True Confessions of CB1100 Riders

[Ridem32_imp]

Lol Guth. 2 inches is a lot of air on any street bike!!!
Guth: the older guy that had the SL350 he moved to Portland back in the late 80,s. He then rode a bicycle back to Mississippi! That's a long bicycle ride for sure but he made it lol

 

[jodyz_imp]

Lol Guth. 2 inches is a lot of air on any street bike!!!
Guth: the older guy that had the SL350 he moved to Portland back in the late 80,s. He then rode a bicycle back to Mississippi! That's a long bicycle ride for sure but he made it lol

That's what she said!
Not really.

 

[OldF7Guy_imp]

I was at a friends house the other day and was ready to leave and a stranger pulled up out front. I was so distracted with who it was and what his business was I put the NH in gear not once but twice with the kickstand down and killed the engine. How stupid was that????

 

[CB4ME_imp]

I was at a friends house the other day and was ready to leave and a stranger pulled up out front. I was so distracted with who it was and what his business was I put the NH in gear not once but twice with the kickstand down and killed the engine. How stupid was that????

This only happens to me when a crowd of admirers are watching for me to take off down the road in grand style. Duh!

 

[Aussie_imp]

I confess that I've swapped back to the OEM pipe from the Staintune just to give my ears a bit of a break (temporarily? ). If I only rode every now and then I'd leave it on, but as I ride pretty much everyday in the city it's just a tad loud and I'm sick of having to put foam earplugs in just to ride to work, cafe, gym etc...(still love the Staintune for the hills!) Took about 5 min to swap over so it's not a big deal...but..

my real confession is that I'm enjoying having the OEM pipe on again much more than I thought I would! It's so whisper quiet and peaceful that it puts me in a zen state and I find myself waving to people at bus stops My hooligan factor is close to 0!

 

[rboe]

I find I need plugs for the Griso all the time. On the Honda, not so much but do so out of habit.

 

[the Ferret]

Hate it when my hooligan factor drops, but for us older men, there are meds for that now.

 

[Pauley]

I have a stock exhaust and with tight fitting foam earplugs and helmet on, I can't hear my bike after I get out of 1st gear. I confess I want to be a hell raiser/hooligan and have an obnoxiously loud exhaust. Trouble is I don't want to spend money on that and it doesn't really fit my personality.

 

[shysue2_imp]

I love this thread! I haven't had the CB1100 long enough to have anything to confess about, but I had the previous bikes long enough to have some "incidents." (I've also done the "oops, key still in pocket and I've got take off the gloves to fish it out" trick.)

One bike I grew to hate was the Honda ST1300, because of all the bikes I had I think I had most of my mishaps with that one. On one long trip (rode to Kansas for Hubby's family reunion) we were heading home thru Colorado, stopped at a gas station in Salida and surprisingly ran into someone I knew from a women's riding group I belonged to at that time. She was on her way home from a meet up with the group and lived nowhere near there, so it was really a coincidence. Anyway, she commented on how big the ST1300 was and wondered how I was able to handle it. I told her I hadn't had any problems handling it, it was a great bike, blah, blah. We said our goodbyes, and from the gas station we proceeded on to our hotel for the night. I immediately dropped the bike in the parking lot trying to park that big sucker. Put my foot down and stepped on some gravel, and down we went. It was doubly humiliating because of all the bragging I had just done to the friend, LOL.

The next day, taking Hwy 50 over Monarch Pass, we ran into some ice and both went down. Me on the ST and Russ on his BMW. It was a fairly slow crash but enough to bang up the bikes and bruise our egos. We had to have the bikes towed on a flatbed to the next largish town, Gunnison. The rest of the ride home I was very nervous on that bike, and it wasn't a real forgiving bike to begin with so my nervousness didn't help matters. When we got to my brother's house in Utah I almost dropped it yet again.

When we got home I told Russ, "I want a different bike."

 

[Lord Popgun]

Gee Sue, I hate reading that. I'm getting an ST1300... I just have to go to Mississippi to pick it up. I read about all the parking lot drops on an ST board and have been worried. This doesn't help I hope I make it ok now.

And I'm keeping my CB1100 for my daily rider.

 

[the Ferret]

Popgun, the ST is a heavy beast no doubt, you just have to remember that and treat it as such. Keep it out of situations where it might get leaned over while stopped. You don't want to get it leaned over more than a few degrees and I've actually jerked mine back up before it made it to the sidestand multiple times, only to verify the side stand is down and go ahead and let it down to it. Honda smartly designed in heavy duty tip over bars, and pop away mirrors...and rear bars are available if you do think you might lay it over. I'm old, small and weak and have had mine for 6 years and 40,000 miles. Getting ready to take a 6,000 mile trip soon. I think you'll be ok.

 

[shysue2_imp]

Gee Sue, I hate reading that. I'm getting an ST1300... I just have to go to Mississippi to pick it up. I read about all the parking lot drops on an ST board and have been worried. This doesn't help I hope I make it ok now.

And I'm keeping my CB1100 for my daily rider.

Oh darn, sorry about that. I'm sure you'll have an easier time with it than I did. I'm just an old lady, LOL.

BTW, if you were looking for a great sport-touring bike I'm selling my Concours.

 

[Randy B]

Popgun, the ST is a heavy beast no doubt, you just have to remember that and treat it as such. Keep it out of situations where it might get leaned over while stopped. You don't want to get it leaned over more than a few degrees and I've actually jerked mine back up before it made it to the sidestand multiple times, only to verify the side stand is down and go ahead and let it down to it. Honda smartly designed in heavy duty tip over bars, and pop away mirrors...and rear bars are available if you do think you might lay it over. I'm old, small and weak and have had mine for 6 years and 40,000 miles. Getting ready to take a 6,000 mile trip soon. I think you'll be ok.

This is no lie. A good friend of mine came out here from Chicago 2 summers ago and he rented one for a day so we could go riding. I decided to show him a "real road" so I took him up Mt. Hamilton to the Lick Observatory. The ride up was uneventful, but we did run into a road construction crew that was one laning the road so I knew we would encounter them on the way down.
I was on my 93 750 Nighthawk ahead of him and he was actually coasting down to save fuel (can you say cheapskate?? ) so I was about 1000 feet ahead of him. I came up to the road crew (flagger) and pulled the clutch and dropped the kickstand and killed the bike and leaned over on the stand. 20 seconds later my friend pulls up next to me on my right side and went to put his feet down and well...the road was canted to the left and his foot found nothing but air. Over the bike went, but not before he got his bare hand on the end of the bars to try and stop it. He slowed it significantly, but couldn't stop it so he ended up resting his hand on the side of my hot engine while his bare forearm rested on the fins on my cylinder head. I didn't dare get off for fear my bike would fall over, and we couldn't lift the bike from the positions we were in. All the while the flagger is just standing there watching up until I yelled at him for some help. Then he SLOWLY started walking over until I yelled again and then he finally picked up the pace.
He then proceeded to pull off the right mirror before finally grabbing onto the bars and helping lift the bike up.
My friend had blisters on the back of his hand and 6 new stripes on his forearm, but all in all in the end he is no worse for wear, He told me he almost cant see the burns on his forearm any more.
It's still a good idea to wear some sort of jacket and gloves, but I have been known not to.

 

[the Ferret]

Btw, we advise everyone, even young guys, that if an ST 1300 does start to go over, to go ahead and let it go. Guys have seriously hurt themselves trying to save them from falling. It has tip over protection. Let it go, and jump clear. Then turn your back and walk it up using your legs.

Better yet, just don't get in that situation lol

 

[ValleyCat_imp]

I love this forum and this thread and this bike but I have to wait until August, making me feel like the last guy to be picked at the dance.

 

[Lord Popgun]

Ferret, I have the rear tip over bars on order. Thanks for the tips (ha ha) everyone.

I understand about tip overs. All the old time members know I slowly dropped my CB in the garage and dented the tank. And replaced it.

 

[Randy B]

Btw, we advise everyone, even young guys, that if an ST 1300 does start to go over, to go ahead and let it go. Guys have seriously hurt themselves trying to save them from falling. It has tip over protection. Let it go, and jump clear. Then turn your back and walk it up using your legs.

Better yet, just don't get in that situation lol

Had my friend just let it go there was a very good chance my Nighthawk would have ended up on the ground. Sometimes there is no winning.

 

[Damfino_imp]

Here's my true confession...Dropped my damn CB in the garage today!! Came back from a ride and was starting to put it on the center stand when I somehow lost control. I watched in horror as it started to fall away from me. I did still have a hold of the grip and sort of grabbed the seat as it was going over so it did land kind of softly. I walked around and picked it up and was expecting to see at least a scratch in the paint or chrome, but nothing! Whew! Dodged a bullet there. Not so much as a mar on the surface anywhere! Man did I get lucky! That'll teach me to start to doze off while using the center stand! :dodgy:

Ferret, I have the rear tip over bars on order. Thanks for the tips (ha ha) everyone.

I understand about tip overs. All the old time members know I slowly dropped my CB in the garage and dented the tank. And replaced it.

Lol popgun! I just read this after posting the above!

 

[Ridem32_imp]

Bought a brand new 1977 Harley super glide I was 17 years old weight 115lbs wet lol. At that time the bandits ran our hustle shop. Mine had kick start only! Well a bandit cranked it for me and said don't turn it off lol. I went to get gas a few blocks away and while I was pumping gas it went dead! I called the Harley shop they sent another bandit to crank it and I did not turn it off till late that night lol. ( I did learn to kick start it )
Wow damfino you was very lucky. Glad it did not dent or scratch it

 

[Cormanus]

I've confessed earlier. My carport is at the top of a steep-ish drive and one morning, while backing the CB out to turn it around and roll down the hill I misjudged and put it down (gently). It has some minor scars as a result.

I accept Greg's promise that you're all now laughing at me, but I still felt better when I 'fessed up. Probably won;t make any difference this time.