My first reaction to the new CB1100

[Guth_imp]

I had been without a bike for 8, maybe 9 years. The itch for another bike started a couple of years ago, and intensified about a year ago. At first I perused used bikes, the new ones, for the most part, just don't excite me. I was not sure exactly what I was looking for, but I was hoping to maybe find an old Z-1/KZ1000, or a nice Honda inline four that was in decent condition.

Ferret said in a previous post somewhere that his favorite motorcycles always seem to be Japanese inline 4's. We share that, I am the same way. I have owned singles, twins, triples, and 4 different inline 4's, some of my bikes were two strokes. The inline 4's have always been my favorite.

The first time I saw the CB1100 in print was in Motorcyclist Magazine's "First Look" review. The retail on the CB1100 was more than I wanted to pay, but I immediately knew in the back of my mind that it was exactly what I wanted. I tried to put the CB1100 out of my mind and went on looking for used bikes. I went to look at a used Versys at the Honda Dealership, and immediately dismissed it, too modern for my tastes. I saw a CB1100 close up and personal for the first time during that visit. I looked at it, sat on it, and it blew me away. I left that day thinking that I really want that bike, but it's more than I want to spend, I also knew that I was not going to be able to talk myself out of it.

I went back a few times, looking at less expensive bikes, new and used, but I kept gravitating towards the CB1100, every time I went to the dealership, the CB1100 was the last bike I looked at, I also spent the most time looking at it. I was considering a Yamaha FZ-09, mainly for the price and the performance, but I didn't think I could live with the styling of the bike. Finally the dealer received an FZ-09, and I went to look at it. I immediately knew that I could never live with the styling, no matter how good the bike was in other ways.

I went to the Honda dealer, and asked for the best otd price on the CB1100, they waived the setup fee, that was it. The salesman told me that they had a CB1100 in for servicing and that the owner was there to pick it up, he asked if I wanted to hear it run. We went to the service area just as the guy was about to leave. I saw the CB1100 in the wild and that was it, as soon as he fired it up, I melted, I knew there was no use fighting it anymore. I went inside and signed the papers. The rest is history.

While that ^^^^^ looks a little closer to retro CB750 styling, I also think it looks a little cartoonish. Almost as if it were making a mockery of the original CB750. I'm glad Honda didn't produce that bike. I'm thankful for the one they did. (Especially the 2014 DLX!) I like that the production bike takes styling cues from more than just one classic Honda and melds them all into one sexy looker that catches the eye as much as the originals did!


BTW Mickey, you're # 8, I'm # 565. If you hover your mouse pointer over your user name, look to left hand bottom corner of the narrow gray bar. The last number that appears there is your member #.

Hmm doesnt work on my pc. Nothing comes up in gray bar..no numbers at all.

Hmm doesnt work on my pc. Nothing comes up in gray bar..no numbers at all.
The gray bar comes up along the bottom of your browser, the text is on the left side. I am #715
It is odd, however, that Guth is #2, whom is the first? Has to be Guth, right?

I originally used the "admin" account to get this place kick-started.

[davidsargee_imp]

I had been without a bike for 8, maybe 9 years. The itch for another bike started a couple of years ago, and intensified about a year ago. At first I perused used bikes, the new ones, for the most part, just don't excite me. I was not sure exactly what I was looking for, but I was hoping to maybe find an old Z-1/KZ1000, or a nice Honda inline four that was in decent condition.

Ferret said in a previous post somewhere that his favorite motorcycles always seem to be Japanese inline 4's. We share that, I am the same way. I have owned singles, twins, triples, and 4 different inline 4's, some of my bikes were two strokes. The inline 4's have always been my favorite.

The first time I saw the CB1100 in print was in Motorcyclist Magazine's "First Look" review. The retail on the CB1100 was more than I wanted to pay, but I immediately knew in the back of my mind that it was exactly what I wanted. I tried to put the CB1100 out of my mind and went on looking for used bikes. I went to look at a used Versys at the Honda Dealership, and immediately dismissed it, too modern for my tastes. I saw a CB1100 close up and personal for the first time during that visit. I looked at it, sat on it, and it blew me away. I left that day thinking that I really want that bike, but it's more than I want to spend, I also knew that I was not going to be able to talk myself out of it.

I went back a few times, looking at less expensive bikes, new and used, but I kept gravitating towards the CB1100, every time I went to the dealership, the CB1100 was the last bike I looked at, I also spent the most time looking at it. I was considering a Yamaha FZ-09, mainly for the price and the performance, but I didn't think I could live with the styling of the bike. Finally the dealer received an FZ-09, and I went to look at it. I immediately knew that I could never live with the styling, no matter how good the bike was in other ways.

