09-29-2016, 05:42 PM
(09-29-2016, 05:03 PM)Capo_imp Wrote: Things kind of go off the rails for comparisons to the CB or Thruxton R when we start bringing in bikes like the XSR, which has little but some minor cues to the past to be remotely retro. I have a Speed Triple 1050 as well, might as well throw that in there. Spectacular bike, but complimentary rather than competitive to the CB1100, and retro only in spirit.
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As far as Yamaha's marketing-speak goes, the words "neoclassic" "sports heritage" and "retro" are tiresome and cliché.
The only things "retro" about the XSR are the color scheme on the 60th anniversary model, and the round headlight. Everything else,
from the bits and brackets, the alloy frame, and the engine design and architecture are as modern as can be. I almost didn't buy it because of all the hipster marketing nonsense.
That said, the CB1100 pulls off "retro" better than any bike in its class. It is real, unpretentious, and not a caricature of itself.
The Thruxton R and Bonneville T120 (I own both) while beautifully finished and executed in almost every detail, are cartoonishly "retro" with the fake Amal carbs, fake cam cover looking like it's got double overhead cams when in fact it is SOHC, and the engine covers being shaped to allude to preunit Triumphs which had cams and timing gears in the cases and a chain driven primary.