To modify, or not!. That is the ??.

Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 12:54 am

Haven`t done anything yet, with the 11f I aquired. My friend whose shop I`ll be useing, burned himself from fingers to elbows (3rd. degree).
Anyway... I`ve been reading all your posts (& drinking alot of beer!).
Man... that Dyna ignition thing was a real drama!.

Which leads me to this question. If it already works, should you F#*~ with it?. I generally wait `till the stock stuff is unserviceable, & then look for an updated fix. Especially if the update is cheaper than new stock equipment.

I also wonder about the affect on value of the bike. Not that I`m a "speculator". But you guys really savaged the "restored bike" on Ebay, for not being "original". And when I bought mine, I didn`t know they were so rare. I usually don`t care about this stuff. I like to make a few changes on any bike , just to "make it my own". I`ve already been told it might have been worth more with the stock carbs & exhaust. Now I`m abit apprehensive about making any changes that could not be reversed.

When the PO showed it to me (when he bought it), my first words were
" those huge signal lights gotta go!!". Now I look & think they`re alright, `cos they fit the period it was made in. Still, it would look cool with some smaller ones.

I`ve decided to do only what is neccessary, inexpensive, or free. For now anyway!. But if I get on a roll at a later date, who knows?. I`m intrigued by some of your bikes that have the big tailight & fender removed. Haven`t seen any rearview pics of them tho`.

So far, I`ve just removed the stock mirrors & installed 1 "cafe style" bar end mirror.

Would like to hear a variety of opinions on this subject!!!.

Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 1:33 am

If your bike is stock and in good shape, keep it that way and make her better. If she has been even raped a little bit, go for it and change everything from the crank shaft to the signal lights, I did and came up with this.

I just put these signal lights on my bike. They came from a distributor called Western Power Sports.

Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 2:41 am

Personally, I have a hard time leaving things alone for very long. I;ve never regretted it either. Smile

CB1100F Joined: Mar 03, 2004 Posts: 3278 Location: Seattle

Modify her, while keeping the stock parts.... New shox, dont hurt the value of either stock nor modified. Beefier clutch, chain, tires., exhaust.....all help too.... and YES, so does an after market ignition system.... My 9 is running basically stock electrical components, except for the coils. But she isnt heavily modified.

Get the basic mechanicals in order b4 you think of heavily modifying her...you know...stupid stuff, like checking the steering stem/swing arm bearings/bushings.... Shocked

Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 6:06 pm

Mods? You don't need any stinking mods.

Ride it for the year and then decide what you want. Who knows, you may appreciate it. Then once you use the brakes and they fade out on you you may want to go to braided steel lines and don't forget about a steering damper and progessive shocks on the front end.

Anyway, I guess it depends on how deep your pockets are. I'd ride the damn thing for a while and then decide what needs doing.

Where are you at in Ontario? If you find it a reliable bike then you can ride to the North East Spring Ride or the Honda Hoot (whichever one is within your riding distance) and check out some F's that have already been modded and get first hand info on the owners thoughts about it. Beware that since these are F meets, all modifications will be spoken of as the 'Cat's Ass' - 'Sweet!' or that american term - 'Sick'.

Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 8:57 pm

Asking this crew whether to mod or not is pretty much a forgone conclusion. When I first picked up my bike I was only interested in fixing it up enough to ride, Now a have a word document listing every mod that comes along that I like, and have started picking up parts.

Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 11:20 pm

Thanks for the replies!!.
Of course I`ll check all the important stuff first. It does have an old style V&H pipe & older style Mikuni smoothbores already. So it`s no virgin!

The pipe has not turned blue, & I followed the PO when he delivered it, & it didn`t blow smoke of any colour. So I`m hoping the jetting is somewhere in the ballpark, & the motor not in need of a major teardown.

Stuff like signals & Progressive fork springs are cheap enuff. The chain is shot, & I always go with a good one, rather than 4 crap ones. Cheaper in the long run, & no frequent adjustment hassle.

Sprockets are scrap. That weird tin guard thing on the rear one is loose on the rivets. Do the replacement sprockets have those ?. Do y`all like the stock gearing ?. Had considered 1 tooth more on the rear, just for the hell of it. Use my Yam. FJ12 for touring. Still, I`d like to be able to do some distance riding on this one.

The brakelines must be getting abit ancient by now. I put R1 calipers & master cylinder on my FJ. Had braided lines custom made. Cost a bloody fortune !!. Would like to put `em on the 11f tho`.

Tyres are garbage. Was thinking of Bridgestone BT 45s. Use Metzlers on the Yam., & would like to try something different on the Honda.

Good rear shocks are a million $$. So will see how the stock ones work. What`s the favourite replacement ?. Gotta be something with the piggy back reservoir, `cos they look soooo cool !!.

Wadabout oil ?. I`ve had good luck with Motoul semi synthetic in my other bikes. But read on this site that straight fossil oil is the way to go.

My LH handle bar switch is cracked. Found 1 on Ebay, but it was cracked too. Got a refund. Not available thru` Honda. Is this a common problem ?.
Will one from another Honda work ?.

PO recovered the seat with an after market cover he got with the bike. Looks OK, but wish he`d left the passenger strap off. He said he wanted it to look close to stock. But they`re bloody useless anyway!!. IMO it would look better W/O it. Can`t take it off now, or I`ll have 2 holes in the cover.

Of course, modifications are a personal thing. IMO, the chrome airbox covers on the "Ebay bike" looked like shite. I`m not that crazy `bout black fenders either ( tho` the bikes are 1st. rate ! ). Gotta luv personal expression, or they`d all look the same!.

