The CB1100 Community Forum - All Forums

Welcoming cytocatlady to the Forum

Sun, 13 Sep 2026 04:09:49 +0000

Delighted you registered. Looking forward to reading your threads and posts. David

What is this part?

Sat, 12 Sep 2026 21:07:01 +0000

2014 cb1100ex (sae)

Any ideas, folks?!

From near the airbox, throttle body area.
Although may have fallen from somewhere else.

Cheers clever clogs!

Important Announcement: Upcoming Forum Upgrade and Migration to XenForo

Thu, 10 Sep 2026 23:37:36 +0000

As part of our ongoing commitment to improving site performance, device compatibility, and, most importantly, the security of your personal data, cb1100forum.net will upgrade to a modern platform (XenForo) on September 18th. We expect the migration to be completed in less than five days. During the migration, the CB1100 Community Forum will be offline.

Our current software is aging, and a modern architecture is urgently needed to protect against modern automated threats and secure user data. This migration will deliver significant improvements, including a faster interface, seamless mobile support, better media and graphics handling, and tighter overall security. You will also be able to push data to other social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

Help Us Help You

Your Account & Login: All existing user accounts, post histories, and threads will be brought over to the new system. You do not need to re-register.
Updating Your Email: To ensure a smooth transition, please take a moment right now to log into your account settings and verify that your current, active email address is up to date. This ensures that if you need to use the password reset feature on the new platform, the system can reach you instantly.
Logging In After the Move: When the new site goes live, your existing username will remain the same. Because of security upgrades to password hashing, you may be asked to use the "Forgot Password" link on your first login to generate a secure, updated password for the new system.
Problems Setting a Password: If you have a problem setting a password, you can use the Contact Us form to ask a moderator to complete the password reset.

Many Thanks to Cormanus
As I am inclined to do, I leaned heavily on Cormanus to help me set up and refine the next-generation Forum. Everything that works well, you can credit to our favorite Aussie. The problems and issues are mine alone. Here are a few screenshots of Cormanus' vision for how we can move forward. Cormanus will share more when he finds some time. At the moment, I believe the handsome devil is sailing with his lovely wife.

Thank You and Show Some Love to pdedse
We appreciate your patience, support, and confidence as we take this necessary step to secure our community’s future. I recognize that the CB1100 riders are aging and that no more big, air-cooled inline fours are being made. All that aside, we have seen healthy growth in users, threats, and posts. As long as there is interest, we will keep going. Many thanks to pdedse, too. He remains everyone’s favorite brother, guiding us by moderating posts, creating interesting threads, and inspiring us to follow his example to find time to ride one of the greatest motorcycles ever made. Take care, David

New Forum

Help

Forum Growth

Which one of you did this?

Thu, 10 Sep 2026 15:41:10 +0000

https://www.craigslist.org/view/d/oaklan...XHiCuNt9sn

IMG_9287.jpeg (Size: 590.87 KB / Downloads: 103)

$15,000? “Like new”?

17” wheel swap

Tue, 08 Sep 2026 04:37:48 +0000

Earlier this year I made a video explaining how I swapped the rear wheel and swingarm of my bike. I just recently finished swapping the front to a 17” as well so I’ll put all the info in one place here.
Rear wheel
This isn’t as helpful if you’re using the stock swing arm. I know a 5.5” wheel fits but I never checked it for chain alignment and caliper spacing.
https://youtu.be/X8-ZlXAvmRc?is=7S_Iw0Z4hDjV_rsi

Front wheel is pretty straightforward. So I’ll just list the parts you need.
-IIRC 2014-2020 MT09 front wheel
-try to find one with rotors cuz buying them separate isn’t cheap.
-(2)vmx 20mmx40mmx12mm non standard bearings
-a spacer for in between the bearings in the wheel
-94mm length
-20.1mm ID
-I don’t recall the OD but it doesn’t have to be that big. I would consider putting a shoulder on one or both sides so the spacer doesn’t get too “lost” inside the wheel.
-included below is a picture of the stock mt09 bearing spacer.
-(4) m8x1.25x40mm caliper bolts. I used Belmetric
*-(2) dust/oil seals 93102-25017-00
*assuming you damage them
replacing the bearings like I did
-(4) caliper spacers
-16.6mm OD
-8.4mm ID
-5.7mm length
As to not confuse people who drive on the wrong side of the road, instead of passengers side/driver side, I’ll refer to brake lever side vs clutch lever side of the bike.
-clutch lever side spacer
-24.5mm OD
-20.1mm ID
-19.3mm length
-brake lever side
-28mm up against the fork
-Stepped down to 24.5mm for the
dust seal
-20.1mm ID
-22.45mm length

