Where are all the CB1100?

[peterbaron]

Stay in good health SD, glad to hear from you..

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Rancho Power Sports finally sold my 2014, as I no longer see it on their website.

Last asking price was $5,500.

Now, they are advertising a new 2014.

Check out the price!

https://www.ridenowrancho.com/inven...y-Type/Motorcycle/Sport/CB1100/Base---1689071

My right eye has almost fully recovered, but I am resolved that I should remain retired from motorcycling. Last month I bought a 2019 Kia Soul. Not the best for acceleration, but I can haul up to 4 grandkids on outings and it does not take up much room in the garage. It is a base model, manual 6 speed. Other than adding a full size spare, it is stock.

I still check here from time to time, but not seeing any electrical issues.

Safe and enjoyable riding to all!

Kia Soul all model years is an incredible car with multiple back-to-back-to-back-to ... international awards.

Not meant for racing, the 1.6L Turbo still puts out about 201 HP and 195 ft-lbs of torque and gets better fuel economy than its non-turbo siblings.

I have moved four homes and carried three loads of asphalt 40 kms (one way each) to the dump inside the car. It ain't no pick-up truck, but nothing is failing either. If anything, I have cracked three windshields from 400-series freeway flatbed tractor trailers, but I tend to do that to all my cars and trucks. Even my CB/me take-on inconvenient rocks, steel belt fragments from truck tires, etc.

 

[LongRanger_imp]

when they came out, the bonneville was 7900 at the local dealer ( i know, my ex wife worked there), about 8500 out the door. honda was 11k out door (know the old sales manager at mcckinney salinas). nowhere close. they are now selling holdovers in the 6-7k range, honda isnt going to lose money on them, so 8.5k new should have yielded plenty of profit.

You'll disagree, but price is an important feature when positioning a product in the marketplace. In the CB's case, the "high price" implied quality and exclusivity. We all know about bikes that cost less but have higher performance, but they're not "intended" for the same consumer as I believe the CB is. Same argument can be made for Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi, etc. These cars come with a certain discriminating social appeal. They could probably be priced lower, but then their intended customer might look elsewhere. Think about the upcoming $6000 Royal Enfield 650 Interceptor. $6000 must mean it's junk, right? I'm not convinced.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

LR: (+1) Honda marketing knew what they were doing. This is their historic defining marque line. I suspect, however, the volume wasn't what they were hoping - not big numbers, but more numbers.

 

[rboe]

I think this is another area where the CB1100 is like a Buick (assuming you think a Buick is trimmed out to a higher standard than a Chevy ). The 2013 & 2014 have some very nice details, they are really built nicely so I think the price point is just fine.

We have several around the Phoenix area; I see them from time to time - but I see more Griso's than CB's which are not exactly a common bike. I guess we're just weird that way. Having two CB's now (total accident!!) and a Griso I'm an expert on that. Just ask me!

 

[Cormanus]

LR: (+1) Honda marketing knew what they were doing. This is their historic defining marque line. I suspect, however, the volume wasn't what they were hoping - not big numbers, but more numbers.

I’m not sure about this. Apparently, CB1100s haven’t sold well in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia—I say this ‘cause you can’t buy a current model—but Honda is producing not one, not two, but three models for the Japanese and perhaps other Asian markets.

They can’t be selling too badly.

 

[Rocky_imp]

In 2013, only two CB's came into this province. The same thing in 2014. If I hadn't been at the dealership (quite by chance) the day the 14's arrived I wouldn't have been able to get my '14. I spoke for it before it was off the truck. The other one had been ordered in advance months earlier by an out-of-town buyer.
As a result, I never see another CB.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Maybe western world (including Australia, New Zealand, etc.) owners and would-be owners have "bigger heart strings" to stroke in regards to the CB and Honda knew that from a marketing point-of-view and are taking advantage of that. But it is hard to ignore organic demand in the western world is low. It still looks like grandfather's UJM bike, and this time the Triumphs are within most people's financial reach?

 

[pekingduck]

when they came out, the bonneville was 7900 at the local dealer ( i know, my ex wife worked there), about 8500 out the door. honda was 11k out door (know the old sales manager at mcckinney salinas). nowhere close. they are now selling holdovers in the 6-7k range, honda isnt going to lose money on them, so 8.5k new should have yielded plenty of profit.

I would have to disagree that they could have sold the 2013/2014 standards new for anything close to $8500. There just isn't that much profit margin in them. When the dealers didn't buy them new, they (the US distributor) had to discount them each year. They also had to pay rent on warehouse space and interest for financing them as they sat in the warehouses for 4 years. There were definitely losses taken just to get rid of them.

I completely disagree. ducati made the same mistake with the sport classics, was considered a failure. when everybody wanted one was when they quit making them, then the prices went low.. then, 2 years later, thru the roof on the used market.

like i said, the bonneville is the best example of this done correctly. you can't swing a stick without hitting one on any gathering of bikes, they are everywhere. they are great quality bikes as well. and i'm sorry, honda has -never- been about exclusivity. it flies in the face of their business philosophy in the bike world.

bmw, audi, etc examples really don't apply here IMHO. the bikes we are discussing are niche market bikes. the cars aren't niche market cars. (there's an audi tt sitting in my garage actually ).

