12-27-2017, 01:48 PM
I personally still consider the 2017 EX to be a true retro motorcycle. But it is no doubt evolutionary as well. Over in another thread on this forum I was noting some similarities between the Honda CB1100 and the Honda S2000 sports car. Those similarities have a lot to do with why I am so attracted to both the CB1100 and the S2000. Both of these vehicles are a result of Honda celebrating it's own heritage. When the S2000 first debuted in 1999 (a model year 2000 car), it represented the purest form of Honda's vision of what a sports car should be at that point in time while still celebrating it's own past "S car" heritage. Over the years (the car was offered for ten years) Honda modified the car based on the public's input. Here in the States that resulted in the 1st generation of the cars (the AP1, produced until 2003) and the 2nd generation of the car (the AP2, produced from 2004 -2009) There is a saying amongst some S2000 fans that goes: the AP2 is a better car, but the AP1 is a better S2000. I totally understand the basis of this saying.
That's kind of how I look at the evolution of the CB1100 and how I feel about these bikes as the model has evolved. Just like the original CB1100, the 2017 EX still definitely represents a celebration of the original "CB bikes" in my mind. The 2017 EX might be the best motorcycle of the bunch, but I consider the original model that Honda released back in 2010 to be the better CB1100. The original was more true to what Honda wanted to do with the bike and more of "it's own bike". Honda then proceeded to evolve the bike to appease the public and added things like the 6th gear, fancier instrumentation, dual pipes and matching side covers. In 2017 they took it a step further with the spoked wheels (I'm glad that they brought the small silver side covers back so that you could see more of the frame.) I still think of the latest generation of the bike to very much be a CB1100. It just doesn't represent quite as much "CB1100ness" as the original did. But that's just the nature of any vehicle that sticks around long enough to "evolve".
However, just as I view all S2000s to be special, so do I consider all CB1100s the same way. And while the CB1100 has quite a bit in common with the rest of Honda's motorcycle offerings, it still manages to be one of the most unique bikes that Honda has offered in many years. That's really pretty cool in my book. And while there might not be that many other bikes out there that I think of as truly retro, I'm glad that the CB1100 is not the only one.
That's kind of how I look at the evolution of the CB1100 and how I feel about these bikes as the model has evolved. Just like the original CB1100, the 2017 EX still definitely represents a celebration of the original "CB bikes" in my mind. The 2017 EX might be the best motorcycle of the bunch, but I consider the original model that Honda released back in 2010 to be the better CB1100. The original was more true to what Honda wanted to do with the bike and more of "it's own bike". Honda then proceeded to evolve the bike to appease the public and added things like the 6th gear, fancier instrumentation, dual pipes and matching side covers. In 2017 they took it a step further with the spoked wheels (I'm glad that they brought the small silver side covers back so that you could see more of the frame.) I still think of the latest generation of the bike to very much be a CB1100. It just doesn't represent quite as much "CB1100ness" as the original did. But that's just the nature of any vehicle that sticks around long enough to "evolve".
However, just as I view all S2000s to be special, so do I consider all CB1100s the same way. And while the CB1100 has quite a bit in common with the rest of Honda's motorcycle offerings, it still manages to be one of the most unique bikes that Honda has offered in many years. That's really pretty cool in my book. And while there might not be that many other bikes out there that I think of as truly retro, I'm glad that the CB1100 is not the only one.