-remove old bearings from the wheel. If you don’t have a bearing puller, just use a flat head working around the bearing to evenly tap it out.
-repeat for other bearing
-place bearings in the freezer for a while to allow them to shrink. Use a hair dryer or heat gun(careful of the paint with this option) to heat the area the bearing sits in.
-find a socket that’s as close to the OD of the bearing as possible without being bigger. When you tap it in, you don’t want to damage the races of the bearing.
-take the bearing out of the freezer and quickly place it into the heated section and using the socket to tap it until seated.
-BE SURE TO ADD THE BEARING SPACER BEFORE SEATING THE OTHER BEARING!!!!
-repeat the bearing procedure for the other side.
-You can probably use the same socket to seat the dust/oil seals. Put some grease on them before installing so they don’t tear.
-assuming you got a wheel with good rotors, it should be ready for install.
-front wheel removal is easiest with a front stand but some blocks under the frame should work.
-(2) 12mm bolts hold on each caliper have to come out. Pull the calipers off and just let them dangle gently as to not scratch your wheel.
-Loosen the (4) axle pinch bolts at the bottom of the forks (iirc they’re 6mm Allen)
-loosen the axel bolt by using a 17?mm Allen on the clutch lever side and a 22?mm socket on the bolt.
-remove the bolt and slide the axle out.
-if it’s dirty, clean and reapply a thin layer of grease
-slide the spacers into the seals of the wheel (the tire will be directional so verify which side is which)
-slide the axle back in through the forks and wheel.
-slide calipers onto the rotors
If the rotors are thicker you may have to push the pistons back in to make this easier. Be sure to remove the master reservoir cover while you do this.
-install the caliper spacer between the fork ears and the caliper and install the bolts.
Torque specs:
Caliper bolts 23ftlb
Front axle bolt 44ftlb
Front axle pinch bolts 19ftlb

If you need new pads, this is a good time to replace them. Either way, make sure to bed the pads to the new rotors. Get to a nice quiet stretch of road and do 10x 30mph-5mph with light pressure then 10x 40mph-5mph using more pressure. Don’t come to a full stop while doing these. Ride around for a few minutes using as little front brake as possible. Some pads may require more brake in after that.

Yay!! That’s it.

IMG_6937.jpeg (Size: 2.53 MB / Downloads: 41)

Texas Hill Country: Milton Reimers Ranch Park

Mon, 07 Sep 2026 22:25:34 +0000

Texas Hill Country: Milton Reimers Ranch Park

To put it in perspective, Texas is twice as large as Germany and 25% larger than France. It is a big place. A lot of folks picture the state as one giant, flat Hollywood desert, but it holds completely different worlds. Most Texans identify far more with their specific region than the state as a whole.

The Hill Country once was a shallow sea. Our small family farm is located there. We often find seashells and fossils in our pastures. Today, we have rolling limestone hills, spring-fed rivers, live Oaks, and historic towns scattered about. For my first CB1100 ride in the Lone Star State, I decided to travel to the Milton Reimers Ranch Park. It has been 15 years since I rode in Texas. I wanted to reacquaint myself with the twisty roads, narrow pavement, and water crossings. The chip seal and asphalt concrete roads are different than what I rode on in the East Bay. I wanted a quiet ride with no drama.

I was ready when the sun was rising on the farm:

The animals do not know what to think about the motorcycle. This baby deer was particularly curious, or perhaps simply wanted more deer corn for breakfast:

I inspected my motorcycle and gear. Both were good to go, as was my mindset. I still struggle with taking selfies. I guess that is what happens when you do not start until you are in your sixties!

