Buying 2014 CB1100 and have questions

[MagnaRider]

Hello! I'm coming from the V4musclebike forum. I'm a young midwestern guy who restored my first bike (84' VF700 Magna - 10k miles) and now have gotten so addicted to motorcycles I want to get another one. I love the vintage bike look, if I could I'd buy a CBX and be happy to maintain and ride it, but that is not realistic.

So was gonna buy an old CB750 and run that, but my friends want to do cross country trips and so do I. I would really like something new and reliable. Some internet searches later I found the sexiest modern bike (CB1100 :biker so here are my questions.

1. Life expectancy/maintanence required? Coming from an old bike, I don't want to pick up a CB1100 with 20k miles to find out the PO didn't do valve checks etc. What is the service intervals on these bikes? Are there service manuals available? I wrench on my own bikes.

2. Does anybody currently know a way to reprogram the ECU? Browsing this site I've seen Dave Guhl was the guy but he doesn't do this anymore. I want to do the basic upgrades to this bike being open exhaust, velocity stacks, changeup sprocket size and remove that speed limiter. As well as smoothing out the timing etc for best performance. I know this isn't a superbike and won't be, just like having all the power I can... reasonably. Any advice on this would be much appreciated!

3. Is the 2014 version with the 6 speed that much better than the 2013? I've read there were some upgrades for the 2014 but how much better is it than the 2013?
Most of what I can find available around me is a 2013 or '14.

Thanks for reading, looking forward to buying this bike this winter and ready for another fun season of riding!

 

[the Ferret]

Howdy and welcome to the forum

1) we have guys with close to 150,000 miles on their CB's with no major work. My personal bike is at 76K miles and the valves have never needed adjusting. Spec is every 16K I believe. Oil and filter every 4,000.

2) No, as far as I know no one is reprogramming ECUs at this time

3) matter of opinion. I had a 2013 and felt the upgrades were worth the change so I traded it in on a 2014 dlx. Some feel the 2013s were sportier than later versions, but a 2014 std is about the same as the 2013 with 1 more gear, gear indicator etc..only in all black

"my friends want to do cross country trips and so do I" ) not the best bike for the job, with no wind protection, and limited tank range, but doable. Heck people tour on Groms.

 

[michael1954]

Still have my DLX guys, still with only 801 miles on it, but if you remember it is the one that was under a tarp for 6 years and had the funky looking seat. That may jar you guy's memories. I had about 1/3 of the parts put on before the Palsy hit me. I am going to sell it, but all the parts will go in big plastic totes with it. It is a rare find with the mileage it has, and with all the parts installed, it will look brand new. Any serious buyers just send me a private email, and I can go over all I have done do it, and the parts still new just waiting to be put on. I am just coming back to the Forum after a long spell since my riding time is almost zero with my vision like it is now. I am having trouble with the Forum's new look, or my browser is messing things up. Have missed speaking with you older members here, and especially miss riding. Take care, Michael
PS...just sold my Z900RS yesterday, now down to 2 CB1100's and an 1982 GS1100E that needs the carbs redone inside. My vision has stalled this restore too!

 

[Cormanus]

Michael, so sorry to hear you haven’t been well. I’ve sent you a message about the appearance of the forum.

 

[PowerDubs_imp]

Hello! I'm coming from the V4musclebike forum. I'm a young midwestern guy who restored my first bike (84' VF700 Magna - 10k miles) and now have gotten so addicted to motorcycles I want to get another one. I love the vintage bike look, if I could I'd buy a CBX and be happy to maintain and ride it, but that is not realistic.

So was gonna buy an old CB750 and run that, but my friends want to do cross country trips and so do I. I would really like something new and reliable. Some internet searches later I found the sexiest modern bike (CB1100 :biker so here are my questions.

1. Life expectancy/maintanence required? Coming from an old bike, I don't want to pick up a CB1100 with 20k miles to find out the PO didn't do valve checks etc. What is the service intervals on these bikes? Are there service manuals available? I wrench on my own bikes.

2. Does anybody currently know a way to reprogram the ECU? Browsing this site I've seen Dave Guhl was the guy but he doesn't do this anymore. I want to do the basic upgrades to this bike being open exhaust, velocity stacks, changeup sprocket size and remove that speed limiter. As well as smoothing out the timing etc for best performance. I know this isn't a superbike and won't be, just like having all the power I can... reasonably. Any advice on this would be much appreciated!

3. Is the 2014 version with the 6 speed that much better than the 2013? I've read there were some upgrades for the 2014 but how much better is it than the 2013?
Most of what I can find available around me is a 2013 or '14.

Thanks for reading, looking forward to buying this bike this winter and ready for another fun season of riding!

If you don't want to go faster than 112mph.. you don't need to worry about the ECU

The fueling can be taken care of with the power commander and autotune box is advised.

The fueling part of the ECU is what makes most of the power...the ign curve changes are only worth 3hp at best.

