USA cb1100f v's European model

MB-5 Joined: May 23, 2015 Posts: 3 Location: UK

Hi
Can anyone tell me what the differences are between the American and European versions of the CB1100F.

I can see that that the U.S. Version has the bikini fairing.

Thanks in anticipation.

Peter

Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 3:12 pm

Peter, On Tom K's red U.S. model, it is factory stock except for (what I can see) the spark plug caps (as he changed the stock coils to CBR900 units)
and the chain and sprockets.

On my blue Canadian model, which is very close to the Euro models, non factory items are: chain and sprockets, black powder coated valve cover and the seat is from a 750F.
The Canadian model does not have a seat strap, as it has the rear grab bar. I have also changed my brake lines to braided SS.
Other differences are obviously, the fairing/instument/headlight setup, the Canadian model has rear set pegs, which are also shaped differently, the turn signal assemblies are different and the wheels and brake discs are different.
I love the gold comstar wheels on my blue model. That is one thing alot of people comment on, asking if they are factory wheels.
Also, according to Honda specs, the Canadian model produced a bit more HP, probably due to emission regulations in the US.

Cheers!
Chris
ps. I will be able to take a picture of these two bikes side by side this coming weekend as we are both going to be at the North East Spring Ride in Saratoga Springs, NY, along with 40 other of our closest friends!!!

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Posted: Thu May 28, 2015 4:18 am

There are FURTHER differences between both models which are being over-looked!

How about the sport-kit type THROTTLE aka switch-pot? And the handlebars for that matter? I think a cockpit view photo would be just as useful as a silhouette shot.

Much as I am a great lover of period-correctness, Concours restoration specs, "originality" etc - I should think that ALL such discussions include the information that there are OTHER bikes out there with Boomerang Comstar wheels on 'em, other means of fitting rear-set pegs to the bike, other bikes with the same or similar sport-kit style throttle controls, and especially these days - cheap clip-on bars!

Because it seems to ME at least, that the USA-spec CB1100F's are somewhat under-valued - when what you COULD build with one of 'em for that difference in price would amount to a machine superior to the Canadian/European spec CB1100F!

Take for instance the Boomerang Comstar wheels. Yeah, the GOLD powder-coat is beautiful - but try & find a pair that is in original condition that both hasn't had and doesn't NEED to be re-finished. As such, re-painting a pair of BLACK or SILVER Boomerang Comstars doesn't seem like such a cop-out.

Oooh I loves me some wheels - them gold Boomies are the first thing to catch the eye when you see these bikes, but much as that's wonderful there are even MORE wonderful wheels that pop even more - not the least of which are yet MORE Boomerang Comstars (or other Comstar wheels in general for that matter!)

Even if you feel that the 3.00x18" CB900F2 or CBX750F rear Boomerang somehow ISN'T better than the 3.00x17" version on the CB1100F - Because of the smaller diameter's lesser rolling inertia I suppose? Personally, I feel the 18" & 18" pair of hoops is far more cool 'cause in the first place that's what the CB1100R looks like from the side

CB1100R '82-'83 versions, with it's 3.50x18" Gold Boomerang rear wheel the biggest/widest version of 'em all - available for exorbitant prices from the likes of "BORS" over in Germany, last time I checked - and probably more $$$ than it would cost to have a skinny wheel weld-widened to 4.50x18" I would go with the XBR500's 2.50x18" Boomerang with it's tiny little drum - and replace that hub with a lump of Billet or modify it with an insert-type rear disc brake conversion - OR use a 2.50x18" FRONT Boomerang with a bolt-up cush-drive from a Ducati - weld it up to a pair in 2.50x18" & 4.50x18" or even 3.00x18" & 5.00x18" and even with powder-coat it'd cost around the same as what they're asking for the NOS CB1100R wheels! They don't even NEED to be welded - probably a lot lighter if they're not - the Akront "NERVI" type rims come in a whole range of sizes, 5.00x18", 5.75x18", 5.75x17", 6.00x17" - all with the same central flange type attachment as found in the Comstar wheels from D.I.D. - Yamaha Super-Tenere also has a central-flanged wheel rim, as do several other D.I.D. Honda wheels, with reversed spokes for nipples in the hub, for tube-less applications. Yamaha XV1100 Virago had versions with wheels such as this. SEVERAL such wheels which utilize this method - to m knowledge the rims themselves come from either Akront/Morad of Spain, or D.I.D. in Japan. However there's no GUARANTEE that they'd FIT per se, so the weld-up method has become the de facto standard for widening any & all wheels, cast-mag, composite and yeah even some WIRE-SPOKE wheels!

