Exceptionally good review of the CB1100RS

[Ulvetanna_imp]

you ask why they are not selling ? this is my guess.
the drawing in this article is a bike that would have sold IMO . it really grabs a likeness to the motorcycle of the century and the only reason i even own a CB1100 is i found one that has such a close resemblance.
the new bikes look great but do not capture the past in a way that will bring buyers to pick one up and then there is the actual performance issue. I am old and like to go slow so the CB has all the power and speed i need .
the sketch with the duck back seat and 4 into 4's i think would have sold more than the fancy shocks = JMO

Why didn't Honda give us the bike with the specs in the drawing? 900cc, 110/80-18 front with a 150/70-17 rear tire (same as the Triumph Street Twin/Bonneville), four pipes, and so on. That seems to be the problem, they didn't build the bike they originally intended. That bike would've come in with a sub-31" seat height, wheelbase at about 57.5", with very light handling and at a lower weight.

Maybe it's a bike that just can't find a real home. The new retro-styled Triumphs are selling like crazy, Royal Enfield has just announced a beautiful new 650 Twin, and the talk of the town seems to be the new Kawasaki.

The Triumphs, of course (as I myself pointed out) do have the fake fins (well, partially fake, as I understand it) but that sure doesn't detract from my enjoyment of my Street Cup, which has about 5,500 miles on it now. But maybe it looks the part better than the CB1100RS.

You are right, all that fancy gold stuff and forks and whatnot are perhaps not what the buyer of an 83 HP bike wants.

I've said myself that the stock bike with just a few mods is well up to the task.

Some like it soft and purely stock, and no doubt it works very well in that role.

I, and my riding buddy with his 2013, changed only shocks and a few other minor items as I mentioned, and we both loved bouncing the thing off the rev limiter and using every bit of brakes and cornering the bike has. As the Ferret has mentioned in another thread, he has stock shocks, set to the softest setting, and rarely exceeds 4,000 RPM. And he's racking up the big miles. So the CB1100 can be anything to any rider.

My question still remains, where are the buyers? That engine and general layout is just unmatched in terms of "authenticity" (lack of fake stuff, we may say) and nothing else out there looks as genuine.

Maybe it's just a spec-sheet thing; 540 pounds and 83 HP for that kind of dough is unappreciated, maybe? I never felt mine lacked for power.

I say to Honda, give us a CB900, under 500 pounds, air-cooled with the same gorgeous looks. I will buy it. That's the bike in the drawing, and that's the bike I want.