pdedse Wrote:I don't doubt that "motojournalists love the absence of seams" (yet, at the same time, what, have they been polled?), but that doesn't take away that only 21% of the owners here so far claim to "love it". It's a percentage that doesn't surprise me.
Nor does it surprise me, for the logical reason that baxtercat just explained...
baxtercat Wrote:This forum would be the last place Honda's marketing department would poll: it is populated by owners, the vast majority of which own pre-17 bikes, which means their stated preferences about tank shape would be colored by already owning another tank shape and not wanting to think about what owning the new tank shape would entail, financially and psychologically. Which it to say, we might be expected to be a statistical group particularly resistant to its charms. Pre-17 owners have already voted with their wallets (though of course they voted for things besides a tank), have gotten used to their choice (or would have traded it in by now for a Triumph), and confirmational bias suggests they will now want to defend that commitment.
Now, if this place was called 2017cb1100forum.com and we took the same poll, what do you suspect the percentage would be of 2017 EX and RS owners who say they prefer their tank to those of the earlier models?
I'm guessing that the percentage would be mighty high, with a resounding chorus of "Prettier paint, no seams, flush-mounted gas cap, and greater capacity! It looks so much classier!" responses. That percentage would likely be about as high as it is among motojournalists, nearly all of whom sang the praises of the lustrous new paint and absence of seams on the 2017's pricier/more finished-looking tank.
The telling difference there is that motojournalists generally aren't compelled by the same sort of confirmational bias we see here, as the vast majority of them don't own a CB1100.
(03-22-2018, 11:49 PM)The ferret_imp Wrote: funny thing about features. Given a choice at all, there will be disagreement.
For example:
side cover shape ....triangular or frame covering.
Side cover color.... color matched or silver or brushed aluminum.
Fender length..... full or abbreviated,
wheel size...17" or 18",
wheel type.... spoke or mag,
wheel color...black or silver or black with polished edges,
motor color.... black, silver, or black & silver,
paint color...white, black, red, blue, silver,
engine sprocket cover.... plastic or metal,
chain guard.... plastic or metal, black or chrome,
header shape... waterfall or snaky,
header material...stainless or double walled chrome,
mufflers ...2 or 1, quiet or louder,
handlebars..where they are now, higher or lower
mirrors...round or square,
turn signals ...small or large, clear or yellow and red
Forks..upside down or right side up
rear shocks... dual std, upside down reservoir, or monoshock
horsepower...88 or 100+
transmission.... 5 speed or 6 speed
Instruments ... black or green, showing kph & mph or just one and not the other
Has there ever been agreement on this board about a single one of these features? lol No surprise that some people would love the 17 tank, some would be ambivalent, and some would hate it. Human nature.
That one's easy. Triangular, so that it that fits within the frame rails.
Quote:Side cover color.... color matched or silver or brushed aluminum.
Easy call to ditch the silver-painted version. Tougher call, choosing between the hand-rubbed brushed aluminum or color-matched.
Quote:Fender length..... full or abbreviated
Whichever version mine has!
Quote:wheel size...17" or 18"
No-brainer. 18" for all versions except the RS.
Quote:wheel type.... spoke or mag
Tubeless spokes, except for the RS, which needs 17" mags.
Quote:wheel color...black or silver or black with polished edges
Silver on every model except the '14 Standard and 2017 RS, which need the all-black wheels.
Quote:motor color.... black, silver, or black & silver
Silver on the '13 and '14 Deluxe, black on the '14 Standard and '17 RS, and two-tone on the '17 EX. I think Honda got it right on each and every model.
I'd have no problem with all-silver for the '17 EX, however.
Quote:paint color...white, black, red, blue, silver
You forgot that gold RS, which may be the best of all, at least on that bike. Otherwise, the red '17 EX is the most brilliant, and the combination of the pin-striping and Honda 'wing' logo on the red '13 and deeper red '14 breadbox tanks is just spot-on.
They're all excellent. Not a dog in the bunch.
Quote:engine sprocket cover.... plastic or metal
As long as we're going to stick with a 560-lb bike with mid/upper-eighties rwhp, metal parts over plastic will always be the correct choice.
Quote:chain guard.... plastic or metal, black or chrome
See above. Otherwise, aluminum or chrome? Aluminum. Chain guards too often get too dirty for chrome.
Quote:header shape... waterfall or snaky
Waterfall
Quote:header material...stainless or double walled chrome
Another no-brainer. Double-walled chrome.
Quote:mufflers ...2 or 1, quiet or louder
2+2 is what everyone seems to have wanted. Lacking that option, twin pipes look better, while the single pipe is lighter. The twin pipes sound better and made marginally more power, especially the '17's pipes. In terms of volume, they're all quiet, but the '17's pipes sound noticeably rumblier than any of the previous pipes.
Quote:handlebars..where they are now, higher or lower
Higher! Most of the people here make Wilford Brimley look like Dwayne Johnson!
Quote:mirrors...round or square
Didn't realize that square mirrors were ever included on any model of CB1100. Otherwise, these round mirrors on my '17 EX are the best I've ever used on any bike, other than my ST1100 and ST1300 mirrors, and they look the part, so I'll say round.
Quote:turn signals ...small or large, clear or yellow and red
Full '70s Retro "Great Pumpkins"!
Quote:Forks..upside down or right side up
Again, I wasn't aware that any CB1100s were offered with upside forks. The right side up forks fit the theme.
Quote:rear shocks... dual std, upside down reservoir, or monoshock
Monoshock simply isn't an option on a CB1100, so that's out. The reservoir shocks look mighty cool on the RS, and they'd be fine on the '13 or '14 Standard, but they would look a bit out of place on the EX or '14 DLX.
Quote:horsepower...88 or 100+
Another no-brainer. Even if one would never use it, no one would turn their nose up at having more available hp, especially when we're only talking twenty-five more, not a hundred more.
Quote:transmission.... 5 speed or 6 speed
Lotta no-brainers here, and this one is at the top of the list. A cost/weight-savings argument could me made for plastic pieces instead of metal, but there is no compelling argument for the buzzier five-speed over the smoother six-speed.
Quote:Instruments ... black or green, showing kph & mph or just one and not the other
Green all the way, and in most markets both mph and kph need to be included.
Quote:Has there ever been agreement on this board about a single one of these features? lol
I'm thinking there is basically universal agreement that the triangle covers which fit within the frame rails are preferable to the amorphous covers that melt over the forward rail. Similarly, I suspect that everyone prefers the original green instruments. I also can't imagine that anyone who's ridden both versions wouldn't prefer the six-speed. Sure, there are those crusty old types who bray, "I have a five-speed, and it's perfectly fine!" That's great, but had it come standard with a six-speed you wouldn't have complained one bit, and you wouldn't have wanted Honda to ditch a gear. Lastly, despite what all the I Don't Need More Power curmudgeons here say, I remain fully convinced that not a single CB1100 owner would still be anything but absolutely delighted with their bike if it offered just a bit more available steam everywhere on the tach.
haha...why won't they do what I want them to do! Good points VLJ about HP and weight...in another life I would have loved to be in marketing, yet, so glad I'm not.