Harald

There's a good deal on a OEM 1997 manual on ebay under item # 321212651954 . Only $20.

For historical purposes: The bike sold for $3800 to a lucky rider in MO. BTW, I mounted a new tire for the new owner before his 2000 mile ride home and took it for a test ride. Man, I'm gonna miss that bike! I really like my new FJR1300, but the CBR is slimmer, lighter, faster and better handling. Maybe I'll need to get a 600 sportbike for fun purposes?

One and the same. I work hard to take care of my rides - I'm one of those guys that'll rip your head off if you touch the gas tank and put fingerprints on it. But it's gotta go to help pay for the new ride in my life - a FJR1300.

--- Price reduced --- For Sale: 1997 Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird Motorcycle Very well maintained and in very good condition. Adult ridden and never crashed. Only 33981 miles. Heli bars and Stealth alarm with pager have been added. Asking price reduced to $4200 http://www.cbr1100xx.org/forums/gallery/11..._560_295808.jpg http://www.cbr1100xx.org/forums/gallery/11..._560_271785.jpg

I've been using WD40 on my chain since my 97 bird was new. I now have 30,000 miles on the original chain and it's still in good shape. I used to use PJ1 black or blue (preferred) label on previous bikes with O-ring chains and I never got even close to the mileage I've gotten on this current chain that's never seen anything but WD40. I don't think I ever saw over 15,000 miles on a chain on a few bikes over at least 100,000 miles of riding. Assuming the o-rings are not damaged, then you are not actually lubing the chain rollers because the lube is supposed to stay inside (which is what the o-rings are for). The WD 40 does it's job by stopping the external part of the chain from rusting and there's no sticky residue to attract dirt which will eat the o-rings. Works great for me.

Anyone know of a way to put a passenger backrest on a Blackbird? I've searched online and the only option I can find is a Corbin Gunfighter seat which has an optional passenger backrest. I'd rather just add a backrest that bolts in place of the grab rail.

I just had my rear Pilot road go flat a couple weeks ago. Luckily it was sitting in the garage and I noticed it when I hopped on to ride to work. Also luckily I had a new one sitting in the garage because I was going to replace it the following week anyway. The handling on the worn tire was getting horrible anyway because of all the highway commuting I do. Once the tire gets that flat spot from lots of highway miles, it starts to feel unstable in turns. I'm glad to hear you were able to stop with the flat. I've never had a flat while riding and I've ridden at least 150,000 miles in my life, so I don't know how tough it is to handle. I do know I wouldn't want a flat while high speed cruising like I was doing in Montana last weekend at over 165mph.

I really like my Mityvac. Make sure you put some grease around the bleeder fitting threads to stop vacume leaking. Otherwise you'll have to pump continuously to keep the vacume. This isn't a Mityvac problem and would apply to any bleeder you get.

Valve grinding compound is great for this situation. I also use it on the tip of philips screws for better bite. But the first thing I'd check is the condition of your allen wrench. If it's rounded at all, take a belt sander or file to the end so you have a fresh wrenching surface. Then use valve grinding compound. If that doesn't work, you can take an appropriately sized screwdriver blade and use a hammer to force it into the allen head slot. Then you can just turn it like it was a standard slotted screw. I keep old screwdrives for just this kind of thing so I can grind or file them to suite my needs. I won't repeat the other good ideas already mentioned.

I've been using plain old WD40 for years now. I've got 30,000 miles on the original chain and it's not worn out yet. I got the idea from a article I read years ago and one of the chain manufacturers reps recommended WD40. It makes sense because a O-ring chain is permanently lubed in the rollers. The O-rings keep lube in and dirt out. So you just need to keep the chain clean and stop it from rusting. WD40 performs both functions (it's not actually a lubricant). I ride year 'round in the rain here in Seattle and the biggest problem is having to apply WD40 almost daily in the winter when I get home from work because the rain has washed any protection off the chain. Maybe that chain wax will work better? How does it hold up in the rain?

It checked my valve clearances at 16k and all were within tolerance. Checking the clearance is easy - taking everything apart to do it is a pain in the butt. But I'll probably do it again at 32k just to be safe.

My 97 is stock except for Heli bars. My daily commute is 25 miles each way with about half of it highway. I usually keep the tach at 5000rpm on the highway so I'm ready for a quick pass when there's a gap. Nobody ever beats me off the line at a stop light (in other words I make good use of the throttle). My average mileage is 35. I recently changed air filter and plugs and checked valve clearances. I haven't sync'd the carbs because I didn't have an adaptor to fuel the bike while syncing. I run 37/39 with Pilot Road tires. I seem to get less mileage than other guys in any vehicle I have. I guess I'm just a lead foot/hand. My 2000 F350 crew cab dually 4x4 pickup only gets 10mpg avg. Some guys claim 15, but I have to really baby my truck to even get close to that figure.

I just have one caution about using this method. I had recently checked my front brake pads by using the nose on the pavement method and they looked fine. Two days ago I noticed that the front brakes pulsed some as I came to a stop, so I decided to do a more thorough brake checking. What I found was that the part of the front left caliper outer pad that I couldn't see using the nose on ground method was worn to the metal. Hopefully the rotor wasn't damaged. I ordered some EBC pads and hopefully will be back on the road next week. BTW, I rode through 2 ungodly rainy days here in the Seattle area where we had record flooding and now that the weather's nicer I'm stuck waiting on pads .

New to the forum. I've had my XX since 1997 and still love it except it's starting to wallow more than usual. I see that Hyperpro has a shock to fit the bike. I'm not an extremely agressive rider, so I figure the type 40/Emulsion should work for me. Anyone install a Hyperpro shock on their bike? How do you like it? I see that a lot of guys have the Penske or Ohlins setup, but I'm hoping to keep costs down. Thanx.