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Why the CB1100 will never be a big seller
#11
For reference, Triumph sold a total of approximately 50,000 motorcycles worldwide in 2016. Honda sold something like 1.5 million. They spend over $200 million on car advertising in the US alone. They can do whatever they want. They would produce as many CB's as they possibly could sell.

Recall Ferrett's posting about Honda building precisely the bike they wanted to? I concur. And they advertise it precisely as much as they want to. I'm in that business and have worked with Honda on campaigns.

Regarding Nortoon's vivid comments about the ugliness of CB's, in that this is a tight forum, and 99 % of the members own 'ugly blacked out / twisted pipes' bikes, a little common courtesy might be a good idea.


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#12
(01-03-2017, 10:36 AM)Capo_imp Wrote: For reference, Triumph sold a total of approximately 50,000 motorcycles worldwide in 2016. Honda sold something like 1.5 million. They spend over $200 million on car advertising in the US alone. They can do whatever they want. They would produce as many CB's as they possibly could sell.

Recall Ferrett's posting about Honda building precisely the bike they wanted to? I concur. And they advertise it precisely as much as they want to. I'm in that business and have worked with Honda on campaigns.

Regarding Nortoon's vivid comments about the ugliness of CB's, in that this is a tight forum, and 99 % of the members own 'ugly blacked out / twisted pipes' bikes, a little common courtesy might be a good idea.


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Thumbs Up from a owner of a "beautiful" black standard!
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#13
(01-03-2017, 09:51 AM)LongRanger_imp Wrote:
(01-03-2017, 08:17 AM)mtneers_imp Wrote: My 27 year old son, once a sport bike rider, asked me when I bought mine why I purchased a bike that looks so old. My answer: "Because I can".


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lol I bet in 30-40 years he'll be pining for a bike styled after a preying mantis!

[Image: cb616229c935620856bee6aa77a68635.jpg]
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#14
You have cruisers, adventure bikes, dirt bikes, sport bikes, uber licensed race bikes - and now a retro in line four UJM. Indeed a niche bike. A niche that is not all that big compared to some of the more traditional market segments and I strongly suspect a shrinking segment as the customer base is aging/dying out of the market. Very few youngsters will buy it for retro reasons (but hey, the basic design is still sound but it's tough to sell compared to more modern designs).

It would be most enlightening to see the CB1100 sales compared to the entire Honda motorcycle lineup - and even other manufactures. We're kinda spittin' in the wind here without actual numbers. It may actually be a decent performer!
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#15
Yes Honda sells a lot of bikes. They sell a lot of 250s and little bikes all over the world like in Thailand and Malaysia. They do not sell a ton of CB1100s in the US. How many bikes and types of bikes does not reflect US sales in one particular category. Yes Honda built exactly what they wanted and that being said it's a niche bike that not everyone wants. Honda can do whatever they want and I like my CB but by no means are they on top when it comes to bikes anymore. They have been lacking in the performance aspect for years. Yamaha is the hottest company right now in the big four Japanese bikes. Remember the crowd here, we are here for our own reasons and not the reasons of the general bike community.

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And BTW, I own and love one of those so called ugly blacked out CBS. All subject to opinion. If someone doesn't like it then move on.

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#16
If we were here for the U.S. general bike community this would be a Harley forum. Remember though that this forum has members from 21 countries even if we are U.S. based.
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#17
Motorcycles have moved away from being general-purpose to being more specialized. Although the CB1100 at first looks like an "all-rounder" as the Germans say...it is in fact a specialty nostalgia bike whose appeal is based mainly on its appearance. It's a new bike styled to look retro. In today's market...that's pretty nichy, even in a market composed mainly of special-purpose machines.
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#18
Can't say why it's not a big seller, just why it appealed to me. I wasn't looking for a retro bike, just one that looked normal to me. I hadn't ridden for twenty years. I looked at Harleys, Triumphs, and Guzzis, but I wanted something that would be stone reliable and have reasonable dealer support. And I didn't want a Harley. The only other machine that looked like a motorcycle should at the Honda dealer was a Grom. There is a great post on the ADVrider forum under the dedicated CB1100 thread, post #200 that I am not competent enough to cut and paste or whatever to this site... says it pretty well.

Ben
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#19
(01-03-2017, 12:39 PM)The ferret_imp Wrote: If we were here for the U.S. general bike community this would be a Harley forum. Remember though that this forum has members from 21 countries even if we are U.S. based.
Yes ferret, but I didn't say US bike community, only relating to US bike sales for Honda. As mentioned in an earlier post about Honda selling so many bikes worldwide, it is because in other countries where it is their main form of transportation and they are limited in engine size Honda sells tons of bikes. As for Triumph, they do not cater to that market and for the U.S. we are not limited and also live in a culture of bigger and cooler and faster is better.

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#20
(01-03-2017, 12:45 PM)Ben70_imp Wrote: Can't say why it's not a big seller, just why it appealed to me. I wasn't looking for a retro bike, just one that looked normal to me. I hadn't ridden for twenty years. I looked at Harleys, Triumphs, and Guzzis, but I wanted something that would be stone reliable and have reasonable dealer support. And I didn't want a Harley. The only other machine that looked like a motorcycle should at the Honda dealer was a Grom. There is a great post on the ADVrider forum under the dedicated CB1100 thread, post #200 that I am not competent enough to cut and paste or whatever to this site... says it pretty well.

Ben

So, that [url=http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/2013-honda-cb1100.820439/page-10#post-20034722]post was by bomber60015:

Quote:gee, look, a motorcycle.

You could ride to work/school, have fun on roads on the weekend, gor for trips with the soft luggage added, run errands, venture down a dirt road. . . . .

what a great idea!

(smile)

Retro is one descriptor -- mutlifacted is another -- just makes good sense . . .
Don't say us mods don't look after you. Big Grin
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