What happened to "Plain" Standard motorcycles?

I hear you, Jerry, on the Suzuki GS850Gs. Man, I miss that bike. Everything about it was exactly what a motorcycle should be. Hopefully, Honda will have a hit with the CB1100, and it will spark the others (Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki) to do their own homage to some of their great standards. (Or at least release their homages like the W800 in the U.S.)

What would be the harm in Kawasaki selling the W800 in the U.S. on a pre-order basis? Wouldn't that be a safe way to sell at least a couple thousand bikes?

for me, the ergos between the cb1100 and fz8 are pretty similar. Vstrom is much more relaxed than either one..

The harm in that is that it costs manufacturers a shitload of money to meet all the U.S. regulations and qualify a bike to be sold here, and it has to be done individually for each and every model to be sold. Therefore it just isn't worth it unless they know they will sell enough of that exact model to make that cost worthwhile. Thank our government.

PhilB

The V7 Classic is to Guzzi as the New Bonneville is to Triumph.

Thank you, you saved me from pulling up that link!

My street triple is about the same as my old sv650 (naked) which is as 'standard' as it gets.

A V7 Classic with Hepco Becker bags pushes every one of my buttons....

Ok I have to chime in here....

There really should be a few more choices as far as standards go..... I LOVE the Bonneville. The W650/800 is awesome and I wish I could find one. The guzzi is beautiful as well.....

I would have bought a CB1300 in a heartbeat if it come over the pond and I still may buy a CB1100 (see below!)

I love standards and have owned some really good ones.

I currently own 2 1975 CB400F's - I absolutely love these little bikes.

My blue one is in decent shape....



I used to have a gorgeous CB1100F - to this day it was the nicest one I have ever seen. It broke my heart to sell it a few years back but it was going to need some work and I just didnt have the money



most recently I went an did a Triumph test ride day and I rode the Scrambler and the Speed Triple. I LOVED them both - and I looked for a used Scrambler for months and months and whenever they pop up, they are sold before you can even call the guy.
That's when I found a Speedy Triple that the guy had literally bought every single LSL and Birt Customs after market part for - I had to buy it.



In my mind the Speed Triple isn't a standard in so much. Of course it's a standard by the "rules" of a standard but it just doesnt feel like a standard to me..... it's.... something else.....

However, I dont know if ive ever ridden anything else that's more intuitive, fun, and comfortable. Usually speed comes with a lot of compromise in the comfort department - the triple ended that.

You mean like this ;-)

that is awesome!

Proof that foot forward bikes are "better", I've fallen off of bar stools never fallen off of a chair..

Just browsed this thread looking for a couple of my favorite 'nakeds', that always stop me in my tracks; they look killer in the flesh.

The Yamaha MT-01 and the MT-03. The MT-01 has been available in Canada, though the ones I've seen out in use have been in the UK and Japan. Think I even have a picture of a parked MT-03 in Melbourne.

By that logic I'd say you're happier a lot more often on a barstool.

I dunno, I had a Monster for a few years and sold it recently, made it closer to a standard by installing higher bars and a Sargent seat which helped a lot...but I'd still call it a naked bike rather than a standard largely because it was really lousy for two up riding, partly why I sold it...FWIW I have a '73 Norton Commando which works great two up.
Anyway, really hope the CB1100 sells well and encourages Honda and others to build more standards, I started riding waaay back in the '70's when the majority of bikes on the road were standards and love the versatility and looks.

To the best of my knowledge, the last "non retro" full sized standard bike sold in the U.S. was the late great Honda CB750 Nighthawk. I don't know why they called it a Nighthawk, they should have just called it a CB750. The CB400F was actually a sport bike, before sport bikes became the hideous abominations they are today, but it is close enough to a standard to be considered one. The CB1100F, just like the CB750F, was also a sport bike in it's day, the CB750K was the standard. The mid '80s Honda CB700SC was one of the best bikes Honda ever built. It was basically a standard dressed up to look like a sportbike. Comfortable, ultra reliable, and practically maintenance free. I should have owned one but didn't.

That's the Monster's only real functional weakness -- carrying a passenger very well. I can get about 50-60 miles out of my wife on that. The bike doesn't mind a bit; it works just fine, but the passenger is less pleased. I thought for a bit about getting a better 2-up bike, but the ultimate solution for us turned out to be getting her a Monster as well.

Other than that one thing, my Monster has been outstanding at everything. Commuting, urban work, rural roads, sporting, and even (a bit of a surprise) touring. I've done multiple cross-country trips on it, and it's good (for me) for as many 600-mile days in a row as it takes to get there.

For over 19 years and 200K miles, so far.

PhilB

Definitely agree on the Monster's sport touring capability for the low pipe models at least, did some on mine and it worked very well, especially after I changed the bars and seat. Would not recommend a model year with immobilizer circuitry in the leaky gauge cluster though, that was an incredibly bad design and a little rain can easily disable the bike and permanently damage the cluster, has happened to many...though the few times mine (a 2003) got wet I raced home, removed and opened the cluster and sealed it in a container w/ rice to dry it out (risotto of course ;-)...a total PITA but it worked.
Anyway, the three years I had mine it served me well and was trouble free...

Because it was a continuation of the "Nighthawk" CB-SC line of bikes from the 1980s.

The CB650SC Nighthawk of 1983-1985 was one kick-ass middleweight standard!

That bike is sharp!!!