The journey began in Round Mountain, TX, with the Milton Reimers Ranch Park as the destination. The round trip was about 35 miles on back roads. Because I was leaving at dawn, I was confident I would have the road to myself. Later in the day, I would probably share the road with a Ford F250 loaded up with teenagers, listening to Megadeth, headed to one of countless lakes. The road is never congested, but I wanted to stop and take a few pictures without worrying about anything. Also, it gets hell-hot later in the day:

Round Mountain is a community of 200 people. Most are retired. As is common in rural Texas, everyone I have met is polite, helpful, and loves the land. If you stretch the definition, I live in a subdivision with an average lot size of 10 acres. I live at the “top” of Round Mountain on a seven-acre horse farm. Long ago, the mountains gave way to hills. We maintain our own roads, drill water wells, and look out for one another. No one is overtly pushy or aggressive, but we take care of what needs doing without waiting on someone from the gov’ment to intervene. Here is the road that leads to our entry gate, complete with a cattle guard. It is common throughout the area:

Although the maps suggest that the road to Milton Reimers is straight, it actually turns frequently, just not dramatically. It is also “hilly” by Hill Country Standards:

I stopped along the way to take a few pictures to document the scenery and to check out the motorcycle. Both were great:

If anyone has watched Yellowstone, Milton Reimers Ranch shares a similar story arc.

It began life as a 2,500-acre working ranch founded by the Reimer family in 1893. In the 1960s, Milton inherited the ranch. He and his wife had a philanthropic bent and started making portions available to the public. As the years passed, they became increasingly concerned about developer encroachment and the changes that might happen around their property and all that meant for the region.

Although it was a profitable ranch, Milton offered the land to Travis County in hopes that it would forever remain intact and would provide a buttress against subdivisions dotting the landscape. It worked.

I love this ride because once I enter the Ranch, I can park in one of several properly maintained parking lots complete with bathrooms, rest areas, tables, and barbecue pits. I can also hike to streams, ponds, and rivers that have well-maintained paths. Park Rangers attend to everything and gently enforce reasonable rules:

I turned off the iPhone on the way back and used dead reckoning to get home. I was not sure which road I was on, but it did not matter. I knew the direction from the sun, and that was good enough. With plenty of gas in the tank, I let myself indulge.

Welcome to the Hill Country. Happy Labor Day. David

How to Recover from a House Fire, Relocate a Precious Motorcycle, & Return to Riding

Mon, 07 Sep 2026 20:25:47 +0000

Thank you, everyone, for your support and concern after the fire and my unplanned move to Texas. A brief update follows:

I spent a solid month disassembling my CB1100EX, inspecting everything, scrubbing away corrosive chemical/smoke residue, and carefully reassembling. I am happy to report the CB1100EX is rock solid and running beautifully.

The Relocation: With the motorcycle mechanically sound once more, I engaged Motorcycle Movers for the transport to Texas. Rationally, I knew they were the premier transport provider in the nation. Emotionally, I still fretted, hoping that nothing would happen in transit. I was delighted to see the truck door open, see the motorcycle on the same pallet, and grateful for the care the gentlemen took in unloading it properly.

The Gear Reality: Unfortunately, all of my riding gear (helmets, protective jackets, airbag vest, gloves, boots, and luggage) had to be written off and discarded. Fabric, leather, and foam absorb toxic particulates from chemical-house smoke; gear simply cannot become a delivery vehicle for poisoning my lungs and skin on rides. I wept a little while I was taking the gear to the appropriate facility for hazardous materials, but personal safety is non-negotiable.

Navigating Insurance Coverage & Letting Go: The maze of four separate insurance entities proved enlightening: between corporate exclusions, high homeowners deductibles, and third-party policy limits, there was no easy recovery. While I had legal paths to pursue the neighbors responsible, I simply did not have it in me. They are dealing with their own aftermath, and life is too short to spend months in small claims court at the expense of things far more enjoyable, like riding.

So what three practical lessons did I take away?