Bore the stacks, change the exhaust- add fuel

 

[dave]

1) we have guys with close to 150,000 miles on their CB's with no major work. My personal bike is at 76K miles and the valves have never needed adjusting. Spec is every 16K I believe. Oil and filter every 4,000.

Hi Ferret, I am impressed that your bike reached 76K miles and never needed a valve adjustment. I am curious as to how you achieved this; my guess is you keep your engine RPMs low. I am convinced that valve wear is directly related to engine RPM - the higher the RPM, the greater the valve wear. I remember a post you made a long time ago where your gas mileage was pretty incredible also. Can you please share with us some details about how you ride? What is the typical RPM you ride? Is there a maximum RPM that you don't exceed? What RPM do you typically shift?

Also, can you please share at what intervals your valves were checked?

Thank you.

 

[Wisedrum]

My experience with the CB1100 is as follwos:

Own a 5 gear 2013 model for 10 years and have ridden 77.000km with it. The only problem has been an idle issue which could be cured by a software update in my country Germany. I think it is not available in the USA.

If you want to put the speedlimiter away, you can order this modul and install it. It works.

https://www.1000ps.de/produkt-11932...fhebung-des-hoechstgeschwindigkeitsbegrenzers

Concerning the valves I also believe that not reving the engine high or hard, they will stay in shape. Never had them checked until yet. As long as the CB starts well, has similar fuel consumption with comparable riding and runs fine, I leave them untouched. I rode and still ride my CB mostly between 1.050 and 3.000-4.000/rpm with an average fuel consumption of 4,5l/100km. While touring alone or with a sozia I don't rev the CB seldom higher and stay within this range. In my eyes the CB is a good touring bike even on longer trips which led me across the UK, Irland, up to the North Cap and the through the Balticum. The CB never let my down and always started and ran well.

I mounted an MRA windshield and saddlebags beside other accessoires. As far as mantainces goes, I do oil and filter changes, did one chain kit change, renewed tires when needed and so on. Just normal mantaince things. Maybe the oiling fork seals lately were not quite normal, but I guess they gave up due to the age of the bike. Although I have mounted gate protectors right from start. Otherwise the CB is very commod in the need for spare parts when not ridden hard.

All in all it is a very reliable bike. I keep mine for many more km and years. In Germany was the rider itsme who has ridden 250.000km with his 2014 6 gear CB while documenting his experience with his Honda. He sadly crashed it in the end and disappeared.

If you are into retro classic bikes and like inline 4, I highly recommend the CB. 90PS is more than enough in my eyes. Especially for this kind of bike.

 

[KeepLeft]

Forget about CB if you want to do cross country with your mates. CB is a city bike. There are far better bikes out there for touring

 

[Wisedrum]

Forget about CB if you want to do cross country with your mates. CB is a city bike. There are far better bikes out there for touring

No, as I mentioned before, I disagree.
The CB is a very good touring bike. It's s matter of eyesight. As an UJM bike it can be used for everything except motorcross or racetracks.

 

[peterbaron]

Forget about CB if you want to do cross country with your mates. CB is a city bike. There are far better bikes out there for touring

No, as I mentioned before, I disagree.
The CB is a very good touring bike. It's s matter of eyesight. As an UJM bike it can be used for everything except motorcross or racetracks.

No, as I mentioned before, I disagree.
The CB is a very good touring bike. It's s matter of eyesight. As an UJM bike it can be used for everything except motorcross or racetracks.
+1
Love long distance rides on my CBs, no commuting at all

 

[the Ferret]

1) we have guys with close to 150,000 miles on their CB's with no major work. My personal bike is at 76K miles and the valves have never needed adjusting. Spec is every 16K I believe. Oil and filter every 4,000.

Hi Ferret, I am impressed that your bike reached 76K miles and never needed a valve adjustment. I am curious as to how you achieved this; my guess is you keep your engine RPMs low. I am convinced that valve wear is directly related to engine RPM - the higher the RPM, the greater the valve wear. I remember a post you made a long time ago where your gas mileage was pretty incredible also. Can you please share with us some details about how you ride? What is the typical RPM you ride? Is there a maximum RPM that you don't exceed? What RPM do you typically shift?

Also, can you please share at what intervals your valves were checked?

Thank you.

Dave, I ride a lot like Wisedrum. Typically in the 2500-3500 rpm range, normally shift about 3200 rpms, and although I haven't checked it lately I average about 57 mpg if memory serves me.

Valve cover has never been off. I go by symptoms as advised by my tech with 30 years experience working in motorcycle shops...it starts easily, runs great, gets good gas mileage, no weird noises. I also ride my NC 750 like that and I did have the valves inspected at 40,000 even though there were no strange symptoms, and not surprisingly all were in spec. I also had the valves on my ST 1300 inspected at 50,000 again with no bad symptoms, and again all were in spec. I also believe low rpms keep valves in spec but now it's the nature of how I ride anyway, and have for the last oh...25 years or so. For the first 30 years or so I rode a little let's say "wilder" racing here and there, seeing what every bike would do...but now I just cruise. Been there, done that so to speak .......

