My Honda is a ...

[run-tmc_imp]

Not sure if it’s been beneficial to the OP but it looks like a few have picked up new ways to describe their CBs, a few have shaken their heads about the need for a name and hopefully, several enjoyed this discussion. It was a great reminder for me that there’s something really special in my garage, a comforting thought as the Canadian winter dawns and makes riding a distant reality.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Olof_imp]

All the following has been said already but I am bored so I'll rephrase anyway

It's fun to play around with pet names like this. Very enjoyable thread and kudos to the OP to maintain the good spirit despite some flak. Having said that I argue that coming up with a name for our bike is a wildgoose chase. For two reasons.

First, to me the 'CB' designation is as iconic and history laden as it gets. When I grew up Honda was in a league of it's own and 'CB' labelled the world's best and most desirable bikes - the CB125, CB450, CB500F, CB400F, CB750, CB900 Bol d'Or and CBX (and yes I include European exotica in this). Thus simply 'CB1100' is spot on and anything shading the CB designation detracts from our bike's grand heritage. A parallel to the CB is the Porsche 911 and the Ford GT40. Say '911' or GT40' and most petrol heads know - unnecessay to specify the brand. Same with 'CB'. Say no more.

Second, I've never seen conscious efforts to construct a pet name to be successful. Widespread pet names come to be seemingly out of their own power and not always with a clear logic. Suddenly they are just there, e.g. the Beetle, the Tin Goose, Slippery Sam and the Old Speckled Hen. As for our bikes some of us have our private pet names, all for personal and different reasons. Thus small chance for consensus on any of these. So, if there's no pet name now, seven years into the CB1100 history, I strongly doubt there will be one now. RLETS, now that's a completely different story...

[pekingduck]

When you google Rlet, the first (and only) reference is to the CB1100 forum. Since it is mandatory to have Rlets on the bike, why not just call it a CB-Rlet.

[Houtman_imp]

I do not have RLET's on my bike , am I less of a whole person because of this .....

[pekingduck]

I do not have RLET's on my bike , am I less of a whole person because of this .....

No, you're not less of a whole person because you don't have Rlets.
But your bike...... well.....

Come to think of it, I don't have Rlets either........so definitely not less

[Lord Popgun]

The dark side is strong with you two... Sad the Ring is

[peterbaron]

...and you are booked by RLETs Chief of Police, sorry

[Inhouse Bob]

I don't have a name to contribute as I think CB1100 works okay, but the best motorcycle name ever was the Elsinore.
https://dirtbikemagazine.com/remember-th...-elsinore/

[pekingduck]

I don't have a name to contribute as I think CB1100 works okay, but the best motorcycle name ever was the Elsinore.
https://dirtbikemagazine.com/remember-th...-elsinore/

When the Elsinore came out in 1973-4, I was an assembly mechanic at a small Honda shop on the edge of Beverly Hills. I had just set-up 3 Elsinores, and needed to start them up and test ride them. It was noon on Friday, payday, and the mechanic, the service manager, and I needed to get to the bank.

So we jumped on the Elsinores, no helmets, etc, and rode half a mile down a main street to the bank, cashed our meager paychecks, and rode back. That was the only time we did that, as the manager had received some nasty phone calls while we were gone.

Anyway, the Elsinore name was a great one, but a couple years later, the track closed. Same thing happened when Honda came out with the Ascot in 1982 - the track closed 2 years later. Glad Yamaha had the Daytona name, and not Honda.

[peterbaron]

I own both volumes of the book Honda DESIGN Motorcycle. These two volumes cover the years from 1957 to 2013, focusing on the design processes involved (as well as the designers themselves) behind a variety of notable Honda motorcycles built during this timeframe. The designs of Mitsuyoshi Kohama are spread throughout both volumes. For me personally, the most notable of all his designs would of course be the CB1100.

In the book's coverage of the design process that lead to the CB1100 as we know it, Mr. Kohama reveals a lot about what went on behind the scenes. At one point he mentions that the CB1100 needed to capture what he called "Honda-ness", yet that this had to be expanded to include a more adult sense of values. Later on the book discussed just the sort of word play that run-tmc and bioman have alluded to. (A number of years ago some of this information could be found on Honda's main website but sadly it has since been removed as newer versions of the CB1100 came around.)

In one of Kohama's initial sketches for a new CB, he included three Kanji characters along with his design. These three characters would later be used to guide the entire team working on the CB1100 project. Everything that they did pertaining to the CB1100 were to relate to these three characters in some way. They are as follows.

美 BI: Beauty

匠 TAKUMI: Craftsmanship

楽 RAKU: Ease

While this might not be the sort of thing that a marketing team has a field day with when it comes to creating a flashy product name, it obviously covers the CB1100 perfectly.

By the way, I've done my best to get everything above correct including the Kanji characters. But me being me, there is always a chance of error so please forgive any mistakes that I might have made. Also, none of this is to imply that I don't appreciate a good product name. As mentioned by others, Honda has had a number of them over the years. As a point of reference, I almost never referred to my previous motorcycle as a NT650. Instead it was always a Hawk GT, or simply the Hawk. Great motorcycle, great name.

I love this Guth, thanks for adding it in. If I ever get my butt in gear on customizing Heiko, I’ll have to consider emblazoning those characters on the custom rear seat cowl I hope to design/paint. Thanks for all the suggestions Bioman. Am I pronouncing Heiko correctly when I say “hike oh?” I realize I’m missing a symbol above the ‘o’ but not sure what that means phonetically.

Tom


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Like "Seiko", the watch? But with an "H".

I named my CB today: め けえ わ

Okay [url=http://cb1100forum.com/forum/member.php?action=profile&uid=3454]PB, so your bike is a pussy cat?

Okay [url=http://cb1100forum.com/forum/member.php?action=profile&uid=3454]PB, so your bike is a pussy cat?
Very close GO

Okay [url=http://cb1100forum.com/forum/member.php?action=profile&uid=3454]PB, so your bike is a pussy cat?
Very close GO
Well, an alternative is it kinda sounds like Chinese.



( ... or maybe a cat in pain.)



All good to describe the CB?

Okay [url=http://cb1100forum.com/forum/member.php?action=profile&uid=3454]PB, so your bike is a pussy cat?
Very close GO
Well, an alternative is it kinda sounds like Chinese.



( ... or maybe a cat in pain.)



All good to describe the CB?
Not Cantonese/Mandarin

Japanese: め けえ わ Me ke e We is English spelling