New and Old Japanese Four's

[Django]

Max. I really envy your CB550K. You've got a fine collector item over there.

It touches me, as I had exactly the same ride for some years. I traded it in for a Yamaha XS650 with sidecar.

 

[max]

Hey, max, did your CB1100 come with the tank piping?

No, Cormanus but it was on the to-do list very quickly.
Got it on e-bay, look for chrome edging, it has some sticky glue inside that keeps it in place very well, it's plastic and very pliable, it took a bit of hand forming but it fitted fine around all the corners as you can see.

It made the tank look slimmer and turns the seem into a feature, i have seen pictures of a cb550 tank like mine without the strip and it turns a nice tank into something ugly, very surprising effect

Saw it first on a cb1100 "gio special" in the eicma in milan some years ago on youtube, they used something a bit different and it covered only the bottom seam
actually samurider could use this on their tank and make it continuous by only removing the very rounding of the moulding but leaving the sides on thereby removing the visible gap where the engine gets close that would look better i think, what do you think use2be?

Thanks for all the nice comments max

 

[Cormanus]

Blast! I got the question wrong. The chrome edging looks great, but I actually meant the stripes on the top of the tank. I'm asking because the Australian CBs didn't have it. Nor, some to think of it, did they have a black engine.

 

[max]

Piping yes i see what you mean.
just going through some pictures from various websites, and yes, you are right, nz/aus models don't seem to have them, i never noticed until you mentioned it.
If you can find "trademe" an nz website and type cb1100 around 10 bikes appear and two of them have the striping similar to the us.
They also seem to have the japanese hiss stickers, so all of them would be jap imports, the japanese models sometimes have a little different finish and i think you are right about the black cylinders as well.
I just liked this particular one ( 2010 ) because the way it looked and the excellent state it was in and think i got lucky.

 

[Cormanus]

Don't you get HISS either? We did in Australia.

Can you tell me digits 4-8 in your VIN sometime? They'll be SC65x.

 

[max]

Don't you get HISS either? We did in Australia.

Can you tell me digits 4-8 in your VIN sometime? They'll be SC65x.

Yep, we got hiss over here, i think aus/nz get the same offering since all requirements are the same.

vin is sc65-1003326 from kumamoto as are all the models, mine is from the first production year and well preserved i think.

 

[Ulvetanna_imp]

The bottom line is that Honda got it more correct for the classic look with the first gen CB1100. If I wasn't so picky about handling I'd still have my '13.

 

[max]

Well you can turn that statement around somewhat and say that honda actually cares enough about pleasing customer's taste ( read sales ) of this model to keep altering the appearance of the bike rather that presenting the same flavor year after year and giving up at some point.

Which brings me to the looks of the old cb550, to me it looks classier than the new one, more attention to detail, look at the 550 sidecover, the tank striping even the instruments have more detail in them and that is 40 years ago..........

Next point is; speaking in relative pricing, does anyone have a feel for the amount we payed for a new bike in the seventies and now, i remember the bike to be affordable then but now it feels a bit on the expensive side.

 

[the Ferret]

Max according to inflation calculator a CB750 which cost $1499 in 1969 would cost $ 9998 in 2017. Now that was a sohc 750cc. Compare it to a 1983 dohc 1100cc CB1100 and we are looking at $ 3698 and $9088.00 so we are paying a little bit more now retail to retail, but hardly anyone is paying retail. Comparatively the 14 left overs at $7000 seem like a super bargain. $7000 in 2017 is like paying $2848 in 1983 and $ 1049.00 in 1969. What a bargain.

 

[Cormanus]

Don't you get HISS either? We did in Australia.

Can you tell me digits 4-8 in your VIN sometime? They'll be SC65x.

Yep, we got hiss over here, i think aus/nz get the same offering since all requirements are the same.

vin is sc65-1003326 from kumamoto as are all the models, mine is from the first production year and well preserved i think.

