2017 Honda CB1100EX, still top speed / rev-limited?

[VLJ_imp]

I can now confirm with 100% certainty that the '17 EX is limited to 112 mph. Fourth gear, big handful of throttle, she zips right on up to 112 mp...then a big, soft pillow smacks you in the face.

Yeah, I don't like the limiter. It's not that I really need to go that fast. Obviously, I don't. Still, fun is fun, right? The bike is rock-solid at 112 mph, accelerating smartly, and suddenly the supermodel with whom you were enjoying a late-night romp in the Jacuzzi turns into a fat girl cozying up next to you, the water jets get shut off, and a smattering of mysterious bubbles start popping at the surface, all around the now-blushing fat girl.

 

[dave]

The new 2018 Goldwing is speed limited to 112mph/180 kph

The older Goldwings are not speed limited, are they? A couple of years back I went to pass a Goldwing on the freeway that had a passenger on the back with my VFR800, and he obviously didn't want to be passed, because when I looked at my speedometer and saw 120 mph I decided it wasn't worth it (I never did pass him).

 

[pdedse]

I can now confirm with 100% certainty that the '17 EX is limited to 112 mph. Fourth gear, big handful of throttle, she zips right on up to 112 mp...then a big, soft pillow smacks you in the face.

Yeah, I don't like the limiter. It's not that I really need to go that fast. Obviously, I don't. Still, fun is fun, right? The bike is rock-solid at 112 mph, accelerating smartly, and suddenly the supermodel with whom you were enjoying a late-night romp in the Jacuzzi turns into a fat girl cozying up next to you, the water jets get shut off, and a smattering of mysterious bubbles start popping at the surface, all around the now-blushing fat girl.

So harsh! Sow now you know what said supermodel's limitations are. The question is will you be able to live with her faults, or will you buy her that ECU reflash dress for a mere $350 more?

 

[VLJ_imp]

I would only reflash the ECU if I could somehow be convinced that the reflash would ditch the top-speed limiter, and nothing more. I don't want the fuel mapping altered in any way. The throttle response is perfect. I don't want to risk messing it up.

As infrequently as I would take this bike over 112 mph, and knowing that an ECU reflash voids the warranty, it's probably not worth the bother to me. I just wish Honda had never added the limiter in the first place.

 

[pdedse]

I would only reflash the ECU if I could somehow be convinced that the reflash would ditch the top-speed limiter, and nothing more. I don't want the fuel mapping altered in any way. The throttle response is perfect. I don't want to risk messing it up.

As infrequently as I would take this bike over 112 mph, and knowing that an ECU reflash voids the warranty, it's probably not worth the bother to me. I just wish Honda had never added the limiter in the first place.

Understood. But at least you have an xsr900, right? Does't that satisfy the need for speed at 130mph?

 

[jtopiso_imp]

It wouldn't bother me if it wasn't rev and speed limited, but it doesn't bother me that it is either. It doesn't affect me one way or the other.

Every modern motorcycle is limited electronically rather than mechanically. It can be a hard limiter or a soft limiter, but it's an electronic limiter none the less and the limiters prevent engine damage. In addition all manufaturers agreed to a gentlemans agreement ( except MV Augusta who refused) to limit all motorcycles no matter the displacement or horsepower to a maximum 186 mph. So your Aprilia VF4, your BMW S1000, your Kawasaki H2, your Yamaha FZ-10, your Ducati Panigale, your Suzuki Hyabusas... Even though they have 100 more horsepower than your CB 1100 will only run 74 mph faster.

This is interesting, and news to me. Any idea on the significance of 186 mph?

300 arbitrary, round and metric km/h

 

[Cormanus]

It wouldn't bother me if it wasn't rev and speed limited, but it doesn't bother me that it is either. It doesn't affect me one way or the other.

Every modern motorcycle is limited electronically rather than mechanically. It can be a hard limiter or a soft limiter, but it's an electronic limiter none the less and the limiters prevent engine damage. In addition all manufaturers agreed to a gentlemans agreement ( except MV Augusta who refused) to limit all motorcycles no matter the displacement or horsepower to a maximum 186 mph. So your Aprilia VF4, your BMW S1000, your Kawasaki H2, your Yamaha FZ-10, your Ducati Panigale, your Suzuki Hyabusas... Even though they have 100 more horsepower than your CB 1100 will only run 74 mph faster.

This is interesting, and news to me. Any idea on the significance of 186 mph?

300 arbitrary, round and metric km/h

300 arbitrary, round and metric km/h
Nope. It’s when a real life flux capacitor kicks in. :excited:

 

[DaSwami_imp]

I would only reflash the ECU if I could somehow be convinced that the reflash would ditch the top-speed limiter, and nothing more. I don't want the fuel mapping altered in any way. The throttle response is perfect. I don't want to risk messing it up.

As infrequently as I would take this bike over 112 mph, and knowing that an ECU reflash voids the warranty, it's probably not worth the bother to me. I just wish Honda had never added the limiter in the first place.

+1....the bike is otherwise perfect as is to me....I just want the speed limiter gone and nothing else done.

 

[VLJ_imp]

pdedse, I reflashed the ECU on my XSR900 to match the Akrapovic full carbon fiber exhaust system I added. Stock, the XSR is top-speed limited to something like 130 mph (128 mph, IIRC), but my bike's limiter has been removed. Now, with 112.4 rwhp on the Dynojet dyno, her top speed is somewhere in the high 150s.