COUGH - yes as I was saying, even IF you're nuts for the 17" spec rear wheel, you can ALSO find a rear Boomerang Comstar in 3.50x17" from the Bol D'Or versions of either VF1000F or CBX750F - both of which are a good supply of the 2.50x18" front Boomerang to match with the 3.00x18" from each of the regular versions of which.

(((It should also be stated that for the FRONT wheel at least, where there's a one-for-one comparison of same-size wheels - the GL1100A 2.50x18" version of five-spoke black/reverse COMSTAR wheel, is actually lighter than the 2.50x18" BOOMERANG rim - probably because the Reverse-Comstar wheel has a hollow shoulder with thinner walls forming a sort of a BOX SECTION, while the Boomerang has a SOLID WALL rim, which is probably three times as thick as the walls of the other wheel's more complex structure. I guess the solid ones don't wind up with little beads of welding spall inside, making a tinkling sound that you would only hear while turning the thing in your hands of course - Has ANYBODY heard tinkling beads inside their regular Comstar rims while the wheel is turning ON THE BIKE? Any which way, when it comes to building the most perfect and awesome set of weld-widened Comstars for a DOHC-4 Honda, IMHO the CB400/CM400 offers up the best pair, for an RS1000/RCB replica type of thing!))))

But WE'RE talking about Boomerangs! Yes. What MAY be a decent performance advantage - the later versions of the Boomerang (VF1000F/CBX750F) come with what appears to be a slightly smaller, possibly LIGHTER, lesser diameter rear hub. Albeit, you'll wanna watch ot and be careful picking out the 2.50x18" FRONT wheel to match with it. 'Cause many of the front ones from these same models also have an odd hub which uses rotors that don't have a central carrier, much as you see on the above CB1100F USA model. That's well and good IF you're gonna stay with the smaller diameter rotors which came with these, but will limit your options for replacement rotors in larger diameters.

As does the TRAC fork from either model. There's a kit from WEBIKE Japan which replaces the rotor and calipers and uses a caliper hanger of different shape or dimension so as to work with the larger rotors. The EASIEST way to stick the bigger diameter rotors on the bike is using either the 39mm non-TRAC fork from CB900F or GL1100 etc and the non-TRAC caliper hangers from the GL1100A Aspencade or the CBX pro-link models - THEN you can adopt the 296mm rotors from such models, identical parts to those fitted to the CB1100R.

Now, if you wanna go crazy on the TRAC anti-dive stuff, IMHO the dream-bike version of this would be to use a fork from the GL1500 Goldwing. It's 41mm just like was fitted to Spencer's AMA Superbike, as championed at Daytona, and now sits in the Honda Collection Hall. It's also got an integral fork-brace as opposed to the Tarozzi type clamp-around type fork brace like I've got on my bike - the GL1500 version could be sooooo much simpler and lighter, easier to set-up and "tune" etc. Perhaps most important the GL1500 fork has a 20mm axle which is said to be just as big an upgrade as fitting a fork-brace. I suppose our OEM forks could probably be adapted to a full-width axle of clamp-diameter as well, but the Goldwing fork comes as is.

There ARE of course, also fully set-up forks from the GL1200 which also have the 296mm double-layered/vented rotors like CB1100Rb/c models, which are also 41mm they just don't have the 20mm axle, it's only 15mm like the CB750F, CB900F, CB1100F, and all sorts of dinky little bikes like the Kawasaki KZ400 & KZ440LTD, the Suzuki GT550 & GT380 etc. Just to point out what a weak underbuilt area of the bike this truly is!

