No 2015

[veech_imp]

I would point out that many of the CB1100's competitors (retro-ish standards) are doing well in the market, and that the segment the CB sits in is a strong one. Bonnie still sells well, Ducati Scrambler, BMW R-9T both over performed sales estimates. Even Guzzi keeps rolling out new iterations of the V7. The CB's modest US market success, or lack thereof, IMHO, can be attributed to two things. 1) The CB didn't quite meet the expectations of the intended market, and 2) Honda didn't do jack squat to market it properly.

It's a great bike that we all love. But I went into the new Honda dealer that opened adjacent to the Triumph shop here in NJ, and there wasn't a single bit of evidence that the CB ever existed. Next door, a full set of Bonnies merchandise, posters, and people straddling the bikes on the showroom floor.

While I think the lack of marketing is the biggest factor, I would also add another element: the CB11 was at a little higher price point than most of its competitors which certainly played a role. History has proven that people en mass are willing to compromise quality for a cheap price (VHS vs Betamax, MS DOS vs. Apple OS, etc.)

You know...that depends.

You mention VHS versus Betamax. BOTH were new entries into a new market; and BOTH had superior quality to television or home 8mm movies. The VHS was cheaper, so since people didn't know whether quality would be worth it...they bought.

But compare that to autos or motorcycles. The VW Beetle, for much of its 28-year run, was more expensive than bigger Detroit compacts. But it sold; and with minimal advertising. People knew cars and people knew what a low-quality car was. The Falcons and Novas and Ramblers of the era were low-quality cars (and the Valiant was tarred with that brush, although it was of a higher caliber). So, people paid more for quality.

When the Yugo hit this country, people assumed a European import would be a high-quality car. And, lower price!...sold like crazy its first half-year; but word got out fast. Even though it was just a little more than half the price of a Japanese import, they couldn't give them away.

Same with cycles today. Chinese clone touring scooters have been around for eight years. Remember the VOG? A Burgman 400 clone, with a Yamaha 250 cloned engine. EXACT same styling as the Suzuki. Better economy. Except...the thing was garbage, and not just in assembly. Inferior casting and metallurgy caused castastrophic failures.

The VOG, made by Xingyue, is gone now...some importers still have warehouses full; but mostly they've moved on. But Xingyue never sold it under its own name. Even so...now that the Chinese are getting more serious, they cannot make headway. Their legend precedes them.

So...quality CAN matter when people PERCEIVE it matters. I don't think price-point alone can account for the poor selling of the CB. I suspect it's more that it's just us grey-heads who remember the big UJMs; the new riders all remember the Ninjas.

Those are all good points. I agree the price point will not account for it alone, but was only bringing it up as a factor that has not been really discussed here.

The VW in particular however is not exactly a fair comparison as that car has been around since WW2 and enjoyed a very large following. (I myself have owned MANY of them and in the old days would literally swap engines for people for a 12-pack of beer!) When that car first came out it was very cheap. Ferdinand Porche won the contract from Hitler for the 'Peoples Car' and with that subsidy from the German government, making them very affordable. 30 years later when Detroit started coming out with sub-compacts to compete with them during the oil crisis of the 70's their cars were priced cheaper to get market share, but they were garbage so they didn't last (enter the era of the Vega, Pacer, Gremlin, etc.)

I agree that quality does matter a great deal. It just has to either be a significant enough difference to be obvious or be around long enough for people to actually realize it is better. Everyone here is smart enough to know the difference as we have all put down our hard earned cash for one, but we are not the norm (we are special!) The two years the CB was available in the USA was not long enough to establish this foothold without significant marketing, which it did not get. When you consider that motorcycles are mainly considered luxury items these days, in a niche market, with many competing offerings, and during a basically depressed economy over the last number of years, it is not surprising the CB didn't last without advertising. Most people don't even know this bike exists, much less the value it represents.