Chip Beck CB1100 Road Trip Info & Impressions

[ChipBeck_imp]

Gentlemen,

A couple months ago I ordered one of the new 2015 Ford F-150 "all aluminum body" crew cab pickups from my buddy, Jim Graham, who owns Santa Margarita Ford near Newport Beach in California. Jim's dealership is geographically undesirable as I live in Scottsdale, Arizona but since we have been friends for over 50 years and we hunt together quite often, I don't want to show up for one of our gatherings in a truck from another Ford dealer. My new truck arrived a few days ago and I contemplated how best to get it home as it was nearly 400 miles away. So I decided to ride my CB1100 to Santa Margarita, load it into the back of my new pickup truck, and drive the truck home. I couldn't leave until 3:30 PM so I would be doing a good portion of the ride at night. I packed a bag with some clean clothes, shaving kit, and some stout tiedown straps that I would use to secure the big Honda in the back of the truck for the drive home.

This trip would give me a chance to evaluate some of my Chip Beck Spec mods at high speeds over an extended period of time. My CB1100 is equipped with CB700F mirrors and handlebars which are lower than stock. My bike has a Road Comet faring with the standard windscreen, a Staintune slip on exhaust, and a Chip Beck Spec Corbin Seat. I have replaced the monster stock tail light, gigantic plastic turn signals, and ungainly stock license plate bracket with more aesthetically pleasing units. Here are my impressions.

The ride from Phoenix to the California state line was made at 85 mph as the speed limit on that stretch of Interstate 10 is 75mph and the Highway Patrol doesn't pay much attention unless you're going more than 10 miles an hour over the limit. At a steady speed of 85 mph this bike really needs a 6th gear as I was turning nearly 5000 RPM which felt very busy and the bike could clearly pull much higher gearing comfortably. For high-speed cruising out here in the West the 2014 CB1100s would clearly be preferable to my 2013 model. Still, even at 5000 RPM the bike was smooth and comfortable.

Riding around town at lower speeds I normally sit close to the fuel tank in a more upright posture. At 85 mph I moved to the deep, wide rear area in that Corbin seat which had me leaning forward a bit more. The combination of that Road Comet faring, CB500F bars, and Corbin seat worked brilliantly. Over two hours at 85 mph with bursts to over 95 while passing traffic did not fatigue me at all. Vibration through those handlebars with their stock internal weights and dampening system was almost nonexistent. The Road Comet faring took a lot of wind blast off my chest and that combined with the shape and leather seating surface on the Corbin seat that allows a wide range of seating positions made the CB1100 a suitable high-speed touring motorcycle. When my bike was new and I had on the stock handlebars and seat without any faring the bike was absolutely miserable at 85 mph. What a transformation AND it looks better now too.

One thing that wasn't so great at 85 mph was fuel mileage which dropped all the way to 37 miles per gallon. After crossing into California and riding at night with lower speed limits, I cruised at a steady 75 mph and gas mileage improved to 44 miles per gallon. A 7 mile per gallon difference going 75 versus 85 mph!

I kept a detailed record of the fuel used for each of the little bars indicating fuel level in the tank on my 2013 CB. With the fuel tank topped off all the way to the top of the fill neck the first bar consistently disappeared after 48 miles at a steady freeway speed of 75 mph. The second, third, and fourth bars disappeared consistently after 24 miles each. The fifth bar changed from black to red and started to flash after 16 miles. I don't know precisely how many miles I would go before the last bar disappeared as I did not want to have to push the CB1100 down the freeway looking for a gas station.

I've now had this '13 CB1100 for well over a year. There are eight motorcycles in my garage and this bike is my favorite. I only mention the other motorcycles because it's natural for someone to like, or claim to like, whatever bike they have. I have the luxury of being able to buy motorcycles when they strike my fancy and whenever I step in my garage I have a choice. The CB1100 stands the test of time in every way. It works brilliantly, it's faultlessly reliable, it's beautiful, it's comfortable, it is soulful (especially with the Staintune exhaust), it's smooth, it sounds bitchin', and it's just plain cool. If I had just one motorcycle this would be it, but I would prefer a 2014 with six speeds. When I have time to do my mods all over again I will rebuild my current setup on a 2014 CB1100. First I'm going to change both sprockets on my current bike.

