2013 + Honda CB1100

Lots of people, including me, on this forum and others have called out for the Big 4 to bring their big naked bikes to the US. Yamaha XJR1300, Suzuki GSX1400, Honda CB1300, and Kawasaki's reprised ZRX1200. Well now Honda is bring in a big naked, the CB1100. It's our turn now to step up and buy the darned thing!

Depreciation be damned, if I was in position to buy a bike I would jump on this as soon as it hit the showroom floor!

It's true that an old bike can be restored. A friend of mine bought a GL1100 last summer. It's a work in progress. He has had to fix some problems more than once. It has broken down and left him on the side of the road a few times. Then there are the parts he can't get and has had to improvise. I would rather have the new bike. All I want to do is customize it a bit, clean and polish it occasionally, do basic maintenance, and ride ride ride!

The pitfalls with a true classic bike can be many..how it was maintained? At the least you need oil, oil filter, air filter, battery, couple of tires, probably a set of sprockets and chain, probably fork seals, fork oil change, all new fuses, new bulbs, points and condensers if it had them, possibly all new cables and hydraulic hoses, buggered up screw and bolt heads and you are still dealing with 30 to 40 year old electrical wiring and connections, Thats if it doesn't have much rust, its not presently leaking oil, and the carbs are in decent shape. ( can you tell Ive been there? lol)Don't get me wrong owning a classic is immensely pleasurable if you are the mechanical type and don't really plan on going anywhere.

A true classic is not a bike you check the oil and chain tension and then jump on and take off on a 2000 mile round trip without spares and a back up plan. Personally I love the idea of modern classics like the Triumph Bonnevilles, the Moto Guzzi classics and the Honda CB 1100, bikes you can check oil level and chain tension, hop on and take off for anywhere pretty secure in the knowledge that its going to bring you back home again without any drama. I don't like drama on my motorcycle rides. I like going and coming home again drama free.

You're right, I was thinking of the ZRX not the Zephyr. But since we're talking in the context of the question of whether retro has "sales legs", the ELR-looking ZRX seemed a lot more retro to me than the ZR and, as you say, had a pretty good run.

I always thought the Zephyr was in complete no-mans lands - not retro, not cutting edge, not budget, not beginner, but something in the middle of them all. Something like the CB750 Nighthawk only more expensive. And its looks never did anything for me. I don't think it says much about the possible sales success/failure of the CB1100.

- Mark

All of those bikes are modern, albeit naked, looking bikes. The CB1100 is somewhere in the middle between trying to appear retro, but with an updated look at the same time. I'm not sure what market they are trying to hit, but to me it seems to be a compromise? Some people (like me) think it's not living up to the old CB's, and i suspect at the other end of the spectrum, a lot of people will think it looks too old (at least compared to the other bikes you listed), and in the end neither group is happy.

As Zapp mentioned, I don't buy new either, so Honda has no interest in me, but it will be interesting to see how the CB1100 is received by the larger motorcycling community. (I'd happily pick one up for $2K, ala Zephyr, in a couple years though,)

I've been interested in the CB for a good while now, and confirmed with my dealer that I got first right of refusal when theirs came in. Today I made a decision about my concerns about ergos, cost of bike in my locale, etc, and decided to purchase something very different. Picked up a KTM Duke 690. Basically a supermoto/motard with a larger gas tank and lights.

I will probably do as others have mentioned and wait to see how they sell and what the used market will bear in a couple of years...In the mean time I will have a ball with the 690. tomp dd50

A buddy at work that I showed the new CB1100 to was impressed, but countered with the Tiger 800 ... which I admit is a real nice looking all-'rounder.

Gosh, I'm torn now.

I promised myself that if they ever came out with a good UJM (of which the ergos on this CB need to be felt and seen)... I'd get one as it would be a keeper for life. And with as many good paved roads as exist in the USA... it sure wouldn't hurt much if that bike was just meant for pavement like the CB1100 seems to be (with that 18" front wheel that no-one seems to make a traction-y front tire for).

But if the Tiger 800 has the ergonomics of the old UJM's... then wouldn't it win by default? I mean, seriously, it's about the ergos and all-day, multi-day ride-ability here, isn't it?

The dealer where I got the Duke, has an '11 Tiger 800XC with the tall windshield and Triumph hard bags for a negotiable $9999. I considered it, but as I have the RT, the Tiger would be kinda redundant. Check the cycle ergos site to see how the 800 fits you. May be an additional easy deciding factor, for you.

No, most people buy the bike that turns them on while looking at it.

