shopping the CB1100

[JustPassinThru_imp]

^Agree with these guys...As much as I like my CB, for that kind of fast, long distance riding, I'd look for a used R1200RT, R1200GS, K1200RS, K1300GT, ST1300, or a Concours with plenty of power, shaft drive, weather protection, places to carry extra clothes, shoes, beer, etc all in supreme and total comfort.

Or buy the CB, toss a tailpack on the back, buy a gigantic, PlexiStar 2 windsheild that can also be easily and quickly removed and have fun!

Like this:



Or just leave eariler and take back roads!

Second this. I have just come from a weeklong trip, high adventure on the CB. My daily average was 400 miles...this was business-meets-pleasure and against the clock, so there was no sniffing the roses. Took US 12, Helena to central Wisconsin. Also back - less inclined to fool around as a winter storm was likely in the Bitterroots.

But I did it. I was averaging 85-90 mph in rural areas, of which there are plenty on 12. I COULD NOT have done that without my Plexistar2.

Now, as discussed here months ago, it does up the noise. There's no getting around it - just buy some foam earplugs and enjoy the ride.

Luggage: A tailbox is elegant but limiting. I was in an outdoors store, found a big chamo duffle, lined with vinyl inside...that was just a bit larger than a six-gallon milk crate. Which I happened to own. I put it in - AND BOLTED IT, using the vent holes at the bottom of the duffle, come eye-hook bolts, drilling some holes in the base of the crate. Makes it all stable and gives me purchase on the bottom of the framed duffle.

Two sets of straps to tie it to the luggage rack, crosswise...stable as a rock; and carried essentials for a week.

Something similar, along with a full removable windscreen, will make your commute, not only possible but a joy and at times a very fast one.

[Olyrider]

A couple of different thoughts:

Just like Ferret, I have the CB1100 and ST1300. I also have a son living in Orlando.

I rode my ST from Seattle to the Gorge Ampitheater to see the Foo Fighters last weekend. Ferret probably knows Dave Grohl hails from Warren, Ohio (where they have a BIG statue of him!). But he made history in Seattle with Nirvana. Anyway...I digress.

It was 100 degrees at 4pm on Saturday. I was sitting on the ST waiting to be processed through the ticket line into the campground. I was shocked at how much heat radiated off of the fuel tank and cylinders. I can't exaggerate how bad it was. I would never, never, never choose to ride an ST in Orlando. I'd take a bus first.

As much as I like my CB, it would not be anywhere around the top of "my" list for a highway bike. Older VFR maybe...

IMHO, of course!

[ClassicVW_imp]

There are deals out there on better highway bikes. Prior to my CB I had a Honda NT700V. Integrated bags, fairing and windshield and not that heavy, but very comfortable.

My Road Comet saves me a little tiredness on the highway, but it still deposits wind, but higher up, near my collarbone. The NT I had had a smallish fairing built-in, and bikes like that not only keep the wind off you, but keep you drier than just a windshield on a CB will in a light rain. Something to consider if you are commuting to work and get caught in an unexpected shower.

[JustPassinThru_imp]

There are deals out there on better highway bikes. Prior to my CB I had a Honda NT700V. Integrated bags, fairing and windshield and not that heavy, but very comfortable.

My Road Comet saves me a little tiredness on the highway, but it still deposits wind, but higher up, near my collarbone. The NT I had had a smallish fairing built-in, and bikes like that not only keep the wind off you, but keep you drier than just a windshield on a CB will in a light rain. Something to consider if you are commuting to work and get caught in an unexpected shower.

Every cycle is a compromise. Either riding position; or wind; or reliability.

For comfortable riding-position, I'd pick the BMW R1200GS. GREAT ergonomics - once you get ON the tall monster. For those of us no-longer-so-spry, getting on and off was a project; and every stoplight a dread.

For quiet wind sheltering, it was a toss-up: my 1999 BMW R1100RT, very-intelligent fairing; and my Suzuki Burgman 650, where the Givi tall windshield completed the puzzle. But the R1100 was entering the high-priced maintenance stage that all BMWs get into in the 40,000 range. The Burgman, with its twist-and-go CVT: Also getting up in mileage. Those transmissions were known to grenade; and once it happened, repair was more than the value of the machine.

That, and the easy-chair riding posture was starting to hurt my arthritic tailbone...no sale.

So...everything is a compromise. The Japanese makers just don't GET that Germans or Americans are much, much larger than riders of their own countries - or they get it but the market is too small to design a frame for it.

Insofar as wind goes, the CB1100 was a nod to the past - not a cutting-edge cruiser. That they got so much that is good in modern cycles, in terms of handling...is amazing. But I cannot imagine a retro-faired model.

All of cycling is a compromise. But the CB with a removable full windshield...and some experimentation on luggage, perhaps hard panniers...can work for many folks as a single-rider tourer or long commuter.

[metallyguitarded_imp]

The way I read your message, you are doing the long commutes only once or twice a month. That leaves the other 28 to 29 days for shorter rides around town/commutes. Can the CB handle the 270 mile round-trip without a windscreen? Easily. Are there other bikes that handle high speed, interstate travel more easily and with greater comfort? Certainly. But seeing how that is a regular but infrequent occurrence, I say get the bike you really want (the CB) and you'll be extremely happy for the vast majority of your riding and just fine on those days when you find yourself going greater distances.

[EarsOnWheels_imp]

Hi,

A local dealer (Orlando) has a new 2014 CB1100 for $8000 without dealer fees. So it would be 9100.

I have to go 270 miles round trip about twice / month, and if I am running late I use the interstate and often go 85-95. I use a CTX700 for those trips. The CTX is a nice bit of kit, great engineering for a good price. The thing is, I just cannot handle the cruiser position. I have to be able to use my legs for "suspension". I sat on the CB1100 and went "vroom vroom" and I really like everything about it. What I wonder is, will I get too beat up without fairing ? When I was a kid all bikes were naked bikes, but I did not go that fast either. Is the CB1100 appropriate for the kind of trips I describe ?

I know many of you have commented in other threads but I did not wish to derail any threads on other topics.

Yes -- you will get beat up without a fairing at those speeds! Even tucking and hugging, you will feel serious pull.