YOSHIMURA
We all like to add a bit of bling to our bikes don't we? Well sadly, I can't afford to replace two perfectly good silencers with expensive Yoshimuras, so I did the next best thing and fitted two Yoshi decals instead, LOL.
DISAPPOINTING PAINT FINISH ON ENGINE
After a short ride-out the other day, I arrived home and washed the bike. During that process, I noticed some paint had come off the front lower part of the engine, so I lay down on the floor and discovered that the whole sump pan was effected. I could hardly believe my eyes!
I emailed Richard at Blackpool Honda with the photos and told him that I was very disappointed to see this happen on a brand new premium priced bike after just 500 miles! I was also concerned that they wouldn't have one of these in stock in time for the bike's 1st Service (which would mean me having two 80-mile round trips to get the service and the warranty work done.
Anyway, that aside, I enjoyed my day out around Lancashire and North Yorkshire....
My tank cover arrived from Germany today and I installed it as soon as I got home. It took about 10 minutes to install because you have to feed two straps around the frame just under the rear of the fuel tank, so it meant undoing the fixing bolt and lifting the tank about 30mm.
Even with the back of the tank raised slightly, it's still a bugger to get the straps fed through and I recommend using some long-nose pliers to reach through to grab the strap and pull it towards you. It's all a lot easier with the side panels removed. Once that's done, the rest is simple. Bear in mind that the cover will go on a LOT easier if it's been sat in the hot sun for a while. The heavy leather will become a lot more compliant.
There's one thing for sure - it ages the bike, in appearance. One minute I have a lovely gleaming brand new bike and the next minute I have a dark, mean looking thing. This is always the case with tank covers - on any bike. They're not there for aesthetics - they're there to protect your fuel tank from scratches and dings, provide you with some knee-grip during more "spirited" riding and finally, to allow you to attach your Baglux Luggage.
I've always had these tank covers on my bikes. I keep the same tank-bag but obviously get a new cover when I change bikes. There's a HUGE range of bags available and the one I chose doubles up as a back-pack.
After purchasing the new HJC IS MAX-II Helmets, it was time to install the Sena SMH10 Intercoms. I removed them from the Shark helmets and double checked everything before laying them out for fitting in the HJC's. It was extremely simple to remove the internal padding of the HJC's and there was a nice deep aperture in which to fit the Sena speakers. I just had to slice a tiny sliver of the polystyrene off on each side to make the speaker sit perfectly flush. As with ANY modular (flip-front) helmet, there's always an issue with the microphone, but the SENA Dual Kit comes with flexible Boom Microphones which make it all that bit simpler. Needless to say, when the front of the helmet is brought down to the closing position, you need to pull the boom-mic close to your lips to avoid getting it trapped by the chin guard. In use, the Sena SMH10 performed flawlessly (as usual). The audio was much clearer than it had been in the Shark helmets and we are both glad to be back in touch :-)
Today I went to Blackpool Honda to collect my Honda Luggage Rack and Givi Monokey Rack. Together they should have been £331 but they gave the kit to me for £145 to compensate for how poor they’d been during the handover of the bike.
Anyway, it took no time at all to fit it (the original grabrail stays in place). It looks fabulous in chrome and without the Givi plate, it enhances the look of the bike, making it look even more retro.
We went out for a wee ride at weekend - not far because it was BOILING HOT and we couldn't stand to be in leathers for too long. We decided to go for a bit of lunch in Southport and enroute we stopped off at the gorgeous little village of Croston...
GIVI TANKLOCK BAG Having sold my VFR1200, I was left with a Givi TankLock bag and assumed that the locking ring would be the same for the CB1100RS - it wasn't! The fuel filler cap is, in fact, much smaller on the CB1100 and I was unable to find anything on Givi's website :-( I’m fortunate enough to be able to get the guys at work to fabricate a new ring, so I started to lock the old one in place so I could determine the dimensions required. Having done that, I discovered that the whole thing was rock solid! And now I’m wondering whether to even bother having one fabricated from scratch or just leave this in place. There’s no way it’s gonna come loose! Well, not unless you purposely try to rip it off with full force. It's not ideal, but if it works, why bother trying to fabricate something new. It's not a high security device or something!
MIRROR EXTENDERS (LHT) As usual, the mirrors on the bike are pathetic!! All I could see was my elbows, so I ordered a set of YAMAHA Left Hand Thread extenders from ebay and WOW what a difference!! Just to note, you need 10mm, 1.25 Pitch thread.
R&G OIL COOLER GUARD
That oil cooler was looking a little vulnerable to me and I hate to see rads with buckled fins. It's not just about stones hitting it either - there's some pretty weighty bumble bees around and they're more than capable of messing things up!
So I fitted an R&G Guard and I have to say, it was real easy to install. Great fit and it looks pretty good too.
