General Thoughts About Handling

EMS · Post by **EMS** » Sat Mar 21, 2009 3:29 pm

I am a little sceptical about the date of 1977/78 on the photos. For one thing, it would be a real early CBX conversion, actually a pre-production one and I don't think these wheels were available in the 70s, early 80s.
These shots look like they were made in the early 90s.

cbxtacy · Post by **cbxtacy** » Sun Mar 22, 2009 7:27 am

the front forks sure look interesting on it though. Did anyone else notice them?

EMS · Post by **EMS** » Sun Mar 22, 2009 1:02 pm

cbxtacy wrote:the front forks sure look interesting on it though. Did anyone else notice them?

They look rather "home-made" to me. If they are USD forks, they seem to have very little travel.

alimey4u2 · Post by **alimey4u2** » Sun Mar 22, 2009 1:08 pm

cbxtacy wrote:the front forks sure look interesting on it though. Did anyone else notice them?

Design copied from Greeves racers & Ariel 250's amongst others including earlier DKW's George.
A little unknown fact on the Dymag wheels, they designed and produced the world's first magnesium motorcycle racing wheels for riders such as Barry Sheene and Eddie Lawson.

EMS · Post by **EMS** » Sun Mar 22, 2009 1:14 pm

cbxtacy wrote:and here's Ray's bike dragging sidestand on Mulholland

and here's another pic, I like his pipe

The SchÃ¼le is a very nice exhaust. It is quality made and the header looks great on the bike. However, it is -like all exhausts - still a compromise. And like all multiple-into-1 systems it is an exhaust for horsepower at higher rpm. It does have a certain lack at mid-range. The SchÃ¼le concept is taylored to the riders in Germany where you have much more high rpm/speed outings than you can ever have in the U.S. If you like the roll-on-the-throttle feel-of-the-pants thrust, it can be disappointing.
You could have had one, George.

I had one and sold it a couple of months ago for $2,200.-. It was in pristine shape. Was mounted and run a couple of times including a Dyno session. Another thing I didn't care for on the CBX was the lack of a pipe on the left. I prefer the "balanced look" of two pipes. But that is very personal.

cbxtacy · Post by **cbxtacy** » Sun Mar 22, 2009 8:09 pm

I like the Schule but not enough to spend money for one. I prefer a 6 into 6, stock, or pipe with the collector designed like stock where the headpipes are in line and not grouped together like a conventional 3 into 1 collector because that's usually a ground clearance problem place. And I like pipes coming up both sides because there's usually a ground clearance problem where they all come up the right side on the CBX. The exception is my 6 into 2 with two staggered canisters on the right side like a flat tracker because it looks bitchin, sounds cool, and mine is the only one in the world as far as I know.

Highmileage · Post by **Highmileage** » Mon Mar 23, 2009 2:48 pm

The first post in this thread talks about the importance of ground clearance, and then states, 'The roadsmart is a nice tire and the dia is 24.89 v/s 25.95 for the GT501 in a 130/80-18 so you only lose .53 " in ground clearance when verticle.'

The stock size for the rear is 130/90-18, but this once popular size is getting tougher and tougher to get. Back in 2000, I had another white '82 CBX and I put some Conti Blitz tires on it. The rear was also a 130/80-18.

I noticed a slight loss of ground clearance and especially noticed this when it was parked on a crowned street. I had to be very careful so as to not have the bike want to fall over, especially when it was windy.

That's one reason I just ordered a set of Bridgestone S-11's for my current '82 CBX. I ordered it with the rear size of 130/90-18, a size that is becoming quite rare indeed.

EMS · Post by **EMS** » Mon Mar 23, 2009 3:28 pm

The Conti Blitz is still available in 130/90-18.
The 18 inch rim is rare as OE equipment on bikes with narrow tires. That's why the 130/90 is a dying breed. 130/80s and 140/70s are more prevalent.

Mike Barone #123 · Post by **Mike Barone #123** » Mon Mar 23, 2009 3:52 pm

[quote="Highmileage"] I noticed a slight loss of ground clearance and especially noticed this when it was parked on a crowned street. I had to be very careful so as to not have the bike want to fall over, especially when it was windy.[quote] multiple snips/mb

Know exactly what you mean.

One year at Marlinton, Donna and I borrowed Dave Ditners late model....(our two bikes were long gone on a ride). Dave warned me the side stand put the bike up nearly vertical, but ofcourse I ignored all that and for my reward the bike pinned me hard against a gas pump in Monterey when a small wind came up and it fell over. Everyone on the ride thought this was great fun/funny.