Chemical smoke is aggressive: Fire aftermath is not just about heat damage. It leaves corrosive particulates on aluminum, chrome, and wiring. A thorough teardown, deep clean, and protective treatment is the proper response to ensure that a motorcycle truly survives a structure fire for years to come.
Reassess your gear coverage: Do not assume that standard homeowner, renter, or auto policies easily cover dedicated riding gear. If you carry premium helmets, airbags, and armored apparel, consider endorsements on your motorcycle policy or self-insurance.
Stuff happens: Deal with it in a pragmatic, compassionate way: Metal can be cleaned, gear can be replaced, but time is far too valuable to spend anchored in frustration.

On Saturday, I took the first ride since the fire. Life is good. Thanks again for the outreach and kind words.

Previous Rally Locations

Mon, 07 Sep 2026 14:01:06 +0000

Thought it would be wise to save the info as to where previous rallies were held

2015 North Carolina

2016 Virginia

2017 Arkansas

2018 Kentucky

2019 West Virginia

2020 Pennsylvania

2021 Ohio

2022 North Carolina

2023 Virginia

2024 North Carolina

2025 Tennessee

2026 Wisconsin

Got my hands on a 26 CB1000f

Sun, 06 Sep 2026 04:02:22 +0000

Some people know from my for sale post. But I got my hands on a new 2026 CB1000f

I have been drooling and waiting for one of these bikes, and today I got to bring it home.
Found it it 2 hours away, and ended up trailering it home because I figured 2 hours of i5 and on/off rain wasn't great for a break in ride.
Got it back home and took it for about a 20-22 mile ride. As soon as I got it back to the garage, the fan started kicking up full speed and I have this lovely engine oil warning light. So now I'll be waiting to hear from the warranty department. I checked engine oil and coolant which looks fine. So I am thinking either a bubble in the system, or a faulty sensor at best.

First impressions of the bike. It feels very light and agile. tip in is nice and smooth and it feels confident as can be. Comfort level is through the roof. This factory seat is hands down the best seat I've ever felt. Ergos, feel just right. I was thinking maybe lower bars eventually, but I'll probably leave it just as it is. Suspension feels much sportier then the CB1100, but still smooth and compliant, I haven't yet tried adjusting it any but I will. Power delivery is fantastic, it really likes to go and wants to go. Sport drive mode and low speed throttle inputs feel kind of choppy which I've read is a normal experience with newer throttle by wire bikes, and can be tuned out, but its much less noticeable when riding it at higher speeds, and using standard vs sport. I haven't had much chance to mess with the assists and tech stuff yet. the paint and color look so much better in person then pictures give it justice. The sound of this machine is by far the most surprising part besides comfort. Honda apparently put different length air tunnels to the cylinder for "added character". It works, you get this fantastic old school intake noise when you get on it, part of me keeps debating on a slip on or not for it because of that. But, I probably will once/if arrow makes one similar to the one for our 1100s. Just as long as it doesn't overpower that intake noise too badly. Hopefully soon, I'll get this error fixed by the warranty people and can get you guys a walk around and video of it out in action.

2027 Rally Discussion.

Sun, 06 Sep 2026 00:32:06 +0000

Thank you for the privilege of hosting the 2026 rally. I have a lot to say about it and will do so in another thread. I thought a good idea that we start right away discussing the 2027 rally and most important its location.

Will put up a survey soon enough for right now. Let’s just throw ideas out. Love to hear everybody’s comments. I know it seems soon but having done this twice now the sooner the host knows that he or she is hosting the better so let’s let’s talk!

Selling my 2014

Sat, 05 Sep 2026 03:05:26 +0000

Hey everyone,

It has been a long while, and some bitter sweet news. I just listed my 2014 cb1100 for sale but I'll be picking up a 26 cb1000f tomorrow.

Full turn key, ready to go, never crashed, dropped, or laid down. 24769 miles on the clock right now.

- Clutch was replaced at 24k miles. EBC fibers and HD springs, new OEM Steels and judder spring.
- The T32 Tires have less then 4000 miles on them.
- Oil, oil filter, and chain have been serviced every 3000 miles.
- Brake and Clutch Fluid changed once a year.
- Brake pads were replaced around 14k miles and still look great.
- Last year the valve cover gasket (seeped a little) was replaced and has been bone dry ever since.

