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Is there published break-in recommendations for the CB11? I just came back from a 100 mile afternoon and was curious what everyone else was experiencing.
I have 150 miles on mine, and it seems to chatter more after it is ridden briskly. I think it is tuned a little too lean. Does anyone know if I can put a power commander on the bike?
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No crazy break-in. The manual says avoid full-throttle starts, and ride conservatively for the first 300 miles.
Yeah, mine chatters a little too after a brisk run.
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If by chatter you mean ignition knock, or a slight valve clattering under acceleration, I hear that as well if I lean to left or right while accelerating out of a turn, but not if I am sitting directly over the tank. It's very faint. I wondered if a higher octane of gas would cure it, but Im not sure exactly what it is, but then again, not really worried about it.
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Hey! Glad to hear that I'm not the only one hearing that. At first I thought it was valves chattering, but it only does it under brisk accelleration. Then I thought it was knocking (i.e. detonation). That would be unlikely since it seemed to happen even when the engine was cold. I bumped the octane up on the next two tanks and there was zero difference. I doubt that the sound is knocking.
Since I only hear it when I give it a lot of throttle, I'm starting to think that it might be related to the EFI system. Maybe the fuel pump ramping up? I noticed that you can make a similar sound (one click at a time) when the engine is idling. Throttle up and back and you'll hear the same click sound on the way up and one on the way down.
I'm going to keep looking, but for now I'm thinking that its normal.
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I also wondered if it might be magnified due to lightweight break in oil and wondered if it would be less noticeable after the first service, but I'm not quite to 600 miles yet.
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Got back from a 120 trip today. Was taking it easy the whole way, but a short highway hop went really well. I've yet to hear the sounds you are describing, and I'm on tank 2 of 89 octane with 10% ethanol.
Next time, I'm headed up north to get me some gasoline from the station that sells ethanol free. See how that goes.
Edited for failure to proofread.
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I did the first oil change last weekend. No difference. Try blipping the throttle slowly at idle and see if that doesn't sound like the same sort of click.
Edit : Obliviontoad - You can hear the sound best if you give it a lot a gas coming onto second. Any faster and it's covered by wind noise. It's kind of a rythmic ticking sound.
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(04-27-2013, 12:43 PM)Obliviontoad_imp Wrote: Got back from a 120 trip today. Was taking it easy the whole way, but a short highway hop went really well. I've yet to hear the sounds you are describing, and I'm on tank 2 of 89 octane with 10% ethanol.
Next time, I'm headed up north to get me some gasoline from the station that sells ethanol free. See how that goes.
Edited for failure to proofread.
19% ethanol? Holy crap I thought the limit was 10% and they were talking about upping it to 15%
Like I said, while riding I cant hear it unless I'm leaned over to left or right,accelerating as it pulls me thru a turn. I imagined it was either "pinging" aka ignition knock, or hearing the cam lobes coming around and smacking the top of the shim. I on't think its any kind of issue with the bikes, just a characteristic.
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(04-27-2013, 09:00 PM)The ferret_imp Wrote: (04-27-2013, 12:43 PM)Obliviontoad_imp Wrote: Got back from a 120 trip today. Was taking it easy the whole way, but a short highway hop went really well. I've yet to hear the sounds you are describing, and I'm on tank 2 of 89 octane with 10% ethanol.
Next time, I'm headed up north to get me some gasoline from the station that sells ethanol free. See how that goes.
Edited for failure to proofread.
19% ethanol? Holy crap I thought the limit was 10% and they were talking about upping it to 15% 
Like I said, while riding I cant hear it unless I'm leaned over to left or right,accelerating as it pulls me thru a turn. I imagined it was either "pinging" aka ignition knock, or hearing the cam lobes coming around and smacking the top of the shim. I on't think its any kind of issue with the bikes, just a characteristic.
19% ethanol? Holy crap I thought the limit was 10% and they were talking about upping it to 15%
Like I said, while riding I cant hear it unless I'm leaned over to left or right,accelerating as it pulls me thru a turn. I imagined it was either "pinging" aka ignition knock, or hearing the cam lobes coming around and smacking the top of the shim. I on't think its any kind of issue with the bikes, just a characteristic.
The limit is 10%, the concern about the 15% is that it will wreck smaller engines that aren't designed to deal with it. The AMA has been pushing for, among other things, separate pumps so that there's not any leftover 15% in the line when you go to put gas in your motorcycle.
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Ugh. Typo. So sorry. Was supposed to be 10%. And here I thought I was doing so well in my old age.