Cb1100 handling (geometry questions)

[Hondahawkrider_imp]

Thanks all

Much appreciated. While it's not a sportbike, it's more than capable on a brisk street ride if you happen to be with sportbikes. Yes, the CB would have some limitations on the track that would appear immediately (done track days on a variety of bikes and cars), but on the street it's more than capable

So while I'm sure a cbr600rr could easily beat me down the mile long straight at summit main, as well as handle the stress of a triple digit high speed turn better. That's not the level of speed that one hits on the street. Even when I did track days regularly, I never pushed it on the street as hard as on the track. Shrug, one of the reason I switched to a motards was that things became about who could ping it longer on the straights.. It wasn't about being smooth or consistent or better lap times at the track but who had the bigger bike and the balls to go wfo even when it wasn't smart.

When this mentality bled over into group rides on the street I left multiple groups.. To this day, a little part of me screams or dies, every time I heard someone says they are ready to upgrade to a 1000cc cause they've outgrown their 600cc bike in a season. I guess like their brains, they figure using 30% is their max.

I got the CB to be fun, not to prove anything.. I'll be honest, now that I've pushed it a bit. I can dial it in better. However the whole not a sportsbike in the multiple reviews is a tad harsh. It's not, but holy crap in reading reviews on current sportbikes, it seems like the current sportbikes are waaaaaay under utilized on the street and are targeted at those who will grossly exceed their limitation

Or maybe I'm just old

[LongRanger_imp]

Great post. I couldn't agree more!

[CIP57_imp]

The stock tires do not inspire confidence because there very hard. Any imperfection in the road causes you to lose your line slightly when riding hard. Put a set of Michelin PR3's and you will notice an improvement.

[kmoney_imp]

Definetely a great post Hondahawk. I never really felt wanting for power with the CB on the street either. Anything under 140kph it's basically capable of hanging with any other bike for practical intents and purposes.

[Paulb_imp]

The handling of the CB1100 was the one thing I didn't like about the bike. I thought it might be the tyres but a friend suggested it was more likely the suspension at fault. I bit the bullet and had Maxton (UK) fit their own custom cartridges to the front forks and shocks to the back. They suggested 10mm longer shocks to raise the back and alter the steering angle. They then set the bike up on their rolling road and set up the suspension for my weight. The bike has been totally transformed and corners as well, if not better than any bike I've ever owned. The honda suspension is 'cheap and cheerful' and designed to be all thing to all men from light weight solo riders to two up heavies with luggage.

I asked Maxton about fitting a fork brace and they advised against it. They tune top level race bikes and they told me that to work properly each fork must be allowed to flex independently, they even suggested that I ditch the steel front mudguard and replace it with a plastic one.

I no longer feel the need to change from standard tyres and my sports bike riding friends are embarrassed enough to be calling Maxton. Maxton do export sales and can set the suspension correctly at their factory as they kept my bike for a couple of weeks and ran a whole series of tests to find the correct settings for different weight riders.

[alphonsus_imp]

The handling of the CB1100 was the one thing I didn't like about the bike. I thought it might be the tyres but a friend suggested it was more likely the suspension at fault. I bit the bullet and had Maxton (UK) fit their own custom cartridges to the front forks and shocks to the back. They suggested 10mm longer shocks to raise the back and alter the steering angle. They then set the bike up on their rolling road and set up the suspension for my weight. The bike has been totally transformed and corners as well, if not better than any bike I've ever owned. The honda suspension is 'cheap and cheerful' and designed to be all thing to all men from light weight solo riders to two up heavies with luggage.

I asked Maxton about fitting a fork brace and they advised against it. They tune top level race bikes and they told me that to work properly each fork must be allowed to flex independently, they even suggested that I ditch the steel front mudguard and replace it with a plastic one.

I no longer feel the need to change from standard tyres and my sports bike riding friends are embarrassed enough to be calling Maxton. Maxton do export sales and can set the suspension correctly at their factory as they kept my bike for a couple of weeks and ran a whole series of tests to find the correct settings for different weight riders.

Very interesting post Paul! It inspired me to find your separate threads about the Maxton suspension and your extended test of it ([url=http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=7717]here and [url=http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=7838]here) which have more info including costs. Thanks! It would still be interesting to hear your thoughts once you change your stock tyres since there seems to be a consensus that better tyres can be had for our bikes (PR3 or T30 mainly).

[Paulb_imp]

The handling of the CB1100 was the one thing I didn't like about the bike. I thought it might be the tyres but a friend suggested it was more likely the suspension at fault. I bit the bullet and had Maxton (UK) fit their own custom cartridges to the front forks and shocks to the back. They suggested 10mm longer shocks to raise the back and alter the steering angle. They then set the bike up on their rolling road and set up the suspension for my weight. The bike has been totally transformed and corners as well, if not better than any bike I've ever owned. The honda suspension is 'cheap and cheerful' and designed to be all thing to all men from light weight solo riders to two up heavies with luggage.

