What is the perfect bike to you?

[skidmarkart_imp]

I think the Superhawk was darn near perfect for me. I live in the city and most of my riding takes place there. I have occasional jaunts to the mountains of NC, with an annual camp-out or two. The Superhawk was easy to maintain (all I ever fixed on it was a R/R that failed - why the heck can't Honda get those right?), and did a variety of tasks. It had great, accessible power (real world power, not 10,000 RPM track power), was comfy enough, could hang with my buddies on Supersports (and embarrass them if the rider wasn't educated), and could pull sport touring duty pretty well too. I am sad the Japanese four gave up on big sporting twins, as I think these were the perfect real world motorcycle. It has drawbacks though. It took the darn thing about 5 minutes to get warm and be ready to ride (probably why I sold it), the gas mileage was horrendous (many tanks got 27-28 mpg, and I once ran one dry in 80 miles), and it ate rear tires and chains like a starved wolf on a bunny farm.

The CB1100 does a similar variety of tasks well. I like the accessible low-end torque, the ergos are pretty good (though I am 6'4" and could use lower pegs and a higher seat), and the stock suspension and brakes are fantastic. I can hang with my buddy on his XSR (though my ride is more exciting than his) and look good with my vintage BMW friends. I have yet to take it on a tour, but after doing many on SuMo's in the past I am sure it will not be a problem.

If Honda brought back a big (1000cc+) sport-oriented twin, in a not too sporty riding position, and weighted in at about 400lbs, I would put a deposit down tomorrow.