misterprofessionality
Road warrior
Thread starter
she's actually sat on one of those! she dislikes it. her assessment is too wide, too clunky and her reach on the controls is comical.
honest opinions: lowering a CB1100
- Thread starter misterprofessionality
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alprider
Road warrior
my vultus is too very low...and what about a CTX700 ?
ah sorry she wants a retro...ok : monkey
ah sorry she wants a retro...ok : monkey
misterprofessionality
Road warrior
Thread starter
she's had an experience with the CTX. she found it very displeasing. there's just something soulless about that bike.
alprider
Road warrior
she found it very displeasing. ??
why ?
why ?
pekingduck
Road warrior
I had a Street Twin for a couple months and thought it was a great bike - light and nimble with a great, responsive powerband. But it was too small for me, almost like too slim.
Glad I hung onto my 2004 Bonnie - never going to sell it.
I also tested the new water-cooled T120s, and power-wise, it has the same overall power, but a way fatter torque curve.
The Bonneville Americas are even heavier than the CB1100 is, about 560 wet. The Street Twin is only 480 wet. Lots of choices these days.
Glad I hung onto my 2004 Bonnie - never going to sell it.
I also tested the new water-cooled T120s, and power-wise, it has the same overall power, but a way fatter torque curve.
The Bonneville Americas are even heavier than the CB1100 is, about 560 wet. The Street Twin is only 480 wet. Lots of choices these days.
pekingduck
Road warrior
The Triumph Bobber has a tiny tank, holds about 2 gallons if you fill it all the way to the top.
misterprofessionality
Road warrior
Thread starter
rebel 500 is for sure on her list. however, it's a cruiser, and she's trying really hard to get a strong list of "non cruiser" candidates. her first bike is a cruiser and she's not altogether happy with the lack of lean angle and vague handling. the rebel 500 is certainly better than the S40 in both those respects, but it doesn't hold a candle to, say, a Z400 or a Ducati Scrambler.
speaking of the scrambler, she sat one of those once and of course it was too tall from the factory, but one of the reasons i was worried about lowering that one is the seat is already very thin. this means all of the lowering is going to have to happen in the suspension, not the seat. still, it's much less lowering than you'd have to do on the CB11. the other plus is she really does like the look and sound of that one, but for the money she could do way better.
it always makes me laugh when a manufacturer tries to advertise 30" as a "low" seat height.
speaking of the scrambler, she sat one of those once and of course it was too tall from the factory, but one of the reasons i was worried about lowering that one is the seat is already very thin. this means all of the lowering is going to have to happen in the suspension, not the seat. still, it's much less lowering than you'd have to do on the CB11. the other plus is she really does like the look and sound of that one, but for the money she could do way better.
it always makes me laugh when a manufacturer tries to advertise 30" as a "low" seat height.
her s40 only holds 2 gallons, so nothing new there.pekingduck_imp said:
pekingduck
Road warrior
SR400 is slower than the S40 Savage. The S40 gets over 60 mpg, the Triumph Bobber about 45-50, so range would be the concern.
GoldOxide_imp
Road warrior
Stichill_imp said:
(+1) Good suggestion. Seems like a popular choice with some other women.
the Ferret
Road warrior
The SV is a great bike, but I can't see getting another inch out of that thinly padded seat. It's pretty skinny though and that would help getting the feet down.
Sounds like she has a cruiser body and a sport bike mind.
Sounds like she has a cruiser body and a sport bike mind.
alprider
Road warrior
ah yesss the SV.....clear of course......dont look the specs. ....seems high but. but just the saddle is very thin...i have a colleague she is nice short....a head shorter as me...and she feels very good..she reach the ground without problems....i am not sure is there too a official lowering kit for this bike
baxtercat_imp
Running like a top
new Kawa W800 Street has a 30.3 in seat height and accessory seat that lowers that an inch. 490 pounds, 45 horses. retro performance and almost $10K, but not a cruiser and could keep up with your CB.
Lord Popgun
Road warrior
Webike is showing a lowering kit. I know nothing about lowering kits, but here is the link: https://japan.webike.net/ps/#!&p.m=311&p.c=1085&p.sk=2
misterprofessionality
Road warrior
Thread starter
Henrik_imp
Been there
My nephew who is new to motorcycling, and is not very tall, was looking for a good bike to start out with. I had narrowed it down to the SV650, and actually had a go on it myself to see. I thought it was the perfect bike and tried to convince him.
