The CB1100 Community Forum

Psst...Switzerland.

(04-18-2015, 09:22 AM)EmptySea_imp Wrote: [ -> ]Psst...Switzerland.

Ooops oh yea, Switzerland (Heck I have even ridden in Switzerland lol..pretty country..Swiss flags on most houses, beautiful flower boxes on most houses...cool place)

Hey Henrik, I'm curious...

Is the CB11 a pretty popular bike in Switzerland? It seems that between your local dealer and now Honda Switzerland there seems to be a lot of love for this bike on the dealer-end as opposed to just the user-end here in the U.S. I guess I'm just a little ignorant as to how popular the CB is outside of the U.S.

Love the candy blue and the gold retro strip!
There's a guy, Mike Hogan, in Long Beach CA that is a master at the Honda candy colors and striping, hmmmmm... may have to have a talk with him... http://www.vintagehondapainting.com/


I believe the BMW importer in Australia did something similar to new fresh off the boat from Germany BMW bikes back in the 70's.
I came across this fact (perhaps just a rumor) while researching paint options for my 1979 R100S restoration project >
http://www.photosbytink.com/project-s/

(04-18-2015, 11:09 AM)Setchman_imp Wrote: [ -> ]Hey Henrik, I'm curious...

Is the CB11 a pretty popular bike in Switzerland? It seems that between your local dealer and now Honda Switzerland there seems to be a lot of love for this bike on the dealer-end as opposed to just the user-end here in the U.S. I guess I'm just a little ignorant as to how popular the CB is outside of the U.S.

Setchman, it is a bit hard to tell actually. It is very rare that I meet another CB11 when I ride here, but then yesterday at the Honda ride day there were more CB11 than any other Honda model present. Go figure?

I think Honda here are really trying to sell the CB, but even with all their efforts I don't get the impression it is working too well.

P.S. Ferret, just to confuse you I am Swedish but I live in Switzerland. LOL!

I think that the CB1100's lack of popularity in the U.S. is a myth. The anecdotal evidence we use to perpetuate the myth is that a) we see advertisements for new 2013s at reduced prices, b) we see what we feel are a heavy influx of advertisements for used 2013s and 2014s, also at we feel are bargain prices and c) Honda did not introduce a 2015 model here.

The fact is that we could present the same evidence, except for the last one, about some of Honda's most popular models. We can find new 2013 and 2014 Goldwings and Shadows in most dealerships, even some 2012s and we can find used versions of these models at substantially reduced prices (although not as reduced as used CB1100 because there's simply larger markets for these bikes). As to the model year skip, we can only speculate on Honda's rationale. Maybe the bike is not selling as well as expected here or, maybe they expected to have a two year run to begin with.

The trouble is that we don't know, but in some cases, we think we know and we state it as fact here. I would not present the fact that my dealership has sold every 2013 and 2014 that they could get their hands on as evidence that the CB1100 is a very popular bike in the U.S. At best, it's only evidence, and weak evidence at that, that the bikes are popular in the Chicagoland area. I would, however, suggest that my anecdotal evidence of the success of this bike is every bit as valid (or invalid) as others' evidence to the contrary.

It's fun to speculate on things like this, but let us remember that we are just speculating.

Speculating implies that there's zero evidence -- but the things you cite (2-year old new bikes heavily discounted on dealership floors, Honda's decision to not import for 2015, etc.) are some evidence from which we can draw reasonable inferences. Particularly when we look to Honda's history with beautiful, expensive, not-overpowered bikes, viz., Hawk GT650, GB500, or for a different flavor Kawasaki's W650. It doesn't take away from my love of the bike. The low resale value -- created in part by the deeply discounted new bikes that sit on some, not all, dealer floors -- doesn't matter to me, because I'm not selling this bike!

Thanks for the insight, guys. I only asked because it seemed like such a contrast to my own experience at my local dealers. In each case the dealers near me didn't have the CB11 on the main showrooom floor. They had been delegated to the back rooms. No explanation for that is needed. I understand that a dealership has only a finite amount of space and keeps the newer/more popular models up front. I get that. I was just curious about how it's perceived outside of my little corner of the world. Regardless of how the future of the CB1100 shakes out, I'm just glad I have mine.

(04-18-2015, 10:10 PM)EmptySea_imp Wrote: [ -> ]I think that the CB1100's lack of popularity in the U.S. is a myth. The anecdotal evidence we use to perpetuate the myth is that a) we see advertisements for new 2013s at reduced prices, b) we see what we feel are a heavy influx of advertisements for used 2013s and 2014s, also at we feel are bargain prices and c) Honda did not introduce a 2015 model here.

The fact is that we could present the same evidence, except for the last one, about some of Honda's most popular models. We can find new 2013 and 2014 Goldwings and Shadows in most dealerships, even some 2012s and we can find used versions of these models at substantially reduced prices (although not as reduced as used CB1100 because there's simply larger markets for these bikes). As to the model year skip, we can only speculate on Honda's rationale. Maybe the bike is not selling as well as expected here or, maybe they expected to have a two year run to begin with.

The trouble is that we don't know, but in some cases, we think we know and we state it as fact here. I would not present the fact that my dealership has sold every 2013 and 2014 that they could get their hands on as evidence that the CB1100 is a very popular bike in the U.S. At best, it's only evidence, and weak evidence at that, that the bikes are popular in the Chicagoland area. I would, however, suggest that my anecdotal evidence of the success of this bike is every bit as valid (or invalid) as others' evidence to the contrary.

It's fun to speculate on things like this, but let us remember that we are just speculating.

I hope you're right; but the evidence I see says otherwise. Of course, I can only see a little sliver-slice of the market; but in my town of 75,000 people...mostly wealthier than average...weather more temperate than average and a lot of riders...my Honda dealer moved exactly ONE of these. To me.

In niche markets, it may be selling well. If you get these where there is good weather and a lot of older folks who're still into riding...it's probably going to sell okay. Other places, not so much.

One thing that hits me...UNLIKE the 1960s and 1970s, when Honda and Yamaha took off...is that there's singular LACK of advertising for their wares. Honda pushed, not only their small cycles (they had no others) but the whole motorcycle-as-lifestyle. Yamaha followed ("SOMEDAY...you'll own a Yamaha") and some models were brought to the public's awareness. Even Harley-Davidson, in its AMF years, used to advertise on ABC's Wide World of Sports.

I would never have known about this CB1100 if I hadn't tripped over it on the showroom floor. It was close to exactly what I was looking for and I had NO IDEA it was out there. How am I, with money and desire, if not burning need, going to know what to buy? I could likely have found the used BMW K I was shopping for...and might have learned of this model years later.

We like to dislike advertising as shilling...but it does serve a useful purpose. And Honda, now that they've made it in cars and lawnmowers, might well try to once again recruit younger people to cycles.

I agree with EmptySea and feel the lack of sales is over stated. Yes, there are some leftovers, but not a lot. There are leftovers of other Honda models too, as well as other manufacturers. And yes, those leftovers are greatly discounted. They do have to compete with low mileage used units and dealers want the floor space for new models that are on the way in, or in crates already in the basement. And the used market is low because as with just about any motorcycle, once you ride it off the lot, it depreciates 20-25%. That's just a fact for all makes (except maybe for a very new model and some H-D models)