Ok...so I talked to the service manager at the dealership where I bought the bike from in Jan of '16 (Portland, OR area). To review: last Saturday I drove 1 hour to the shop and left a 2 page letter outlining my high//low idle issues and I included the spreadsheet summary from this site. The bike politely refused to exhibit any idle problems and service tech said better to leave letter with them, SM would review and call me back. I wasn't ready to drop off the bike anyway.
Ride home was fine; another 1 hour ride since and no problems (BTW: before riding to dealership last Sat. I tried the battery disconnect, but for one hour, reconnect, let it idle for 10 minutes, turn off, throttle reset, then rode...no issue since then, but I'm not even bothering to cross my fingers--if it helps, great!)
Service Manager had not read letter but said his assistant probably had because they had left a phone message with me stating they would have to charge me the $115 diagnostic fee. I had two main issues I wanted to clarify with SM: 1) how do recalls and service bulletins get generated, and 2) what would they actually do with a "diagnostic" on the bike.
After listening to my story of high/low idle since July of this year, I asked him #1: his answer was that it is best to contact Honda CS directly with call / letter / email and let them know of the problem; again, how do recalls / service bulletins happen. I told him some of us have done so and I think I remember one member here reporting that he was told to contact dealership first. But, SN said he would check with some of his "contacts" at Honda to look into the matter. He repeated that it was important to contact them. So I will.
2) to the question of what happens if I leave my bike with them: I asked if I had other work done with them at the same time (it needs new tires, for example) he said he'd be willing to talk about a discount on the $115 charge. At least that. He did say that from the sound of things (my story), that it could be a difficult thing to pinpoint. He asked about the "check engine" light, and whether I've ever seen it. I have not. He said if that is the case--no check engine light history--it is highly likely that a computer diagnositic that they run would NOT find anything wrong with the bike. He said that someone else (passing this off?) might be able to do a dyno test to really find out. But...$$$. I told him I bought the bike at his place and would start with them as I have no desire to go somewhere else to look for help.
He said even if it were acting up when I brought it in, it could be difficult to pinpoint the problem, based on what I told him and his experience with like issues (he did say he has not heard from any CB1100 owners on this issue). He thought it best for the moment to let him check with Honda, and he said he has a good friend with several CB1100s and would contact him to ask about the issue. Apparently, the guy is a very good tech person, meticulous about his bikes, and would be able to discuss the issue. He's going to call his friend, and said that within a week he would call me back with no news or any news. I told him I'd appreciate that, and that was it.
We spoke about 20-25 minutes and he seemed empathetic, but, as it was "news to him" he couldn't give me anything more for the moment. Fair enough. He reiterated calling Honda CS, and that best not to bring bike in for diagnositic until he can find out more info prior.
Fingers-crossed...but not really. ¡Buena suerte, gents!
