My Honda is a ...

[Guth_imp]

I can still recall just how much anticipation I felt back in 2012 when waiting to see if Honda was actually going to bring this motorcycle to the States. By then the title "CB1100" had been so thoroughly entrenched in my mind over the course of the previous few years that even had the marketing gurus at Honda cooked up some other name for this motorcycle, I'd still be calling it a CB1100 today.

The CB1100 — STILL air-COOLed.

[j3gq_imp]

I can still recall just how much anticipation I felt back in 2012 when waiting to see if Honda was actually going to bring this motorcycle to the States. By then the title "CB1100" had been so thoroughly entrenched in my mind over the course of the previous few years that even had the marketing gurus at Honda cooked up some other name for this motorcycle, I'd still be calling it a CB1100 today.

The CB1100 — STILL air-COOLed.

This is a response that makes a lot of sense to me, that I understand.
Thank you ! I'll go with CB1100 ... as btw I always did.
[/quote]

[Seabee_imp]

Since mine is off to a new home from this day forward she will be known as my "lil red heartbreaker", not that I,m being sentimental or anything.

[GoldOxide_imp]

The roll-on effects of the CB1100 still resonate with me today.

The most reliable authentic air-cooled ride I have every owned.

[run-tmc_imp]

I hear ya j3gq.

For me it’s all these CBR1000 riders talking so affectionately about “my ‘blade.” I don’t mind CB, heck it even looks great on the side of the bike but does seem to keep a lid on the passion between rider and bike. “Fireblade” evokes samurai imagery for me too, a deep respect between the tool and its master. Cool that this familiarity is evoked by the shorthand ‘blade to describe a track weapon.

Not sure if the VTR1000 Firestorm crowd ever threw around “my ‘storm, looking sexy by the lake” on an instagram post, but that doesn’t sound ridiculous to me either.

Words like dependable, classic, trusty, substantial, purposeful, well built are all what come to mind when I think of my CB, none of which inspire any deeper connection to the machine. Maybe you stick with the sword concept: fireblade, katana, Sabre are taken, so broadsword? Battle axe? Jackknife? Shuriken? No, none of those seem right.

Back to weather. Firestorm, Hurricane are taken. Thunder cannon? Thunder magnum? Lightning horse? Driving Wind? Driving rain? Golf ball sized hail? None of this really works for a machine that really seems to prize balance and heritage above horsepower or looking like a missile, etc. There mUst be some good Japanese words for balance that could work well. English is striking out.

This addition to your post is drifting toward absurdity but I’m sure the teams of engineers that came up with the actual bike names above would have had similar spitballing discussions prior to release. Would have been fun to participate in!


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[bioman_imp]

I hear ya j3gq.

For me it’s all these CBR1000 riders talking so affectionately about “my ‘blade.” I don’t mind CB, heck it even looks great on the side of the bike but does seem to keep a lid on the passion between rider and bike. “Fireblade” evokes samurai imagery for me too, a deep respect between the tool and its master. Cool that this familiarity is evoked by the shorthand ‘blade to describe a track weapon.

Not sure if the VTR1000 Firestorm crowd ever threw around “my ‘storm, looking sexy by the lake” on an instagram post, but that doesn’t sound ridiculous to me either.

Words like dependable, classic, trusty, substantial, purposeful, well built are all what come to mind when I think of my CB, none of which inspire any deeper connection to the machine. Maybe you stick with the sword concept: fireblade, katana, Sabre are taken, so broadsword? Battle axe? Jackknife? Shuriken? No, none of those seem right.

Back to weather. Firestorm, Hurricane are taken. Thunder cannon? Thunder magnum? Lightning horse? Driving Wind? Driving rain? Golf ball sized hail? None of this really works for a machine that really seems to prize balance and heritage above horsepower or looking like a missile, etc. There mUst be some good Japanese words for balance that could work well. English is striking out.

This addition to your post is drifting toward absurdity but I’m sure the teams of engineers that came up with the actual bike names above would have had similar spitballing discussions prior to release. Would have been fun to participate in!


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Great idea!! Here are some options :

冷静
Reisei (calm, composure, coolness, serenity)

平衡
Heikō (equilibrium, balance, equalization, even scale)

落ち着き
Ochitsuki (calm, calmness, composure)

静けさ
Shizukesa (tranquility, silence, quiet, serenity, calm)

慎み
Tsutsushimi (modesty, discretion, self-control)

沈着
Chinchaku (deposition, composure, calm, aplomb, serenity)

対称
Taishō (symmetry)


(and I would vote for the Honda Taisho !)

[Cormanus]

I’ve a 2011 model. I can’t vote for Taishō when there’s only one muffler.

I’ll have to go with Heikō.

Nice work run-tmc and bioman.

[Guth_imp]

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.

[run-tmc_imp]

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


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[peterbaron]

I named my CB today: め けえ わ