Need advice on CB1100 and other

[foxinsuit_imp]

Hello,

I'm new to this forum. Have read plenty of threads, but have yet to participate .

For HONDA CB1100 offer check out details and dropbox link below
Dropbox

Looking to purchase my first motorcycle and would like to make as few mistakes as possible.

Will be posting the same on ZRX forum.

Design wise my favourites are ZRX1200 (green) and Honda CB1100. Would like to own them both someday, but that possibility is very slim due to budget. They both are currently out of my price range.

ZRX1200 ~4.5-5.5k EUROS; Honda CB1100 normally starts at 6.3k EUROS.

My first idea was to get Hornet 919 (great reviews) now for like 2.5-3k EUROS, ride it for 2-5 years and when the price and time is right - and buy the 'dream' motorcycle Honda CB1100 (or ZRX1200).

However recently I found out that ZRX1100 '00 is a great alternative to ZRX1200.
And it's cheaper.

Slightly above my budget (green costs~3-3.5k), but acceptable price increase comparing to my initial choice of Hornet 919, since I really really like the design of ZRX (could even say as much as CB1100)

My only doubts (and I'm googling and youtubing on this) are that ZRX1100 is an old bike. year ~2000. And it's not fuel injected. Therefore I will have to learn to clean the carburator . Also I'm not sure of longevity of this bike. And buying used old bike is a risk at itself.

HERE are KAWASAKI'S:
http://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/d...nt1.modelDescription=zrx1100&pageNumber=1

http://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/d...rx1100&pageNumber=2&action=eyeCatcher

http://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/d...nt1.modelDescription=zrx1100&pageNumber=2

http://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/d...nt1.modelDescription=zrx1100&pageNumber=2

NOW here‘s dillemma in my mind. There‘s an offer on 2013 CB1100 for 5.4k EUROS (asking price, maybe I could negotiate some). Mileage only under 3000km according to seller.

To my knowledge it was in an accident and as a result of that it has a scratched FUEL TANK, and on mudguard. Though it's hard to see anything significant in pictures. It is an ABS model. Has custom seat and handlebar (don‘t know what kind though, and if it's for the better). I also notice sliders, and engine cover which is nice addition.

Haven‘t seen this bike in person, BUT it‘s 350km away. Meanwhile KAWASAKIS are ~2000km away (I would have them shipped for like 300euros, and would be having a leap of faith, that they are what the sellers describe they are).
I wouldn‘t consider this bike if it wasn‘t for the price. It‘s still way way over my budget (at least 50% more). And something that I should not let myself to afford, but heart wants want the heart wants....

Here are the pics.
Dropbox

P.S. Where I live I get to experience all 4 weather seasons  this only allows me to ride 2-4months max per year. Also because there are seasons, the plus side of that is that during off season there are more bikes to choose from, and therefore their price is a lower. So I could buy one in autumn/winter. However this would rule out the riding for me until MAY 2017

 

[Cormanus]

Foxinsuit, welcome to the forum.

CB1100s are wonderful bikes and I can't recommend them highly enough. However, if you want to buy one that's been dropped, make sure the accident was minor. Scratches aren't the end of the world (apologies to TINK and ride4now), but frame or other damage may well be an issue.

Secondly—and it's none of my business—don't buy something you can't afford. Wait until you can so the worry of paying for it doesn't diminish the joy of possession.

Buy the cheap bike and have fun while you save for the CB.

And come back here and tell us about it.

 

[LongRanger_imp]

That's great advice. And as a first-time buyer, I'd be more comfortable if you or a trusted friend could inspect the bike before agreeing to purchase it, which probably rules out buying a bike sight-unseen that will need to be shipped. As you become a more accomplished rider, you'll be able to more easily discern and evaluate a bike's condition from afar (though this still carries risk). Personally, I'd pass on the damaged CB1100. These bikes will only get less expensive as time goes on, so no need to rush your decision. The right bike will come along when you're ready, and you'll know it.

 

[aschem_imp]

Start with a small bike, improve riding skills, and move up in size as your skills improve. Example: 125cc to 400cc to 650cc then to the liter plus bikes; something like that might work for you. Dirt bike riding also helps you develop skills needed for street riding.

 

[foxinsuit_imp]

Thanks everybody. That's what I needed to hear. Outside perspective cleared my head from an obsession over that particular CB1100. That also leaves a goal for the future.