I have a full service history for the bike. Its always been garage stored, and stored with fresh fluids for winter.

The bike has a dart flyscreen, CB500 mirrors, Arrow slip on, SWMotech saddle bags, and a SWMotech rear luggage rack, oil cooler brace, crash bars and tank grips. I'm keeping my RLETs but I'll be including the factory slip on, and other OEM parts.

I am currently asking $5200.00 OBO. Let me know if you all think I'm priced too high, these are fairly hard to come by in my area so I'm not really sure where to put it.

I should mention I'm located in Oregon. But I can meet a serious buyer somewhere.

View post on imgur.com

Kicked the monkey off of my back

Fri, 04 Sep 2026 15:44:23 +0000

A while back, I had... an incident. I think I mentioned it here. My boss' house, way up in the Hollywood Hills, is on a twisty street that's very narrow and cut into the side of the mountain that leads up to the Hollywood sign. To make the road somewhat level, the houses on the uphill side are cut in with some bizarre steep driveways. The boss' driveway is more than a 45-degree angle for the approach, a narrow paved ramp up to a wide landing pad big enough for three cars and our fleet of six bikes. There's an equally narrow and steep down ramp to the street. It's steep enough that I wouldn't dare try to drive my low Fiesta ST up, as it's still pristine 11-year old facia would auger into the pavement. Our 2-wheel-drive CRV just churns it's Kumhos half-way up.

I had never really thought about riding up the inbound driveway. Just throttle, aim, and climb. Due to the tight turn before the driveway you can't really see where everything is parked until you're committed to the climb. I just did it. Till one day, half-way up, boss' girlfriend's Volvo was parked in a slightly different spot, and as I tried to course-correct, I pulled in the clutch and fell over. It was sudden and startling. I did a tuck and roll away as the bike went past the point of no return. My left leg was on the downhill side of the approach and had nowhere to go looking for ground to stabilize the bike. The boss heard the crunch (also my right hand zinging the throttle to the moon as I went over).

He came out with a laugh. A cop bike is a rolling roll bar, so no damage to speak of, the crash bars on all of the bikes have scars. The only other part that touches ground is the mirror, and it folds in on impact leaving a slight scratch that was already there from dozens of drops during service. My Helite airbag vest had gone off startling me even more though. He said "Oh good, you got to see how the airbag works. It's good experience for you!" Took us both to lift the 800 pound beast from falling on the downhill side, and we pushed it to the landing pad main driveway. He laughed it off, saying "We've all done it, don't worry." I was shaken though.

His garage is HQ for the company, and it's very common for me to go there after a drop-off, to pick up supplies and bike parts, work on a bike, or meet up with one of our other riders. Now I felt like the driveway was some impossible mountain. The ride home from his house puts me on a different trajectory than my usual route coming back from the blood research lab. I'm on the 101 in the thickest Hollywood traffic with no carpool lane to take advantage of. It funnels through the center of Downtown LA. Coming from the lab, I'm on the 405, riding the most crowded freeway corridor in the U.S., but I have a wide divider between carpool and regular lanes to take advantage of. My confidence was a bit shaken on that ride home through LA. But, I got home. Doing some work on the bike, I slipped in my own driveway and dropped it again. Twice in one day. I was struggling to lift it when an Amazon driver in my cul de sac came by and offered to help. She held the brake lever while I used all of my strength to lift the bike.

Now my mind was really sort of damaged. I could thread this bike through any traffic you could throw in front of me, but now fear of dropping the bikes had stuck to my back like the proverbial monkey. A week later, the boss asked me to swing by on a Sunday afternoon to meet some new riders he was thinking of hiring, and to give them "The Test". Putting them on the service bike and into Hollywood traffic to see how they do. As the "Chief Rider", it's my resposibility to sign off on new riders as far as confidence, competence and understanding of the job. I'm supposed to be the best rider we've got. I like to think that I am. Approaching the boss' house, fear started looming. I got to the bottom of the driveway and stopped. The new guys were already there, and were chatting with the boss inside the house. I craned my neck to see what my approach was going to be. I had never done that, I had just given the bike throttle and gone for it. My right foot was in a sandy spot in the street, I was leaning over to see my line up the driveway, and lost my footing. The bike fell over on the right side in the street.

