people reading this thread. We're all a little different with a common thread and I enjoy the thoughtful conversation here.

Also I'm a little excited about Sunday. I get chatty when I'm excited.
egleaves, no disrespect felt. As others have mentioned I ride a little differently, although I suspect not so differently than most in my age group that own this bike. I just ride. I don't test the rev limits. Early shifts in the meat of the torque curve provide a satisfying ride for me. Prior to yesterday, in 45,000 miles on 2 CB's I had never revved one over 5000 rpms. Never felt the need. It goes fast enough below that to suit me just fine. You don't need a lot of rpms to go fast on this bike. For those that love to ride this bike in a more spirited manner than myself I say go for it. More power to you, and I've always said the tach goes from zero to 8500 rpms and this motor is safe to use anywhere in that range.

The dyno chart that use2B posted shows exactly why I felt, what I felt, when accelerating from 3500 to 6K. A straight line power curve where the motor just builds steam linearly. There is no hump in the dyno curve where the bike "comes on the cam" and suddenly leaps forward.

It will be interesting to hear both yours and VLJ's thoughts after the bike swap.

[Ulvetanna_imp]

OK just in from 111 smile ride (see what I did there? lol)

Yes 4th and 5th will both rev past 5K. I took both to 6K. 6 K in 4th is exactly 95 mph.

6K in 5th I have no idea how fast I was going I was afraid to look but, I was going REALLY fast lol. Over 100. Fastest I have ever been on this motorcycle by a bunch.

Wasn't about to try 6K in 6th, but (like the video) I'm sure you'd be against the speed limiter at those rpms.

Like I said, a really slow revver and it takes a lonnngg time to get there if you start at a normal cruising speed of 3500 rpms in either gear. Not so much if you jump it up in the lower gears and then keep banging away on the shifter. I thought to myself you don't time 60-100 with a stopwatch on this bike, you time it with a sundial lol.

But that matters not to me, I had a great ride, reaffirmed my love affair with her..and had new Pilot Road 3's leaning against my garage door when I got in from my ride. Life is good.

I also thought while riding, this is unequivocally the WRONG bike for VLJ, but the RIGHT bike for me.

VLJ...do yourself a favor, keep the XSR.

Hades hath indeed become the proverbial ice skating rink. Now THAT is a completely new development on this forum, something I never thought I would read about.

Why?

Check out this thread and these comments:

[url=http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=8404&highlight=rpm]http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=8404&highlight=rpm


Guth was right, the Ferret'll do anything to crank up the post count! Most interesting thread I have ever seen on this board. Even Capo came back to comment.

Now back to munching popcorn and lurking.

[the Ferret]

hmm looking back at my previous comments in the thread you highlighted, they seem to me to be the exact thing I said in this current thread, so I don't see where you are surprised

Previously posted

"I'm probably one of the more conservative riders on the board. For the most part my bike lives in the 45-60 mph zone, and a lot of that, even at 45 mph, is in 6 th gear (between 2500 and 3500 rpms). My normal shift point is around 3000-3200 rpms, and my bike has never been over 5000 rpms, and never anywhere near redline ..... but there is no problem running this engine to redline, either occasionally, or all the time for that matter. Engines are designed to run within a certain " range " and the range on this bike is from 2500-8000 rpms. It's ok to run this bike in any gear between those rpms (although it is electronically rpm limited in certain gears meaning you will not be able to run it at 8000 rpms in certain gears) but other than that, it will not harm this motor to run it anywhere between those rpms and it's not " better" for it to run it at any given rpm than another rpm in that range

BTW that's how I ride my ST 1300 too"

That's exactly what I said here in this thread isn't it?

I only ran the CB to 6K at VLJ's request, and to relate the experience. BTW ran the ST 1300 today from 3500 to 6K in 4th and there is no comparison, it smokes the CB. Not even close.

[emptysea]

I'm re-posting this in support of Capo's 'shroom reference shown nearby.

This kind of conversation, more so the philosophical parts about motorcycle archetypes than the practical parts about shift indicators, is what I hope to have at the Kentucky rally. However, has anyone else noticed that the vast majority of the philosophical contributions to this thread, including the original post, have come from folks on or nearer to our west coast and that most of the practical contributions are from folks east of the Mississippi? Is it possible that getting high before posting is the "unmarked" behavior on one side of the country?

[VLJ_imp]

Hoping this will work. Haven't tried attaching pics to this forum, and my preview window here isn't displaying the pic. It's only showing me "[attachment=7446]"

Anyway, here goes...



mickey, that's my bike's Dynojet dyno run after I added the full Akrapovic system paired to the ECU reflash. The red lines are with the decibel baffle in, blue is with it out. Oddly, the bike makes more power with the baffle in, and the fueling is better too.

Check out the torque curve. It's just about as flat as the CB's. The hp curve isn't as flat as the torque curve, but it's almost dead linear. No valleys, no spikes, no sudden hits anywhere. Just a smooth, steady climb.

I'm showing you this because I'm confused by what you're saying about the CB's lack of acceleration from cruising speeds. When I'm in sixth gear, doing 60 or 70 mph, it's turning 4,200 and 4,800 rpm. As soon as I twist the throttle (no downshifting), it zings up to 10K RIGHT NOW, and the bike rockets up to 100 mph like a slingshot. No waiting. It jumps from low rpm and a relaxed cruising speed to high rpm and crazy speed in the time it takes to twist the throttle. We're talking literally only a second or two and it's already blowing right past 90 mph. Stay on it for five seconds, and 100 mph is long gone.

This, despite no sudden hit anywhere in the rpm range. In top gear. Starting from a mellow cruising speed.

This bike doesn't have a particularly light flywheel effect, either. It doesn't respond like a peaky 600 Supersport. It has a big, meaty low end and midrange, and no sudden hit on top. In that respect, it's quite similar to your bike.

Your CB1100 at 60 or 70 mph in top gear is riding just below its torque peak, which, on the CB, is pretty much the entire graph. If the bike is running, it's near its torque peak. Any committed twist of the throttle ought to send it directly into the meat of its power, and the bike should accelerate hard, or at least as hard as it's capable of accelerating, which, with 66 ft-lbs of torque and 85 rwhp, ought to equate to reasonably rapid acceleration.