what grade of gas to use

[89cb1]

i can only use the medium grade (89) gas on my bike if i use 91 octane or higher my bike runs way to hot and my fans are on constantly. Any ideas on why that is? Should i change my coolant?

[clarkdw]

Hi 89cb1 and welcome.

The CB-1 cylinder head, combustion chamber and piston shape are all very carefully designed to make their maximum power using the burn characteristics of the lower octane fuel. While I can't tell you the exact reason that the engine runs hotter on the 91 octane, I can tell you that even if you do get it to run cool enough on that fuel, in all likelihood you will be making less hp than on the lower grade.

We found this to be true with the small single cyl Honda engines that were used in Kart racing. Unless you did extensive reworking of the combustion chamber they would make less power on higher octane fuel no matter what you did with the cam timing and ignition timing. This was easily measurable on the dyno.

On to the coolant. Unless your coolant is really bad, changing it will not help it to run cooler. I change my coolant every year as it helps to maintain the anti corrosion properties of the coolant and the bike takes so little that the expense is not great. Same with the Brake fluid.

[89cb1]

thanks clarkdw thats kinda weird that it doesn't make as much power. i want my bike to be able to do a wheelie by the time I finish workin on it ( without revin it up and popin the clutch). I have to replace my front wheel bearing and my clutch but is there anything else i can do to make more power? I'm starting my apprenticeship as a mechanic so I need to make it fast the guys at my work keep makin fun of it. Anyways any help is greatly appreciated.

[clarkdw]

thanks clarkdw thats kinda weird that it doesn't make as much power. i want my bike to be able to do a wheelie by the time I finish workin on it ( without revin it up and popin the clutch). I have to replace my front wheel bearing and my clutch but is there anything else i can do to make more power? I'm starting my apprenticeship as a mechanic so I need to make it fast the guys at my work keep makin fun of it. Anyways any help is greatly appreciated.

The CB-1 is the wrong bike if you want to be able to power wheelie. My CB-1 makes 49hp at the rear wheel on the dyno. My 07' Ninja ZX6R makes 107 at the rear wheel and it won't power wheelie without giving it a bit of a bounce to get it lifting.

If you are trying to impress guys in a straight line performance contest you had better consider another bike. If you make a major change in the gearing and go with stunter type gearing the bike might do a wheelie but then you make it useless anywhere above about 50mph as it will be reving way too high.

I used to race Austin Mini Coopers. They were tiny and had 100hp. My lap times on a 1.5 mile road racing course were faster than all but the open wheel race cars, I mean ZR-1 Corvettes, Full race Z28 Camaros, etc. etc. My quarter mile times were in the 19sec range. Point is that the Mini and the CB-1 were designed for a specific purpose and it is not straight line. Use the bike as it was intended and your friends will be very impressed with how it kicks ass. If that is not what you enjoy then there is no sense in trying to make it into something it isn't. You will only be very disappointed in how much money you have spent to get something that doesn't do what you want it to.

For the same money that you will spend on the -1 trying to get it to even run a mediocre 13sec quarter mile and pull a wheelie you could have a 750 or 900 that will be a bullet in a straight line compared to the CB-1. Just don't be surprised when I ride around the outside of you like a blur when you get to the corners.

Please don't take any of this post as a criticism of what you are doing because it is not intended to be negative in any way. I just hate to see a CB-1 owner disappointed when the bike doesn't live up to what they envision. It is one of the finest bikes I have ever ridden when used for what Honda intended and to be honest, is much more fun to ride than my brand new bike.