Two Up Touring?

[Supervillian_imp]

Hi fellas, first time poster here...I'm looking into picking up a CB1100 as an all around bike.

I want to ask those who tour with their wives/GFs, how does the CB1100 do on long trips? I recognize seats and shocks may need to be swapped out. Is there enough room for the passenger with hard bags added? (She is about 5' 3" and 125) Have you had many complaints about comfort or about hip/legs cramping?

Love to hear what your experience is.

[Inhouse Bob]

I take my daughters out regularly (well, I did before college started again) and they were always comfortable. I have Hepco & Becker hard bags that fit nicely behind their legs and supply extra hand holds as well. The stock seat is what they fuss about, and so do I I have a Corbin that is much better for all concerned. Longest I've ridden two-up is about three hours with a couple of breaks. I am 5'7", 150 and daughters are 5' nothing and 105. So we aren't a huge load. Anyhow, it rides fine without any suspension upgrades or adjustments. The motor doesn't seem to notice the second rider.

[AzBob_imp]

My wife is 5'7", around 180lbs, and after about an hour, she can't feel her legs and absolutely must get off the bike. The lack of power and small accommodations for a pillion make this a less than stellar ride for two-up, IMO. That's without any hardbags, by the way.

[hb9400_imp]

While 2 up is doable, it was not something my wife was willing to do beyond a few hours so we have a CTX1300 as well.

[hillbilly_imp]

While 2 up is doable, it was not something my wife was willing to do beyond a few hours so we have a CTX1300 as well.

check out the F6b,bought one last month,great bike maybe not as nimble as the CB.but pretty close. 150 miles without a rest stop is no problem. Kept my CB.but if I had to choose between the two would go with the F6b.

[Jonz_imp]

Hello- Last summer Lesli & I spent a couple of weeks going from Seattle to the California/Oregon boarder on 101. I had relocated the rear turn signals, after studying Forum knowledge on the subject, and used soft saddlebags, a tail bag, and a monstrous tank bag (not recommended). Lesli is 5'-5" and 115lbs ish. She likes to sit on padding that raises her 3"-4". The passenger foot peg is too high for her knees to feel good without the seat hight adjustment. She could also see more than the back of my helmet. I'm 5'-9" and 200lbs ish, and we had lots of gear (including a trumpet) but the bike handled great! Even with lots of wind. We didn't really do much more than three hour rides though.
[url=http://s300.photobucket.com/user/jonz1/media/IMG_9460_zpsuqmlq1lt.jpg.html]
Jon Z

[LongRanger_imp]

Jon, that's a great ride! Nice! And you're right, that's a huge tankbag!

[rboe]

A Russell Day Long king queen seat would address the seating problems (and look terrible - but hey, bums rule!).

Folks would ride two up on the old 750's all the time and these bikes are years ahead of those bikes. That said, there are better choices for two up touring than the CB1100. Alas, they will probably not be as good of an all around bike as the 1100.

[Frulk_imp]

SuperV: Welcome! I think it would be worthwhile for those with two up experience replying to you to know what you consider "long" trips. I bought the CB1100 as a SOLO rider for use as a short day-to-day commuter and once or twice a month during the summer use it as a naked sport tourer. I've never used it as a two-up touring machine so my input has somewhat limited value here. At 6'0 foot even/240 +/- I use almost 3/4's of the seat surface for fore/aft movement during those 2-3 day 300-750 mile roundtrip weekends to help alleviate discomfort in the hips/knees brought on by injuries/age. I cant imagine trying to sit pretty much in the same position on this bike for that distance because of my partner behind me and not being able to change positions at will to adjust for discomfort (mind you, I'm still pretty flexible). Also, I've read several threads on this site were folks complain about wind force on their chest at freeway speed. Can't say I ever had that problem and I ride 80 mph frequently out west here. I put a Dart Fly screen on and didn't notice much difference (it does keep the instrument cluster clean from bugs and provides a place to stash gloves). The CB1100 does a lot of things really well. It will function in the 2-up distance tourer mode if you want it to but it's probably not its strong suit (especially the 2013 Standards which have almost a gallon less fuel capacity than the 2014's and one less gear that would come in handy during long distance slab riding). I think Hillbilly has a recommendation worth considering...Honda F6B's seem like the ticket for what you might have in mind, especially the 13's, they're currently being sold for around $15K new (as much as $6K off the original retail asking price). A bump up in cost for sure over the CB but a CB at $7K is no steal if you and your partner aren't happy/comfortable on your rides.*

* This input is coming from someone who REALLY loves his CB1100 but is willing to accept that it's not perfect in every role...

[emptysea]

Hi fellas, first time poster here...I'm looking into picking up a CB1100 as an all around bike.

I want to ask those who tour with their wives/GFs, how does the CB1100 do on long trips? I recognize seats and shocks may need to be swapped out. Is there enough room for the passenger with hard bags added? (She is about 5' 3" and 125) Have you had many complaints about comfort or about hip/legs cramping?

Love to hear what your experience is.

My wife rides her own bike. My girlfriend, on the other hand.......