However, the GL1200 forks have that 296mm rotor, while the GL1500 and it's PC800 Pacific Coast close-cousin only have a 286mm rotor. Albeit, it seems to ME at least, to be a perfect place to start in building a fake DRUM brake, just like people are doing with the CBX550F internal disc hub - which isn't really internal at all, it's a good double-layer/vented disc with a plastic cage/shroud clipped around it's circumference, the REAL problem with the CBX550F brake is that it's only 230mm diameter! If you've looked into that whole type of project, you've probably heard it described as a very heavy front hub. Well I wonder how much that has to do with it being a double-layered/vented type rotor, just like these here 296mm version from the CB1100R etc - and being that it's inside of the damn hub where you don't see it, I'd think it behooves one to replace the thing with a water-jet cut plate of CAST IRON - just like the old racing brakes used to be. I sort of had the same idea with the 286mm stuff from the PC800 Pacifica / GL1500 Goldwing internal disc. That is, IF I can manage to build a fake 4LS drum out of the thing, in keeping with the whole "Homage to the '65 CB450K0 Black Bomber" theme of this here build project of mine.

But another option presents itself as well - for the 296mm rotors to fit with the GL1000 front hub, I had planned on using the alloy center carriers from the GL1000 or SOHC CB250K front rotors. But realize that the REAR brakes from GL1000 & CB750F1 etc are ALSO 296mm it's just that they're single layer stainless which is to say substantially lighter. Once they're cross-drilled all to hell, they'd weigh even LESS. There are even replacement rotors made to fit the OEM carriers, with nuts & bolts instead of the stainless rivets. But I wanna use rivets from the Harley "JUICE-DRUM" rear brake, where the sprocket is riveted to the exterior circumference of the drum brake itself. If nothing else, the rear SPROCKET of a Harley is lighter than any equivalent you'll find on a Japanese bike! And there are STAINLESS rivets no less, made for dressing up the prehistoric Juice-Drum which soldiered on well into the '80s. Which is to say, VERY common parts not a difficult find at all. And you'd THINK the Harley shops are up on changing rear sprockets, hey? Shouldn't be hard to get this type of thing serviced, if it's beyond one's own abilities.

So yeah, I think THAT would be one heck of a period-correct front brake. Keeping in mind that you could do this with ANY of the front rotors with composite construction, nine rivets onto an alloy central carrier. Which means the spiral centered CB1100F type rotors, GL1100A/CB1100R vented carriers as well as the plain solid silver carriers from the GL1200 which look like they'd lend themselves well to an RS1000/RCB replica if you popped a bunch of holes in 'em. Dunno how thick they are, but you'd THINK they could take a few holes, maybe? Worth looking into - 'cause those early RCB front rotors kinda LOOK similar to the SOHC front brake but they're NOT. If the GL1200 carriers don't fit the bill, I guess they'd be a one-off (well, TWO one would think?) project for your machinist, if you've got one. Either which way, it behooves one to swap the 276mm rotors out for a 296mm pair or larger. 327mm from FZR1000 or thereabouts? (Had a pair of those, they were pretty heavy!) I guess the CBX pro-link calipers or CB1100R TRAC anti-dive forks will take MORE than 296mm - you'd have to check with MELCHIRO (here on the 'F-orum) but I THINK he got something bigger than 300mm to work, perhaps they were 310mm-ish? Not too sure. Either way, yeah you can use CBR 300mm rotors for six-bolt hubs, GSX-R had some five-bolt rotors that work. But IMHO nothing beats OEM Honda stuff for the way it looks like it BELONGS there, matches to the wheels etc. Of course, the dinner-plate one piece non-composite rotors are stuck in the 276mm category but they LOOK absolutely the tits on the five-spoke Comstar wheels!!! I wanna use them for a rear rotor on my bike, whether the 296mm early DOHC rear rotor with a new bolt pattern drilled in, for the six-bolt SOHC rear disc hub (wire spoke) or a FRONT Comstar rotor for the KZ1000A/KZ750B conical rear hub, with IT'S four-bolt pattern - BOTH hubs line up one hole perfect, with a center hole that fits like a glove. It would be AWESOME to use the 1977 SOHC CB750F SILVER Comstar front rotor in the back wheel - but I'll have to figure out a caliper for that diameter of brake. I'm not even sure what that diameter IS - I think it's smaller than the later front rotors, ennit??? Gotta look into that. Maybe it's only 276mm after all, but at least it seems to be a type best suited for milling down to around 250-260mm, for which there are plenty of later calipers and caliper hangers.