I asked Maxton about fitting a fork brace and they advised against it. They tune top level race bikes and they told me that to work properly each fork must be allowed to flex independently, they even suggested that I ditch the steel front mudguard and replace it with a plastic one.

I no longer feel the need to change from standard tyres and my sports bike riding friends are embarrassed enough to be calling Maxton. Maxton do export sales and can set the suspension correctly at their factory as they kept my bike for a couple of weeks and ran a whole series of tests to find the correct settings for different weight riders.

Very interesting post Paul! It inspired me to find your separate threads about the Maxton suspension and your extended test of it ([url=http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=7717]here and [url=http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=7838]here) which have more info including costs. Thanks! It would still be interesting to hear your thoughts once you change your stock tyres since there seems to be a consensus that better tyres can be had for our bikes (PR3 or T30 mainly).

Very interesting post Paul! It inspired me to find your separate threads about the Maxton suspension and your extended test of it ([url=http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=7717]here and [url=http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=7838]here) which have more info including costs. Thanks! It would still be interesting to hear your thoughts once you change your stock tyres since there seems to be a consensus that better tyres can be had for our bikes (PR3 or T30 mainly).
I was going to buy some Metzler Roadtec tyres but I've got a foreign trip coming up and I need a new rear so I'm sticking with the Dunlops until both tyres need replacing together. The new suspension has improved the Dunlops so much and I want to give them a good try in the Italian Dolomites in June where I'm sure I'll see all types of weather and surface conditions and I may end up staying with the original fitments. It would be nice to think that the CB1100 handling problems could be sorted with new tyres and I'm sure it could be improved but I seriously doubt I could have got to where I am now with the bike with just a tyre change. I can't stress enough just how good the handling is since Maxton did their magic. I have noticed a recent trend with new bikes and that is to product a 'standard' and an 'R' version and one of the main differences between them is the quality of the suspension. Triumph have done it with the Thruxton and KTM with the 690. The marketing implication seems to be, "if we put good suspension on customers might not realise the value and we will not be price competitive in the market but we want our product to shine in media tests". By offering the option of better suspension people have the choice and I notice that all magazines have so far only tested the 'R' versions of these bikes. From my recent experience with the CB1100 I would always cough up the extra and buy the upgrade.

[Hondahawkrider_imp]

Wait

There's a link to the maxton setup.. I'll have to search that when I'm not on my smartphone..

I was glad to hear the cb would continue with some addition options.. I love what triumph has done...

I'll be honest, while I love the CB for what it is, I was worried that Honda might pull back on it.. The main problem I saw was price. The CB when new from a dealer wasn't cheap. It's worth it, but that's my opinion. There are other bikes that can do more in the same price point (it's why the Ducati Sports classic line faded ). Triumph did it with the thruxton i.e. Kept it going and is now stepping it up. Plus you have the new xsr900 Yamaha which is a classic inspired fz09 where you can select different fuel maps on the fly, from highway/cruise to hooligan...

Since I have kids and others bikes (thought the number dropped significantly since getting the CB) I found a 2013 with 1k miles, nicely modified already (cosmetically), for less than 1/2 of a new one.. While the 2013 has the smaller tank and a 5 speed, it left me a fair bit left over to modify to my tastes..

[Paulb_imp]

Wait

There's a link to the maxton setup.. I'll have to search that when I'm not on my smartphone..

I was glad to hear the cb would continue with some addition options.. I love what triumph has done...

I'll be honest, while I love the CB for what it is, I was worried that Honda might pull back on it.. The main problem I saw was price. The CB when new from a dealer wasn't cheap. It's worth it, but that's my opinion. There are other bikes that can do more in the same price point (it's why the Ducati Sports classic line faded ). Triumph did it with the thruxton i.e. Kept it going and is now stepping it up. Plus you have the new xsr900 Yamaha which is a classic inspired fz09 where you can select different fuel maps on the fly, from highway/cruise to hooligan...

Since I have kids and others bikes (thought the number dropped significantly since getting the CB) I found a 2013 with 1k miles, nicely modified already (cosmetically), for less than 1/2 of a new one.. While the 2013 has the smaller tank and a 5 speed, it left me a fair bit left over to modify to my tastes..

http://www.maxtonsuspension.co.uk/

[Jeff the CB CBX guy_imp]

If Honda was a smaller company (Like triumph), they might want a line of 1100's (enduro, street, retro, cafe etc)...its been done through the years with the PC 800, Transalp, shadow etc.