I agree with your Ducati and Triumph comments, but not about Honda. While they do need to have high volume models, they also have had so many low volume niche models: Rune, DN-01, VFR1200 and VFR1200X, NM4, CTX1300, Valkyrie 6, all scarcer than the CB1100. I can count on one hand the number of those I've seen on the road.

 

[FLYTYM_imp]

I’ve had my 2014 Standard since June. I’ve seen 3 in all the years they’ve been in the U.S. One was a 2014 Standard right after I bought mine and a 2013 I think I saw it twice. I got to laugh when I see dealerships that have these leftover 2014s at sticker price. I paid $5995 and after having
it shipped out to Ca,taxes and registration I paid around $8100 for a bike that I looked at in 2014 that was well over $12,000 OTD. I absolutely love this thing.

 

[pekingduck]

Not that scarce around here. I've seen plenty or runes, Valkyrie 6's here. They (honda) tried to cash in on nostalgia, all the companies did to soem degree. i'd bet honda is wayyyy better than triumph at manufacturing efficiently... and they STILL WERE (THE TRIUMPHS) AT 7600 msrp for the bonnie in 2010. Everybody i talked to that wanted the CB1100 that bought something else were turned off by 1: cost and 2: meh performance. It just wasn't worth it to a bunch of people. Somebody will always buy something at MSRP regardless of how overpriced it is. A few even bought, for example, the suzuki B-king. 2 years later they could be had for like 5k.


I wanted a CB1100 bad when i saw the press releases, but It wasn't worth it IMHO @ retail, a sentiment i've heard from a bunch of people. There's NO WAY they would have lost money (corp honda) at 8k-8.5 per unit.

Remember that the Bonnevilles are made in Thailand, where the labor and manufacturing costs are very low. The CB1100 and Honda's other "premium" bikes (Gold Wing, CBR600RR and CBR1000RR, and Africa Twin) are made in Japan, where manufacturing costs are about as high as anywhere.

If you look at the retail parts prices for Honda's Thai-built bikes, they are ridiculously cheap. Take the new CB500F - front fender $35 painted or front wheel $175. Compare to the Japan-made NC700X -$95 and $465.

And yeah, they lose money sometimes, if things don't go as planned.

Just to further twist perspective from another field, mainstream high-volume bicycle manufacturers like Trek, Giant, and Specialized sell over-the-counter road and mountain bikes that go for $10-12k. Mind boggling!

 

[LongRanger_imp]

"Value" is a nebulous concept. If those $10k-$12k road and mountain bikes actually sell for those prices, then that's where the market values them, either due to their name, their quality, their snob appeal, whatever. Really quite simple. If nobody is buying at those prices and they need to be discounted to $6k, then that's where the market values them. I'm guessing the perceived quality, snob appeal, etc., is diminished at those lower prices.

What's a house worth? A stock? A business? A CB1100? Answer: Whatever the market will bear.

 

[Desert viper_imp]

To me every time I just look at my bike it brings a smile to my face....and that’s priceless!

 

[the Ferret]

That is exactly right LR

I've never understood what makes a shiny rock (a diamond) worth so much money.

 

[LongRanger_imp]

m in sc, I agree with your post #38. Good stuff.

 

[pekingduck]

My points were that some motorcycles cost more to make, and where it's made is a big factor. And that all manufacturers have to dump merchandise below their cost if they can't sell them.

And I agree, the value of anything is influenced by the market - what we are willing to pay.

Perhaps we all overpaid for our CB1100s. Compared to a Suzuki Bandit or Yamaha FZ10, bikes that are better in almost every way, and way less expensive. Really, what can the CB1100 do that those bikes can't?

I can say, having a 2013 and a 2014, that I was willing to pay more because I liked the looks of it, it was the last of the air-cooleds, it was a Honda, it was made in Japan, and it just felt and worked right. I have no regrets about them.

 

[the Ferret]

My points were that some motorcycles cost more to make, and where it's made is a big factor. And that all manufacturers have to dump merchandise below their cost if they can't sell them.

And I agree, the value of anything is influenced by the market - what we are willing to pay.

Perhaps we all overpaid for our CB1100s. Compared to a Suzuki Bandit or Yamaha FZ10, bikes that are better in almost every way, and way less expensive. Really, what can the CB1100 do that those bikes can't?

I can say, having a 2013 and a 2014, that I was willing to pay more because I liked the looks of it, it was the last of the air-cooleds, it was a Honda, it was made in Japan, and it just felt and worked right. I have no regrets about them.

Ditto

 

[tommymck]

I'll keep this bike until it, or I, end up beyond repair. By that time, I really can't see me worrying over a few $K amortized over 10 or 20 years or so.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

"Value"

Affected by ...

Demand: Greed,

Need: Basics for survival,

Passion: The love, desire and soul.

I reckon us CB'ers resonate with the latter.

 

[dbarkdoll_imp]

I'd be interested to see how many more units they sell in Japan vs. well, the rest of the world. Dunno if those figures are attainable at all though.

While I absolutely believe that Bonnies sell better in North America than CB1100s, I've probably only ever seen 1 or 2 in my neck of the woods. Seen 7-8 CB1100s around here if memory serves and have talked to most of the owners.

I saw a new one tonight in fact, it was no one familiar because the only other 2014 Standard I know of belongs to dogjaw who lives here, and this definitely was not him. It was freezing out, he didn't look too warmly dressed either. Oh well haha. Good luck dude.