This is a detail which I'm willing to bend the rules on a wee bit, though I'd go to some lengths to fit say, a CB350F/CB400F six-rivet composite front disc (smaller than the CB750F stuff) than a '90s-'00s era CBR rear disc using a custom-milled spacer etc. It would lend it just that much more authenticity. As for a rear CALIPER, if I could get away with a CB350F/CB400F single-puck floating caliper, with just a weel bit of custom billet type of shit now THAT would really look the part.

Sure, it's a lot of dicking around, and the tried and proven ways of using all the later CBR parts is all spelled out with instructions and pictures and everything. But cost-wise it's really the same thing. One junk-yard part vs another, really. Unless of course one were to use some replacement rotors for the CBR stuff, rather than worn-out used stuff. Could probably do the same with the early small-SOHC stuff as well, only for substantially more $$$ for the rotor itself. However all the other sundry parts would be pretty much the same.

YEAH, the CBR stuff would come with a caliper-hanger, but I've got this whole Cal-Fab swing-arm vs Marzocchi Strada shocks problem here, meaning I've gotta use an under-slung caliper with a torque-arm over the top of the swinger. OR perhaps the single-puck caliper will just tuck in there, gotta measure it up to be sure - a slightly longer or substantially shorter torque-arm would do the trick. OR - the caliper hanger goes "Full-Floating" with a bearing or two in the axle hole and the torque-arm attached to the frame rather than the swinger? EITHER way, the typical CBR caliper hanger matched to it's rotor type of fix ain't gonna work on my bike.

The FRONT brakes are the more important thing though, as well as the front suspension. The rear end stuff could be a straight-across fix with CB750F1/GL1000 rear rotor matching the OEM caliper and hanger from the DOHC - which would then need to adapt to the Marzocchi thing - a lug welded onto the bottom of the Swing-arm and a GL1000/GL1100 caliper & hanger, with a bleed hole drilled in the "under" side of the caliper so as to string it up as an under-slung type. Of course, that ALSO entails purchasing a bunch of parts which might just as well be anything else. Gotta wonder if somebody in the "Naked Goldwings" Forum wants to SWAP parts, so as to make their OWN under-slung caliper for their bike! Would be cool to have an OEM looking free-floating caliper - if one could use parts from other Hondas which HAD full-floating rear brakes, one of the competition MX-ers perhaps? It could be a true "Should've" bike....

Sounds ridiculously expensive, tweaking ALL of these components just to make the bike "just so" - however I expect to find the majority of these parts on the proverbial junk-pile.

OF COURSE - the AHRMA racing limits on fork diameter for these bikes, presumably based on the precedence of the HARRIS MAGNUM version of our bikes, is 43mm - so if you ever wanted to call your bike an "authentic racer" as opposed to an Oreo-Cookie (cream in the middle) eBay build, METHINKS you wanna go 41mm for '80s authenticity and 43mm for CURRENT classic racing "forgotten era" classes.

And the go-to DIY off-the-shelf swap for THAT one would be the CBR600F4i fork, which brings with it the 300mm rotors and 17" rims - that is, IF you can stand the look of modern 17" rims on a proper early '80s Superbike! IMHO, it's far better to split the difference and keep an 18" rear wheel and stick a 16" Boomerang Comstar up there, or a 16" front and 17" rear which is kind of "Bobber-ish" yet still authentic '80s Superbike "normal".....

Now ME I'm building some wire-spoke wheels here. Scored some awesome rims plus enough spares from "bargain" purchases while looking for the RIGHT ones, enough to build something like another four or five pairs. Ha-ha.

IDIOT, OR GENIUS??? Time will tell.....

IMHO, wire spoke alloy rims are period-correct because at the time it would've been an easier and cheaper way to stick some really wide rims onto the bike. DYMAG three-spokes were the top-shelf product, but were expensive. Over-thick spokes on GL1000 front hub and an alloy rim - ideally non-shouldered Akront 'cause it's lighter, but a flanged/shouldered Borrani/Akront/Morad seems better suited to whacking into curbs like it's less likely to dent or something. At least, that's what I'm TELLING myself.

