A letter to Honda

[the Ferret]

Folks, this morning I sent a letter to a rep I have been in contact with from American Honda. It reads as follows:

Jon, Hi this is Mickey, forum moderator for the CB1100forum.com again,

First off let me wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a safe, happy, healthy and prosperous New Year

Now to my questions:

On the forum, we have tried to cover the history of this model, which I have tried to research and document. (See link below)

http://cb1100forum.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=29

But several questions constantly come up, which I cannot answer or find the answer to.

The first is numbers of CB1100’s produced by year and model …. 2010,2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, std, EX, Dlx, Japanese Special Edition etc. ?

The second is, have sales of the CB1100 met Honda’s expectations?

The third is, how are vin numbers assigned, as in our registry we have bikes with duplicate last 4 digits from various countries, years and models (see link below)?

CB1100_Owners_Register

and of course fourth is, are there going to be any 2016 CB1100’s, or other iterations produced as per the concept vehicles shown at recent shows?

Wonder if you could answer any of these questions for me, or direct me to someone who could?

Honda’s history, and of course this particular model’s history, is very important to many of us.

Thanks so much,

Mickey

Will keep you all informed if I get a response. Being Christmas week followed by New Years, it might be awhile before I get a response, but there is always hope that we can find a little more info about this model.

 

[emptysea]

Mickey - Maybe you can follow up with a "BTW, there's going to be a rally of CB1100 riders in VA this spring. Any chance that Honda would be willing sponsor this event in some way?"

Worth a shot, I think.

 

[Teamwalker_imp]

Good request Ferret! Hope you get some solid answers from Honda.

 

[Cormanus]

Ferret, the answer to your question about VINs is contained in this thread. In particular, see [url=http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=3872&pid=57349#pid57349]this post.

The CB1100 model number in the VIN is SC65 at positions 4-7 of the VIN. Honda uses digit 8 to tell us things about where the bike is sent. So, in the US in 2013, the non-ABS model was SC651; the ABS model was SC655. In Europe the model was SC65B. In Australia the 2011 model that I have is SC65U. Once that single digit is different, Honda can use different serial numbers (the final 6 digits) for different models, countries and market. Hence the double up of numbers between 2013 ABS and non-ABS models, DLX and standard models and bikes from different countries.

Hope that helps and look forward to your getting some of the other information you've been seeking.

 

[the Ferret]

Cormanus, are they sequential by country?

 

[CB1100DLX_imp]

Looking forward to hearing their answer to your fourth question!

 

[Cormanus]

Cormanus, are they sequential by country?

I think so, Ferret. It would make sense that every different sequence of SC65x would have a serial number starting with 1. Hence the low numbers in the US 2013 ABS and without and the low numbers in Oz.

 

[quietguy_imp]

I applaud your letter, Ferret... well done, and it will be interesting to learn the result.

 

[Guth_imp]

Nicely done!

 

[Verdecken_imp]

Mickey - Maybe you can follow up with a "BTW, there's going to be a rally of CB1100 riders in VA this spring. Any chance that Honda would be willing sponsor this event in some way?"

Worth a shot, I think.

I for one would definitely welcome some Honda swag. A mug, shirt, sweatshirt, keychain, it's the thought that counts. But if they're feeling generous, I'd take a 'Honda accessory of your choice' in a heartbeat.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[EarsOnWheels_imp]

I've reached out to Honda via Facebook regarding the rally and got a response encouraging me to message. Only catch: the message function on their Page is disabled.

 

[rboe]

That is a Catch-22.

 

[Lord Popgun]

Thats how they say to FO.

 

[Cormanus]

It's like the old joke about how to confuse an [insert desired racial stereotype here]: give him/her a bottle with 'for opening instructions see other end' on the cap, and 'open other end' on the bottom.

Or, more simply, when you come to a fork in the road, take it.

 

[Lord Popgun]

I'll have my people call your people Cormanus.

Thats how Hollywood tells you to FO. Or so they say.

All right, the nog is kicking end. I'm stopping here with this...

 

[the Ferret]

well I heard from Am Honda excerpts below:

Hello Mickey and Happy New Year. Unlike the auto industry, individual model sales are not given out in the motorcycle industry in general so I am not at liberty to give you sales numbers, either domestic or other countries. VINS are created for various pieces of the motorcycles identification; plant representation, model year, vehicle description code.
As you saw at the Tokyo Motor Show, new CB concepts were shown and there has been positive reactions to those prototypes.

The CB1100 is my personal favorite model that we produce and is so unique it today's market of ever increasing high tech, electronically controlled motorcycles. It has a pureness of Honda DNA that shines through with every ride. I cannot discuss future model plans but do know there are associates here at American Honda that are as passionate about this model as your group is. Please let me know if you have another owners group gathering as I would like to try to attend.

 

[Lord Popgun]

So, he said absolutely nothing...

 

[jrns_imp]

some corporate bafflegab there but interesting nonetheless...lol
thanks Ferret for reaching out to them.
they didn't shut the idea down completely...left a little bit of hope without any commitment of course.
a politically correct response..

 

[emptysea]

What was that part about "Please let me know if you have another owners group gathering as I would like to try to attend. " ?

 

[Chapomis_imp]

What was that part about "Please let me know if you have another owners group gathering as I would like to try to attend. " ?

Who's in charge of printing the invitations ?