First ride….

MB-5 Joined: Mar 02, 2022 Posts: 24 Location: California

I’m a diehard Kawasaki Superbike guy, who has been riding a 1982 GPz1100, 1983 KZ1000R Eddie Lawson Replica, and 1986 600 Ninja since the mid 1980s. By best friend down the street was a Honda guy, with a 1976 400F, 1987 600 Hurricane, and 1983 CB1100F.

He retired at age 61 last spring and we were looking forward to decades of riding together. Sadly it was not to be, as only weeks after he retired he was diagnosed with leukemia. He passed away in December.

I was humbled to learn that he had left his CB1100F to me. He had been working on it (the speedo had died) so it wasn’t immediately rideable. I trucked it to a friend’s motorcycle man cave/workshop and we installed the rebuilt speedo and buttoned everything up. Last night, I then rode it about 15 miles to my home.

It was a poignant ride. On the one hand, it’s exciting to be riding a new bike, particularly one as responsive and evocative as this one. The motor is super strong, and the Kerker K2 pipe has no baffle at all so it’s incredibly loud (I intend to rectify that immediately). On the other hand, I’m overwhelmed with emotion, riding the bike that belonged to my best friend and only real riding buddy.

Every time I ride it, I will always think of him fondly. I know how much he loved it (he had 10 motorcycles and this was his favorite by far), and I have no doubt I will love it too.

I’m looking forward to learning from all of you as I discover the CB1100Fs various quirks and idiosyncrasies (Honda couldn’t figure out how to craft a fuel gauge???).

Enjoy the ride…

Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2022 4:24 pm

Mike:

1. Welcome to the Forum! You have inherited a nice bike, and we hope you have many years of safe riding with it. We send our condolences on your loss, sir. Was your buddy a member of this group?

2. Take a look around here, you will find hundreds of questions "asked and answered", LOL, but don't hesitate to ask again, if you can't find what you're looking for.

MB-5 Joined: Mar 02, 2022 Posts: 24 Location: California

cliffiec wrote:

Mike:

1. Welcome to the Forum! You have inherited a nice bike, and we hope you have many years of safe riding with it. We send our condolences on your loss, sir. Was your buddy a member of this group?

2. Take a look around here, you will find hundreds of questions "asked and answered", LOL, but don't hesitate to ask again, if you can't find what you're looking for.

Thanks! No, my friend wasn’t a forum kind of guy, but I certainly am.

I appreciate the wealth of knowledge here and will certainly utilize the search function to try to find answers before asking. Mr. Green

Twinstar Joined: Oct 31, 2021 Posts: 52 Location: NJ

A true friend he was. Ride that bike with joy and pride - he wouldn't want it any other way. Keep it maintained the way he would have...another way to honor him. Hopefully one day you will be lucky enough to pass the machine on to another good friend - keep the tradition going.

Hawk Joined: Oct 12, 2014 Posts: 380 Location: Virginia

Welcome to the site!

I'm very sorry to hear about the loss of your friend. I'm sure you will love the bike just as he did. With your era of bikes and interests, you are surely amongst like-minded people here.

Take a look around and ask questions. This is without a doubt one of the best forums on the net; as you'll soon realize.

Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2022 12:35 am

Welcome and what a nice gift from your friend at his passing for you to remember him with. I am sure if you keep the bike tuned up you'll find it is a very reliable runner.

Red CB1100F Joined: Jul 19, 2010 Posts: 6420 Location: Ct

Welcome to the forum. Sorry for the tragic lose your buddy. What a gesture of him to gift that beautiful bike. Im sure he is with you for every rip you take, just as you had both planned. Can't help but notice all the other cool stuff in your garage. Anyway, welcome, its great fun here with tons of super knowledgeable guys. Enjoy Cool

Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2022 2:24 am

Welcome to the site, Mike.
Great intro and thanks for sharing the story behind the bike.

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2022 1:29 pm

Welcome to this great forum Mike! That is a beautiful, well loved 11F your friend passed on to you.
And, that is quite the garage of toys you have there. You will have to get that Stang and 11F out of the garage sometime and do a photo shoot!

Enjoy that bike! RIP to your friend.

Chris

Twinstar Joined: Sep 25, 2010 Posts: 240 Location: Vermont

Welcome to the forum and thanks for sharing your story. My condolences on your loss, a good friend is a rare gift. The love your friend had for that bike shows, that is a very nice (and very stock aside from the exhaust) machine.

side note - x2 on the garage collection, nice work. Is that a Pantera on the left!?

MB-5 Joined: Mar 02, 2022 Posts: 24 Location: California

Yes, that’s why my username here is ‘Pantera Mike’. That was actually my first car—I didn’t have an automobile driver’s license nor did I know how to drive a car when I bought it in 1989. I was a committed motorcyclist only prior to then.

Since then I have relaxed my stance against automobiles which is how the ‘66 Shelby GT350 and (replica) 427 Cobra found their way into the garage. My wife came to the relationship with her own Pantera so now I have two of them to play with. And there are a bunch of VW Sciroccos in the driveway, along with a minivan and a truck.

But I still consider myself primarily a motorcyclist. I’m proud to say I still own every motorcycle and car I have ever bought. The neighbors admittedly are not thrilled about that fact! Cool