The CB750F1 '75-'76 rear hub is an enormous heavy boat anchor, but I've scored two versions of the Akront 4.25x18" rim - one to fit the Honda rear hub, and one drilled for a Harley rear hub so it will fit the Honda FRONT hub for a "front hub trick" as they used to say. Requires a bolt-on cush-drive, which might be a milled-down '90s Ducati item but I think for period-correctness I'll either use an earlier Duck piece OR a milled-down/sawed-off hunk from a HONDA rear hub, whether that's one of the carved out CB750F/CB900F Comstar rear hubs I've got in the closet (was hoping to get 'em welded inside of a drum, 6pkrunner style) MAYBE even something "engineered" in the vein of early cush-drive adapters used on huge racing drum brakes back in the '50s - plates with big round grommets stuck in between 'em, a sprocket with lugs bolted through into the grommets, and a large retaining circlip in the vein of the smaller SOHC Honda rear wheels, CB400F etc. Maybe even a cush carved out of some smaller earlier Honda, light-weight but full of cush-rubber material, like a CB250 drum or some such.

I had PLANNED on using the Kawasaki conical rear disc hub, which is around half the weight of the Honda version - the Honda version being on par with the GS1000 rear disc hub, and the KZ1000LTD version also being another big heavy sonofabitch - the conical hub would be able to work with smaller rotor & caliper as well. But haven't gotten much feed-back from my spoke guy so WTF I just grabbed another rim and had it sent directly to ME.

However I've also got a 3.50x18" "Super-Akront" to pair with a Harley 2.50x18" un-marked Borrani from an XLH Sportster rear wheel - should lace up perfect to the Honda front hub. These two would make the PERFECT "period-correct" wire-spoke rims, as they're the sizes available circa 1979, maybe even right up to 1983 - I should really look into it, but I'm ASSUMING my 3.00x18" Morad clone front albeit a rim available as of 1973-ish from Borrani as a REAR wheel, so far as I know there weren't many TIRES intended to fit that rim up front, and my 4.15x18" Akront with the intended 160/60-18 Sport-Touring tires would be more of a '90s era thing. ON THE STREET at least.

From what I gather, there would've been some 4" and possibly even 4.5" width rear rims from DYMAG - though I've mostly seen 'em fitted to the bikes from around 1984 forward.

For instance, the BUELL BATTLE TWIN was a bike which was built on a per order basis during these very same years, and using the most radical wheels and tires available, and intended as a racer. Especially when we're talking about the fully-faired versions which were sold as a race-bike kit for Battle-Of-The-Network-Stars whoops I mean "Battle Of The Twins" aka BOTT racing at the time.

And yeah, the EARLY versions of the Buell had only 3.50x18" rear wheels. Performance Machine in some cases, often as not DYMAG rims especially the early ones.

So I regard the ONE version of my wire-spoke wheels as "period-correct" or should I say "Period-Correctable"? I scored the used Harley rear rims for $50ea including shipping or $40ea without, for references sake (got two of 'em for some reason) and the USED Super-Akront for $50 plus shipping (and sent it to the spoke guys without determining whether it used the conical Kawasaki KZ1000A/KZ750B rear hub, or the Z1 rear drum - either way, I've got it covered - Could be a nice light-weight wheel with the conical hub, yet these early rims don't have the bead-retention-ridge for tube-less use. So light as they might be, I'll have to add inner-tubes and screw the circumferential mass all to hell. Unless there's some way to fix this....

The WIDER wheels will be sealed up with Silicone, and run as tube-less - which puts wire-spoke alloy rims in a weight class for which they weren't formerly considered. Any comparisons from prior to this whole silicone "fad" just don't tell you the facts anymore.

Hopefully the fact I've opted for extra-heavy-duty spokes will bring 'em up to a STIFFNESS factor on par with the cast-mag wheels. 'Cause the old road-going wire-spoke wheels were laced with lighter wire so as to give a softer more cushy ride, back in the days when suspension was so poorly developed that you'd WANT to make such a compromise. Thankfully this is no longer the case. Well, maybe it WILL be for ME - with Marzocchi Strada II's on the bike.....

But yeah - much as I love to go off on a tangent about wheels, suffice it to say there are some VERY good options for replacement wheels on a US-spec CB1100F - especially if you go with the Comstars 'cause you can start from scratch and build up what you WANT on the bike.