NEW HELMETS We've got decent helmets at home, but Liana and I thought it would be good to get a couple of Modular helmets (flip-up front), so we looked around and opted for the HJC IS MAX II. We chose these because they're a great price (discounted by the nice people at Bolton Kawasaki) AND they came with FREE PINLOCKS and FREE CHINGUARDS (these aren't included in some countries). In a MOTORAD test in Germany, these helmets came in 5th place against some pretty expensive, top of the line competitors and they also scored very well in crash-tests. In the next couple of days I'll be installing the SENA 10S intercoms in both helmets and I'll leave a report on here. I should like to point out that up to now, I can find no way of mounting my DRIFT GHOST II camera, due to all the lines and swages in the design of the helmet. I've not given up yet, but it's definitely not straightforward. Even the space on top of the helmet is occupied by controls for the inner sun-visor. Here's a review of the helmets...
The HJC IS-Max II is a polycarbonate shelled flip-up/modular crash helmet with an integral sun visor. It’s on sale at a very attractive price-point for such a well-featured helmet – and it scored pretty highly in German magazine Motorrad’s review of a range of 16 modular helmets – coming in 5th place. So let’s take a look at what features it offers and, most importantly, what owners think of it.
Modular/flip-up helmet
Scored 4/5 in SHARP safety test
1.76Kg – about average for a modular
Integral sun visor
Glasses groove
Sizes XS – XXL
Price range: £190
Safety
We anticipated that the HJC IS-Max II might score 3 stars in the SHARP safety test because that’s the score every other HJC modular has achieved (to date). But as of Sept 2015, the IS-Max II has been rated as 4 stars for safety, which is a very good score. SHARP also noted that the chin guard stayed closed and locked in every test – which is outstanding and not something every flip-up helmet can manage by any stretch.
So the HJC IS-Max II is one of the best modulars in terms of outright safety – well done HJC and a good improvement on their previous helmets.
The shell is manufactured in ‘Advanced’ polycarbonate – polycarbonate being the material of choice for cheaper helmets, mainly because it’s a cheaper substrate to buy and work with in the first place. Having said that, don’t let the fact that it’s polycarb put you off – some of the safest helmets around are polycarbonate. The shell is created in 2 shell sizes and is available in fittings XS-XXL in Europe (up to XXXXXL in the US though!).
Helmet Noise
Even though the IS Max II has been wind-tunnel designed and tested, most owners seem to think it’s average to poor for noise suppression. Which is about what you expect for most modulars as they tend to be noisier than the average full-face helmet. Of course, riding with ear-plugs in will make things just fine.
Ventilation
The HJC IS-Max IIs ventilation is much improved over the old IS Max. There’s a large and easy to use toggle switch on the chin guard and a slider on the forehead – easy to find and use, even in gloves.
Top view showing vent & sun visor sliders on the HJC IS Max 2
Ventilation is provided by what HJC call ACS or their Advanced Channeling System, which is similar to most other manufacturers’ systems these days and includes vents that channel air through the shell and into channels within the polystyrene compression lining, through the comfort liner and straight onto the scalp. Stale air is then taken out through the rear exhaust
Visor
There’s both an optically-correct main clear visor and a drop down integral sun visor fitted to the IS Max 2.
The main visor is Pinlock-ready (though unfortunately isn’t supplied with a Pinlock in the box (Got ours free at Bolton Kawasaki)) but has a nice wide aperture for extra peripheral vision and a decent double-edged gasket seal against rain and wind ingress. The main visor also gives 95% UVA-A and B protection too. It’s secured to the helmet with HJCs Quickslide system – HJCs take on the quick-removal and tool-less visor removal system, and it works really well – great for whipping off your visor for a clean after a long run.
There are one or two moans about how light the integral sun visor is – in that it could be a bit darker. However, owners do like the way the visor operates. There’s a 3-stage spring-loaded slider on the top of the helmet that allows you to drop the visor into position and then retract it at the touch of the spring-loaded button. As per usual, it’s not anti-fog so it can steam up in cold weather but that goes for every other sun visor on the market too (for now!).
Side view of the gloss white Max 2 showing full extent of chin guard opening.
Chin Guard
There have been one or two murmurings about the chin guard not giving the right feedback to the rider that it’s locked in place (i.e. it doesn’t clunk loudly enough when you close it). So you may need to make sure you give it a solid slam to close it and a bit of a tug to check it’s locked in place until you get used to it. However what’s nice about the HJC IS-Max 2 is that it only requires one button press to open up the chin guard so it’s easy to open with just one gloved hand, and that this latest version closes against metal pegs compared to the plastic pegs of the previous model – which should reduce the chance of the chin guard opening in an accident. No other problems are reported with the chin guard.