Gotta go before I bore you all with ???, & my rambling thoughts. Answers to ???, & opinions will be greatly appreciated. Thanx !!.

Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 11:34 pm

How do you feel about the bike? Maybe you should ride her, as is for a season, except for maintenance mods.

If you decide this bike is nice, but you don't see yourself holding onto her for a longtime and maybe moving on to another bike of interest, keep her as is and save your money for what pops your rocks.

If she gives you a raging hard on and you plan on being buried with her, (like me & my F; shhh, don't tell my wife! ), then go balls out to make yourself cream your jeans everytime you look at her in the garage or a parking lot! Twisted Evil

Excuse me while I go out in the garage and punch the clown!! Embarassed

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 12:17 am

Fastball wrote:

If she gives you a raging hard on and you plan on being buried with her, (like me & my F; shhh, don't tell my wife! ), then go balls out to make yourself cream your jeans everytime you look at her in the garage or a parking lot! Twisted Evil

I want my bike and myself to be bronzed and posted up on the hill over Mulholland Hwy. Since I think being burried is a waste of good real estate, making a statue out of me and my bike is the only logical thing to do.
How did you know that I cream my pants every time I look at my bikes? Confused

It gets kind of messy about the fourth or fifth time Embarassed

Hawk Joined: Oct 07, 2006 Posts: 276 Location: Abingdon UK

honda designed the bikes for everyone,, we or i am not evereyone so make it your own , i did

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 1:09 pm

Modify and be damned, you know you want to!

Important Learning Point #1: When modifying a bike (or car) NEVER expect to recover your investment if you were to sell, because you won't. Modifying is too personal and the odds that there is someone who wants EXACTLY what you've got and values it (important bit) the same as you is not very high!

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 10:37 pm

Well of course I want to !!. But will take care of mantainance 1st. Wouldn`t do anything too drastic `till I rode it awhile. Alot of the stuff I`ve done on my other bikes was "just `cos I needed a project", to keep me outa trouble. I`ve even done stuff to friends bikes, for the same reason. I have access to metal & welders at work, so it was free.

Got rid of a huge tail light , plate bracket, & ugly chrome fender on a friends Kaw. KZ1000. Now it has a cool "cat eye" light & licence plate recessed into the rear tail section. It had round chrome signals, the size of your hand. I gave him a set of Lockhart Phillips ones I had bought for my FJ, & decided not to install. And a set of black Superbike bars I`d had on my Norton, but changed for some chrome drag bars I liked better. Then he crashed it !!.

I`m fairly competent with mechanics, but no genius. Fortunately I know people who are. As well as acoupla "ace" machinists, & a bodyman/painter. If they like my idea, sometimes they work free. Other times they give me a deal, if I do what I`m capable of & leave the rest to them. Showing up with a few beers always helps!!.

Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2006 4:12 pm

MOwtrhed Ontario's a big place where abouts are you?

Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 12:30 am

I like the modified versions:

I can't stop looking at it where ever it is parked.

Toddk

Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 12:33 am

Other side so you guys can stare too! Laughing

Toddk

Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 6:01 pm

looks stock to me! Wink

Posted: Sat Nov 18, 2006 2:16 am

Yeh !!, & it`s not one of the faster, prettier red ones either !. Twisted Evil

Posted: Sun Nov 19, 2006 2:42 am

stock? well, my bike has a lot of stock parts. Like my tank, it's stock... (not the color, but the metal)!

and, well. Not much else, but the tank is! Twisted Evil

Posted: Fri Nov 24, 2006 7:37 am

the simple solution is to only make mods that can be turned back to stock easily. this is just about any mod you want to make, unless you plan on cutting or welding on the frame. engine mods dont really count because you are not affecting the overall appearance. if you already have alternative carbs, any mod here is only going to be for the better, but for perfomance almost any carbs but the stock CVs are the way to go. new fork springs are also invisible, but the rear shocks can be easily replaced by some inexpensive adjustable aftermarket shocks. you can go for piggyback shocks if you like the look and can afford them [they are not a million bucks, usually only a couple hundred], but new cheap shocks work surprisingly well compared to the 23 year old stockers.
you can look at "rarity" and the over-all value of your bike as 'unmodified' compared to all the changes you can make to improve it like if it were a comparible old car. you can have a rare muscle car completely stocked out right down to the old bias ply tires and never see the full potential of what fun that car can be to drive. you will have a 'hard to insure', 'hard to store', 'pain in the ass' that may or may not be worth a fortune, or you can add modern tires and wheels, modern carbs and cams, and modern suspension upgrades and really enjoy it. you see a lot of modified mustangs and GTOs out there for all the "trailer queens" that you see at car shows. if you want to have a BIG smile, go for it.

Posted: Fri Nov 24, 2006 1:07 pm

bingo! when i bought mine it was a 8,000 mile stocker that had been garaged its whole life. while it sat for a long time it was barely scratched. this was going to be my only bike so i wanted it to run and ride as best it could. for me that meant changes. lots of em. none of them detract from the bikes appearance or value. on the other hand i dont expect to recoup any money either. maybe i'll never sell it and give it to my son who rides when i cant go anymore. either way, this modified bike has been a joy and the buddies i've met through here have made my riding experiences better too.

CB1100F Joined: Jul 02, 2003 Posts: 3189 Location: Phoenix

Hey Wario, that sure is a pretty picture that you took. What kind of camera was used?

Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2006 3:07 am

solman wrote:

Hey Wario, that sure is a pretty picture that you took. What kind of camera was used?

The funny thing is that it's a compact camera! It's a Nikon S6. It takes wonderful pictures and fits in my pocket...

Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2006 3:37 pm

You did an excellent job, wario! Cool

I've always liked those colors and you used them very well.