defects CB 1100

[Olof_imp]

This thread intrigued me to the point that I had to go for a ride and really LISTEN to the bike. And you guys are absolutely right. The character is there, it's just not in-your-face-center-of-the-party loud. More low key, refined and sophisticated. But it calls for recalibration if you come from, say, a modern supersport. I've been on two wheels since 1981, had 50+ different bikes and many of them I "got" and tired of fairly quickly. The CB is different. Still things to discover and, to paraphrase tommymck, it just suites me. The ride was three hours in foggy eight degrees Celcius (ok, quite a lot of that in my favourite 1950s café) on rather dull roads with traffic and I still came home grinning. Says a lot, I think.

[GoldOxide_imp]

Ain't that a gorgeous lump Olof?

[tod.branko_imp]

My wife and I had a conversation on motorcycle character recently, and decided that lack of what is usually described as motorcycle character is not necessarily a bad thing. Dependability is a line of character, and one that oozes out of every CB1100s bolt. People with personalities of their own don't necessarily need bikes with personalities. I am hyper, loud, and obnoxious - do I really need a bike of the same sort? I don't think so.
Also I believe that most of the people in this forum are old enough to have accepted themselves just the way they are and have absolutely nothing to prove


'14 CB1100 STD 5 speed

[max]

Nice one Olof, well composed for the occasion.
These cylinders are probably the nicest looking ones i have seen, even better looking than the kawa 900, just the right proportion of radius and overall shape, not to mention color.

[Tev62]

Honda have a reputation for slightly characterless designs, even in their cars. I had a 2016 Africa Twin which looked good but was a very boring bike (to my mind). I can't see how anyone could accuse the CB1100 of being characterless though, quite the opposite. It has character that no other bike copies. Its look and power delivery ARE its character.

[Houtman_imp]

You are right about the Honda cars , we like our CRV's but LOVE our new MINI

[Paris_imp]

Honda have a reputation for slightly characterless designs, even in their cars. I had a 2016 Africa Twin which looked good but was a very boring bike (to my mind). I can't see how anyone could accuse the CB1100 of being characterless though, quite the opposite. It has character that no other bike copies. Its look and power delivery ARE its character.

I have often thought that different bike makers consistently instill the same character in every bike they produce. A Honda is always beautifully engineered, with an almost liquid smoothness, and the CB1100 is no different. Kawasakis seem to generate raw, straight line power, even in a curve. Suzukis are just busy bikes, spining fast.

[teamvisegrip_imp]

I thought I would chime in on this one. Character means everything to me when it comes to a bike. If it does not excite me then it is not for me. I am now 58 and during my riding career I have accumulated those bikes that excite me. It does not need to be big and fast or all decked out it needs to excite me. If you look at my signature you will see I have a very diverse list of bikes.

I will say that at 6' 2" the CB1100 is just a little tight but I like the feel. I am a Tiddler Bike guy and well it fits me just right. Now the engine I felt was a bit on the boring side but understood 100% who Honda was targeting the bike for. When I compared it to the VFR I felt it should have gave me more... so I added the Yoshimura Exhaust and the TSR Intake parts with tuning. Now the bike has the character I was looking for. It is a Keeper for sure.

I guess I can understand the people that say the engine is lifeless. As it is a smooth as silk and the stock exhaust keeps with the smooth as silk character they were going for. Honda hit it just right for the masses. Just not 100% for me.

Looks! Well I love it. There is not a new bike out there that I would ever consider over the 2014 CB1100.

[GoldOxide_imp]

My wife and I had a conversation on motorcycle character recently, and decided that lack of what is usually described as motorcycle character is not necessarily a bad thing. Dependability is a line of character, and one that oozes out of every CB1100s bolt. People with personalities of their own don't necessarily need bikes with personalities. I am hyper, loud, and obnoxious - do I really need a bike of the same sort? I don't think so.
Also I believe that most of the people in this forum are old enough to have accepted themselves just the way they are and have absolutely nothing to prove


'14 CB1100 STD 5 speed

(+1)

[Guth_imp]

if you have experienced the emotions that a vigorous engine can give you understand what I say, but the bike is emotion I don't care if it is perfect I want it with character, masculine

As others have noted, how a person labels a motorcycle often says more about them than it does it does about the motorcycle itself. If you prefer the emotions brought on by what you see as masculine character I'm cool with that. I'm a very open-minded person. But labelling some motorcycles as having character and others as not having character is a fruitless exercise if you ask me. These are mechanical, lifeless objects — either all motorcycles have character or none of them do. Whether or not a person happens to like the "character" of a machine is a totally different matter and that strikes me to be on of the key things at the heart of this thread.

I can understand how someone might come to own a motorcycle that they end up not enjoying, it happens all the time. I can sympathize with you in this regard. But to say a machine lacks character strikes me as more than a bit misguided. It also seems to me that you likely could have gone to greater lengths to research this motorcycle and what it's all about before buying one. In my opinion the best answer is to sell the CB1100 and buy another motorcycle. You'll likely end up losing a fair amount of money in the process, but hopefully you'll be a bit more diligent at researching your next motorcycle before pulling the trigger on another purchase.

My best recommendation would be to spend some time on the forum dedicated to whatever motorcycle you have in mind to learn more about it from the owners' perspectives. For example, it doesn't take much digging at all around here to learn that the the CB1100 features very linear power delivery with ample torque at lower RPMs that is just fine being short-shifted all day long and that it is a fairly compact bike that was developed first and foremost for the Japanese market.

Fortunately, unless you happen to be looking for air-cooled options in particular there are number of other choices available these days to those who are looking for motorcycles that feature more of a retro look. Life is too short to force a square peg in a round hole, especially when other these options exist. But any discussion revolving around the comfort, fit or ergonomics of a motorcycle fall squarely on you to iron out in advance. As noted above, it wouldn't take very much research at all on the part of a buyer to learn that the CB1100 is a fairly compact motorcycle or that the power delivery is what it is. Similarly, I'm guessing that as far as ergonomics are concerned, the general characteristics of any other motorcycle available today would be easy to establish with just a bit of time spent online studying such things.

In that light I would recommend that you visit [url=https://cycle-ergo.com/]cycle-ergo, the motorcycle ergonomic simulator site that has been around for years.

thank you guys.
known that many consider the engine anonymous and many have raised the saddle and lowered the motorcycle footpegs as it is designed for Chinese and Japanese with average height different from us Westerners.

So many things wrong with this thread I don't even know where to begin. I stopped short of pressing the Report button and leave it to the Mods to moderate.

I was giving Ale72 the benefit of the doubt given that there might very well be some language barriers in place but yours is a very valid point. To be clear, China and the Chinese people have nothing to do with the design of the CB1100 (anyone with information showing otherwise are welcome to bring it forward). This won't be allowed to slip again. Otherwise I'm cool with the overall line of discussion here. This site needn't always be a CB1100 love-fest. We've got more than enough passion for the CB1100 as it is so no worries. Hopefully we can move past this.