Is it a sport bike?
- Thread starter Streetshark07_imp
- Start date
LongRanger_imp
Road warrior
A "sport bike" compared to what, a '73 CB350? Sure. Compared to a S1000RR? Seriously?
This isn't to say the CB can't be ridden swiftly, even sportingly, but to categorize it as a de facto "sport bike" is a stretch. It's a "standard."
This isn't to say the CB can't be ridden swiftly, even sportingly, but to categorize it as a de facto "sport bike" is a stretch. It's a "standard."
the Ferret
Road warrior
use2be, there was a guy that rode the Dragon and would video your runs for you. He rode a Goldwing. I believe Yellow Wolf was his name. He had to take it easy for the sport bike riders so he wouldn't run over them, but I don't know anyone who would seriously consider a GL1800 a sport bike, even if ridden like one
I could hear much foot peg scrape on that Golwing chase LOLThe ferret_imp said:
What I am trying to say is the term " Sport Bike " is hard to define.
I think my CB160 and 305 Super hawk were sport bikes in their day .
I have done some baffle work , electronic ignition and carb work that would surprise you for a 40+ YO 750 and you really would be surprised if we lined them up with me today especially at Top End. just for fun , pics of that same son when he was a kid. for me owning the 1st GoldWing was a Rocket and a Sport bike.
the Ferret
Road warrior
ooh look Rlets on both of them lol
Oh I understand completely. I had a 160 and a 305 and a 450 and (2) 750's and a KZ 1000 and although considered sport bikes in their day no way would they measure up with my (2) Yamaha FZ-1s which won't measure up to a current CBR1000RR. The CB1100 would compete fine with anything up to the FZ-1s, after that... left in the dust comparitively speaking.
I have a pics of my son a little older on my 750 and him on his FJ today (he's also has a GS1100E, an FZ-1, and a Ducati 696, just to name a couple that he's had). I'll have to dig em out and post them again.
here he is with first bike at 5
and latest bike at 37
[url=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/theferret111/media/DSCF3700_zpsnut2foi1.jpg.html]
Oh I understand completely. I had a 160 and a 305 and a 450 and (2) 750's and a KZ 1000 and although considered sport bikes in their day no way would they measure up with my (2) Yamaha FZ-1s which won't measure up to a current CBR1000RR. The CB1100 would compete fine with anything up to the FZ-1s, after that... left in the dust comparitively speaking.
I have a pics of my son a little older on my 750 and him on his FJ today (he's also has a GS1100E, an FZ-1, and a Ducati 696, just to name a couple that he's had). I'll have to dig em out and post them again.
here he is with first bike at 5
and latest bike at 37
[url=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/theferret111/media/DSCF3700_zpsnut2foi1.jpg.html]
BestStandard_imp
Running like a top
Honda has two categories for sport bikes... Sport and Supersport. They should add a third category called Sporty for the bikes like th CB!
Ulvetanna_imp
Road warrior
Judging a bike as to its purpose based on a single characteristic might lead to an inaccurate conclusion.LongRanger_imp said:
One post cited Encarta's definition of a sportbike as high-powered, having a riding position well-leaned into the tank.
That sounds like a racing motorcycle.
Then again, there all all kinds of examples of racing motorcycles that don't have high power nor an extreme riding position. A racing motorcycle need only meet the standards of the sanctioning body, so a vintage motorcycle, properly set up and safety-wired, and sporting number plates, is a racing motorcycle. So we can definitely have racebikes with more of a standard riding position and any degree of power.
Can the CB1100 be a racebike? Yes. If it can be a racebike, it can be a sportbike.
I believe this line of thinking applies even more to the street. Any bike can be ridden well beyond reasonable speeds on the street; no rider on any streetbike, whether it be the S1000RR (whose thunder has been stolen of late by the 2016 ZX-10R and YZF-R1) or Ninja 300, can ride anywhere near racetrack cornering speeds. (In a straight line, it's just the amount of asphalt and foolishness that dictates top speed so that part of performance is not relevant here, and at any rate that's "go to jail" antics.)
This being the case, the Ninja 300 or KTM RC390 can certainly corner faster than a ZX-10R or any superbike, for that matter. But those first two bikes don't have high power, they just have what seems to be a forward-leaning riding position. But they really don't. The bars are quite high. They don't meet either feature required by Encarta, but they can corner faster than a superbike. On many racetracks, they are a better racebike, too.
