[url=http://www.ashonbikes.com/content/honda-cb1100-2013-review]Kevin Ash's article is what did it for me. After 2 years of riding a Suzuki gs500e to make sure I enjoyed riding, I was ready shell out the cash on my dream bike. The problem was determine what exactly what modern version of that bike was. Bonneville or street triple were my original thoughts. I am probably drinking the kool-aid but I loved the thought and care Honda put into making the CB. My thinking came down to "If they stopped making each of these bikes after this year, which one would I be sad I never got to own?" The decision was easy after that...
I haven't regretted it once. I'm proud to be able to call myself an owner of such a beautiful machine
I was enthralled with the bike at first sight, and thrilled when they decided to bring it over. Still am. I'm in the advertising and marketing business, so I can certainly see where Honda has gone wrong in promoting the bike. They have done virtually nothing to play into the heritage, lifestyle, and accessory elements of retro- modern bikes (see Triumph with the Bonnie, and most recently, Ducati with Scrambler.)
How I finally came to be an owner was a classic story. After the second electrical burn out of my Griso, at the dealership when they told me it would be three months for the new harness to arrive, I was fuming. I walked in to talk to the owner of the shop, walked past a new CB1100, just arrived. I pointed at it and said to him, 'I never want to see that Griso again, and want to go home with that.' And I did.
Great story Capo. Question... if the Griso had not broken down, do you think you would have eventually owned a CB 1100 anyway?
It's almost as if Honda assumed it would sell just because it's a Honda. It may work for Civics and CR-Vs, but not motorcycles.
(02-06-2015, 03:43 AM)The ferret_imp Wrote: [ -> ]Great story Capo. Question... if the Griso had not broken down, do you think you would have eventually owned a CB 1100 anyway?
Yes, I would. And I would have loved to have kept the Griso, a beautiful and character- laden bike. I just happened to have a lemon.
Jimigalahad I think you've hit the nail on the head, I would have regretted not having a CB. Kevin Ash's article was what swung it for me too because he was a much respected motorcycle journalist who said it like it was.
(02-05-2015, 04:52 PM)Guth_imp Wrote: [ -> ] (02-05-2015, 02:02 PM)metallyguitarded_imp Wrote: [ -> ]I was very late to the game. I think it was a recommended video that popped up on my YouTube channel that I watched and immediately thought, "That's it! That's the bike for me." That must have been sometime last summer. In September, I bought my '14. The '13 had been released and I was oblivious to it. To this day, I have yet to see another CB1100 in person, 2013 or 2014 model. That surprises me given how many riders there are in San Diego and the fact that there is no off season for us.
Better late than never, eh?
Better late than never, eh?
Without question.
I must have been lucky. The first I knew about the CB1100 was when I saw one in all its magnificence the day I went to pick up the Shadow I'd just bought. It was love at first sight, although it took me three years to buy one. So glad I did.
I knew nothing about the CB until I walked into the dealership. There she was, a beautiful black motorcycle that looked like a motorcycle. Metal was the first thing I saw, not plastic. When I sat on it, I found it fit the way a motorcycle should fit with all the controls placed for active riding not passive cruising. After that everything else fell short. Even the bad*** CBR1000RR couldn't pull me away. And the best part was, I didn't have to spend any more $ to make it how I wanted it. It is what it is no upgrade necessary.
I started drooling when the CB11 was announced for Japan. My hopes rose in the spring of '10 when a Nighthawk Forum member snapped a pic of the bike up in the hills wearing manufacturer's plates (probably the same bike in the article Guth referenced). At the time I noticed that the red bike/black engine combo was not something that was being offered on Japanese production models, so I had a good feeling that it was a U.S. prototype. It took another long 2 1/2 years before Honda announced we'd be getting it. In all that time, I never really considered getting a different bike. The CB11 was exactly what I wanted.