TX1100F

I'm planning on getting mine ceramic coated soon. I'll take some video before and after with my IR temp gun. BTW I discovered that the hottest part of the exhaust is NOT the head pipes as they exit but rather the junction where they come together down below. Kinda surprised me at first but then made sense as I pondered the cumulative heat energy as it becomes more concentrated. :icon_think:

nice cans - both sets. :icon_clap:

Got 14,500 miles out of my Brigestone BT57 OEM tires. Daily commuting, no burnouts, easy acceleration and easy braking. Basically driving it like a gramma. Replaced with Pilot Roads a couple months ago.

I originally used 80W/90W gear oil as recommended in the Honda owner's manual. cleaned off with WD40, dry, squirt gear oil in my hand and run chain through it. it got messy and stinky... I now use Maxima Chain Wax. smells a lot lot cosmoline. i ride it to work to heat up the chain, spray it on, and begin my day whilst it soaks in. 16K miles with no signs or sounds of odd wear other than normal chain stretch.

+1 Simple and effective. Compressed air takes them off like magic. My old grips were glued on with some rubber cement like stuff. They didnt even stand a chance against 90psi.

hehehe... You found the video I made. And yeah, this is the forum I made the info-video for. OK, so I am very pleased with my drilled out pipes. The first thing I would recommend is to start by getting a 1 1/4" hole saw (not a damn iron bar with a sharp point you animals...) on a long extension and drill through the resonator wall and the mesh baffle (this part was NOT included in my silly video. I drilled down it's throat after I posted the video). If you want more noise, then use a 9/16" bit (after a well placed pilot hole of course) to drill out the decorator holes at the end. And yes, if you puss out and leave them 1/4" or 3/8" they sound like a very big minibike. Second recommendation: I would stop at 1/2" if I were to do it again as 9/16" takes out too much of the beveled edge on the useless-but-pretty holes. What did this buy me??? 1) More sound - it's fun to go under bridges! 2) Mildly better mileage - I gained almost 2mpg. 3) I saved $500-$1000 by not falling for the silly and negligible claims of 2-5hp from "aftermarket" pipes. If I lose the weight I need to, I can gain an equivalent 7HP, keep $1000 in my pocket, and get all the benefits of not being a fat-ass. I will try to update the video soon to show the added tone from the 1-1/4" holes down the middle...

My FI light used to go on right after starting it and went out a couple seconds later. I swear I saw if go on/off quickly while riding a couple times but could never actually verify this. I replaced my battery (for other reasons) and the FI light has not shown it's ugly head since. WalMart battery is a cheap $30 test and it's easy.

Emailed Michelin about the Pilot Road 2. Here's the reply FWIW... ************************************************* Tim, Thanks for your note to Michelin. The Pilot Road 2 is a wonderful tire and has really been received well in the European market. This Product was developed for the European market and released there first. We are considering bringing this product into North America but have not yet made any decisions. Please keep an eye out to the media and talk with you local dealers. If we do release this tire within North America, we will issue a press release. Take care and have fun riding, Brad Faucette Motorcycle Marketing Manager Michelin North America, Inc. Office: 864-458-5801

I love my Smuggler! I have a 34 inch inseam. The OEM seat is taller so if you can't hit the ground with the Smuggler, it'll be harder with the OEM. As a side note, a friend asked if the harder Smuggler was really more comfortable than the OEM seat. HELL YES!!! Keep the Smuggler, deflate the tires.

Well... After working through a few tanks of gas, I seems that I got about a 2MPG increase wiht the 6 outer holes drilled. So... I stuck a 7/8" hole saw down it's throat and drilled. And then said fuggit and stuck a 1 1/8" hole saw in behind it. The 7/8" hole was nice. Not much louder but deeper. Just nice. The 1 1/8" hole sort of alarmed me when I first snapped the throttle! ME LIKEE!!! I opened it up today for a few seconds (3rd gear) and it was defintely roaring up top (9K RPM-ish) but still reasonable and sane and 4K-5K RPM. I will update my silly video soon to add the sound comparison with the addition of the 1 1/8" hole through internal plates. I'll see if my neighbor will follow my lard butt with a video camera and catch all that funky-fresh action from behind... :icon_silenced:

I ride 12 miles each way. It aint much but it's something. I occasionally sneak out for a drive at lunch. Riding is riding. And 2 minutes to gear up saves me a LOT of gas money vs. driving my truck. ...and I always put my cover on.

I have the opportunity to latch on to a new job position next year that would complement my ADHD. The "floating tech support guy". This would entail me traveling to various locations and play the hero role to my fellow tech folks by helping them with the ebb and flow of work orders. That said, I DO NOT want to drive my gas-hog truck. I would like to continue riding my 'bird daily. But I will need to carry spare parts and spare PCs. I see Goldwings and the occasional cruiser towing small travel trailers. Is this idea Bird-able? It would also serve as a very cool way to go on short weekend trips with my kids and wife (one-at-a-time)! Do hitches exist or would it be a custom fab? -to tow something like this...

Exactly that. The $30 cover takes the abuse of shit and pollen and sun rather than the $5K bike... I wish I had one on my other bikes. My BMW roasted the plastic and gauges. My V45 Sabre same. My CB360 same. My CB1100F is out of the sun and in pieces in the garage so it's safe for now. Plus the minor security aspect: Out of sight, out of mind. Not a huge deterrant - but it's something...

Nelson-Rigg. Casual on an off times... From dismount, to out of the Beetles, strapped on, and ready to walk: 35 seconds. From arrival to rolled up and back in the Beetles: 20 seconds. Times could be cut by 30% if I was in a hurry...