Street riding is not a race, so what the CB1100 delivers is a sporting ride; it's got a lot more power than a Ninja 300, brakes which are much better than, say, an FZ-09 (they were sourced from the pre-2012 CBR1000RR parts bin), excellent composure even at triple-digit speeds while cornering (once the suspension has been sorted and good tires fitted) and very good, neutral, predictable handling. It turns extremely well whilst on the brakes and has a terrific dose of torque everywhere, and thus gets out of a turn better than many so-called sportbikes.
Within the limitations of any kind of sane street riding, the CB1100, properly set up, acquits itself in grand style, as the "Je Suis Freddie Spencer" video shows.
4 Paws_imp
Road warrior
Believe I read recently that Yellow wolf had gone down and was seriously injured.
If the only two choices to categorize the CB1100 were sport or cruiser I'm afraid I would have to respond yes.
If the only two choices to categorize the CB1100 were sport or cruiser I'm afraid I would have to respond yes.
Ulvetanna_imp
Road warrior
I don't know of Yellow Wolf, but I have known many, many riders who rode the wheels off of very unlikely motorcycles. Being fast was very important to these riders. Some rode only one category, some rode several. I can think at the moment of two guys who had 1980's GSX-R 1100s, with the "superbike" bars, and also had the Yamaha Venture Royale touring bikes.4 Paws_imp said:
No matter what bike these guys were riding, they always used every bit of capability the bike had. Every smidgen of lean angle, every bit of power.
That stuff looks impressive and some guys get away with it for a fair while, but eventually, riding at the very limit of what your bike can give you will end badly.
However one chooses to ride a bike, it's just plain bad judgment to use it all, all the time.
One true characteristic of a sporting motorcycle is that it has a good deal more than anyone will ever need: power, handling, brakes. It has a margin for control. Any bike can be over-ridden no matter how good it is. The place to try that stuff is on the track.
A sport bike, even the mighty ZX-10R, YZF-R1, or Panigale 1299, provides an exhilarating ride on the street with a wide margin for error.
Some people say it is more fun to ride a slow bike fast than to ride a fast bike slow. I say that a brisk (maybe even fast) ride is fun, if the bike offers good control and a good margin for error within the limits of what the rider can do, and what the conditions allow.
I think the CB1100 does the latter very, very well. The bike itself prevents the rider from reaching very far into the "go to jail" area of triple-digit speeds, but its 0-60 and 0-100 times, and roll-on performance, are excellent by any standard. Throttle response is snappy and torquey. The handling is light and precise and stable. The brakes are excellent. The lean angle may be limited as compared to production racebikes or naked superbikes, but I've never found it to be a limitation. Hauling into a blind turn at max lean is just not something I do, that stuff gets you hurt. In slow, out fast. Look where you want to go.
I have other bikes with lots of power, power that I just cannot often use. While each has its appeal, none is any more fun to ride on the street than the CB1100.
Tim_in_AZ_imp
Running like a top
My mods also lean to the sporty side.
Ulvetanna_imp
Road warrior
Good that this is a bike that can fulfill so many roles, so well.Tim_in_AZ_imp said:
WhiskeyUSMC1979_imp
Running like a top
To put it in Chevy terms (since that is what I compare most motorized conveyances to)...
It looked like a Chevelle on the show room floor.
It behaves a bit more like a Malibu on the street.
It gets treated by quite a few on this forum like a Nomad or El Camino.
Hahaha. Whatever it is, make it yours.
Sent from an undisclosed location
It looked like a Chevelle on the show room floor.
It behaves a bit more like a Malibu on the street.
It gets treated by quite a few on this forum like a Nomad or El Camino.
Hahaha. Whatever it is, make it yours.
Sent from an undisclosed location
Papa Weeley_imp
Road warrior
I'll bet that the OP had no idea that he was opening this can of fecal matter when he decided to ask his question! 
Ulvetanna_imp
Road warrior
It's not really an oil thread and not a new topic, but always relevant. Clearly the forum is getting a slow but steady trickle of new members and the "is it a sportbike?" question is occurring independently to a fair number of them. Of course, a search might have turned up my thread from a couple of months ago, but either way, it seems to be part of the collective consciousness of CB1100 owners that the bike is pretty darn sporty.
I figure whoever is paying for the bike can think of it any way they please, and use it as they like, which is as it should be.
Where I do draw a philosophical line is at the proclamation that it is not a sport bike in any way. Now we know at least 25% of forum members do think of it in that way. These polls are good for something, no?
Now, I have to figure out how I can trade my FZ8 in on the new FZ10 and not take a huge bath.
I figure whoever is paying for the bike can think of it any way they please, and use it as they like, which is as it should be.
