A question about the CB1100

[VLJ_imp]

GoldOxide ('GO' would make for a very cool abbreviation, as does Cormanus's chemical formula nick for you), all I do these days is work on my physical therapy, read, watch Youtube and Netflix, and obsess over guitar gear.

Regarding that last one, old habits die exceedingly hard, as it turns out.

I don't write as much as I did before. These days, I seem to do more editing than writing, which kind of sucks.

mickey, of course all you see in Ohio are Harleys, other cruisers, scooters, and probably the odd GoldWing. It's the Midwest, for starters, and Ohio is not exactly Michigan's Upper Peninsula. You have no mountains, canyons, coastlines, deserts, race roads, etc. No world-class sportbike roads. No Death Valleys for ADV riders. No culture of riding as a sport, not just for leisure or transportation. Besides Mid-Ohio Racetrack, which hasn't been an important part of the roadracing landscape for far too long, all you likely have there for the sporting enthusiast is a bit of offroad riding. You probably have a decent number of motocross riders, ATV riders, and trail riders. Otherwise, you literally have to ride to neighboring states to find any of the Really Good Stuff.

What's a kid with an R1 or CBR600RR to do there? Drag race for pink slips?

Like you, I sold motorcycles for a long time. Honda and Suzuki, in the main. For years and years, our roads were thick with 600 and 1200 Bandits, and all manner of Katanas. GSX-Rs and CBRs were legion.

Meanwhile, even though I live in America's version of Motorcycle Mecca, I have seen no more than a half dozen CB1100s of any stripe out in the wild, ever since they first arrived on our shores in 2013. And you know I've been looking, hard. I pay very close attention to CBs. Keep in mind, I have not attended any CB1100 rallies or small get-togethers. My one day riding with Eric is the only time I've ridden with or spoken to someone in person who owned a CB1100.

That's why you spot more CB1100s than various sportbikes there in your neck of the woods. It's because you're hardwired to be on the lookout for them, while sportbikes barely create a blip on your inner radar. You can be certain, however, that for every CB1100 you've spotted in the wild, you've blindly ran across ten (fifty? a hundred?) times their number in sportbikes and ADVs.

 

[the Ferret]

Lol Veal, I'm still the die hard motorcycle enthusiast I have been since a kid. I look hard at EVERY motorcycle I see, ask my wife. She'll tell you how excited I get when I see a Ducati or KTM. They are so rare it's like spotting a rare bird ( yes my wife and I are also birders... I spotted a brown creeper in our yard the other day...got excited about that too)

 

[Frulk_imp]

I’ve only seen 2 other CB’s in the wild since I bought the 2013 CB1100 in 2015. A black 2014 locally and a red 2013 while I was riding a bus south east about a mile from the Golden Gate Bridge. That was in 2016/17. None since.

Edited to add: I did see a 2017 on the showroom floor of the dealer that sold me the 2013. It had a SOLD tag on it...not that I was interested in it.

If California is Americans version of Motorcyle Mecca then Utah has the corner on America’s ADV Mecca. I see KTMs, Afrika Twin, BMW, Kawi KLRs and Yamaha Tenere’s etc ADV bikes all day long, every day. More so when the days get a little warmer.

Ferret....The only birds I get excited about are grouse or pheasant and that’s only when I’m carrying a shotgun.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Veal: I totally agree with your assessment regarding the use of "GO". Certainly a lot less geeky sounding, err, reading. By the way, you should be a columnist for multiple motorcycle-like media outlets.

In southern Ontario we have the full spectrum of dino-powered two wheeled machines. From Vespa scooters to full-outfitted Wings. There is no shortage of sport bikes and Harleys. Since about 2013 I have seen probably two dozen+ CB1100s in the wild, and maybe a few of them could have been the same ones. I can't tell which brands or genre dominate, but Harleys certainly make themselves stand out when the weather is pristine.

 

[VLJ_imp]

Yes, Harleys are the predominant brand here, as well, although I suspect the numerical disparity between Harleys/other cruisers compared to sportbikes is much narrower here than in mickey's beloved southern Ohio. Sadly, that disparity has grown quite a bit ever since sportbike sales fell off a cliff. I'd say that ADV sightings are nearly as common here now.

