Passes & Canyons Blog

American Honda's Jon Seidel poses with the CB1100.

I saw a motorcycle it was impossible not to love recently. At least impossible for me not to love.

That’s it in the photo above, a Honda CB1100. Of course I’m partial to a bike like that, considering that one of my rides is a 1980 CB750 Custom.

I saw this bike recently at the Motorcycle Sport Touring Association’s STAR 2012 rally up in Avon. Jon Seidel, who works in the motorcycle press department for American Honda, had brought the bike to show and to solicit responses from potential buyers.

As Jon explained, the bike went on sale in Japan, Australia, and New Zealand in 2010 and was made available in Europe this year. The question is whether it will be brought to the U.S.

Here’s a quick run-through of some of the specs:

• Inline 4
• 1100cc
• Air/oil-cooled engine
• Dual disks in front, single disk in back
• Latest generation combined braking system–only linked rear to front, so use the front brake and only get front, but use the back brake and get front and back braking
• 4-gallon tank
• Wheelbase 68 inches
• Seat height 30-30.5 inches
• 4 into 1 exhaust
• 18″ wheels
• Chain drive

Jon was a good one to be showing the bike because he loves it.

“This is the motorcycle I want to buy. I love this motorcycle. I love the look, everything about it,” he said. “It’s a period-type piece. Our thought about it is that, for a Honda fan, this has a lot of Honda signature DNA in it. It’s an extremely enjoyable motorcycle to ride. It puts a grin on your face.”

One point of interest for me is the chain drive. My old CB has chain drive and I do not miss it when I’m on my shaft-driven Kawasaki Concours. Apparently, times have changed.

“Chains nowadays are nothing at all like they were even five years ago,” said Jon. “These are sealed o-ring chains, they will go thousands and thousands of miles, and require minimum — almost no maintenance or lubrication. If you knew what chains were in the past, this is nothing like that any more.”

That’s good to know.

So yeah, I’d love to have this bike. But Honda better not count on me buying one if they do bring it here. At least not unless my old CB dies. When I buy a bike–or a car–I stick with it for years. If everyone was like me our whole economy would grind to a halt. But if I can pick up a used one in maybe 10 years, that could happen.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Motorcycle touring with Ball O’ String

Biker Quote for Today

So many bikes, so many roads … not enough time.

I made a run over to Steele’s the other day. In case you’re unfamiliar with the place, Steele’s Salvage at 2025 W. Union, is a junk yard for dead motorcycles.

Mind you, Steele’s is a lot more than that. They sell used bikes of all kinds, they do service, and they sell both new and used parts. But it’s the salvage yard — to use the more PC term — that is totally fascinating.

There must be a couple thousand motorcycle carcasses parked row on row on the property. Many are just rusty hulks, others have clearly been consumed in flames, while many are in perfectly fine shape, ready to donate an organ to keep the brother you’re riding alive. All of them are in a greater or lesser state of disassembly.

I ride an old bike, a 1980 Honda CB750 Custom, so it’s no surprise that I have done business at Steele’s. At one point my saddle was so torn and ragged that I came to Steele’s for a replacement. It’s a pretty easy guess that dealers don’t carry replacement saddles for 20-year-old bikes, but that’s why God invented salvage yards.

Another time I needed a fusible link. In the case of the CB, this is just a small, slotted piece of copper that makes all the difference in the world as to whether the bike will run or not. You could probably put a box with a thousand of them in your pants pocket but you won’t find a single one at a Honda dealer these days. At least not one for a 1980 model bike.

At Steele’s I asked at the counter and they didn’t have any in stock, but they pointed me to the part of the yard where the Hondas reside and invited me to help myself to any I might find.

Not surprisingly, the spot in the wiring where the fusible link goes was empty on all the bikes I checked. But the factory sent the bikes out with spares. Inspecting the storage area on several bikes, I found half a dozen and laid claim to them all.

So I’m probably set with fusible links for the life of the bike. And when it finally dies it will probably end up at Steele’s or some place comparable, along with a few spares. They may some day serve to keep someone else’s old beast on the road.

I know there are plenty of folks who only want the latest, the hottest, and the fastest bike available, and for them, Steele’s is irrelevant. But for those of us who ride and love older bikes, Steele’s is the difference between the life and death of an old friend.

Plus, it’s just fun to wander around through all those old junkers.

Biker Quote for Today

It’s an old motorcycle. The wind is supposed to blow your head around, it’s supposed to leak oil, the brakes should suck, and every now and then, it should scare you so bad you piss your pants.

Dennis announced happily, in an email with photos, that he has taken possession of his new Harley-Davidson FLHX Street Glide. That’s it in the photo.

That means the OFMC now has four Harleys, four Hondas, one Kawasaki, and one Yamaha. Dennis sold his Gold Wing.

The real irony of this is that it could have happened months ago. We were off on the summer road trip and one of the Harley riders had mechanical problems with his new bike. So he and several others hit the Harley dealership in Durango. Stranded there for half a day, they all spent some money, but Dennis had his eye on a Street Glide just like the one he has now.

There’s a real problem when a company has a product that is so in demand that it sells itself. The “salesmen” tend to become “order takers.” Well, this particular order taker who Dennis was talking with had a live one on his hook and didn’t do a thing. So Dennis walked out without the bike, but he knew now what he wanted.

And now he has it.

Biker Quote for Today

Sit tall in the saddle, hold your head up high – Keep your eyes fixed where the trail meets the sky – And live like you ain’t afraid to die – And don’t be scared, just enjoy your ride.

I went to the gym this morning and there, parked in the motorcycle parking area, was a bike I did not recognize. And it was an amazing looking bike. What the heck is this? It says it’s a Honda, but what is it?

Well, it wasn’t until I got home and did some internet searching that I discovered it was a Honda Valkyrie Rune. Here’s what it looks like.

Now, this photo really doesn’t do this thing justice. Yes, you can see that it has a shape and parts that are nothing like anything you’ve ever seen on any other motorcycle, but in the flesh this thing was amazing. For one thing, it’s huge. It sits really low to the ground but it is wide and solid. You don’t see through it the way you do a naked bike or even a lot of bikes with bodywork. And it has angles and metal everywhere.

The one thing that struck me very negative about this bike was that I couldn’t see how you could ride it. The seat is way back, with the pegs way forward, and the handlebars are a lot further forward than the pegs. Obviously I wasn’t about to get on it and see what kind of body contortions are necessary but it looked to me like it would be hugely uncomfortable.

That said, otherwise it was an incredible bike. My understanding is that it was overpriced and did not sell well and there are a lot of unsold new ones stored in warehouses. What I read said 2004 was the last year it was made, but this particular one said 2005 on it in several places, so I’m not sure about that. But despite the odd design and very unusual look, I have to tell you, up close and personal it was a beautiful motorcycle.

I definitely give Honda credit for having the guts to make this bike, and I hope that the experience doesn’t stop them from taking other such risks in the future. And I hope whoever owns this bike rides it to the gym again. I’d like to take another look at it.

Update
OK, I don’t understand this, but I just found a web page that shows a 2007 Rune. