CB1100 Forum
Five Years! - Printable Version

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Five Years! - Guth - 04-13-2018 02:24 PM

NOTE: Wordiness rating: 96. Suggested reading time: 10 minutes (maybe more if you fall asleep before making it all the way to the end — should you get that far).

Today marks the fifth anniversary of the CB1100 Forum. I can still recall "launching" this place from our cabin at the time (the joys of the Internet). I've been involved with the web to one degree or another since the mid 90's thanks to my career. A brief dabble with an Intranet forum for one of my employers exposed me to their inner workings many years ago. Yet a part of me still marveled at the irony of creating this space for folks from around the world to gather and converse, all from the convenience of my laptop while seated in a rustic structure that was hand-built in the 1930's. It truly seemed just a bit surreal at the time. I now find it somewhat hard to believe that was five years ago. By the time the CB1100 Forum went public, this particular format had already begun to fade somewhat in it's appeal to the general public. Regardless of the popularity enjoyed by other forms of social media, online forums such as this one carry on. I personally happen to prefer this particular format for the sake of discussion even if it is a bit old school. I suppose it only seems fitting given the primary topic of discussion here.

I can definitely recall that I had concerns whether or not people would have enough interest in the CB1100 to make a go of things. So I was pretty excited after returning to our home in the city to see that a number of you had already joined on that first day following the launch as I was worried that maybe no one would show up. The thought that this place would still be up and running five years down the road would have been hard for me to imagine back then. So with that in mind, thanks to all of you that have come along for the ride so to speak. Whether you've been around since the very beginning or if you just signed up in the past few weeks, your participation is appreciated. My thoughts go out to those who were once part of this online community but who are no longer around to participate.

One of the truly great things about a forum (perhaps the most important thing of all) is the exchange of knowledge and information that takes place — both from the standpoint of someone sharing knowledge that they've acquired and from the standpoint of someone acquiring the information that they were seeking. Whether you've found yourself on the sending or receiving side of things (or both), I definitely feel that this particular aspect of the CB1100 Forum has been one of it's main strengths.

The civility exhibited by the members of this forum towards one another also deserves mention. Most all of you have been very good to one another. Yes, some of this has been "forced", or rather enforced, to a certain degree by myself and the moderators. Those that have a problem with the overall tone of this place (it's personality if you will) don't tend to stick around for too long. But as I've noted before, given the complexity of the English language, combined with the fact that we have members located all over the world, along with the fact that you can't pick up on someone's physical cues (body language) when reading their thoughts online, this works. It actually works quite well in my opinion. I've noted before that I'm better behaved on this forum than I am in real life, at least from the perspective of the vocabulary used. So I don't think that this is too much to ask of others given the price of admission, lol.

The other strength of online forums, this one being no exception, is that many friendships are born out of conversing with one another over a lengthy period of time. Those of you that have taken the time and the effort to simply meet up, get together for a ride, or attend a full-blown rally know first hand what I'm referring to. I suppose that it's a bit ironic that I started a forum given the fact that I'm not the most social person. Yet it's been a pleasure getting to meet a number of you guys over the past five years. While I've been fortunate to go riding with a few and to meet even more of you, I'm just now this year hoping to attend my first rally. With that in mind I tip my cap to any of you who have invested the time and effort to make to make a rally happen, be it in the past or those currently being planned.

I'll also add that as the forum heads into year six I've find myself participating less and less. Dealing with certain health issues has seen me spending far too much time in various hospitals, doctor's offices and therapy sessions this past year. Please note that I'm not looking for sympathy, but I do feel like I should explain my absence to some degree. It's been frustrating but I've realized that when my mood has soured it's just best if I stay away from this place. After establishing a civlic atmosphere here I definitely don't need to be the one to show up and be a grump. On top of that, I've recently encountered problems working to upgrade the forum software. That's simply going to take more leg work on my part. Sadly, I'm guessing that it comes as little surprise to some that I'm also behind on creating the new t-shirts that I was hoping to have ready by today. Finally, I'm still struggling to make sense of the EU GDPR and I just haven't taken the time to consult with my ISP. I suppose to some degree that I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed these days. But such is life, eh? Regardless, I do plan to persevere on all fronts.

One positive that I can draw from these issues is that they provide the perfect segue for my most notable round of thanks which is reserved for our esteemed moderators. As is so often the case with these type of announcements in the past, I save my thanks for their services until I'm more or less "typed out" (I'll admit that I sometimes find such activity to be an almost therapeutic distraction). I certainly do not mention them last because they are an afterthought. I like to think of it more like how the headliner at a concert is the last to appear on stage. Mickey and George (aka The ferret and Cormanus) provide unrivaled moderation in my not so humble opinion. A few here have taken exception to the somewhat narrow path that I've chosen to steer this place down over the years, venting to the moderators for carrying out my wishes, which is unfortunate. But Im glad to see that many of you have showed time and again that it's not just me who appreciates their efforts. I've more or less given the two of them free reign to carry out their task as they see fit for good reason. Regardless, Mickey and George both tirelessly continue to monitor the activity around here and keep us all on course without complaint. With all of the personal things I've been dealing with as of late, it is not at all an overstatement to say that this place would likely not still be around if it were not for the two of them. My thanks to them simply can not be overstated. You guys are the best.

My apologies for going on like some sort of letter from the editor. One of the outcomes of having a rather small number of active participants here at the CB1100 Forum is that it makes this experience seem just that much more personal. If you've managed to read this far, I might suggest getting up and moving around a bit. Even better, maybe going for a ride — weather and time permitting, lol.

Oh, while I'm at it I should definitely thank Mitsuyoshi Kohama and his team for coming up with such a wonderful design. I'm really glad that Honda turned that design into reality. After all, it was their work that in turn inspired the creation of this forum

All the best,
Bill

p.s. I'd like to add an honorable mention and thank Takashi (Mr. T) of Saumrider.com fame. He is a great guy and I've enjoyed getting to know him a bit over the years through our shared emails. I'm thankful that not only has he proven to be a great source for aftermarket parts for our CB1100s, but also that in my opinion, he defines what it means to provide great customer service. An element that seems to be exceedingly rare these days. Mr. T has helped make many a CB1100 owner's personal visions become reality. Good stuff!


RE: Five Years! - clearviewx - 04-13-2018 02:54 PM

Thank you for everything you created.


RE: Five Years! - SportsterDoc - 04-13-2018 02:55 PM

Thank you for starting and maintaining this Forum!
Hope your health improves.


RE: Five Years! - Perry - 04-13-2018 03:07 PM

Thanks for being here!

I feel like I'm five years late to the party, but I'm sure glad you do what you do. I started scoping this forum out several months ago when I started seriously thinking of picking up a CB1100. Reading through a bunch of the posts gave me what I needed to know this was the bike I wanted. I know the value of being able to pick brains from around the world on issues that come up, and share in the fun of being a mc rider.

Thanks, and keep it up!


RE: Five Years! - Lord Popgun - 04-13-2018 03:11 PM

Thank you Guth! And Ferret and Cormanus! From a plank owner and holder of the only CB1100 forum secret decoder ring, awarded by Guth himself Big Grin. (Search for it here and you’ll see it true!)


RE: Five Years! - peterbaron - 04-13-2018 03:38 PM

Guth, Thanks for creating wonderful Forum and Cormanus with Ferret for maintaining it so wonderful plus
...and most members are good too Tongue..lol...

BeerClapBananaCelebrateExcitedHello

Worship

pb.


RE: Five Years! - Nortoon - 04-13-2018 03:44 PM

I appreciate your efforts. I know how time consuming a website can be. Clap

I have enjoyed the hobby of garden railroading since 1991. In 1999 our very small club decided to put up a website rather than print a monthly newsletter. What started out as small exchange of information, is now 177 pages of articles, some of them very lengthy and detailed. What amazed me is that the website attracted an average of 5000 visitors a month from all over the world.

We now have an annual 4 day event visit called the American Invasion of Ottawa. These are American friends that run trains on club members railways that they found out about through the website.

Forums and websites are a great way to share information and help others that are stuck with something they are working on. It also helps people that have a common interest to meet.


RE: Five Years! - DAC - 04-13-2018 04:00 PM

Guth - it's been said many times, but thanks so much for creating this place. joining up just two months after you created it, I would never have guessed this forum was basically brand new. Everyone was so enthusiastic and the knowledge base being created and shared was superb!

I'd have found the CB1100 without the forum, in fact I waited until the DLX came out before "officially" joining the club by buying the actual bike. But the combination of a great bike and a cool community is so much better! The CB doesn't have a huge following - I've seen maybe one other in the wild here - so it would have been like being the only one who "gets it."

Also, kudos to Mickey and George. The 'round the clock guardians of the realm. Thanks gentlemen!


RE: Five Years! - Aussieflyer - 04-13-2018 04:09 PM

Hey Guth this site is awesome! Info exchange galore, conversations a plenty, a launching pad for friendships... Nice job mate, thanks to you, Cormanus and Feret for all the hard work.
Good luck with the health challenges on your plate
Cheer
AF


RE: Five Years! - The ferret - 04-13-2018 05:47 PM

5 years. Hard to believe. It's marked on my calendar at home, but I'm on a (what else) bike trip over in Illinois, and not with my calendar so it slipped my mind. For the most part it's been real fun. Not sure my wife appreciates that when she gets up I'm on here, then I shower and go for a ride, then after dinner I'm on here and when she's ready for bed, I'm still on here lol. I know I have no life lol.

Want to thank Guth for having the foresight to buy the forum name and start the forum back in 2013. What a blessing for those that own, or hope to own this classic Honda motorcycle. Also many thanks to Cormanus for his never ending work on keeping this place running. couldn't do it without him. It was a bit hard convincing him to take the job, had to pester him for awhile, but he finally gave in and we are all the better off for it. Appreciate it George.

Also would like to thank the forum members, many who have become friends, some of whom I get to see yearly somewhere in the country for some camarderie and crooked roads riding. If you haven't made it to a rally to meet some of your fellow forum members, you should, some great people ride this great motorcycle.

Forum members thanks for your time, civility, participation, and humor. Know that whether you ride a 13, 13 ABS, a 14 std, a DLX, an EX, or an RS this is the best place on the net for learning and sharing info about this special air cooled inline 4. Probably the last of its kind.