My buddy Jim and some of his dealership employees helped me load my trusty CB11 into the back of my truck, I took the seat off in order to hook tiedown straps to the rear frame, and I had a nice drive home.

The aluminum F-150 is quite a ride as well. 800 pounds lighter than last year's steel bodied model, and with enough electronic features to confuse an engineer with a PhD. I've never read an owners manual before but I'm going to have to in order to understand most of the features on this truck.

All the best.

Chip

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[Capo]

Great report, Chip, and valuable input for the members of the board. Sweet truck, we'll need a report on that, once you've read the manual!

What are some of the other bikes in your stable? As a multi- bike owner myself, I do find that I select the CB more often than not, except in Winter.

[emptysea]

OK..so now I want a dang truck. Grrrrrrr

Bike looks good. Nice report. Personally, I had no problem with 5000 rpm in 5th, but I see your point. Also, I had the same impression of my fuel consumption as you did, but I wasn't logging it. I just felt that the 80-85mph stretches seemed to use much more gas than the 65-75mph stretches. Good to know that I wasn't imagining things.

Thanks for sharing the report and the pics..and if you're feeling especially generous...buy a guy a truck?

[Inline4_imp]

Great write-up, Chip. For some reason, your first pic in this thread really struck me as "Dang...Nicely Done"!
I've attentively followed your posts/reports before, but there is just something about pic that says "Classy".

[metallyguitarded_imp]

Red Bull and chocolate cake. Breakfast of champions!

Great report and a beautiful truck. On my ride to and from Vegas, most of my time was spent in that 80 to 85 mph range with occasional bursts into the low 90s. Having the sixth gear was very much appreciated. Kept things nice and smooth!

[ChipBeck_imp]

Great report, Chip, and valuable input for the members of the board. Sweet truck, we'll need a report on that, once you've read the manual!

What are some of the other bikes in your stable? As a multi- bike owner myself, I do find that I select the CB more often than not, except in Winter.

Capo,

My current bikes are:
1973 Husqvarna 250WR
2000 Honda XR70 (Charley's 3rd Honda when he was 10, now my pit bike)
2006 Honda CRF250X (have 2 of these)
2010 Yamaha TW200
1998 Harley Davidson F.I. Road King
2013 Honda CB1100
2014 Ducati Monster 796

Last 3 bikes sold:
2005 Honda CRF230
2000 Ducati Monster 900
2003 Triumph Bonneville T100

I almost never ride the Ducati as it's not comfortable for me, I got it for my 22 year old son who loves it. For long distance rides and for most 2 up riding I take the HD, but when I ride alone I like the CB1100. I use to do a lot of dirt biking but not so much anymore. I sold the Monster 900 because it was uncomfortable (but it was beautiful!), and I sold the Bonneville (also beautiful) because it was underpowered and even with the Triumph performance mufflers the sound was sewing machine awful. The Road King and the CB1100 both sing beautifully through their slip-ons. Cheers.

Chip

Hey, this is my 400th post!!!

[the Ferret]

400 posts? Gads, you are right on my tail

Chip for a reference my 14 dlx is turning right at 4000 rpms at 80, probably 4250 at 85 in 6th

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[rboe]

I test drove the 2014 & 2015 F150, ended up with the 2014. Lariate, Extended cab with 6.5' bed. Tow package and extra hauling capacity, 2WD 3.5L Ecoboost.

Just received a nice ramp ([url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AXVJKM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)]http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AXV...TF8&psc=1) for rolling the bikes in. Nice and wide so I can drive them up while paddle walking. Have not actually done this yet though. I have taken one section and propped it up on the tail gate and walked up it; looks like it's going to work. I suspect I'll use it more for my XR650L dual sport but some guys want me to take my big telescope to the Guzzi rally in Datil next year which means trucking the Griso over there with the scope.

Which will segway us into the use of small fairings. On the road trip to Datil via ABQ last year I had the little Givi A770. Took some wind off the chest but my shoulders were out in the windstream so they were very tired at the end of the day. The MRA windscreen seems to be better suited to longer rides. I was using the Russell Day Long seat which limits my ability to lean into the wind like Chip was able to do.

By the way, the Griso at 5000 rpm is doing about 110mph......

[treytexag_imp]

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Chip, is that a Texas A&M shirt? Gigem'!!!

[grover_imp]

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Chip, is that a Texas A&M shirt? Gigem'!!!

Gig 'em indeed!! Class of '07 here!


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