Alternatively I suggested the Kawasaki W800, another bike I have tried and really like. Low, very easy to ride, great looks etc.
He ended up going for a Honda CMX500 Rebel. He loves it, and is extremely happy with his choice. Yes, it has a cruiser look to it, but at least the footpegs are pretty straight down. To be honest, I would not have recommended it as I personally do not like them, but if he is happy...
As to lowering the CB1100, I would not try to do that. As you have pointed out, there are a lot of things that will have to be changed that are also likely to upset the perfect balance of the bike. With the high centre of gravity, it is still likely not to be particularly easy to handle even after the changes.
Alternatively I suggested the Kawasaki W800, another bike I have tried and really like. Low, very easy to ride, great looks etc.
He ended up going for a Honda CMX500 Rebel. He loves it, and is extremely happy with his choice. Yes, it has a cruiser look to it, but at least the footpegs are pretty straight down. To be honest, I would not have recommended it as I personally do not like them, but if he is happy...
As to lowering the CB1100, I would not try to do that. As you have pointed out, there are a lot of things that will have to be changed that are also likely to upset the perfect balance of the bike. With the high centre of gravity, it is still likely not to be particularly easy to handle even after the changes.
misterprofessionality
Road warrior
Thread starter
her inseam is 28" and some small change. she's also got thighs, so the key is going to be picking a bike with a narrow, waspy waist.
the SR400 is honestly a good suggestion for anybody else. i originally showed it to her for the same reasons, and she really loved the way it looks, but completely shut the discussion down when she found out about the kick starting. i'm happy to comply...for the money she could get a z400, and that's got ABS instead of old timey drums.
The RE is very cool, but it's going to be another availability issue. she loves the idea of a triumph, but there are zero triumph dealers within 100 miles of us. support does not look good. there's an RE dealer in town, but they're kind of fly-by-night. i don't know if i can trust them to keep carrying RE. then again, there's the money in question. for the same cash, she could get a Ducati Scrambler, just as you've suggested, and it's a very good one.
Thanks for that input on lowering the SV. it's very encouraging to know that i can lower it that much without a serious detriment to handling. it means i can do much the same to most any other bike, and that will ease her mind a lot.
Thanks to everybody's input i think i can safely put to bed the idea of lowering a CB for her. there's just no reason to do it, when she can just as easily get other bikes lowered that don't require such drastic changes.
the SR400 is honestly a good suggestion for anybody else. i originally showed it to her for the same reasons, and she really loved the way it looks, but completely shut the discussion down when she found out about the kick starting. i'm happy to comply...for the money she could get a z400, and that's got ABS instead of old timey drums.
The RE is very cool, but it's going to be another availability issue. she loves the idea of a triumph, but there are zero triumph dealers within 100 miles of us. support does not look good. there's an RE dealer in town, but they're kind of fly-by-night. i don't know if i can trust them to keep carrying RE. then again, there's the money in question. for the same cash, she could get a Ducati Scrambler, just as you've suggested, and it's a very good one.
Thanks for that input on lowering the SV. it's very encouraging to know that i can lower it that much without a serious detriment to handling. it means i can do much the same to most any other bike, and that will ease her mind a lot.
Thanks to everybody's input i think i can safely put to bed the idea of lowering a CB for her. there's just no reason to do it, when she can just as easily get other bikes lowered that don't require such drastic changes.
baxtercat_imp
Running like a top
i legit did not know this about the w800. do you have a link to the accessory seat? it was a bike i'd made a point to show her in person, but she found the seat really uncomfortable, so she said she'd rather have a Bonneville instead, since they're basically the same thing, but the bonne is better. The problem i see with the W800 is that they're only making this one year, and after that's over with they 're going to be scarce as heck. you won't be able to find one used i don't think.baxtercat_imp said:
here's the seat:
https://www.kawasaki.eu/en/accessor...EBDVxbDFwKX1oMWFAMXFpdW1BeCVwMCQwNXl5bClgLCl8
I expect they'll continue to make them after this year, but not necessarily bring them to the US. But you are not doubt correct that will be easier to find used Bonnevilles in the future.
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