Yep, we got hiss over here, i think aus/nz get the same offering since all requirements are the same.

vin is sc65-1003326 from kumamoto as are all the models, mine is from the first production year and well preserved i think.
Max, what is the digit after SC65, please. PM me if you don’t want to post it. It’s a 2010 model?

 

[Nortoon_imp]

Max according to inflation calculator a CB750 which cost $1499 in 1969 would cost $ 9998 in 2017. Now that was a sohc 750cc. Compare it to a 1983 dohc 1100cc CB1100 and we are looking at $ 3698 and $9088.00 so we are paying a little bit more now retail to retail, but hardly anyone is paying retail. Comparatively the 14 left overs at $7000 seem like a super bargain. $7000 in 2017 is like paying $2848 in 1983 and $ 1049.00 in 1969. What a bargain.

In 2013 when I decided to return to motorcycling I looked at the Triumph Bonneville. The MSRP price was $13,000 which does not include freight, dealer prep, and sales taxes. In the mid-sixties Bonnevilles were $1300 out the door.

That sticker price and the complaints about poor brakes, suspension and fuel injection on the Triumph Forum made me look around. I bought my 2013 Honda CB500XA for $6800 out the door.

Three years later I received $3730 back when I traded it in. That's works out to about 10 cents a kilometer for three summers of enjoyment.

 

[Bheezy27403_imp]

That's seems very reasonable!

 

[zbillster_imp]

Stock exhaust of the CB550K was a 4 in 4:

Wanna have a laugh?
Same bike and fella 40 years apart, still fit the ago leather jacket as well he he.

So yes, i also had those 4 pipes, unfortunately they only lasted 3 years before rotting holes in them, bought the bike in Amsterdam, built a crate for it and imported it to New Zealand, apparently there is one more in nz but this model was not imported here.
And like the cb1100 people come over and have a nice talk about their past bikes.

Auf wiedersehen max

I'll have to get my camera and tripod out to do a current selfie with my CB1100 ... here's me on my brother's CB550 in 1978, which was brought up in the photo contest thread ... I'll work on the "after" photo.

 

[Cormanus]

Stock exhaust of the CB550K was a 4 in 4:

Wanna have a laugh?
Same bike and fella 40 years apart, still fit the ago leather jacket as well he he.

So yes, i also had those 4 pipes, unfortunately they only lasted 3 years before rotting holes in them, bought the bike in Amsterdam, built a crate for it and imported it to New Zealand, apparently there is one more in nz but this model was not imported here.
And like the cb1100 people come over and have a nice talk about their past bikes.

Auf wiedersehen max

I missed this. Must have been away or something.

Great photos max. The bike doesn’t look a day older.

 

[tuareg]

Although white police bikes seem to be a hot topic in another thread, this 750 seems to be more fitting here:


No it isn't mine, but I seriously wish it were...

 

[zbillster_imp]

I just watched a video on the CB750 police bike recently.

 

[alprider]

max

congrat you have retained your shape

 

[max]

Yeah thanks alprider, it did fit and actually quite a tight fitting jacket too, always has been but actually warmer than i expected maybe the fact that it has no ventilation/perforation helps, in any case we both survived the years in reasonable shape except for the hairy stuff on top ( got the hint Cormanus ).

So that camera of yours makes some very nice looking pictures, if that is the one in your avatar which i looked up?
some models in the right hands can do an impressive job.
A while ago i got a canon g7xmk2 and that has the same star pattern like the one reflecting on the shot with the helmet visor, for me it's a handful but i am slowly getting better with it, just makes me appreciate some of the better photo's out there, there are some skilled folk around.
Best wishes and good riding in your summer; max

 

[peterbaron]

Although white police bikes seem to be a hot topic in another thread, this 750 seems to be more fitting here:


No it isn't mine, but I seriously wish it were...

WOW, white again, like mine....maybe should consider repaiting fenders white????
Tuareg, nice pic, thanks for sharing

 

[Cormanus]

While I have the same problem with the hairy stuff, max, I may not get into any jacket I owned that long ago.