The true beauty of this motorcycle. (another LONG read)

[Cormanus]

I’d pronounce the acronym ‘R-let’. As I’m Australian, the ‘R’ would be more of an ‘Ah’ sound.

VLJ, the continued ribbing you are receiving over the bits of rubber known as RLETs* is a sure sign that you are now considered "one of the regulars" around here, regardless of the outcome of your Sunday riding experience.

* Not to take away from the mystique that these little bits of rubber have around here, but they are probably the closest thing that this forum has to an inside joke, or a secret handshake if you will. Wait, I'm supposed to say that the only more hallowed purpose that a rubber tree could give of itself for, other than to become part of the tires upon which we ride, is to become the little Rubber End Lever Thingies that we mount upon our CBs hand control levers.

As to the condom comment... It should be obvious that it is asking a lot of a CB rider, confident of their manliness as they may be, to associate anything involving the phrase "little rubber" with their own personal use of said device.

Guth, I don’t know about the ‘little’. One of the beauties of the RLET is that, like the TARDIS, they’re bigger on the inside.

[VLJ_imp]

Huh? Why? Until yesterday I didn't even know what those things were, or that they're part of CB lore. They certainly have zero effect on my opinion of the bike, and I doubt that his black '14 Standard has 'em anyway.

It appears that the Honda Mountain of education before you is steep grasshopper. I can see why you don't understand why the CB 1100 was built as it was, and not built as you wish it were.

It appears that the Honda Mountain of education before you is steep grasshopper. I can see why you don't understand why the CB 1100 was built as it was, and not built as you wish it were.
I read all the same things from Honda that you did, regarding the thought process and engineering goals behind the new CB1100. I'm fully up to speed on all that, and mostly okay with it. I don't think it needed to be speed/rpm-limited the way it is, since the old ones weren't, and I think they should have given the bike Showa's best suspension rather than going with cheap imitation cartridge forks; otherwise, I'm happy with their engineering decisions.

I'm simply not aware of All Things Vintage CB, as many of the rest of you here are.

This does beg the question, then, as to why Honda omitted the RLETs from this new CB? Seems like Honda should have included them on the full-retro, wire wheels version, no?

If they had, I would have been fine with it, too. Once I learned the story behind them, yep, no problem, I would have been a-ok with the factory throwing them on there. I wouldn't bother adding them after the fact, but I would have left them on the bike if they were standard equipmment.

[Cormanus]

VLJ, I’m sure I’ve read somewhere that speed limiting bikes is mandatory in Japan and 180 kmh or 112 mph is the magic number. Of course, that may be an urban myth. If not, Honda has obviously decided not to remove the limiter for exports in spite of it being an affront to many past and present members of this forum.

I’m at a loss to explain any rev limiter, unless it cuts it at the red line where, presumably, manufacturers don’t want the engine to go.

The good news is that Don Guhl Motors, somehere in the USA, can remove both for you for a modest fee.

I know that avoids the question of whether they should be there in the first place; but, hey, they are.

The disappointing thing about writing this post is that it’s already your tomorrow here but I’m still going to have to wait an age for your impressions of the bike.

[Acrobat_imp]

I was waited 6 months for my RLETS to come from Japan . Now my mystery lady is complete with her fine black gloves..

[the Ferret]

The 180 kph 112 limiter was indeed for the Japanese domestic market where even Hyabusas and H2R and BMW 1000S are limited to that. it is a National Speed limit. This bike was originally intended for that market only where heritage bikes have a big following. Honda had to be convinced to release it in other countries incl the USA 3 years later. I can not understand why it would be released here with a limiter, or at least with a limiter as low as it is. Yamaha's FZ-09 is speed limited to 134 mph and all street legal bikes released everywhere in the world as of model year 2000 have limiters if they have the ability to exceed 300kph/186 mph, (except for MV Augusta's) who refused to abide by the "gentleman's agreement" all other manufacturers voluntarily agreed to.

. What Honda's thinking was behind rev limiters in certain gears I have no idea, although I know Honda is not alone in that either.

[flynrider]

VLJ, I’m sure I’ve read somewhere that speed limiting bikes is mandatory in Japan and 180 kmh or 112 mph is the magic number. Of course, that may be an urban myth. If not, Honda has obviously decided not to remove the limiter for exports in spite of it being an affront to many past and present members of this forum.

I’m at a loss to explain any rev limiter, unless it cuts it at the red line where, presumably, manufacturers don’t want the engine to go.

The good news is that Don Guhl Motors, somehere in the USA, can remove both for you for a modest fee.

I know that avoids the question of whether they should be there in the first place; but, hey, they are.

The disappointing thing about writing this post is that it’s already your tomorrow here but I’m still going to have to wait an age for your impressions of the bike.

The speed limiter for Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) vehicles is not technically mandatory and it's not just for bikes. The speed limiter is voluntarily implemented on JDM vehicles by all Japanese auto and motorcycle manufacturers. As far as I know, there aren't any JDM vehicles that are not limited, although some sports cars can disable the limiter for track use.

Because the CB1100 does have a speed limiter that does kick in at 180 kph (111.8 mph), it is generally assumed that Honda decided not to remove the JDM speed limiter for export versions of this particular model. While this would be sales suicide if for typical sport bikes, I imagine Honda didn't think the target demographic for the CB11 would care much about it (and with few exceptions, I think they were correct).

As for rev limiters, the only one I'm aware of is the one that kicks in just before redline. I recall from the ECU flash threads that Guhl determined the rev limiter kicked in 500 rpm before redline, which is not unusual for a Honda (my old CB750 has a similar rev limiter). Performance-wise this should be a non-issue as engine power peaks and begins to drop off a good 800 rpm before the limiter kicks in.

[egleaves_imp]

Interesting coincidence, if it is, I had a '95 Ford Thunderbird with a speed limiter that kick in at, you guessed it, 112 MPH. Maybe that number isn't so unique to the Japanese market.

[VLJ_imp]

Honda removes those limiters on their other U.S. models. You can be certain the U.S.-spec CB1000R won't be burdened by the JDM limits, so there really is no reason for Honda to single out the CB1100 in this regard.

As many of you who have ridden the bike have stated, the limiter doesn't present much of a real-world problem, but it certainly serves no useful purpose. It's also rather annoying, just on principle.

[LongRanger_imp]

I've not found it annoying. There's no place to legally ride any motorcycle over 75 mph around here, and I'm not so sure the CB would be confidence-inspiring on a track given its weight and suspension. As many of us have offered repeatedly, there are other bikes for that.

I'd be interested in seeing a poll from existing owners, which would also be reflective of our particular demographic, if a 112 mph-limited motorcycle has any discerning relevance in their use and enjoyment of the vehicle. From what I've read, the limit is certainly consistent with the design and engineering intent of the manufacturer.

[VLJ_imp]

A more telling poll would simply ask: Would you prefer the CB1100 to have limiters, or not have limiters?

We've already established that the 112-mph limit doesn't have much of a negative effect in the real world. The point is that it's annoying, simply on principle. You can't legally ride a CB1000R, VFR, or CBR600 over the posted speed limits either, yet they don't have limiters, and if Honda suddenly slapped limiters on them some people would be annoyed by that decision. Conversely, absolutely no one would ever be annoyed if Honda didn't slap limiters on them, or on the CB1100 either. The topic would never even come up.