I went to the Honda dealer, and asked for the best otd price on the CB1100, they waived the setup fee, that was it. The salesman told me that they had a CB1100 in for servicing and that the owner was there to pick it up, he asked if I wanted to hear it run. We went to the service area just as the guy was about to leave. I saw the CB1100 in the wild and that was it, as soon as he fired it up, I melted, I knew there was no use fighting it anymore. I went inside and signed the papers. The rest is history.

While that ^^^^^ looks a little closer to retro CB750 styling, I also think it looks a little cartoonish. Almost as if it were making a mockery of the original CB750. I'm glad Honda didn't produce that bike. I'm thankful for the one they did. (Especially the 2014 DLX!) I like that the production bike takes styling cues from more than just one classic Honda and melds them all into one sexy looker that catches the eye as much as the originals did!


BTW Mickey, you're # 8, I'm # 565. If you hover your mouse pointer over your user name, look to left hand bottom corner of the narrow gray bar. The last number that appears there is your member #.

Hmm doesnt work on my pc. Nothing comes up in gray bar..no numbers at all.

Hmm doesnt work on my pc. Nothing comes up in gray bar..no numbers at all.
The gray bar comes up along the bottom of your browser, the text is on the left side. I am #715
It is odd, however, that Guth is #2, whom is the first? Has to be Guth, right?

I originally used the "admin" account to get this place kick-started.

I originally used the "admin" account to get this place kick-started.
Ahhh, makes sense. #2 on the list, but #1 for this great forum. Thanks!

[ride4now_imp]

Great idea... I started hearing back in 2011 that one of the Japanese mfg's was 'thinking' of bringing a new version of their UJM from the 70's to market, but had no idea who it might be. I knew about the Kawasaki ws650 but since it was not an inline 4, I never had any interest in it. I always wished I had owned a CB750 or Z1900 back in the day. Then late in 2012 I read somewhere that Honda was going to do it... bring an air cooled 4 to market.

In January 2013, online, I saw this shot of the bike for the first time and felt like a kid all over again



Then in late Jan or early Feb (I think...) Cycle World published a short road test on the bike...I probably still have that issue somewhere... keeping it by my bedside and reading it over and over again every night.

Then in March I made my annual trip to Daytona's bike week believing that Honda would have a bike at the show and that I'd be able to ride one. I remembered riding the KLR at Daytona a few years before and bought one shortly thereafter... plus you can ride any one of Harley's models and just about any Victory, Suzuki, or Yamaha and a few others. Honda had the bike... but was not doing demo rides in 2013. Damn...

Here's a few shots from the Honda tent at Daytona Bike week, 2013, the first time I saw the bike in person:






Then I found this forum in May... started asking questions about what the bike was like, how it compared to the original 750's back in the day... then road out to a dealer in town to see if they had one yet. They didn't... had sold it, but could get another one 'next week'. I said... are you dealing or is it sticker? They said... we want to sell bikes and gave me a good price. I came back the next weekend, it was waiting for me with .1 miles on it. I fired it up, put 3 test miles on it, went back and bought it.

So this year, I did it again, but just a bit faster. After seeing Ferret trade his in (I was going to wait again), I called my dealer and said... will you deal on the 14 Deluxe and order me one? He said, we want to sell bikes. So they gave me a good net between my 13 and the new one and wrote it up. I gave them a deposit... and here we go again.



And I'm riding my 13 to Daytona next weekend... maybe they'll be doing demo rides this year, but if not, I'll certainly come back with plenty of pictures.

I can't wait. I'm like a kid again... I just hope they don't do something really cool next year!






Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[CA200_imp]

Boy I just noticed I was 11th.
I had always teased and scoffed at retro bikes when I had my store open, I always said " it's a excuse for them not coming up with something new".
When we decided to close reality set in. I knew I would not have a lot of money but needed enough to make it to my 66th birthday so I
could get SS but I really wanted a "retirement bike". After all I was in
the motorcycle biss for 25 years and now it was my time to ride a little. I always thought of my self as a sport touring or standard bike
kinda guy. I started out looking at used sport touring bikes but my
old body told me they where getting to be a bit to much.
I saw the news on the CB1100 and it seemed to fit , not to heavy,
not a lot of money. I wonder if it would fit little ol me?
When I went to the Chicago to the bike show and sat on one I know
it was the "one". The people who were with me said I never stopped
smiling that day. I placed my order the next week--

[the Ferret]

CA what is so sad in your story was that one line " After all I was in the motorcycle bizz for 25 years and now it was my time to ride a little". ( and I completely understand what you were saying having been in the bizz for 17 years myself). People don't understand what a drain it is for people who love motorcycles to work in the business. They work with motorcycles everyday, yet rarely get to enjoy them. Hours are long, pay is short and you are stuck working while everyone else is out riding. It really is true, if you love something don't make a business out of it ..or don't work at the hobby you love.

