2020 Model Year Changes to the CB1100

[Bazbro_imp]

As Honda totally missed the really BIG opportunity to do something special with the CB1100, a 50th Anniversary Edition with a nod back to the start of it all - the original CB750 - I'm not expecting anything from them.

Whilst I like the look of the CB1100 generally it just doesn't "fit" anywhere styling-wise. It's not "modern" in the swoopy, plastic, moulded sense but it has touches of that - the rear light, tank shape, even the back of the seat
And its not "retro" ( much as I would love it to be), although the engine is old-looking, as is much if the outline of the 'bike.

Honda clearly don't know where they want this 'bike to sit... not totally retro, not totally modern, not performance , not really, er... anything-in-particular special. Yet it IS special, probably because it's the best quality of all the retros out there. It's just not retro-styled enough to actually look retro - Whitehouse has captured that market perfectly.

So what I would like to see for 2020 is a PROPERLY retro-styled CB1100, that would take the retro world by storm and yet still give a modern, bang-up-to-date ride.

And stop buggering around with all the different reds each year!

[misterprofessionality]

> It's just not retro-styled enough to actually look retro

i think that's strongly dependant upon your definition/perspective of retro. I think the stock 2014 bike was VERY strongly designed after early 80's DOHC CB bikes. so much so that it's downright confusing to people who know those bikes. The '17 models and on are a bit more ambiguous though.

[Bazbro_imp]

Agreed, Mr P. They don't look as retro now as they once did.
Which emphasises my opinion that Honda are "lost" at the moment with the CB1100. I imagine two factions in the factory - one pushing to make the CB "modern" and the other trying to make it more "retro". Whoever's in charge is trying to satisfy both camps and not succeeding!

[GoldOxide_imp]

Agreed, Mr P. They don't look as retro now as they once did.
Which emphasises my opinion that Honda are "lost" at the moment with the CB1100. I imagine two factions in the factory - one pushing to make the CB "modern" and the other trying to make it more "retro". Whoever's in charge is trying to satisfy both camps and not succeeding!

In this modern day of agile design/implementation team decision, I am sure the decisions were democratic in nature, and for better and for worse, what it is.

[Bazbro_imp]

Paradoxically, what is weak about the design is also strangely, its biggest strength. Because it is so bland, it enables even the lightest customising touch to have a disproportionately big impact. Witness all the variations that guys on here have achieved - some 'bikes hardly look like CB1100s when they've finished!

There are the real cafe racers, cut down sports 'bikes, smart tourers, superb retros (like those Whitehouse ones) and so on. A very versatile 'bike.

I'd like Honda to grasp the nettle and let us have three variations - the standard, touring-oriented 'bike (with maybe higher bars, screen, rack, panniers, spots, etc.), then a real sports version (slightly rearsets, lower bars, engine slightly breathed-on, and that suspension mod that they've already done) and finally a true retro version, looking as much like the old 'bikes as possible.

[rboe]

I wouldn't mind better suspension bits. I would not want the shaft drive (they would have to do what they did to the CB900 to kludge it on the bike or do a total redesign - a whole lotta weight for little to no gain).

As she sits I see little to improve; save moving the rear signals to the bark light so they don't have to moved when you add luggage.

Everything else can be done by the end user. For many of the other ideas. well there are plenty of bikes on the market that do that job really well already - just buy them.

[misterprofessionality]

Agreed, Mr P. They don't look as retro now as they once did.
Which emphasises my opinion that Honda are "lost" at the moment with the CB1100. I imagine two factions in the factory - one pushing to make the CB "modern" and the other trying to make it more "retro". Whoever's in charge is trying to satisfy both camps and not succeeding!

the sad truth is that modernizing retro bikes is the trend that sells. the Z900 for instance. look at how much better that sells than the W800, from the same manufacturer. yamaha has the SR400 and the XSR700. obviously the XSR700 is a better bike, but the sales numbers still speak for themselves. the "retro-inspired' modern bike vs. the truly retro kickstart-only thumper, the XSR wins in sales hands down. we all love these retro bikes but it seems like the market just won't pay for them unless they're modernized.

[Wisedrum]

In my eyes the CB, at least the 1.version, is retro enough with its big aircoooled engine, its shape and lots of metal. It of course depends on your definition of what is retro. Compare it to modern bike and you quickly will get an idea of how retro it looks. Being a little bit modernized or not, it does not distract from being a retro bike. Later versions may create a different view. Hondas just tried a bit around. Someone likes it, someone don't.

Wisedrum

[TCBronson_imp]

I'm guessing there won't be a CB1100 for 2020?

[GoldOxide_imp]

I'm guessing there won't be a CB1100 for 2020?

In the year 2020, if man is still alive,
If woman can survive, they may find ...

Oh wait, a wee bit early still.