I believe engines are a lot like hearts...they only get so many beats/revolutions

The Chinese have a saying and I'll paraphrase: an elephant and a mouse get the same number of heartbeats in their lifetime. The mouse uses his up very quickly and doesn't live very long, the elephant uses his up very slowly, and lives a long time.

YMMV

 

[dave]

Thank you for your reply Ferret. I've checked my valves once, and they were all in spec. I do NOT look forward to checking them again, as it was a lot of work just to inspect them. My plan is to not inspect them again until I reach 50k miles, but after reading your comments then maybe I'll extend this a little longer.

 

[misterprofessionality]

I can vouch for the valve business as I'm over 70k on my CB as well without ever having had the valve covers off or ever hearing any odd noises. Others have gone much longer than that.

 

[MagnaRider]

Thanks for all the info, I was already going to buy one of these bikes and now I'm definitely going to.

For those saying its not a touring bike etc... I'm still young and have slept with a tarp leaned against my magna plenty of times on long trips and I wouldn't do it any other way.

For valves, I will definitely be checking mine. I just can't drive anything car/bike that I don't mess with and make sure its up to my specs. I'll definitely report what I find... just need a bike first!

 

[Gone in 60]

I can vouch for the valve business as I'm over 70k on my CB as well without ever having had the valve covers off or ever hearing any odd noises. Others have gone much longer than that.

Royal Enfield? Yeah, gonna stick with the 6,000 mile valve checks. They move around a bit.

CB1100? If I had a dime for every hour I've spent cracking open Hondas and finding out that yup, they're still in spec, I'd be able to afford that '69 Mercury Marauder X100 I'm drooling over on FB Marketplace. In '69, it was illegal to sell that car to women or men without facial hair.

 

[the Ferret]

My opinion? They were designed to be ridden, at any rpm between idle and redline. The design statement produced by Honda said they were designed to just be enjoyable to ride. There are no instructions in the owners manual telling you to rev them, in fact the shift points and speeds suggested in the owners manual would indicate that high revs are not encouraged. I don't think Honda would advise you to run your bike in a manner that would be detrimental to it. The videos produced to intoduce the bikes showed riders lesiurely riding the bikes. I would think that a ride of any length over 10 miles would be sufficient to bring the motor/ head up to temperature. In fact extra oil passages are designed into the head to keep head temperatures from getting too high, as was the addition of an oil cooler. 2500-3500 rpms is certainly not lugging this motor, and 3500 rpms in 6th gear translates to about 65 mph, higher than the speed limit on most secondary roads. The motor will pull cleanly at much lower rpms than that.

Heck my wife's 2022 Mustang cruises 55 mph down the road at about 1250 rpms

 

[peterbaron]

My first '13 CB had 56K kms when I sold her.
My other two CBs :
'14 std has 127K kms,
DLX is at 27K kms.
None of them I had since new.
As far as the engine maintenance is concered, I change oil and filter every 6K kms, spark plugs & air filter every 50K kms.
Regular gas and add fuel injector cleaner from time to time, 1-3 times per season, depending on kilometers traveled.
I operate my engines from 2500-4000 rpm on average and somtimes crank'em up to 7K rpm as needed, no commuting, no short distance rides/min 60 kms, most kms are clocked during long distance rides.
Last year, I scoped cyl bore and valves of my '14 std = no carbon build up.

The bottom line: ride + perform maintenance as required.
>>>>:biker: chasing this rider >>> :biker:

 

[the Ferret]

Where they put the redline is where the motor isn't supposed to be operated past, where damage can occur. On the CB that's at 8500 rpms. So, you are not supposed to run them at 8600 rpms or above as damage may occur (of course they can't because Honda wisely put a rev limiter on the bike). They can be safely operated anywhere below that figure as long as the engine is running smoothly and not bucking, a point at which damage may also occur. On the CB that would probably be under 2000 rpms. So, keep it above 2000 rpms and ride for a hundred thousand miles or more.

We have discussed this before and the majority of the forum ride between 2500 and 3500 rpms rpms for their regular riding

http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=4050

but again, the CB will happily live anywhere between probably 2000, and 8500 rpms, your bike, your choice, on how you want to ride it.

 

[alprider]

my rpm are with my 6speed CB most at 2000-2200 bcos we have a speedlimit of 80km/h (50ml) of normals streets outside villages/towns and behind every bush radarcontroll with generous government donations

to accelerate short about 3000 and very rarely 4000

I often have to smile...USA, the country of 1/4 mile races where people ultimately think that rpms are necessary to move forward

byside from our strict speedlimits/control : The world is very cramped here on my place, rpm noise are frowned upon and personally I grew up for sustainable use of resources ( petrol consumption)

 

[alprider]

or too

The maximum torque is always available very early, at the latest then the gear shifts up