^ I agree with that, but something in me wants to know why all those DL650's sold.

I bought mine cause I'm cheap. I got tired of the time my BMW's were in the shop for warranty work. The wee strom is like a toyota camry. It does most things well, and it starts everytime. I still miss my GS though..........The wee strom did not turn me on ever while looking at it. It is my practcal bike. YMMV.

Cause there are some sick effing bastards out there...

You ever had an older CB? Well I had an '82 CB900F a few years back and enjoyed the heck out of it. It was a wonderful bike with lots of character and I even took it on a 2000 mile road trip which was a testament to the trust I placed in its reliability. However, it was an old bike and Honda quit making parts for it long ago. You have to be resourcefull and lucky when you need parts and eBay becomes your friend. The other thing that dissapointed me about the bike was the pathetic stator output - there is no way to generate any extra power to run so much as a phone charger let alone heated grips or heated gear. So the experience of owning an older CB is typical of owning any classic or antique bike, you have to be dedicated, resourceful, patient, and accept the limitations, but the reward is that you get to ride a cool old bike.
Now if you want the experience of a modern Honda where reliability, comfort, handling, and piece of mind are part of the deal, then forget the old CBs and man-up with your wallet for a new one. I would absolutely love one of the new ones myself but I'm dreaming about an "adventure" bike instead.

More reviews starting to trickle out:

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I was really excited about the Triumph 800. I went to see it as soon as the Triumph dealer got it on the floor. I was disappointed. It just didn't fit me very well. The first time I threw a leg over it, I busted my shin on the passenger grab handle. I have been back and looked at it a few time since. On paper it is exactly what I want. In reality, it isn't.

A modern vintage looking bike is the best of both worlds.
I have had plenty of both old and new, and it IS great to be able to just hop on and ride a modern classic.
Just decide today is a good day to ride cross country and go.

With some old bikes, after 3 days of all day riding, the bike needed quite a bit of work.
With the new ones, that turns into months or years.

Everyone should own a real vintage bike at some point, and learn to work on it, if only to realize how nice the modern stuff can be.

You know, most of the adjectives he uses are the same ones I used after test riding a Triumph T100 a year or so ago. I think the CB is going to be a very attractive bike in a lot of ways. Hope Honda sells a bucketfull.

An old CB? Not in a while but in 2007 I bought a 1982 Kawasaki Spectre 750 off of CL for $800. Great running bike and it had obviously not been stored indoors for most of its 25 years of life. It did have an intermittent electrical issue that I would have fixed had I not gotten the Scrambler in January of 09 but I never had any issue getting parts that I needed. I guess I was fortunate that there are a couple of shops nearby that specialize in older Japanese bikes.

In addition, living in a dry part of the country (CO) even bikes that are stored outside for decades are usually in pretty decent condition - I understand that not every part of the country is that lucky.

It pissed me off a little that the 25 year old UJM I bought had full instrumentation (to include a fuel gauge!), a factory center stand, shaft drive, cast wheels and a seat that locked with a key and flipped up for access to the battery, whereas the "new" Triumph that I paid $7k for had none of those things. Made me realize how much we've regressed in terms of everything except EFI and brakes. Oh, except that the Spectre had a double-disc up front where the Scrambler had a single.

And yes, I get that the Scrambler is a "retro" bike (hence the wire wheels and the chain drive) but still, the stupid seat attachment, lack of a factory center stand and lack of full instrumentation is inexcusable IMO. (Note that Triumph has fixed the instrumentation on the newer Scramblers but you still have to pay an extra $200+ for the center-stand that ALL Japanese bikes used to come with.)

EDITED TO ADD: How could I forget the tool kit? Yes, kids, motorcycles used to come with took kits. No, they weren't fancy, they were good enough for most routine maintenance duties.

Everyone busts their shin or knee on the grab-rails.

TADT.

Gosh... that MCN video was sure nice.

Thanks for all the follow-ups on the Tiger as well. It helps to put it all into perspective.

I await more to hear just why he described it as geared more for beginners. One other thing I'm sure we're all careful of after decades of being poorly done - those front forks were using up a good bit of their travel while that rider seemed to be on a regular ride. Please tell me the CB1100 won't require me, at 180 pounds, to have to put stiffer fork springs in it from the get-go.

I think in typical British fashion, he's equating ease of use with novice-friendly; I don't think it was necessarily a negative in that context. I also noticed the fork absorbing bumps -- we really have no idea how big the bumps were -- but it didn't seem like anything out of the ordinary, or that the forks were using up a good bit of their travel, at least to me.