Reminiscing

[Guth_imp]

I can hardly believe that it's been almost five years since I settled my eyes in on this article.

I can still remember my pulse rising after reading the first sentence, not to mention the photo. I can also remember how cheated I felt by the last sentence.

My CB1100 arrived at the dealer exactly 3 years to the day after this article was written. I got the call that I could come pick it up the next day. Good stuff.

 

[Elipten_imp]

All the more reason to buy a spare and store it away for the future.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[the Ferret]

I remember that Guth and all the speculation about why would Honda bring the bike here and let it be seen if they weren't going to bring it here. I'm just glad they did.

 

[metallyguitarded_imp]

I was very late to the game. I think it was a recommended video that popped up on my YouTube channel that I watched and immediately thought, "That's it! That's the bike for me." That must have been sometime last summer. In September, I bought my '14. The '13 had been released and I was oblivious to it. To this day, I have yet to see another CB1100 in person, 2013 or 2014 model. That surprises me given how many riders there are in San Diego and the fact that there is no off season for us.

 

[Guth_imp]

I was very late to the game. I think it was a recommended video that popped up on my YouTube channel that I watched and immediately thought, "That's it! That's the bike for me." That must have been sometime last summer. In September, I bought my '14. The '13 had been released and I was oblivious to it. To this day, I have yet to see another CB1100 in person, 2013 or 2014 model. That surprises me given how many riders there are in San Diego and the fact that there is no off season for us.

Better late than never, eh?

 

[Blockhead_imp]

I saw the thread title and while reading your posts that song from The Little River Band keeps playing in my head....

 

[redbirds_imp]

Everything about this bike is so right for me was my thought when first seeing it's photos on the net. I was sure it would never be imported, just another great bike that US riders would never see.

So glad that was not the case. I may acquire other bikes in future but I will never sell my CB. The best!

 

[rocket_imp]

Too bad Honda never promoted the bike to the right target buyer.( or ANYONE for that matter ) They just shipped it to the dealers & left it there. The Boomers want a bike like this & have the money to buy it. Great bike, great price. Massive disappointment from Honda. This coulda been a contenda. Rocket

 

[rboe]

I saw an earlier article about the CB, which got the lust going for me. The article Gunth posted just added fuel to the flame. But I figured Honda was too smart to bring such a bike to our shores (every time the media clamors for a bike; it usually turns out to be a stinker in sales; the CB1100 seemed to me to be too focused to be a great seller. not unlike the great GB500).

So I bought the Griso.

Naturally, once Honda heard I had done that, they brought the CB over here.

I hate them. :angel:

 

[the_undecider_imp]

I remember reading about the CB in 2010 and being disappointed that it was not coming stateside. Then, 3 years later, Honda flip flopped and brought it in. First one I saw in the flesh was at the Honda tent at Moto GP in 2013 at Circuit of the Americas. I remember sitting on it and be shocked how small it was. I wanted one, but figured I could never afford it. I remember staring at how exquisite it looked.

 

[jimigalahad_imp]

Kevin Ash's article is what did it for me. After 2 years of riding a Suzuki gs500e to make sure I enjoyed riding, I was ready shell out the cash on my dream bike. The problem was determine what exactly what modern version of that bike was. Bonneville or street triple were my original thoughts. I am probably drinking the kool-aid but I loved the thought and care Honda put into making the CB. My thinking came down to "If they stopped making each of these bikes after this year, which one would I be sad I never got to own?" The decision was easy after that...

I haven't regretted it once. I'm proud to be able to call myself an owner of such a beautiful machine

 

[Capo]

I was enthralled with the bike at first sight, and thrilled when they decided to bring it over. Still am. I'm in the advertising and marketing business, so I can certainly see where Honda has gone wrong in promoting the bike. They have done virtually nothing to play into the heritage, lifestyle, and accessory elements of retro- modern bikes (see Triumph with the Bonnie, and most recently, Ducati with Scrambler.)

How I finally came to be an owner was a classic story. After the second electrical burn out of my Griso, at the dealership when they told me it would be three months for the new harness to arrive, I was fuming. I walked in to talk to the owner of the shop, walked past a new CB1100, just arrived. I pointed at it and said to him, 'I never want to see that Griso again, and want to go home with that.' And I did.

 

[the Ferret]

Great story Capo. Question... if the Griso had not broken down, do you think you would have eventually owned a CB 1100 anyway?

 

[the_undecider_imp]

It's almost as if Honda assumed it would sell just because it's a Honda. It may work for Civics and CR-Vs, but not motorcycles.

 

[Capo]

Great story Capo. Question... if the Griso had not broken down, do you think you would have eventually owned a CB 1100 anyway?

Yes, I would. And I would have loved to have kept the Griso, a beautiful and character- laden bike. I just happened to have a lemon.

 

[VOZZA_imp]

Jimigalahad I think you've hit the nail on the head, I would have regretted not having a CB. Kevin Ash's article was what swung it for me too because he was a much respected motorcycle journalist who said it like it was.

 

[metallyguitarded_imp]

I was very late to the game. I think it was a recommended video that popped up on my YouTube channel that I watched and immediately thought, "That's it! That's the bike for me." That must have been sometime last summer. In September, I bought my '14. The '13 had been released and I was oblivious to it. To this day, I have yet to see another CB1100 in person, 2013 or 2014 model. That surprises me given how many riders there are in San Diego and the fact that there is no off season for us.

Better late than never, eh?

Better late than never, eh?
Without question.

 

[Cormanus]

I must have been lucky. The first I knew about the CB1100 was when I saw one in all its magnificence the day I went to pick up the Shadow I'd just bought. It was love at first sight, although it took me three years to buy one. So glad I did.

 

[Novice_imp]

I knew nothing about the CB until I walked into the dealership. There she was, a beautiful black motorcycle that looked like a motorcycle. Metal was the first thing I saw, not plastic. When I sat on it, I found it fit the way a motorcycle should fit with all the controls placed for active riding not passive cruising. After that everything else fell short. Even the bad*** CBR1000RR couldn't pull me away. And the best part was, I didn't have to spend any more $ to make it how I wanted it. It is what it is no upgrade necessary.

 

[flynrider]

I started drooling when the CB11 was announced for Japan. My hopes rose in the spring of '10 when a Nighthawk Forum member snapped a pic of the bike up in the hills wearing manufacturer's plates (probably the same bike in the article Guth referenced). At the time I noticed that the red bike/black engine combo was not something that was being offered on Japanese production models, so I had a good feeling that it was a U.S. prototype. It took another long 2 1/2 years before Honda announced we'd be getting it. In all that time, I never really considered getting a different bike. The CB11 was exactly what I wanted.