Usually when I ride the CB I don’t get near using the full power available. I love the smoothness of the bike, and tend to adopt a relaxed riding style which I think goes well with the bike. Because there is ample torque available from the get-go, there is really no reason to push it hard, and it is just more pleasant to enjoy it in this way. I find that by adopting a smooth riding style, with a pretty high corner entry speed, I can go faster than what would normally be expected. The bike just works like this, and I have surprised several much sportier riders with the general pace I am able to adopt.
However, yesterday it was a day-off here, and with the weather being dry I decided to go for a ride pushing the bike a bit more. I decided to ride it more like a sporty roadster, using all of the power available. The result was that I could go very fast on my regular back-roads following the local hooligans without too much difficulty. Clearly the chassis was reaching its limit, as were the tires, but it was hanging in there surprisingly well. Perhaps the footpegs have a different opinion, but it was not really an issue.
The thing with riding it like this reminded me of why I have never liked four in lines before, and still don’t. I really don’t like riding bikes with the revs way up there in the 7-8000 range. In the past I have spent quite some time on some MV Agusta Brutales, and although they are amazing bikes, it was always the high-revving fours that bothered me. I was very close to buying a black and orange 910S a few years ago, one that I still today find to be one of the sexiest bikes ever, but I just couldn’t love the feel of a four high up in the revs. The thing with those bikes were that if you didn’t keep the revs up there, they really were no fun at all. When it comes to real spirited riding, I so much prefer the high torque and power low in the revs I had with my Moto Morini Corsaro. With that bike I could really charge hard, on the street or on the track, and not have to push the revs to silly levels. The punch you might feel on the CB at 7000 RPMs hits you already at 4000 RPMs on the Corsaro. You would get something similar on the old Aprilia Tuono V2, although this one did require slightly higher revvs.
I love the CB for what it is. I like riding it in a relaxed way, going for smooth and rapid progress rather than the point and shoot I would do with the Corsaro. That said, on days like yesterday when I really want to go for it, I miss the brutality of a powerful twin street fighter. I miss the instant explosion as soon as I begin to twist the throttle, when the CB requires a bit more time to deliver this. I think that is what I enjoyed when I tried the Ducati Scrambler as its twin provided a similar feel to the Corsaro but without being lethal. It has the low-down punch that I feel is missing from the CB.
So, no, I don’t use all the power available in the CB because I don’t think it suits it to ride it like that. I know I can, and it will perform quite well, it just doesn’t feel good to me doing it. I love the CB, but I think I might need a second bike…