Now, as for the REAR-SETS - you don't have to swap them things right out, though you COULD use some NON-LATTICE brackets/plates from other DOHC models, as I'm using plates from the Euro-spec sport-kit rear-set type CB750Kzabc which of course use the thinner diameter engine mounting bolt so they SHOULD work with the rubber-mounted engine of my CB900F - gonna have to mill 'em out when I swap all this over to a 750 frame some distant day..... But yeah these brackets SEEM to have the most rear-ward located pedal pivot hole on the right side, as well as a proper linkage-type shift pedal on the left. With an alloy shifter pedal not the steel one from the CB900F - AND they use the CBX/CB1100R type pedal pivots. Pain in the ass to find, but then I filed down the brackets anyhow 'cause I wanna move that shit around.

With a solid plate of a bracket, or a small plate screwed to the lattice type brackets, you can drill holes wherever you want, and use Tarozzi TYPE folding or non-folding linkage type pedals. I've got non-folding Tarozzis on the bike now, with DIY brackets, which is a pain 'cause I've got no passenger carrying capability here.

But yeah - just any old type of matching pivots if you like, or these here 'K type brackets with a shorter pedal like a CB1100R pedal or shortened & brazed-together OEM pedal from any of the other models - the hollow tubular ones can "telescope" together when cut making for a stronger joint when brazed - hopefully! ANY of the alloy pedals could be MIG/TIG welded into a shorter CB1100R pedal so you needn't pay through the nose for that.

But the KEY off-the-shelf part I found was the pivot lug from the brake pedal off a VF750F or other similar Interceptor models and their ilk - which have the pivot shaft attached to the pedal itself - the LUG on the back side hooks onto a splined shaft you see so IT can be popped onto the outside surface of the pivot of the DOHC-4 brackets. I've found that the thing fits to the GL1200 pivot shaft, which I THINK is also similar to the shaft on the rear-set type brackets. The OEM foot-forward or NON-rear-set pivot shaft is ever so slightly too large. So too, the regular NON-rear-set pivot shaft is too large for the hole in the CB750K rear-set brackets/plates. I'll play mix-&-match until I find the right one - but the POINT being the OEM pivot shaft and master-cylinder stay where they're put (OR, in the case of these here 'K type brackets, wherever the hell I wanna PUT the damn thing - ideally horizontal and hidden?) while the PEG can now move around wherever the heck you want it to be, just adjust the linkage rod to suit. AND you don't have to hunt down the Tarozzi item.

Of course, the Tarozzi splined lug is also available as a replacement part from reputable Tarozzi dealers.

Of course, I'm also leaning toward some regular pivoting pegs with separate brake pedal and shifter. Might just set it up to swap back and forth between the two, set up one design for perfect ergonomics for ME, and the other set for the Ex-Daughter to race in the AHRMA circuit......

As for the THROTTLE, of course most folks are replacing 'em with CBR switches anyhow. But ME I wanna weld some lumps onto these here SOHC switch-pots, drill & tap 'em for CB900F2/CB1100R type cables "Euro-Spec" or "Sport-Kit" style. The only stick in my spokes is the starter button, DOHC is 4-wire with a headlight cut-out, SOHC is 2-wire with headlight continuous. Could be fixed with a relay I suppose - meaning the entire fuse-box gets switched out to a type with relay blocks - which means the entire wiring harness gets a friggin' RE-DESIGN so as to re-locate the fuse-panel down under the seat etc. Pain in the ASS.

Guess I'll grab a DOHC sport-kit throttle & use it for a while then when I can make the switch, I'll use it on the next DOHC I build. Which would be less of a retro type of thing, a little more authentic - wire-spokes of course, hopefully all drum brakes Fontana 250mm 4LS drum on a CB750C/K light-weight. Got a spare 4LS Suzuki drum from the "KZ440LOL" project but it's waaay too dinky & under-powered to work for the DOHC-4 not even a de-tuned 750 - but I'll HAVE the 39mm fork adapted to 4LS drum, half the caliper lugs filed off - once I can swap the KZ440LOL front end down to a 37mm or 35mm version. Which makes that CB750C/K into a CB750FC I suppose, but still. Nah there's a 35mm dual-disc version on either of the 'K or 'C I'll just have to source the rear hub from somewhere else. No big deal. All the better 'cause I can go with something smaller. Though it's the CB750K/C rear brake plate which makes me think of the Fontana 250mm 4LS drum in the first place. Guess I could try & lighten down a 190mm rear drum somehow drastically. Magnesium 2LS rear hub from CR750??? Costs as much if not more than the Fontana item.....

