Post Reply 
 
Thread Rating:
  • 0 Votes - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Starting on a CB1100 as a first bike
Author Message
buckwheat Offline
Break-In Period

Illinois
Posts: 45
Joined: Sep 2016
Post: #31
RE: Starting on a CB1100 as a first bike
(06-25-2017 09:31 AM)josiah.hurt Wrote:  I had never driven a dirt bike, smaller motorcycle, or anything but a car but my first motorcycle purchase was in fact the cb1100.

I wouldn't recommend buying it and trying to drive it home. I trailered it home and then practiced for several days in our huge church parking lot.

It was terrifying and I felt like I had made a very expensive mistake but after a while of practicing in a controlled environment I am now completely comfortable on the bike.
I'm also 6 1 and 175 pounds so the weight of the bike wasn't a huge deal for me.

So my answer is yes and no. You decide.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

To be fair against my previous post, my nephew at 25yrs old did the same thing. He had never owned a motorcycle of his own although he had ridden a few smaller bike on occasion. His dad came into some money so he bought my nephew a next to new full dressed Harley Davidson. The dealer wouldn't even let him test drive it because he didn't have a motorcycle license. He later took the motorcycle safety course on that bike and got his license. I thought it was a very bad idea. He did crash and total it on the intestate a few months later. Luckily he got it slowed down enough and with the help of full crash bars and the saddle bags he wasn't injured save but some light road rash. He bought another HD with the insurance check. This was 2 years ago. So some people do go full big bike on their first purchase.
06-25-2017 10:42 AM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
ride4now Offline
High Mileage

Florida / Georgia USA
Posts: 1,413
Joined: May 2013
Post: #32
RE: Starting on a CB1100 as a first bike
(06-23-2017 07:23 PM)LikeAfox Wrote:  
(06-23-2017 01:25 PM)The ferret Wrote:  
(06-23-2017 11:44 AM)LikeAfox Wrote:  I'll add that a CB 1100 is a vanity standard cruiser

Good luck


a what??? That's a description I've never heard before. ROFL
Well, think about it. It's a very smooth inoffensive and mediocre motorcycle. Nobody here or anywhere bought it because it excels at anything other than looking very pretty. It's made to cruise, not perform.

VSC license plate is available in my state. Hmmmm

Mediocre??? Really? I must have flipped forums by mistake...

‘22 BMW R1250 GSA
‘14 Honda CB1100 DLX
'09 Kawasaki KLR650
‘70 Kawasaki H1 500
06-25-2017 11:18 AM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
memphismike Offline
1st Service Completed

Memphis, TN
Posts: 190
Joined: May 2016
Post: #33
Starting on a CB1100 as a first bike
I took in MSF class in 2001. My first purchase was a Shadow Sabre 1100. I think the CB1100 is fine for a starter bike. Buy something smaller and you will be selling it 3 months later.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I see everyone talking about how heavy the CB1100 is. It feels like a bicycle compared to my GoldWing of 950LBs!!!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
(This post was last modified: 06-25-2017 07:40 PM by memphismike.)
06-25-2017 07:38 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
LikeAfox Offline
1st Service Completed

Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 137
Joined: Nov 2015
Post: #34
RE: Starting on a CB1100 as a first bike
(06-25-2017 11:18 AM)ride4now Wrote:  
(06-23-2017 07:23 PM)LikeAfox Wrote:  
(06-23-2017 01:25 PM)The ferret Wrote:  
(06-23-2017 11:44 AM)LikeAfox Wrote:  I'll add that a CB 1100 is a vanity standard cruiser

Good luck


a what??? That's a description I've never heard before. ROFL
Well, think about it. It's a very smooth inoffensive and mediocre motorcycle. Nobody here or anywhere bought it because it excels at anything other than looking very pretty. It's made to cruise, not perform.

VSC license plate is available in my state. Hmmmm

Mediocre??? Really? I must have flipped forums by mistake...
Ride more bikes
06-25-2017 09:19 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
ride4now Offline
High Mileage

Florida / Georgia USA
Posts: 1,413
Joined: May 2013
Post: #35
RE: Starting on a CB1100 as a first bike
LAF - you don't know me and you don't know how many bikes I've ridden or owned. So I'll take that comment for what it obviously is. In addition, you publicly state that a machine is mediocre and say it to the fans who obviously do not agree with you or they wouldn't be hanging out here. That my friend is a form of heresy. The point is, these are all opinions (yours too) and like it or not, yours (at least in this forum) is in the minority. Which may actually be a fact... Have a great day!