I've taken riding classes 5x1.5hrs.
1st lesson was with a 125cc bike. Other 4 were on a 750cc Kawasaki zr7 which weights 230kg (507lbs) So I got used to the weight of a liter motorcycle. And I wouldn't want anything less powerful. Therefore at one point I saw the 919 HORNET as the best 1st bike I could buy (value), 200kg (440lbs) and a decent torque.

Even though my riding experience is minimal, I drive almost daily for 8 years with my car, so even if I'm a new rider, I'm more aware of the risks on the road than when I was 18year old. And the fact that I'm looking at bike like CB1100 and not at some super sport, I think I'm mature enough to handle a bike over 600cc+ or even a liter bike. Also wheelies are not on my to do/learn list

Wouldn't really mind getting a 600cc+ bike, because any bike is better than none, but wouldn't go any lower. Was also thinking SV650 and Hornet 600 at one point.

However, since that particular CB1100 is crossed out, that currently leaves me solely with a Kawasaki ZRX1100 on my mind...

Since ZRX is an old bike with a carburetor, I have a lot of googling left to do .

Thanks again.

 

[Capo]

Carbs should not be feared. Even 4 of them, in a well sorted bike, shouldn't be a deal breaker, and in fact, the tractability of a carbed bike might even bee better for you as a relative novice. And what a great intro to motorcycle fettling and routine maintenance! The ZRX is a bulletproof machine, but far more powerful than the CB, so be careful! I miss my ZRX, shouldn't have sold it.

 

[rickcb]

Honda's various 500 twins are a great choice for an adult, first-time rider. After taking the rider's course, my wife first got a used CBR250R and after 1 month and 1000 miles moved up to a new CBR500R and has done just fine. It is nice having a 430 lb. bike to deal with if you make a boo-boo.

 

[LongRanger_imp]

SV650 is a terrific choice for both new and experienced riders. The earlier models had carburetors, the later models were fuel injected. Unless you live in an area with dramatic elevation changes, you'll find the early bikes (non-fuel injected) to provide smoother throttle control and better rideability. Don't be turned off by the 650cc engine size -- these bikes weigh less than 400 lbs. and offer a lot of performance in a nicely composed package.

 

[ride4now_imp]

Foxinsuit, welcome to the forum.

CB1100s are wonderful bikes and I can't recommend them highly enough. However, if you want to buy one that's been dropped, make sure the accident was minor. Scratches aren't the end of the world (apologies to TINK and ride4now), but frame or other damage may well be an issue.

Secondly—and it's none of my business—don't buy something you can't afford. Wait until you can so the worry of paying for it doesn't diminish the joy of possession.

Buy the cheap bike and have fun while you save for the CB.

And come back here and tell us about it.

Scratches aren't the end of the world?? Like $&@?... I'd sell the darn thing if I scratched it... Geez... what are you thinking? But then, that's me. Tink can speak for himself. But Foxinsuit listen, Cormanus is right even though it is none of our business. Buy the cheaper one if that's the easiest one to get right now. Buying a bike that may have been damaged in an accident might not be smart. And any good 2 wheeled machine is better than no 2 wheeled machine... then you can save for a pristine CB with no scratches. Besides, if you scratch the cheap one... no worrys.
Good luck with your decision and welcome to the forum!

 

[foxinsuit_imp]

SV650 is a terrific choice for both new and experienced riders. The earlier models had carburetors, the later models were fuel injected. Unless you live in an area with dramatic elevation changes, you'll find the early bikes (non-fuel injected) to provide smoother throttle control and better rideability. Don't be turned off by the 650cc engine size -- these bikes weigh less than 400 lbs. and offer a lot of performance in a nicely composed package.

Since I was considering one, I read many great things about SV650. It lacks some basic features, that I'd like in a bike, but ultimately pros outweights the cons. At one point I almost bought it. Wouldn't mind getting one, but now there's not a single one on the market. It's riding season.

There are however plenty of hornet 600s and kawa z750 on the local market atm.

Foxinsuit, welcome to the forum.

CB1100s are wonderful bikes and I can't recommend them highly enough. However, if you want to buy one that's been dropped, make sure the accident was minor. Scratches aren't the end of the world (apologies to TINK and ride4now), but frame or other damage may well be an issue.

Secondly—and it's none of my business—don't buy something you can't afford. Wait until you can so the worry of paying for it doesn't diminish the joy of possession.

Buy the cheap bike and have fun while you save for the CB.

And come back here and tell us about it.