Comfort
Owners widely report that the IS-Max 2 is a comfortable helmet. When you buy one, you may find that it requires a fitment size up as a number of owners report having to return it for a size larger (so make sure you buy from a retailer that has a no-quibbles replacement policy) but once you’ve got the right size, you should be happy with the level of comfort offered by the IS Max 2.
HJC IS Max 2 Flourescent Green
Internally, the removable and washable liner is both antimicrobial and moisture-wicking (like those found inside most lids these days) but it also has a glasses-groove making the helmet more comfortable for glasses-wearers and easier to slip them on/off when wearing the helmet. Cheek pads are independently removable and available in 3 sizes to help you tailor the fit – and while there isn’t a chin curtain provided in the box, they can be bought separately if you like the draft-excluding and noise-cancelling effect they can offer.
Looks & Graphics
The IS-Max II isn’t one of those helmets that come in tons of colour schemes. There’s the usual gloss/matt black and gloss white, together with a hi-vis fluorescent green. In addition there’s the Elements design scheme – that comes in 5 colours – some shown on this page.
Other stuff – communicators & buffeting
Fitted with comms device
The HJC IS-Max 2 does have a couple of generous pockets for speakers and should work well with most third party communicators. Owners also say that its aerodynamically-sculpted shell means that the Max isn’t susceptible to buffeting.
Picked up the CB1100RS straight from work tonight and here she is, parked up outside my home. I absolutely MUST get some mirror extenders because they are virtually useless without them!
Well, it's 4 hours to go before I collect my new girl from Honda Blackpool. Dammit, that clocks ticking sooooo slowly! Ive got my VFR1200 prepped and ready for the PX and as soon as I finish work, I'll be riding over to do the swapover.
Friends (inc virtual friends from FaceBook and Forums) have been asking why the hell would I swap a 170BHP bike for a 90BHP bike? Well the truth is, I just love the look of the CB1100RS and I love the nostalgic feelings that it invokes in me. It looks just like the sort of bikes I used to either ride or lust after back in the 1970's when I was but a lad :-)
The original CB1100 which was introduced in 2013 was not quite right as far as I was concerned. It looked good, but not good enough to make me change bikes. But the RS changed all that. I honestly think it's a beautiful bike and as far as I'm concerned, there's got to be that visual attraction first and foremost when choosing a bike. If you're not blown away by the look of a bike, then the relationship is not gonna last long. Maybe I'm shallow, LOL.
Anyway, I look at the RS and I see those gorgeous flashes of gold and yellow. That aluminium swingarm, the tweaked indicators, the flatter bars and the alloy wheels. Lovely! Sounds daft, but the round orange indicators of the EX are just that tiny step TOO retro for me.
I find one part of the bike to be a bit of a let-down and that's the silver side panels. I really wish they'd gone for something rounder and more retro along the lines of the 1969 CB750 shape.
The flat side-panel probably suited the 2013 CB1100, but because the new RS has that beautiful, curvy fuel tank, I think it's kinda ugly and doesn't "fit" the bike anymore.
Oh and there's one other thing that disappoints me slightly. I honestly thought that Honda would have taken the opportunity with that flat, one-piece seat, to have hinged it like in the old days. But no, it has to be completely removed and "put somewhere" while you access the underside. Very disappointed in that. It would have been a nice nod to the past designs; not to mention extremely convenient. Ah well, we can't have everything we want, can we?
Back to the switch from 170 to 90 BHP. Yes, the CB1100 is woefully underpowered when compared to the awesomely grunty VFR1200. There's no denying it - it feels slooooow by comparison. But I'm sure that after a few weeks, I will have forgotten how punchy the big girl was and will no doubt just change my riding style to accommodate the CB's power range.
The fact is, Britain is PEPPERED with speed cameras and some of the best roads in the country are now controlled by Average Speed Cameras. This problem is going to get worse, not better, so there's not much point in investing in SuperSports performance when most of the time you can only dawdle along with the rest of the road users.
Anyway, I'm nearly 60yrs old and need to calm down at some point! And I'm riding for two these days, as my new partner loves coming out on the bike with me, so I have to consider the risks for someone else and not just me.
I had every intention of going for the Black model but when I arrived at the showroom, I saw the very latest (new for 2018) Digital Silver, so I chose that instead.
I should point out that I also considered the Kawasaki Z900RS but after looking into it more carefully, I soon discovered that unlike Honda, Kawasaki didn't even build a Retro bike! They simply converted a current model (the standard Z900) into a lookalike! Yep, that's right, it's just a regular water-cooled modern bike with the top end replaced by lookalike tank and seats. They couldn't even be arsed to give it twin exhausts, LOL.
At least when Honda decided to build a Retro bike, they did a proper job of it, and built one from scratch with an air-cooled engine!
