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Yeah, well, Honda didn't go the replica route and wound up with a better motorcycle as result.
I'm also not at all convinced that Honda sold fewer CB1100s than they expected to sell in the US. I know that my dealer sold his inventory and replenished it twice and sold all of those bikes, too. Not sure how many total, but there aren't any in his showroom now. But let's say for the sake of discussion that sales numbers are low here; I would sincerely doubt that the look of the bike had much if anything to do with it. In all the published articles on the bike, only one person referred to the looks of the bike in anything but glowing terms. Judging by how many people have stopped CB1100 riders to say how beautiful their bike is, Honda's "committee" did a fine job.
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I think the big Japanese Muscle Bike retros like the Kawi ZRX, Suzuki GS1400, Yamaha FJ1300 and Honda's own Cb1300 are not precise, direct competitors to the CB1100. And I so wish they were imported to the U.S. The CB1100 is more of a 'GT' and relaxed, which is great. But the big bore nakeds, with '80's cues, are fantastic and have their own charm.
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(04-03-2015, 10:03 PM)Capo_imp Wrote: I think the big Japanese Muscle Bike retros like the Kawi ZRX, Suzuki GS1400, Yamaha FJ1300 and Honda's own Cb1300 are not precise, direct competitors to the CB1100. And I so wish they were imported to the U.S. The CB1100 is more of a 'GT' and relaxed, which is great. But the big bore nakeds, with '80's cues, are fantastic and have their own charm.
I think that illustrates what a great job Triumph did with the Bonneville T100 platform. The Thruxton, Scrambler and SE have all been successful in their own right. When compared against their former classic triple line - the Thunderbird, Legend and Adventurer - it's obvious that if you're going to market a retro bike you better get the look just right.
Of all the Japanese manufactures I believe Honda had the best opportunity to replicate Triumph with their own CB750K. Kawasaki could be successful with a KZ1000, although it may not be quite as versatile. Their ZRX sure had a great run, but then it was a great looking bike with modern performance all at a great price.
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Agreed, Pearsonm, I had a ZRX and really dug it, but sold it to fund another purchase. Not sure if I did the right thing, that was a ballsy, beautiful bike.
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Honda won't stop producing the CB1100 DLX as long as the niche market remains profitable. Will a 2016 DLX include digitally controlled suspension, traction control, updated LED lighting, heated grips as standard?
Honda is the most successful motorcycle manufacturer in the world.
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(04-03-2015, 11:52 PM)sig_a_imp Wrote: Honda won't stop producing the CB1100 DLX as long as the niche market remains profitable. Will a 2016 DLX include digitally controlled suspension, traction control, updated LED lighting, heated grips as standard?
Honda is the most successful motorcycle manufacturer in the world.
Their problem is their bike guy, Soricho, has left the building.
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pearsonm, maybe you should pick yourself up a Bonneville. Way too many things wrong with our CBs, not to mention Honda itself.
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pearsonm said "I think that illustrates what a great job Triumph did with the Bonneville T100 platform."
Triumph purists don't think they did such a stellar job, and will point out the gas tank is out of proportion, the pipes are all wrong, no space around the motor, and it's slower than the original. It's brakes are poor, seat horrible and handling only fair, and many don't care that the FI is disguised as carburetors.
I will give credit to Triumph for making the retro popular again. Then again, at the time they were basically the only game in town besides the Royal Enfield and Kawasaki W 650.
Many of us on this board bought Triumph Bonneville T-100's (my self included) and sold them to get this CB 1100.
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(04-03-2015, 11:52 PM)sig_a_imp Wrote: Honda won't stop producing the CB1100 DLX as long as the niche market remains profitable. Will a 2016 DLX include digitally controlled suspension, traction control, updated LED lighting, heated grips as standard?
Honda is the most successful motorcycle manufacturer in the world.
I hate to think I'm old fashioned just because I'm old, but I think a strong reason I own a CB1100 (non-ABS) is because it doesn't have digital suspension, traction control, etc. It is a straight-forward, simple bike that responds to my inputs alone.
It is also likely a reason for the success of the Bonnevilles, the continued appeal of BMW oilheads and the resurgence of airheads, and for that matter, the whole chopperbobbercafe movement.
Electronic ignition, fuel injection sometimes, maybe even ABS, advances in metalurgy, manufacturing and design, okay, but my line in the sand is drawn at that. For bikes anyway. High tech in cars - great, as long as it works reliably. But my car lives outside, the bikes own the garage.
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(04-02-2015, 12:31 AM)ClassicVW_imp Wrote: I think Honda captured the retro look better than the Yamaha. To me, from the rear of the engine back looks too modern. JMO.
The irony there is that the Yamaha SR400 is NOT a replica - it's a continuation.
I had a 1981 SR500. The machine never made it in the States - this when electric-start was becoming the New Normal that no successful model could be without. Mine was in dealer inventory new for five years and was sold heavily marked down - $999 in 1986. Since I was a new rider and my training bike was kick-start, that, to me, was normal - and what I wanted.
The SR was good and bad. Great handling and light and quick - I don't remember wishing I had a bigger engine; I'd cruise the thing at 70...that was in the era of the Double-Nickel; that was plenty fast. Even then I wasn't into street racing. But the thumper vibration...my previous was a twin.
But the SR 500, with its motocross engine put into a street chassis, was clean-sheet modern in 1978. And as it continued in Europe and Asia, it just never was modernized. So...what we're seeing with the SR would be as if VW had just brought the old Type I Beetle...BACK.
I would love to have had one. Did look at one. But while the SR is apparently forever, I'm now old and grey and not wild about the elaborate kick-start routine.
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