04-02-2018, 12:02 PM
"Soul" and "character" are hard to define. I think some might conflate these terms with mechanical intrusiveness, whereas lack of sufficient mechanical presence might cause some to declare the bike lacking in soul and character.
The ultimate lack of soul or character would be an actual flying carpet: vibration-free, silent, utterly smooth. Perhaps the CB1100 falls into a Goldilocks zone where it lacks harshness but is not so smooth as to become blandly absent from the rider's consciousness? Or, is it mechanically bland (relative to alternatives) and devotees find that to be a desirable trait?
The ultimate lack of soul or character would be an actual flying carpet: vibration-free, silent, utterly smooth. Perhaps the CB1100 falls into a Goldilocks zone where it lacks harshness but is not so smooth as to become blandly absent from the rider's consciousness? Or, is it mechanically bland (relative to alternatives) and devotees find that to be a desirable trait?