08-08-2013, 11:13 PM
(08-08-2013, 09:30 PM)The ferret_imp Wrote: Talking about sales and what will happen or not happen to a particular model is pure speculation upon those who are not in corporate Honda where these decisions are made. I suspect it has sold well enough, Ive actually seen some other than mine out on the road. I suspect it will be back next year. But if there are any left overs it might not.
If it does return, it would not be difficult for Honda to change the color as only the tank has any color to it.
Thats the only thing I would question about XXs statement above, where he says " he loves the Candy red, but on this bike it's been way overdone" . That I don't understand. There is only 1 piece of candy red on the bike..the tank ( and its painted beautifully). Fenders are chrome, side covers silver, fork ears silver, headlight bucket black, chain guard black. Where has the red been overdone at? One of the most popular accessories on this board is to add more red by changing the side covers. Many more would change them to red if they weren't so expensive. I would.
If it does come in black does that mean the black will be overdone?
Although ferret is correct, that unless one is a Honda insider then one can't be certain about the model year decision process, the members of this forum have a large store of historical knowledge about motorcycles generally and Hondas specifically (and Honda as a corporate entity is often traditional and predictable, even when compared to other Japanese firms, so predictability is easier) and therefore speculation by this group is grounded in that experience and as a result should have more predictive capacity than darts at a board.
With that in mind, my speculation is that the bike is back next year but not the following year (a two year run in the US). Reasoning as follows: the CB1100A is intended to be a homage to a family of Honda standard motorcycles. The original standard Honda motorcycles of the 60s and 70s to a large extent defined Honda as a corporation (before the company's shift to automobiles) and they spawned an array of models in a variety of displacements as well as cruisers, standards, and sportbike flavors -- the same basic platform ran from 1969 to 1983 (with a significant engine upgrade in the middle). This is in stark comparison to the CB1100A, where I don't see any realistic intention to extend the CB1100A as a platform for an entire model line which survives several years. In a way, I see the CB1100A as similar to the role played by the 2004-2006 Ford GT: a limited run of an excellent interpretation of a historically significant part of a company's -- and motorsport's -- history. Chip might disagree with my comparison, he's an owner of both.
Why won't it be just a one-year run? My thought is that even if this summer's sales are disappointing (and I don't know if that is correct), Honda will not stop production in the US because in this scenario they could produce a small number of next model year bikes in a new color and give dealers a chance to move the remaining inventory.
As to color, I think the candy red will be the defining color for this model, much like the candy red / black scheme was defining for the CBX (this is not to say that it is the 'best' color, just that it will stand the test of time and later collectors). My bet is that next year Honda offers the CB1100A for sale in blue to further showcase their quality paint capabilities. Black as a color scheme wouldn't totally surprise me, though.