In another recent twist, sightings of Euro sportbikes here now seem to be more frequent than those of Japanese supersports, and that certainly never used to be the case. I can't remember the last time I saw a new ZX-10R on the street, for instance. Seems like the only new Japanese race bikes I see now are R1s, the occasional CBR, and a smattering of GSX-Rs. Otherwise, it's nothing but older models. This is not the case, where the Euros are concerned. I see a decent number of new Ducatis and Triumphs. I probably see as many new Aprilias as I see new Kawasaki supersports.

The naked sportbike looks to have taken over from the hardcore Japanese supersport.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

It would be interesting to tally what pulls up at your local Starbucks.

Maybe in general decent late model Japanese bike price tags are getting up there with comparable European offerings. It is difficult to ignore, whether with reason or not, "BMW" or "Ducati" are still marque labels and recently retirees with pensions and/or excess inheritance income would barely blink an eye and instead choose HD, BMW, etc.

For the other end of the spectrum, new riders might not be able to afford the insurance on supersport models, so naked and hooligan style offerings might be more attractive - and of course, the used bike market.

 

[VLJ_imp]

The insanely high cost of insurance for Japanese supersports is clearly one reason their sales have plummeted in recent years. Those rates are particularly high for those who would typically be most interested in such bikes: younger riders. Add that issue to the fact that the 750cc race class is dead, which effectively killed off the GSX-R750, and even the 600s aren't really a major player any longer. Plus, as you mentioned, the cost of these Japanese supersports went through the roof. Kids simply cannot afford a new 600 race bike, never mind an R1 or CBR1000RR.

They can, however, (somewhat) afford a Ninja 650 or MT-09. The lower-spec sporty naked is where the shrinking Japanese sportbike market currently exists. I won't say that it's thriving, but it's at least reasonably healthy. The Japanese supersport market has tech'd and priced itself nearly out of existence.

 

[Jfro5687_imp]

Rarely see younger riders on anything other than mopeds. In fact, thinking about it now to write this I cannot even remember seeing what I would call a 20 something on a bike of say 600cc or over. I know there must be some but when I go out for a ride and stop for a brew somewhere, it is true that the majority of fellow motorcyclists have grey/white hair.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

It might be for similar reasons as to automobiles: Short on stash, harsh on the environment, can be socially disrupting, etc.

Indeed, many of the latest new generation are caring (I think), empathetic, gentle, sensitive, (yawn) ... , um, did I say sensitive, socially responsible (I think), um, ... ya. So trying to burden themselves with something intimidating as a motorcycle could challenge their base values.

 

[Olof_imp]

It might be for similar reasons as to automobiles: Short on stash, harsh on the environment, can be socially disrupting, etc.

Indeed, many of the latest new generation are caring (I think), empathetic, gentle, sensitive, (yawn) ... , um, did I say sensitive, socially responsible (I think), um, ... ya. So trying to burden themselves with something intimidating as a motorcycle could challenge their base values.

Or, they are only indifferent. Bikes simply don't matter to their base values.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Well, who knows?

Afterall, the cool and quiet CB750 was born in 1969 during the tail end of the peace and love movement. It did well. We won't see a repeat of that, but some variation that we have not envisioned could yet still occur.

 

[VLJ_imp]

Difference is, the original CB750 was a a nuclear bomb dropped on the motorcycling landscape. The current CB1100 is barely a tossed pebble rippling a small pond.

That, and the fact that if it can't be done on their phone, the vast majority of young people today can't be bothered.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Difference is, the original CB750 was a a nuclear bomb dropped on the motorcycling landscape. The current CB1100 is barely a tossed pebble rippling a small pond.

That, and the fact that if it can't be done on their phone, the vast majority of young people today can't be bothered.

Oh it will be interesting on the day of reckoning when SkyNet (or whatever) overbears and connectively is no longer a thing.

On the short, CB1100 owners can salvage some gasoline and take a rural side ride. Maybe collect some more gasoline.