I so hope you get to enjoy your CB 1100 for a long long time. You deserve it.

[Cormanus]

Back in 2010 when I decided I wasn't prepared not to ride a bike any longer, I bought a second-hand VT750 Shadow. I thought it would be good because I've short legs and I could get my feet on the ground. I'm also not a big fan of the look of modern sports bike that have you leaning a long way forward like a race-track wannabe.

Just after I bought the Shadow, I saw a white CB1100 at the Honda dealer. I suspect it was one of the first to hit this part of the world. I sat on it and it worked fine. I could reach the ground and it felt comfortable. It reminded me of the all the CB750 and CB500 fours I'd dreamed of having as a young man but never got around to. But I couldn't justify AUD$15,000-odd for a new one. Anyway, I'd just bought the Shadow and I would had had trouble explaining why it had to go so quickly!

I had plenty of fun with the Shadow. It was a good bike for me to get back into riding, and I've no complaints about it. But every now and again I'd look at the CB1100 on line or when I saw the occasional one in the wild and think "Gee I'd really like one of them."

Last July a friend of mine who's been a life-long rider came to stay and we were talking about bikes. As you do. I was telling him about how much I liked the CB1100. He found and shared endless reviews saying what a great machine it was. We agreed it was a lovely bike. He told me I should just buy one and have done with it. I thought about all the reasons I shouldn't, but it niggled away at me and I started looking at second-hand ones and saw that the price had fallen a lot for low mileage CBs. I found a blue one that looked pretty damned good with about 4,000kms on the clock and started plotting to buy it. (As an aside, I think Enzo looked at it too, but got a good deal on a new one from the same dealer.)

My wife and I were heading to Europe and she made it clear that a new bike was not going to happen before we went and, even though I knew by then that Honda had stopped importing them, I took a deep breath and figured I could wait. I think she thought it was just a fad and would pass. It wasn't and it didn't. Just after I got back I saw a listing for a black 2011 model with 2,091 kms (1,300 miles) on the clock. for a shade under AUD$10,000. "That'll do me!" I thought.

I rang the dealer and put a $500 holding deposit on it, My wife drove me down the road a way that afternoon so I could jump a train to the dealer in Brisbane (about 2 hours away) where I took it for a test ride and decided to have it. The dealer then let me ride it to the bank to pick up a bank cheque to pay for it.

I rode it home and I like riding it more and more every time I get on it. I've also not seen another bike I'd rather be riding.

Sorry to be so long winded.

PS: CA, what Ferret said, I really hope you get to enjoy lots of time on your CB and we get to hear about it.

[Mike Bee_imp]

I first became aware of Honda's new CB1100 by reading about it in the motorcycle magazines when they announced it was coming to the USA. I thought Honda did a nice job of styling the bike. Test reviews were very positive and they remarked about the quality of fit & finish. But purchasing one was never on my radar. Until I saw one at my local dealership. Pictures just don't do this bike justice. It's obvious Honda really took great pains to make this motorcycle look good. The styling, paint & chrome are superb. A short test ride in the parking lot and 1.89% financing clinched the deal. This was my most expensive "impulse buy" ever.

[ride4now_imp]

Great idea... I started hearing back in 2011 that one of the Japanese mfg's was 'thinking' of bringing a new version of their UJM from the 70's to
market, but had no idea who it might be. I knew about the Kawasaki ws650 but since it was not an inline 4, I never had any interest in it. Then late in 2012 I read somewhere that Honda was going to do it... bring an air cooled 4 to market.

In January 2013, online, I saw this shot of the bike for the first time and felt like a kid all over again...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
I have no idea why this was posted again...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[air charlie_imp]

I first saw one at the Honda dealership. I wasn't even looking for a street bike at the time. I was looking at motocross bikes and happened to walk by it. I fell in love with the retro looks immediately. The dealer let me test ride it and I was hooked. There is just nothing like the sound and smoothness of the inline 4. I had my wife drive me to the dealership the next day and rode it home. This bike got me back into riding on the street after 15 years.

I am glad someone posted the 13 and 14 pics back to back. I really like the idea of the 6 speed on the 14 model and the 4 into 2 exhaust. But I don't like the all silver engine and especially the all silver wheels. To me the new bike looks a little "plain". From strictly an appearance standpoint I like the look of the 13 better. Definitely not a fan of the all black standard model. Its just too black. I know that appeals to the younger generation but I don't see this bike selling well to the younger crowd. They typically lean toward the CBRs. I have a feeling there will be a lot of leftover standard (black)14's. I will wait for the 15 models to see what options are available.

That said I will probably see if I can take one of the new ones for a test drive just to see what I am missing.