I wanted speed but had sod all dosh. An all too common refrain. Don't laugh, but I was getting my kicks on a cafe racer CB750K2 - until more than 20 years of abuse broke the crankshaft at 145000 miles. Nothing much of the venerable four cylinder engine was left. The chassis was so basically unsuited to 130mph kicks that I decided it wasn't worth doing an engine transplant. I sold off what I could and held the rest in reserve for that happy day in the future when OHC Honda's are venerated just like Vincents.
Various bikes were explored and tested with a view to purchase. My ideal machine would've been a Dresda framed CB750, not least because it dumps over a 100lbs and it actually goes around corners. No chance of buying one of those cheaply. After a few desperate months on the spare bike - a hack CB400N with bellowing exhaust - up turns a Honda CB1100R. What the f..k's that? Turn to the UMG, no mention! Must be rare then. Turns out to be an early try at a race replica with a beefed up 1100cc engine that churns out well over a 100 horses - even with 45000 miles on the clock and signs of obvious deep abuse. The best thing about the bike was the £995 price, which I managed to knock down to £700 after the clutch played up.
The reason the clutch played up was because I'm a lazy bastard. Once out of sight of the vendor, I'd done a spectacular wheelie which had made the clutch sound like a gun going bang. A few more of those meant slip was the order of the day. An easy way of testing a bike out! It was only the engine overheating a touch, nothing to worry my pretty little head over but a good bargaining point. As the owner was in plaster from falling off his CBR400, he was in no position to complain!
On closer examination, I wasn't sure which bike he'd fallen off. The back Comstar wheel had a couple of minor dents, a large lump of exhaust filler fell out of the 4-1 where it'd been knocked in and the plastic was heavily patched in places. None of this had any effect on the handling until at least 125mph was up. The back end would shimmy all over the shop and the bars would twitch a little - in other words a relative ball compared to the old, goatlike, CB750, whose speed wobbles were like having a serious upper body work-out thrown in for free.
It was just as well that I had bulging arm muscles because the CB1100's one heavy old darling that needs a firm grip and steroid inspired shrug to get through the bends when using the power to the full. This is one hell of a ride come 7000 revs when the power pours in hard enough to cause blackouts and tarmac gets eaten up so fast it's dead easy to end up in a hedge or a ditch on the trickier circuits...er, back roads.
Using all of the throttle and getting through the hard to engage ratios rapidly (after a 145000 mile old CB750, any relatively modern bike has an easy gearbox, believe me!), pushes the bike up to some highly illegal speeds. You probably won't believe me, but 160mph is within its remit. So call it 150mph if we want to be truthful, it's still damn fast and fantastic fun.
Ridden thus I soon found out that it was horrendously expensive to run. 20 to 25mpg and less than 3000 miles to wear out the tyres, chain and pads. I could get the rear rubber down to the carcass in less than 20 minutes if I wanted to play silly burn-out games! The pads wore out so fast because I was always zooming up to corners far too rapidly; at least the brakes were both responsive and aggressive, saved me from the tarmac rash many a time.
The engine's one of those early aircooled DOHC designs that caused so much angst amongst the speed tribes of CB900 owners. But Honda put some decent engineering into the 1100 as it was meant more or less as a track device for road use. The screws that held on the major engine covers looked like they had never been touched; the only element that gave any indication of mortality was the clutch, which could overheat, slip and rattle.
That apart, I was encouraged to rev the motor to the limit whenever conditions allowed. Secondary vibes attacked the tank and seat to a severe degree come 8000 revs, though the bars were uncannily smooth. Going into the red, the fairing vibrated merrily, though it was undoubtedly weaker than when it came out of the mould.
Comfort was limited by the stretch over the long petrol tank to the bars, which positioned my body wrongly on the poorly shaped and rather thin (by wear or by design, I know not) saddle - 50 miles or less would have me squirming around in agony, though if I got through the 100 mile mark my body then became inured to the discomfort for the next couple of hundred miles. Strange but true.
Having suffered a number of old, highly modded Japanese fours I can say without doubt that the CB1100R's the best bike I've ever owned. It didn't stand a chance against something new like a CBR600 in the bends but it had the legs on it in terms of power, and a couple of times I got it all together, even whipped into shape those kids on the replicas. For someone working their way up the motorcycle game it's an excellent training ground.
For 6000 miles I was wandering around sporting an ill-concealed grin and boring anyone who would listen with tales of high speed insanity. The first sign that all was not well was reluctant starting, having to resort to a bump start several times. With over 500lbs of meat and three dragging discs this wasn't my idea of fun. I thought about giving the engine a full service, then copped out on the excuse that I didn't have a manual.
A few days later I noted an absence of 7000rpm kicks. Coming home from work I tried to force the engine up to 10,000 revs in second gear, when the mill locked up with a crunching noise. I was left stranded in a sea of annoyed cagers. Clutch in, I managed to drag her into the gutter. The engine started again after 15 minutes of cooling but knocked all the way home. I hoped it was the clutch bearings. I was half right. They were shagged but so were the main bearings! In fact, the whole motor was dead on arrival.
Terry Stuart