‘22 BMW R1250 GSA
‘14 Honda CB1100 DLX
'09 Kawasaki KLR650
‘70 Kawasaki H1 500
06-26-2017 03:53 AM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
Aka Tsubasa Offline
1st Service Completed

Minnesota
Posts: 102
Joined: Apr 2017
Post: #36
RE: Starting on a CB1100 as a first bike
I smell a foxy troll.......Dodgy
06-26-2017 05:16 AM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
EmptySea Offline
Lives On Two Wheels

Chicagoland, USA
Posts: 7,004
Joined: Jun 2013
Post: #37
RE: Starting on a CB1100 as a first bike
A quote from Like A Fox "It's an incredible machine, plan on keeping it forever. "

MTC

"If you can’t go home again, at least you can enjoy the ride” — Peter Egan


2013 CB1100 non-abs
2013 CB1100 abs
06-26-2017 05:29 AM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
nhawk7504 Offline
Running Like a Top

Boston
Posts: 608
Joined: Sep 2013
Post: #38
RE: Starting on a CB1100 as a first bike
I learned to ride on an 80cc two stroke in the dirt and also a 250cc Trials bike which was meant to go slow over obstacles. Trail riding taught me about sand, wheels slipping, mud, skidding, the back tire slipping, both tires skidding on the brakes, riding through water and mud at the same time, riding up very steep hills thru and around pine trees with the bike trying to flip over, riding on slippery rain soaked trails, tipping the bike over, flipping it over backwards, riding up and down deep sand pit hills etc. So, yeah smaller bikes taught me a lot. They also sell very easily when it's time to move on to something else. My first street bike was a Honda Nigthhawk 650 and it weighed 465 pounds and had 74 HP.
06-26-2017 07:06 AM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
ride4now Offline
High Mileage

Florida / Georgia USA
Posts: 1,413
Joined: May 2013
Post: #39
RE: Starting on a CB1100 as a first bike
Back to the subject at hand. I'm sure the CB has been a first bike to many but I don't think it would be a wise decision. I agree that the bike is a bit heavy and could actually be too powerful (pun not intended) for a new rider. I guess it would actually depend on the rider, him or her self, and whether they're 'confortable) on the bike. I think most people would be better off to start with something smaller and less expensive and then move up from there. But alas, and again, just an opinion. Good luck with your decision!

‘22 BMW R1250 GSA
‘14 Honda CB1100 DLX
'09 Kawasaki KLR650
‘70 Kawasaki H1 500
06-26-2017 07:12 AM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
LikeAfox Offline
1st Service Completed

Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 137
Joined: Nov 2015
Post: #40
RE: Starting on a CB1100 as a first bike
(06-26-2017 03:53 AM)ride4now Wrote:  LAF - you don't know me and you don't know how many bikes I've ridden or owned. So I'll take that comment for what it obviously is. In addition, you publicly state that a machine is mediocre and say it to the fans who obviously do not agree with you or they wouldn't be hanging out here. That my friend is a form of heresy. The point is, these are all opinions (yours too) and like it or not, yours (at least in this forum) is in the minority. Which may actually be a fact... Have a great day!
All of this is true. And my opinion is just a matter of my own perspective and personal experience, so please judge it on your own merit. I'm a fan of cb1100 and plan on keeping it forever, however that does not stop me from seeing its shortcomings, which are just as prevalent in any other consumer product. I like it because it's a beautiful and easygoing motorcycle. I don't like how primitive and underwhelming it is for its price range (lack of traction control, stability and abs for $11k, to be precise). You can buy a Super Tenere for $2k more and it's twice the bike cb1100 will ever be.

To stay on topic, a first motorcycle is supposed to teach you how to ride. A top heavy bike with loads of low end torque will do NO SUCH THING. I have a friend who started on a heavy cruiser then graduated to a heavy BMW touring machine. He still can't do a U-turn in less than 3 lanes of traffic and nearly parks it around sharper corners. All because he was insecure about buying something small and light, but that's a mental issue, not a practical one. I bought a GZ250 and rode it for a year, because that's what we had at MSF and now can do figure 8 in a single traffic lane.

There is a proper tool for every job. Can you start on a cb1100? Sure. But just like forcing imperial sockets on metric bolts, it's a stupid thing to do.
06-26-2017 07:36 AM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
Post Reply 


[-]
Forum Friends
Premium Exhausts & Unique Parts from Japan

[-]
Recent Posts
Triumph Thruxton RS Final Edition
Interesting dilema, Mr. P... my vote wou . . .pdedse — 08:16 PM
Triumph Thruxton RS Final Edition
The same bike not even broken in wit . . .Ollie — 08:09 PM
Triumph Thruxton RS Final Edition
I've been riding since I was a kid a . . .The ferret — 07:52 PM
Triumph Thruxton RS Final Edition
I am grateful for a cage that keeps me w . . .GoldOxide — 06:30 PM
Triumph Thruxton RS Final Edition
:rofl:The ferret — 06:04 PM
Triumph Thruxton RS Final Edition
A new Camry should last till the next Ic . . .Gone in 60 — 05:39 PM
Triumph Thruxton RS Final Edition
That is a very good story, Ferret. In . . .The ferret — 03:58 PM
Triumph Thruxton RS Final Edition
I don't know about that... they're easy . . .Gone in 60 — 03:50 PM

[-]
Statistics
» Members: 6,521
» Latest member: gregb6718
» Forum threads: 15,974
» Forum posts: 329,787

Full Statistics

>
Forum Jump: