Can I hear from all 45 and under riders? Why did you pick the CB1100?

[linuxology_imp]

33 years old here. My stepfather owns a CBX and KZ650 so I am drawn to the UJM through him. My first bike was a naked Suzuki GS500 and liked the ease of maintenance on it. I actually love the CB and many others are drawn to it.

[zachamo_imp]

27. I started on a Honda Shadow 600 about 5 years ago because it was cheap and accessible to start riding. No family ride so I just made up my mind on my own without knowing much about the breadth of motorcycles available. I loved riding but eventually realized cruisers weren't my thing, I wanted to ride more actively. However, "crotch rockets" where way to showy for my character. I was really interested in the Nighthawk during my early research, and found a liking for standard style motorcycles. As a functional designer, I love the simplicity, utility, and beauty of the standards like the CBs. I love that it can be as aggressive as I really need it, but still smooth and unassuming. When I was looking for a new bike I was discouraged by the heavy division or separation between cruisers and sport bikes. The CB1100 came along and it filled my interest in a standard style but high performance, modern machine.

Honestly my next motorcycle would be a medium size adventure or naked bike, like a BMW GS800. I didn't know much about this class of bike and it wasn't in my price range. I now know of cheaper options like KLR 650 but I want road performance to come first. I recently rode my CB1100 on a dirt ATV road, and had a taste for tame, but semi rough riding. It was awesome, balanced stance on the pegs, riding up and down with the rolling terrain. I also do a lot of camping, so a bike that can get to trailhead or Trail would be ideal. However, I don't think the clearance and weight is right for much other than good pavement for the CB1100. I do enjoy it more each time I ride and will likely keep it forever. Too bad it's late... Weather finally warmed again this week, I need to ride!

[kevbroce_imp]

28 here. I bought my '13 after having my license a little over 3 months. I didn't ride dirt bikes growing up, so I was quite a new rider when I bought mine in October of 2013. Out of choice I had sold my car and been living bicycle, then motorcycle, only so I wanted something that made sense as an only vehicle. I wanted something new, reliable, fuel injected cause I just wanted to ride and never worry about it, this isn't a weekend toy. I was considering the Star Bolt, but I'm not really a cruiser guy. I would have bought a 919 if I could find a decent one at the time and SV650's also tempted me.

In the end, it was a lot to do with the reviews. Everyone called it an easy to live with, do everything, well built, reasonable motorcycle. It totally made sense for someone who just wanted a standard bike to learn to ride, live without a car and figure out what kind of rider they wanted to be. I didn't particularly care for it looks when I first saw pictures of it, but as soon as I saw it in person I changed my mind. It was smaller than I expected and everything looked and felt much nicer than I anticipated. I didn't want something too powerful or sporty, too big, too slow, 10K was my limit, so this has worked out well. It's more bike than a Bonneville, less racy than the FZ-8, cheaper than the BMW's, didn't look like a Gladius, Versys, or Vstrom, more reliable than a Moto Guzzi, Aprilia or Ducati. Plus I don't typically trust mechanics but my local Honda dealer is AWESOME.

16,000 miles later, the CB's been a great choice. Daily commuting year round, 500 mile day's, camping trips, canyon fun, 2 up, it's does everything well and has been completely reliable. I can't imagine anyone that doesn't off road or tour 2 up would need anything else. Want/prefer, that's up to them, but the CB just works. My only complaints are it's too heavy, the suspension's a let down, tank range gets annoying, and the service intervals are absolutely awful. Fair trade offs to me.

[Honda Lover_imp]

I'm 40 and purchased my 13' CB1100 for 3 main reasons, not all that different then what others mentioned. First I love all things retro. The CB1100 nailed this. Second, I was seeking a lighter, more nimble second bike (main bike 08 VTX1800T) that supports one up riding for short to medium range rides. And last, my uncle back when I was a kid owned a CB350 and a Kawasaki KZ 650 that I've always admired. The CB1100 harkens back to these bikes and time period.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JustPassinThru_imp]

The kids are all right.

[Guth_imp]

Honda Lover, it looks like your uncle owned a KZ650 and a CB400.

Sorry to dilute the conversation at 52 years of age, but I can tell you even at half my age my preferences weren't all that much different than they are now. In my youth, my interest in bikes had decreased as the amount of plastic covering up the mechanicals increased. Then Honda came out with the Hawk GT — one of the first so called "naked" bikes. To my eyes, it simply looked beautiful with its exposed engine and frame and almost no plastic to speak of. In fact there wasn't much to the bike period, even the swing arm was single sided. Just the bare essentials. That almost became my first street bike purchase, but I didn't go through with it and sadly Honda didn't end up selling all that many of them.

Fast forward a couple of decades and the few bikes that I found interesting besides the retro models were very similar to the list that Jim21680 rattled off above. The common thread amongst the bikes I'm attracted to, and always have been, is the pure, basic qualities that they exhibit via their designs. As Setchman emphasized, these are the elements that make a motorcycle a motorcycle. The CB1100 has this quality in spades and I'm certain that I would have been just as attracted to it in my 20's, 30's and 40's as I am in my 50's. To me, the design (and the attraction to it) is timeless.