Way back.......I put a real high profile 140 x 19 on the back ...no thought to it at all other than get a tire wider than a bicycle on my 80x....nor any measurements..why do that. If I recall correctly this tire jacked the back up so high both the center stand and side stand would not work.....so first pass at 3/4" steel block welded on the bottom of the sidestand base

:suspect:

:suspect:

More recently my early model ended up with the opposite issue...sidestand got bent somehow and even with 1100f on front and back (1" less diameter each end...1.2" height diff)...it still leans over too much. So here we are once again with the second pass on a 3/4" steel block welded on the bottom of the sidestand base ...or bend the side stand straight...whichever is the most difficult ....ofcourse!

Highmileage · Post by **Highmileage** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 12:42 pm

There was a time when these tire sizes were common, but that time is long gone (just as it has been ages since we rode BritBikes with 19" rims front and rear).

I just got my new BS S-11's delivered yesterday afternoon and hopefully, I'll get them on the bike later today.

They're 100/90-19 front and 130/90-18 rear. While I know that some have complained that these tires are not the latest tech, etc., since I ordered them from Chaparral (where I get all of my cycle tires), I am confident that these were made last month and they feel like fresh, sticky rubber.

Of course, the proof of their value is how they feel after broken in!

Give me a day or two and I'll report back...

EMS · Post by **EMS** » Wed Mar 25, 2009 10:38 am

I am not sure if anybody would consider this, but my favorite cheap-cycle- parts-source, JC Whitney offers a V-rated 130/90-18 Tour Master made by "Shinko" for $87.95 and a 130/90-18 H-rated Marquis by Maxxis for $61.99.

Mike Barone #123 · Post by **Mike Barone #123** » Wed Mar 25, 2009 11:32 am

Highmileage wrote:snip/mb

While I know that some have complained that these tires are not the latest tech, etc., since I ordered them from Chaparral (where I get all of my cycle tires), I am confident that these were made last month and they feel like fresh, sticky rubber.

Of course, the proof of their value is how they feel after broken in!

Give me a day or two and I'll report back...

Looking forward to your report. I have no heard any complaints or issues on the S11s.

As far as the latest and greatest tires.....what I do know about CBXs, CBXers and tires .....is that most tires today are better than most of us can ride a CBX. Given this ass-umption, I buy tires based on how I want to ride most of the time so I dont have to think about tires on rides.

Soooooo....if I want to use the CBX or any bike mostly in the twisties...I would not buy a tour tire because I would be thinking about this in the twisties vs concentrating 100% on the road. If I wanted to use my CBX for touring or Sunday rides I would not buy a sport tire because I would not want to think about burning up this tire on each ride or on interstate based trips/tours.

Sport/Tour tires are a good compromise for those of us that like to do both.....butttt still.....down deep I do know most if not all tires today are better than I can ride my CBX

Highmileage · Post by **Highmileage** » Thu Mar 26, 2009 1:25 pm

Well, the weather sux. I've got the tires but they're not on the bike yet.

The S11's are a compromise - as are all tires. They are not the hottest, newest, or stickiest tires, they are not a touring or a sport tire.

And they are cheap - cheap enough that I'd rather ride with these Bridgestones than with Shinkos or Cheng Shins or Kendas or whatever else is out there. They were only $127 a pair, although I understand that these and many other tires have recently gone up in price about 10%.

Anyway, I prefer known brands when it comes to tires.

Since mine are brand new, I expect them to stick pretty well. At least at first. And if they last as long as I expect, we'll see how they feel after six months, too.

New rubber always feels so damn nice and sticky, regardless of the compound. I should be reporting back with more next week...

EMS · Post by **EMS** » Thu Mar 26, 2009 1:37 pm

Highmileage wrote:
Anyway, I prefer known brands when it comes to tires.

...

They are all made in the same plants in China, Korea or India. Some come out of a mold with "Bridgestone" on it, others come out of a mold with "Dunlop" on it, others again come out of a mold with "Shinko" on it...

Highmileage · Post by **Highmileage** » Thu Mar 26, 2009 1:44 pm

EMS wrote:They are all made in the same plants in China, Korea or India. Some come out of a mold with "Bridgestone" on it, others come out of a mold with "Dunlop" on it, others again come out of a mold with "Shinko" on it...

Perhaps, but there are differences both in the carcasses and in the tread patterns.

Even if they may come from the same factory, this does not at all mean that they are the same tire.

Anyway, these are marketed as an all around tire - decent handling and decent tread life. As much as I like to bend it over in the curves whenever it is practical to do so, the truth is that most of the roads that I ride are straight and flat 50 or 55 mph roads - either highway or country roads. So it would make no sense for me to get a really soft and sticky tire. And at these prices, I'd rather get two sets of these than some super hard highway tire that might be more appropriate for most of my riding but would really suck when I do get to bend 'er over.

Please, let's try to keep at least one thread clean. No humorous comments please about my saying above that something sucks or that 'I like to bend 'er over'!