The only reason I reflashed the ECU was to avoid poor fueling once I swapped the exhaust systems. This is also the only reason I would reflash the CB's ECU, and since I won't be swapping the CB's exhaust I won't be reflashing the ECU.

 

[the Ferret]

VLJ did you notice any rev limiting in any gears or was it just speed limiting? ie would it run to redline in 1st 2nd and 3rd but met the speed limiter before reaching redline in 4th?

 

[jtopiso_imp]

It wouldn't bother me if it wasn't rev and speed limited, but it doesn't bother me that it is either. It doesn't affect me one way or the other.

Every modern motorcycle is limited electronically rather than mechanically. It can be a hard limiter or a soft limiter, but it's an electronic limiter none the less and the limiters prevent engine damage. In addition all manufaturers agreed to a gentlemans agreement ( except MV Augusta who refused) to limit all motorcycles no matter the displacement or horsepower to a maximum 186 mph. So your Aprilia VF4, your BMW S1000, your Kawasaki H2, your Yamaha FZ-10, your Ducati Panigale, your Suzuki Hyabusas... Even though they have 100 more horsepower than your CB 1100 will only run 74 mph faster.

This is interesting, and news to me. Any idea on the significance of 186 mph?

300 arbitrary, round and metric km/h

300 arbitrary, round and metric km/h
Nope. It’s when a real life flux capacitor kicks in. :excited:

300 arbitrary, round and metric km/h
Nope. It’s when a real life flux capacitor kicks in. :excited:
That makes even more sense, because if I am to go back in time, what could be a better ride than a modern retro like the CB?

 

[VLJ_imp]

mickey, yep, it was the 112 mph speed limiter, not a rev limiter, that kicked in when I was in fourth. Obviously, fifth and sixth will see the same result.

On my ride home today from Mendocino I'll try redlining first, second, and third. I would expect third gear to hit 112 mph before reaching redline, however, so I'll probably only see redline in first and second.

Heck, my GSX-R1000 did 123 mph in second, so that thing would have been speed-limited in all but first gear!

 

[the Ferret]

mickey, yep, it was the 112 mph speed limiter, not a rev limiter, that kicked in when I was in fourth. Obviously, fifth and sixth will see the same result.

On my ride home today from Mendocino I'll try redlining first, second, and third. I would expect third gear to hit 112 mph before reaching redline, however, so I'll probably only see redline in first and second.

Heck, my GSX-R1000 did 123 mph in second, so that thing would have been speed-limited in all but first gear!

See you only needed 1 gear on the GSXR...2 at the most. The other 4 were a waste of materials.

 

[flynrider]

mickey, yep, it was the 112 mph speed limiter, not a rev limiter, that kicked in when I was in fourth. Obviously, fifth and sixth will see the same result.

On my ride home today from Mendocino I'll try redlining first, second, and third. I would expect third gear to hit 112 mph before reaching redline, however, so I'll probably only see redline in first and second.

Heck, my GSX-R1000 did 123 mph in second, so that thing would have been speed-limited in all but first gear!

Not sure about the '17, but when '13 models were run on the dyno, they were able to hit the rev limiter in 3rd gear, before encountering the speed limiter.

As I recall from the Guhl reflash threads, the ECU rev limiter was set to cut in 500 rpm before actual redline. Can't see why that would be a problem as the engine power peaks at about 7,300, then drops off. You don't really gain anything by running the engine beyond that point.

 

[Inhouse Bob]

On a ride with Nemo and his son and couple of years ago I hit the speed limiter in third. Then I got all skeered and slowed down. But it was still pulling just fine.

 

[VLJ_imp]

Okay, so the '17 will pull redline in first, second, and third. In third gear the 8500 RPM redline and the 112 mph speed limiter occur almost simultaneously, as redline had me right at 110 mph. Knowing I was about to run into the speed limiter, and having already hit 8500 RPM, I backed off. She was still pulling, though, even past the indicated redline.

 

[apex1_imp]

Reviving an old thread here, but with some current thoughts. When I read here that my new 2017 EX is electronically speed limited to 112 mph, I found it offensive that Honda would decide to build that electronic nanny into my new bike. Maybe the 120 mph speedo should have tipped me off, but it didn't. So I started thinking about looking for an electronic solution to bypass that limit, although the reality is that the only time I should exceed that speed would be during a track day, and I have a better bike for those. Then it occurred to me that this bike has laced wheels. And inner tubes. And that I have not looked at the speed rating on the OEM tires. Did I mention the fact that it has laced wheels, which I am positive are engineered to be structurally sound up to 112 mph. But how about at speeds higher than that? So I calmed down a bit.

 

[SportsterDoc]

Laced/spoked wheels are not an issue for speed...if they are true, especially the front.
My 1976 CB750F was good for 122 MPH, but I could not keep the front true enough to run over 110 MPH without severe oscillation. My fault for riding over a curb daily to park in front of my shop.

 

[LongRanger_imp]

The OE tires on my '14 are V rated (149 mph), so the speed limiter isn't due to the tires. Likely, high speed is not what Honda designed and marketed this bike for.

 

[Cormanus]

I think the 180 kph (112 mph) speed limiter is a Japanese thing. See this article. Why Honda didn't take it off for other markets is something only Honda can tell you.

The go to guy for removing it on the CB1100 is Don Guhl ( I don't work for or represent him) and there are reports to be found with the search function of the fun to be had on the CB1100s on which he's removed the speed limiter.