Well since I would prefer a red CB1100, I didnt mind it being scratched, because that's just a reason to paint it over sooner .

Also it's not like I'd be spending all of my savings on that cb1100 (which I decided not to buy). It's just the climate that I live in offers just 2-4months of riding weather max. Rains a lot . Simple logic says I'd better invest that additional sum (that I was almost willing to put on cb1100), into a car or something. I just decided on a +/-3k budget for a motorcycle based on what I could get on a market. First I searched the market and then I decided on a reasonable budget. And with that budget there are plenty of great 600cc bikes to choose from. Or zrx1100.

Also that particular cb1100 pretty much costs what a great condition 2005-ish zrx1200 costs. And cb1100 is almost 10yrs newer bike! So that also seemed more like a smart investment in the long run having in mind maintainance costs or resale value of a 10yrs younger bike.

 

[ride4now_imp]

My daughter had an SV650 for a few years and she loved it. I rode it a fair amount too although I didn't care for the riding position. It was too 'sport bike' for me.

 

[Cormanus]

Foxinsuit, welcome to the forum.

CB1100s are wonderful bikes and I can't recommend them highly enough. However, if you want to buy one that's been dropped, make sure the accident was minor. Scratches aren't the end of the world (apologies to TINK and ride4now), but frame or other damage may well be an issue.

Secondly—and it's none of my business—don't buy something you can't afford. Wait until you can so the worry of paying for it doesn't diminish the joy of possession.

Buy the cheap bike and have fun while you save for the CB.

And come back here and tell us about it.

Scratches aren't the end of the world?? Like $&@?... I'd sell the darn thing if I scratched it... Geez... what are you thinking? But then, that's me. Tink can speak for himself. But Foxinsuit listen, Cormanus is right even though it is none of our business. Buy the cheaper one if that's the easiest one to get right now. Buying a bike that may have been damaged in an accident might not be smart. And any good 2 wheeled machine is better than no 2 wheeled machine... then you can save for a pristine CB with no scratches. Besides, if you scratch the cheap one... no worrys.
Good luck with your decision and welcome to the forum!

:rofl:

 

[foxinsuit_imp]

Could try a low ball offer just for the sake of trying

 

[foxinsuit_imp]

http://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/d...ant1.modelDescription=CB1100&pageNumber=3


This seems like a very good deal for people who can afford new bikes. Just 9.5k EUROS for exlusive model brand new. All the other places have them for at least 12.5k+ for this edition.

So this is an update of a few months later since my initial post about CB1100 asking advice on my first bike. And what at first could be seen as a simple crush I think it has evolved.

I've seen videos, read blogs and etc. of new retro motorcycles being made for 2016/2017.
moto-guzzi v9 roamer and bobber, triumph bonneville series, yamaha's XJR1300 2015-on; XSR700/900; SR950

I'm glad that they're making them, but at the same time it makes me angry/frustrated (lack of a better word). I think why haven't they done this like 10 years ago, so that now there would be some on a used market at acceptable prices

Anyway I've googled everything that's available currently on the market and what will be available in the future (like the rumored kawasaki z900 comeback).

And realised that none of the new retro motorcycles made an impact on me as much as the CB1100 did. Still can't get it out of my head (and that's not a entirely a bad thing)..... Every review/preview video I watched I couldn't help but compare it to the CB1100 and ask myself, would I want it over the CB11. And few motorcycles came close, but eventually the crush on them ended, but CB1100 remained on my mind.

Since I can't afford it, I've considered hornet cb900/919 for it's great value, but soon realized, as I was googling for various mods for it, that it isn't for me. I simply searched for things on how to make it more retro, and it's just not made for that at all.

I've considered to bump my budget and go for the triumph bonneville 865
which here in europe is still expensive (used), but deals can be found somewhat like 20-30% cheaper than used CB1100.
But again, that bonneville is no CB1100 when it comes to performance (and looks).

There's a very entertaining video review of triumph bonneville 865cc

After being so frustrated with aesthetic design of the modern bikes on the market, I started to consider to NOT buy a motorcycle AT ALL, until the CB11's price goes down (which would be 3-5yrs).

Recently I've came across a nice deal on a Kawasaki zephyr 750 '99 odo=42k km
for 2k EUROS. it's the same as in picture below


It's got great retro looks, a decent enough motor 750cc and it's got those gorgeous spoke rims. And I'm thinking this motorcycle can really be the ONE with which I could peacefully wait for a EX edition CB1100 with those spoke rims .