Oh man, hope the new guys didn't see that... I struggled to lift the bike, as the boss came out, saying "Well you do like to make an entrance!" We both lifted the bike and I hobbled it up and met the new guys. I was more than embarrassed.

My confidence with that driveway was gone. Every time I went from then on, I parked on the street below. I made up reasons... well, the gardener is working up there, I don't want to get in his way...
Everywhere else, no problem. I trained the new guys, riding hundreds of miles with them through the thickest traffic imaginable. A few times, I had no choice but to ride up to the top. I needed to swap tires from one bike to another. I stopped at the bottom, stared at the top, and cautiously throttled up, nearly stalling half-way. But, I got there. I can do this... I don't want to, but I can.

Not too long after that, I was clearing old videos off of my GoPro's SD card. I dumped the contents on my computer and glanced at each before deleting them. The footage was on my CB1100 or NC750X, and was just threading through traffic. Except for two videos, showing me riding both of my bikes to the boss' house and charging up that driveway like it was the easiest thing in the world. I started thinking... if I dropped my CB, I'd be shattered, and here I had ridden it up that driveway plenty of times without a thought. I had ridden the NC up there more times than the CB. No problem.

I started thinking... what changed me? I wasn't thinking about it, I was just doing what made sense. Speed is stability. Come to the hill, look up the hill, give it throttle, stay off the clutch and brake till you get to the top. Look where you want to stop, not at the cars you want to avoid on the way up. There's nothing more too it than that. I shed the thought I had put in my brain that said "Dammit, you're supposed to be the best rider in the group, prove it" and thought "It's just another hill, and it never bothered you before you dropped. Just ride up it."

So, next time I went, I just throttled, aimed at the empty space at the top between the cars and other bikes, and I ended up there. No drama. I've done it several times since, and realized it's not hard, as long as I don't let it eat me up. If I can do it with my most prized bike, I can do it with a beat up old cop bike. Easy peasy.

My OEM+ modifications

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:00:07 +0000

When I bought this bike I loved how balanced it was. It never did anything super well but everything it did was really good. The clutch feel was perfect, the power band was smooth, the looks were most of the way there. So when modifying it, I really just wanted an OEM+ approach. Stuff that look like it came from the factory. Subtle yet for anyone who owns one to look at it and go “oh you did this, or that…” With that in mind, most of what I did was for aesthetic reasons. I don’t ride my bikes very aggressively anymore. 95% of my riding is to and from work from march-November (or as long as I can get away with before snow). I’ll just kinda list the mods and if there’s a lot of interest in any of them I may do a separate write up going into as much detail as I remember.
-17” wheel swap
-front MT09 wheel
-Rear MT07 wheel
-OEM cb1100 RS aluminum swingarm
-renthal fat bar mounts with ‘19 cb650 bars
-blinkers upgraded to newer cb650/cb300r/cb1000r leds
-Relocated blinkers to headlight ears
-Arrow muffler
-Upper fork tube covers
-Bikemaster brand heated grips with relay for ignition shut off

  IMG_8813.jpeg (Size: 2.75 MB / Downloads: 111)

  IMG_5612.jpeg (Size: 2.42 MB / Downloads: 108)

  IMG_5607.jpeg (Size: 3.06 MB / Downloads: 108)

  IMG_5497.jpeg (Size: 3.71 MB / Downloads: 108)

  IMG_5498.jpeg (Size: 3.04 MB / Downloads: 108)

  IMG_5459.jpeg (Size: 2.96 MB / Downloads: 107)

  IMG_5458.jpeg (Size: 2.57 MB / Downloads: 107)

  IMG_5457.jpeg (Size: 3.43 MB / Downloads: 108)

  IMG_5410.jpeg (Size: 3.64 MB / Downloads: 107)

  IMG_5409.jpeg (Size: 2.8 MB / Downloads: 107)

  IMG_5408.jpeg (Size: 3.37 MB / Downloads: 107)

  IMG_4186.jpeg (Size: 414.31 KB / Downloads: 107)

  IMG_4185.jpeg (Size: 473.29 KB / Downloads: 107)

  IMG_2202.jpeg (Size: 3.12 MB / Downloads: 106)

  IMG_2201.jpeg (Size: 3.01 MB / Downloads: 106)

A day of riding the Honda 125 Dax and 125 Grom

Mon, 31 Aug 2026 18:52:59 +0000

My buddy Jeff is the proud owner of a 2025 Dax and a 2024 Grom. He invited me to go riding with him on his mini-motos this last Sunday, here in Nothern Kentucky.