Sorry for the interruption, I'll let you young whippersnappers get back to your conversation now.

[PowderToastMan_imp]

29 now, was 27 when I bought the CB.
I had drooled over it in Japan when they were going to bring it out there, but as a grad student didn't have the means to even thing about it.. when I saw they were bringing it here I knew I had to grab one.
I'm a big fan of the UJM, for how they are a great basic all-around motorcycle, and the good looks.
Somebody on Bay Area Riders Forum went on a rant that there's no point paying that kind of cash for a bike that is really low performance compared to a super sport in the same price range, but I fully believe that the CB has more giddyup than I'll ever need on public roads and it's just a smooth, reliable, basic bike which is always a pleasure to ride. I bought the bike with the intention of putting 100k miles on it and enjoying every one of them.

[Raygun_imp]

I'm 43, so maybe a whipper, but not a snapper anymore. I tried not to choose the CB1100, but she kept calling to me. I bought the Honda CRF250L when it came out because I thought I wanted to relive my youth of dirt bikes and maybe dabble on the highway a bit. I'd never owned a street bike before. Well that dabbling ignited a passion for the open road and I soon realized I needed more horsepower and to lose the knobbies.

I looked at everything, with an open mind. Harleys had the allure of American made, but no local dealer in NE Nevada. Seems most riders around here either go out of town for a Harley or ride one of the futuristic plastic transformers. I'm not a 'go with the crowd' type of guy. Old soul my wife says. I wanted something timeless but modern; versatile but powerful.

I test rode the CB last year and loved everything about it, but still didn't let myself realize that it met all my wishes. At that point I thought I had to have liquid cooled. Seriously considered the revived Indian Scout - liquid cooled, fuel injected, mid weight, old school modernity, and American made. But, no local dealer. It is very important to me to support the local businesses.

Stopped back into my local dealer a few weeks ago. He sells all of the Japanese brands. Anything Honda I've owned (car, generator, ATV, generator, lawnmower) has been bullet proof so I dropped American made from my req list. 'Agnes' was still sitting on the showroom floor. Been there for two years and I was the only one who test rode it (a year earlier!). A fantastic deal and a declaration from the dealer that he wouldn't order a second CB and I rode Agnes out of there. Maybe we aren't catching the ladies' eyes, but the old guys sure light up. And, they have better stories.

[DJS_imp]

I'm 40 and purchased my 13' CB1100 for 3 main reasons, not all that different then what others mentioned. First I love all things retro. The CB1100 nailed this. Second, I was seeking a lighter, more nimble second bike (main bike 08 VTX1800T) that supports one up riding for short to medium range rides. And last, my uncle back when I was a kid owned a CB350 and a Kawasaki KZ 650 that I've always admired. The CB1100 harkens back to these bikes and time period.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Honda Lover, it looks like your uncle owned a KZ650 and a CB400.

Sorry to dilute the conversation at 52 years of age, but I can tell you even at half my age my preferences weren't all that much different than they are now. In my youth, my interest in bikes had decreased as the amount of plastic covering up the mechanicals increased. Then Honda came out with the Hawk GT — one of the first so called "naked" bikes. To my eyes, it simply looked beautiful with its exposed engine and frame and almost no plastic to speak of. In fact there wasn't much to the bike period, even the swing arm was single sided. Just the bare essentials. That almost became my first street bike purchase, but I didn't go through with it and sadly Honda didn't end up selling all that many of them.

Fast forward a couple of decades and the few bikes that I found interesting besides the retro models were very similar to the list that Jim21680 rattled off above. The common thread amongst the bikes I'm attracted to, and always have been, is the pure, basic qualities that they exhibit via their designs. As Setchman emphasized, these are the elements that make a motorcycle a motorcycle. The CB1100 has this quality in spades and I'm certain that I would have been just as attracted to it in my 20's, 30's and 40's as I am in my 50's. To me, the design (and the attraction to it) is timeless.

Sorry for the interruption, I'll let you young whippersnappers get back to your conversation now.

[url=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/djs_151/media/1978%20honda%20hawk/P1010052.jpg.html]
looks like the 78 honda hawk i had for a bit.

[JF Coastal_imp]

It has become apparent to me that, at 42, I'm still one of the "young pups" on this forum.

I just want to hear from the other younger riders on this forum as to why they went with a bike like the CB1100 rather than some sport bike or Harley or other bike most popular with the younger demographic.

For me, personally, I've always had an affinity for all things retro and vintage. The CB1100 just has a timeless beauty. I wanted a good all-around bike that I can ride around town or go on a long trip with, and the CB fits that bill nicely. I don't care if some may consider it an "old fogie" bike.

I dare any 21 year old to look at my bike and tell me it's not a beautiful machine.

I'm 36 and I agree with you completely on this statement. I also love the fact that it is easy to customize and Honda is extremely reliable with plenty of dealerships and mechanics in the states / world.

All of the above made the CB1100 an easy decision.