EITHER way, the sport-kit PLASTIC switch-pot could be a hand-me-down for the next DOHC bike I muck around with.

You could ALSO use an aftermarket throttle housing, so long as it's a push-pull dual-cable type.

Problem with THAT is that the clamps for the aftermarket type stretch up the bar a ways, so you either have to move the switch and master-cylinder UP the bar, or the grip DOWN, off the end of the thing. I'd suggest cutting as much off the switch-pot as possible, provided it's a FUGLY plastic throttle pot anyhow. But yeah it'll cramp up the right-hand grip one way or another.

What all ELSE is there different between the two?

I guess one obvious thing that's over-looked would be the lower rear engine mount bolt! With the feet-forward pegs, the bolt runs through the frame, the brackets, and the cast-steel peg hangers themselves. Whereas the rear-set peg brackets have no cast-steel peg hangers, and the bolt runs through the frame and alloy brackets only. I'd expect that modifying your peg position in ANY way is gonna mess around with that damn BOLT on you.

The CB750C & CB750K (well not ALL versions of EITHER as it happens - only those with the peg hangers integral to the frame) don't have a bolt that long. However, they've got the hard-mount engine where the 900 & 1100 are rubber-mounted engines for vibration dampening, and as such use narrower bolts. Though from what I GATHER, there were some skinnier SHORT bolts in the earliest version of the CB750F, the CB750FZ etc - maybe the CB750KZ too but I'm not certain. Not absolutely certain of ANY of this! Ha-ha.

Just know that you'll probably wind up modifying your through-bolts. Hopefully not replacing 'em outright. IMHO it's a real pain in the ass having to PULL the damn swing-arm pivot bolt just to screw around with rear-sets etc. As such, IMHO the ideal modifications would have a removable nut on BOTH sides of the bike - such that the bolts stay in their holes supporting the whole structure even while the pegs & rear-set peg brackets are OFF.

BUT YEAH - suffice to say, much as the European/Canadian CB1100F was/is a VERY nice bike, and had some VERY nice mod-cons and amenities, there are OTHER things to do with a US-spec CB1100F!!!

And IF you can get the USA model for significantly less money than the other, and IF you were thinking to upgrade the bike to Canadian/European spec? Consider doing the very same thing, with period-correct OEM parts whether we're talking pre-1979, 1979-1983, or post '83 but still early-'80s-ish, but picking and choosing stuff in the same VEIN as the CB1100F ... only BETTER!

The USA spec CB1100F was probably intended as the upgraded model, at the time it was built. Honda was about to move past the Comstar phase and into their own cast mag wheels. SADLY. But yeah, from THAT perspective, the mag wheels on the US 11 'F were probably viewed as an upgrade over the Comstars.

I'd LOVE to put a pair of each on both a scale, and one of those tire balancing machines that measures the rotational inertia of a wheel. AND somehow measure the stiffness or deflection under load of Comstars vs Cast-Mag wheels. That would be interesting. Illuminating.

Of course, I'd wanna put MY wheels, my wire-spoke alloy SUPER rims, heck both versions I'M building right now, against both mainstream alternatives! Not to mention up against some DYMAG and Carozerria etc Magnesium racing wheels. I wanna know how it all stacks up!

Anyway that's the major stuff ennit? Wheels/Brakes and ergonomics?

-Sigh.

Posted: Thu May 28, 2015 4:27 am

I think you need to spend more time riding and less typing Wink

That was more words than a Masters thesis!

Posted: Thu May 28, 2015 8:41 am

I agree with bone. More riding, less typing. More time on the nest will make you much happier and less interested in typing.
You could even ride a motorcycle.

Posted: Thu May 28, 2015 12:46 pm

Soyboy, I was giving the original question the Coles' note version, not a fucking thesis on the subject!! Rolling Eyes

Posted: Thu May 28, 2015 1:43 pm

+3.....

Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2015 4:44 pm

Obviously you guys didn't READ my Masters Thesis then?

-S.

Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2015 5:35 pm

SoyBoySigh wrote:

Obviously you guys didn't READ my Masters Thesis then?

-S.