Both bikes have been modified with cams and re-mapping. Jeff says they come stock with about 8 HP and his mods bump that to about 10 HP. He also lowered the gearing so both will hit the rev limiter in 1-2-3. This makes them pull harder than stock, but the downside is the fuel economy falls from about 100 mpg to maybe 80 mpg. Not as big a deal on the Grom with a 1.5 US gallon tank, but the Dax has a 1-gallon tank, and you need to keep an eye on it. It also throws the speedo off on both bikes, which is odd because the Dax takes speed off the front wheel, but the Grom takes it off the front sprocket, so no surprise there.

I rode the Dax first, in the morning session. We rode from about 9:30 am to noon, when we stopped for a BBQ lunch in Falmouth, Kentucky. Then I hopped on the Grom and rode it from about 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm.

I enjoyed the seating, arm, and leg position - and great mirrors - of the Dax. I'm only 5'5" tall, so the bike fits me well. Believe it or not, I still could not flat-foot it, ha ha! But it's so light, that doesn't matter at all. I found the cluchless shifter a bit tricky to get used to. It's a heel-toe shifter. I think you're supposed to push down on the toe to downshift and kick down on the heel to upshift. That's all well and good, but my boot didn't cover the heel and toe pedals simultaneously, so it required moving the foot fore and aft to shift this way. I ended up just using toe-under to upshift and toe-on-top to downshift, but the upshift was awkward because you have to reach down pretty far to get a toe under. A couple of times, I accidentally downshifted trying to get my toe under it. If I owned a Dax, I'd probably replace the heel-toe shifter with a regular toe shifter positioned a little higher. I found that to shift, though, you just need to let off the throttle and execute the shift, whereas on downshift, rev-matching is rewarded with the rear tire not unexpectedly grabbing when the lower gear hits.

The Grom has a further modification of bars cut down narrower, which I thought was a good mod. Wider would have seemed odd to me. It also has bar-end mirrors. Jeff said the stock mirrors only show your shoulders. You sit more forward on the Grom, and your knees are slightly more cramped. It's a 5-speed clutch. I felt very natural on it. It has a lot of DNA in common with my CBR250R in terms of the riding stance. I was much more confident and faster on the Grom than the Dax. That being said, I think I enjoyed the Dax more, mainly because it's a very different riding experience than my 250.

I would say that Jeff's HP and gearing improvements are absolutely necessary if you want to run these bikes out in the country at highway (and above) speeds. They would probably be fine stock in the city, beach community, etc. That 125 motor is a stout little beastie. It seems to be bulletproof. We ran them flat-out all day long, often hitting the rev-limiter at 10,000 rpm (stock redline is 7,000) and they never complained or showed any signs of quitting.

The Dax beats the Grom on looks by far. It's cool, vs the Grom which is an ugly little insect bike. My only aesthetic critique of the Dax is I don't like black wheels. I'd prefer silver.

Hello from Italy

Fri, 28 Aug 2026 10:18:29 +0000

Ciao a tutti
Hi everybody, my name is Oscar and i'm born in 1963, retired Luogotente dei Carabinieri, now i live near the border with Slovenia, with my family, my father do not have the drive license and for this i was on two wheels from 60 years.
in my life i have bought and sell this motorcycle
moped 50 cc
cagiva sst 125
guzzi v35
moto morini 350 sport
honda cb 750 f
kawasaki z1000rx
cagiva lucky explorer 750 ducati engine
kymco 250
malaguti spidermax 500
suzuki burgman 650
honda integra 700
honda cb 750 x
and from 2023 a white cb 1100ex, good bike but a lot of vibration after 3000 rpm,