 

[VLJ_imp]

The thing is, the allure of the CB1100 is visual, and very visceral. It's about sight, certainly, but also about sound and touch.

Those aspects are lost on today's Digital Generation, who seek all their pleasures via the virtual world.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Totally ...

 

[Tev62]

Difference is, the original CB750 was a a nuclear bomb dropped on the motorcycling landscape. The current CB1100 is barely a tossed pebble rippling a small pond.

That, and the fact that if it can't be done on their phone, the vast majority of young people today can't be bothered.

Oh it will be interesting on the day of reckoning when SkyNet (or whatever) overbears and connectively is no longer a thing.

On the short, CB1100 owners can salvage some gasoline and take a rural side ride. Maybe collect some more gasoline.

Oh no GoldOxide, that will be the reserve of the guys with carburettors, points and a condenser. :biker:

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Difference is, the original CB750 was a a nuclear bomb dropped on the motorcycling landscape. The current CB1100 is barely a tossed pebble rippling a small pond.

That, and the fact that if it can't be done on their phone, the vast majority of young people today can't be bothered.

Oh it will be interesting on the day of reckoning when SkyNet (or whatever) overbears and connectively is no longer a thing.

On the short, CB1100 owners can salvage some gasoline and take a rural side ride. Maybe collect some more gasoline.

Oh no GoldOxide, that will be the reserve of the guys with carburettors, points and a condenser. :biker:

Oh no GoldOxide, that will be the reserve of the guys with carburettors, points and a condenser. :biker:
Touché.

 

[Billie_imp]

I know I love the looks of my black 2014 CB 1100, and it has plenty of power for my needs.

 

[Gus]

Greetings,

My mantra has always been that the garage needs at least one bike that "looks like a bike." Also, air cooling was a plus with the CB. It was clear a decade ago that air-cooled road bikes were going the way of two-strokes.

Back about the turn of the century I did a light restoration on a 360T that had sat in a dry garage unregistered for 20 years. Not only was that bike incredibly fun (the most willing 36hp I've ever ridden, seriously, the thing would push past redline in the bottom 4 gears, and love it), but it also raised my appreciation of vintage Hondas, and Honda bikes in general. The CB1100, announced in Japan very close to my 50th birthday, hit me right in the demographic.

Having said that, if the current Speed Twin had been available when I bought my 2014 EX (I think I got the last new EX west of the Rockies, July 2015) it would have been a much harder decision. The Speed Twin looks like a bike too, even with a radiator.

My long-distance and hooligan bike is a 2011 Triumph Sprint GT. I use all of that 118rwhp for a few seconds at a time, about a half-dozen times a summer. All is vanity. You want a bike that was invisible to the American market? Behold the Sprint GT.

This happened about 25 years ago. It was cool sunny early spring day and I was riding back to Seattle from Great Falls, MT after spending a long weekend riding dirt bikes with my good friend TW. I stopped in Silverton, ID for a burger and sat on the bench outside, because, you sit outside when bike touring, unless you are hypothermic.

A bright red Honda Magna, at least a decade old at the time but perfectly polished, clean and shiny, pulls up to the curb in front of me, next to my K75S. Everything is done carefully and deliberately for this rider, who is barely able to tiptoe when he stops. He deploys the kickstand and slowly rocks the bike over on it, like he doesn't trust the stand to hold. He just as carefully kicks his right leg over before we make our introductions.

Later, reminiscing over our burgers, I realize this guy is easily double my age, in his mid-80's, if not older. I admire that he's still riding at his age. He is jealous of the 600+ miles I'm covering today. Before I take off, there is one thing he needs me to remember. Looking me right in the eye, he says, "If I drop it, my wife will never let me ride again."

I have not owned a lot of bikes; I tend to keep the ones I have for at least a decade. I hope, from wherever he is riding now, that the old guy in Silverton, ID knows he was an inspiration. I want to be that old guy, with my perfect polished red bike, even when a ride to the local burger joint is the most I can do.

I think my 2014 EX will fit the bill, if I can get gas for it. It's going to be a long ride.

Gus

What was the question?

 

[PowerDubs_imp]

25 years ago- a manga could have still been new..


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