Where I do draw a philosophical line is at the proclamation that it is not a sport bike in any way. Now we know at least 25% of forum members do think of it in that way. These polls are good for something, no?
Now, I have to figure out how I can trade my FZ8 in on the new FZ10 and not take a huge bath.
The simple truth about this bike is that its classification depends where you bought it. For example, in Australia it's a naked bike; in the US, it's a sport bike. That's what Honda says. Wanna argue with them?
A further question is whether there can—or, indeed, should—be absolute definitions of the requirements for a bike to fall into a particular class which would put an end to this sort of thread. It is clear, from this thread at least, that most members of this forum are very happy to rely on their personal classification abilities: if I think it's a sport bike, it is!
The resulting arguments adduced in support of peoples' cases are mostly entertaining.
A further question is whether there can—or, indeed, should—be absolute definitions of the requirements for a bike to fall into a particular class which would put an end to this sort of thread. It is clear, from this thread at least, that most members of this forum are very happy to rely on their personal classification abilities: if I think it's a sport bike, it is!
The resulting arguments adduced in support of peoples' cases are mostly entertaining.
My perspective on this: the CB 1100 is a 'Utility player'.
This from Wiki: "In sport, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently, a sort of jack of all trades. Sports in which the term is often used include football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, water polo, softball and track. Its first documented use in reference to a motorcycle was on 18 Aug 2016 by Frulk, a member of the CB1100 Forum internet site to describe the bikes versatility".
Last Saturday she was a sport bike on a 40 mile spirited afternoon romp through the local Utah mountains.
Today she was a commuter cutting through traffic effortlessly for 18 miles to and from work.
Tomorrow she'll be a nakit sports tourer starting out on an 800 mile fast paced 2-day/3 state ride with no real goal in mind.
Sunday morning she could be the modern retro bike parked in front of my buddies coffee shop.
Come Monday she may be the quintessential UJM sitting quietly in the bike bay taking a well deserved rest for the day.
When the CB1100 gets put in the game she's capable of being what I need her to be on any given day.
This from Wiki: "In sport, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently, a sort of jack of all trades. Sports in which the term is often used include football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, water polo, softball and track. Its first documented use in reference to a motorcycle was on 18 Aug 2016 by Frulk, a member of the CB1100 Forum internet site to describe the bikes versatility".
Last Saturday she was a sport bike on a 40 mile spirited afternoon romp through the local Utah mountains.
Today she was a commuter cutting through traffic effortlessly for 18 miles to and from work.
Tomorrow she'll be a nakit sports tourer starting out on an 800 mile fast paced 2-day/3 state ride with no real goal in mind.
Sunday morning she could be the modern retro bike parked in front of my buddies coffee shop.
Come Monday she may be the quintessential UJM sitting quietly in the bike bay taking a well deserved rest for the day.
When the CB1100 gets put in the game she's capable of being what I need her to be on any given day.
RockHop_imp
Running like a top
For what it' worth .... (hint: not much)
Cycle World named the CB1100 as the best STANDARD bike of the year in 2013
RideApart named it the best RETRO bike
Motorcycle.com named it the best STANDARD bike
MotorCycleNews named it the best RETRO bike
The SPORT bike category was a battle between the Ducati 899 Panigale, the Triumph Daytona, BMW HP4, etc.
Does this mean the CB isn't a sport bike? Nope, just not in the running for the best sportbike.
Cycle World named the CB1100 as the best STANDARD bike of the year in 2013
RideApart named it the best RETRO bike
Motorcycle.com named it the best STANDARD bike
MotorCycleNews named it the best RETRO bike
The SPORT bike category was a battle between the Ducati 899 Panigale, the Triumph Daytona, BMW HP4, etc.
Does this mean the CB isn't a sport bike? Nope, just not in the running for the best sportbike.
Ulvetanna_imp
Road warrior
It's certainly not the highest-performing sportbike, but then they heavily weight these so-called shootouts toward track performance. The GSX-R 750 was the best middleweight sportbike that same year in CW's shootout, held at Chuckwalla, one of my favorite tracks.RockHop_imp said:
In pretty much every way I prefer the Honda for sport riding on the street over the Suzuki. Just as fun in the turns but far better on the slab.
Django
Road warrior
The CB 1100 is a universal bike. You may use it for a sporty ride as well as for cruising.
Some may prefer the CB over a true sportbike for sporty riding. That does not mean, it would do it better.
Some may prefer the CB over e.g. a Harley for cruising.
Some may prefer the CB over a true sportbike for sporty riding. That does not mean, it would do it better.
Some may prefer the CB over e.g. a Harley for cruising.