Get a half-cover from anywhere for about $30. I got mine from the stealership. The sun will bake away plastic. It will also eventually turn your pretty gauges and switches from red to pink to pale pink to trash.

I am very close to buying these recommended by TuffguyF4i.

My FI light used to go on for a scant couples seconds immediatley after I started it. Every time. I figured that was normal. I thought saw it faintly flicker a time or two also but I couldn't be sure so I didn't panic. One day I cranked it and heard that the starter was spinning a LOT slower than, say, from a couple weeks earlier. I put it on a charger and it only moderatley helped. and FI light still lit on every start. So I got a new battery (at Wal Mart thank you) and not only did the bike crank faster than I have ever heard it but the FI light NEVER came on again (not including the self-test when turning the ignition on). My guess: my weak battery was not running fuel pump as it should so the fuel pressure was decreased triggering the FI warning. As soon as the engine had a couple seconds to spin up, the voltage also corrected as did the fuel pump / pressure / FI light. a new Wally World battery may be your cheapest first step...

I am almost ready to punch out the center too. My original intent was not necessarily to make more noise or HP but to lean it out a bit. I can smell unburned fuel and so can the gearheads I work with. I have a K&N (yes, I read that it LOWERS HP...) and was hoping that letting it breathe easier would get closer to an ideal A/F mix and allow more heat to get the hell out the back quicker. As a side note: I also won a set of OEM pipes on eBay. I plan send them to Performance Coatings to get them ceramic coated. -and again the main idea is to push the heat out the back but if the increased velocity (volumetrically from the lack of exhast cooling in front) gives me a couple HP, it'll make up for the K&N. I ride daily, rain or shine, 25F or 105F, and it's FREAKING HOT in the Texas summers and I want me and the 'Bird to be cool! If anyone's interested, I'll post my results as I mess with it over the next few weeks...

So I read Sykotek-xx's post about taking the drill to the OEM cans. Intriguing... :icon_think: First, I bought a pair of nearly new cans on eBay in case something went horribly wrong. Second, I PM'd sykotek-xx for his thoughts on the whole thing a few months after he did the deed. Third, well, i started drilling. Hooray for poor white boy cans! or cheapskate cans. -whatever you want to call them.

I lost 15 pounds in about 4 weeks without trying anything other than eating a spinach salad for lunch. Dressing, cheese, avacado, etc were on it. But a giant salad with 800 calories is WAAAAY better than a giant lunch with 2000 calories. But that got old fast... I dropped another 15 by using http://www.fitday.com to simply log my intake. I was absolutely floored when I ran the reports and saw how damn much food I was eating each day! So I didnt cut anything out of my diet, just didn't eat like a big fat-ass. The cheap South Beach Diet paperback is a good read too for just explaining why some high calorie food is actually good in moderation and some low calorie crap is, well, crap. Avoid ANYHTING with "hydrogenated" in the ingredient list and make sure high calorie food has nutritional payback (no empty calories). It IS a lifestyle change. I was programmed for 25 years to clean my plate and then I get ice cream for desert. I am trying like hell to change. I hate being fat. Lucky the XX has the torqe and HP to roll me around!

currently on eBay... So two weeks ago I was damn near rear-ended by a dumb-ass driver (one of my fellow teachers! ). All I heard was a wildly honking horn and then the horrid sounds of locked up tires getting closer very fast. My mirror had a lot of Ford Ranger grill and headlights in it. I opened the throttle and we both think that is what saved my ass - literally. Thank God for Honda for the XX! Funny part is that my first thought was "DAMN! This is REALLY going to fuck up the swingarm and rim!" followed closely by "DAMN! This is going to hurt!". Anyway, I have a headlight modulator that I feel does a hell of a job letting folks know I am around -from the front. :icon_clap: Does anyone have a recommendation for/against fancy rear flasher relays? And no, loud pipes do not save lives. :icon_wall:

9 Year old house. 5 dogs, 3 cats, 2 boys. Wife's been nagging about having it cleaned for 7 years. I kept refusing. "We can clean our own damn house!" I kept saying. Well, we both work and Saturdays are spent picking up crap and putting it back where it goes, and laundry, and yardwork, etc. It usually rolls into Sunday too. We have never really cleaned the house. Just the standard vaccuming, and bathroom wipedown quickies, etc. And then the weekend is over and the 'Bird never even got started. After trying in vain to make headway this weekend, I gave in and told her to find someone. She did. $250. A crew of 3 people will be coming Wednesday morning to do the initial cleaning. The crew lead came by to eyeball what they are getting in to and she said it will take a full 8 hour day for the 3 of them. And maybe a followup to get the things they run out of time for. My hope is that weekends will become free again to do fun home improvement and family stuff. True? Any tips?

'01 XX. 8000 miles. 4000RPM +/- 200 get the failing CCT sound. Pissing me off as I want to ride a sewing machine again. Currently have a double green dot on it. I can buy ANOTHER double green dot, APE, or X11. Right? Which one will give me the best (part) performance? My philosophy is that when something breaks, you should always try to upgrade in quality/performance. Which CCT will give me both? Is there a alternative to the three I've listed?

I noticed that. Great idea! :icon_clap:

HEY NOW!!! It's sitting at 8K. I bought it ~5K a couple months ago. I blew out the cobwebs the first week getting all squidly and stuntin' and shit. Yeah, I'm checking the hoses and connections that are accessible. Also hosed it down. Man!!! That radiator was loaded with dirt! I guess I know what to douche better next time it's gets a bath. -and the oil cooler. I removed the fairings for good measure. Figured I'd do it the "correct Honda method" the first time then look for shortcuts once I know the bike better. Thanks all!