There are currently 2 roadblocks from buying it.
1st. it's in a foreign country and it's a 10 hours drive (one way).
2nd. not sure if the seller will want to deal with a foreigner (me) at all (I've sent him a question already, waiting for a response).

Maybe someone had a chance to own a zephyr 750?

This is a thread I enjoyed reading:
What bike did you 'lust' after?

Everyone's sharing their memories about the time and place they once were in and I can certainly relate because currently I am in such a time and place myself.

In some 20+ years from now, I guess I'll be writing about the CB1100 on a similar thread on some forum (on some sort of a futuristic forum format ).

 

[Cormanus]

Foxinsuit, you say this is your first motorcycle. Do you have much riding experience? If not, why not buy something smaller that you can afford and get some riding experience before trading up to a second hand some time in the future?

 

[foxinsuit_imp]

Foxinsuit, you say this is your first motorcycle. Do you have much riding experience? If not, why not buy something smaller that you can afford and get some riding experience before trading up to a second hand some time in the future?

No, I don't have much riding experience and I am currently looking at a smaller bike which is zephyr 750. I learned to ride on a ZR7 which is in a way a successor to the zephyr so if the deal goes down, I think it'll be a great bike from both the performance and design wise.

Yet somehow I still choose to believe (even though I've never ridden one), that CB11 would be an easier motorcycle to control, due to the fact it has narrow tires. Also I've read and watched a lot of reviews and many times it was mentioned how easy CB11 is to control due to narrow tires. Of course those same narrow tires requires to be more careful on twisties as I understand due to their smaller surface area.

 

[foxinsuit_imp]

Finally I received additional photos of the bike and a description in broken english.

close up pictures that I asked for:


[url=https://postimg.org/image/s6sv2f8df/]

[url=https://postimg.org/image/dovnufh2b/]

[url=https://postimg.org/image/a6jny1g6b/]

[url=https://postimg.org/image/vhh82ayar/]

[url=https://postimg.org/image/gmsmo4opv/]

[url=https://postimg.org/image/h0yk1gy77/]

[url=https://postimg.org/image/50d40qqsj/]

[url=https://postimg.org/image/ti57omtcz/]


Basically there's a hole in one of the exhausts and battery should be changed (which I'd like to do anyway no matter what). Only one set of keys. Scratch on tank.

Seller is the 2nd owner, bought motorcycle 2.5years ago and said that initially when he bought it - there was something with the clutch basket, but it has been fixed (2.5yrs ago).

 

[PowerDubs_imp]

I currently own both a CB1100 and a ZRX1200. Both are excellent bikes.

But I am firmly in the camp that both are also too much bike for a beginner.

Honestly you can hurt yourself on anything, even a SV650 can wheelie when provoked without much issue.

Start smaller, cheaper, lighter, safer. Enjoy the ride itself, don't focus on power or acceleration. You will be too busy focusing on cars and deer.

 

[uscgmac_imp]

Don't rely on driving experience, it will not matter much when it comes to riding. Even 8 years of driving experience in a car is not that much. Start smaller and buy a cheap bike. You will thank us in the end if you ever have an incident. Plus if you can't afford a cb1100 than you should really be looking at something small and cheap. The cb1100 is actually one of the more affordable bikes when your ready for that. Your need to grow with experience not only with riding but remember their will be other expenses besides the bike when it comes to riding, like tires, maintenance, gear, insurance, fuel and so on. Grow financially as well by saving for the bigger bike as you learn on the smaller cheaper one and remember how you drive your car will not compare at all to riding a motorcycle.

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

 

[LongRanger_imp]

I agree with these comments. Starting with a smaller, lightweight bike will allow your skills to develop and progress more rapidly than on a larger bike. With increased skills comes increased confidence and enjoyment.

Your generalization "those same narrow tires requires to be more careful on twisties as I understand due to their smaller surface area" is false. The narrow tires make the bike more agile and easier to handle.

With wider tires,
1. You'll be able to brake or accelerate much harder without losing grip
2. Steering will feel heavier
3. Bike won't "fall into" corners as easily
4. It'll be easier to maintain your turning line, but harder to change it
5. Tires will last longer
6. The tires will be more prone to hydroplaning

Grip is independent of surface area of contact (before you factor in the difference due to change in temperatures from rolling resistance and the strength of the rubber), but a narrower tire will wear faster trying to provide the same amount of grip. A wider tire on the other hand, will offer the benefits of longevity with increased grip, but make the handing sluggish.