Falling In

[grice3_imp]

I am a prospective CB1100 owner and I have a question. My previous four cylinder bikes (1982 Seca 650 & 1999 750 Nighthawk) had great power and good road manners except for one handling quirk. When leaning into a curve I would lean so far and then feel like the bike wanted to "fall in". I did not have this feeling on my airhead BMW or the Moto Guzzi.

Perhaps those other 4 cylinder bikes were a little more top heavy than the CB?

Could I get handling feedback on your mountain/curvy road experiences?

Thanks!

[enzo_imp]

I had that feeling with a CX650ED.
The CB1100 is 100% pure injoiment. (For me).

[Guth_imp]

While I've read a few members of the press making such comments due to what they feel is the profile of the tires on the bike, I've personally not experienced this with the CB1100. I love riding this bike on curvy backroads. And while I have no bare strips on my rear tire, I'm not exactly pushing the upper limits of the bike's handling envelope either.

[thumper_imp]

Mine feels neutral to me--from straight up, to full lean.

[the Ferret]

I agree with Guth and Thumper, but then again I'm not a racer.It handles great to me.

[rboe]

I've not found that to be true with the CB - yet. I have not pushed it (a case could be made that I never ride hard enough to push it ).

That said, tire choice will have a lot to do with this. The tires that came with my Quota when I bought her were OK, bike handled fairly well. When I replaced them I got Trail Attacks with a more rounded profile and the handling really got quicker. She was "flickable". Well, more so anyway.

Had to replace the Trail Attacks with something else and went with a fatter rear tire. Meh. Handling slowed up. Bummer.

So far the CB1100 is not as flickable as the Griso. Not as stable in fast sweepers as the Griso; just not as confidence inspiring as the Griso when you look at getting frisky. In my case this is good; I need to be less frisky.

As I gain more experience with her and do more comparisons with the Griso I expect my opinion to change a bit though; especially with new tires.

[grice3_imp]

Thank You for the good feedback and advice! I agree tires make a difference, as I love my Pirelli Sport Demons on my 1995 R100. I had the same Bridgestone tires the CB has on my 2002 Bonneville and I did not think they were nearly as good as the Metzlers I replaced them with.

As far as riding the bike 80 MPH in fast sweepers, well those days are behind me. I am in the "smell the flowers" stage of riding.

The CB1100 is so intriguing because it looks great and actually fits me. I see the prices dropping somewhat, but will 2014 come in black with dual exhaust? AARRGGGG!!!

[enzo_imp]

They have discontinued in Australia due to the lack of sales.
But there is so much motorcycle in the shops that I'd want to by one of every make.

[CIP57_imp]

You'll enjoy this bike. No over or under steer in my opinion, very neutral and carries its weight low. I experience the opposite ( very top heavy )when ridding my UJM 1983 Suzuki GS1100EZ. Similar suspension design and frames but modern technology has come a long way.

[AzBob_imp]

I've had mine to 100+ at near full lean in long sweepers numerous times and it's really quite stable, even over ridiculous highway expansion joints, er, I mean track expansion joints -- tracks have those, right? RIGHT?

For information's sake, my CB1100 is completely stock. I have the rear shocks 1 from max pre-load, and the fronts are 1 line showing, if I recall correctly. I'm 230+ lbs in full gear. I'm pretty sure I've done 80+ with a pillion as well in the same situations with similar results (of course, it's a bit more floaty then). The bike handles quite well despite not being a proper "sport bike."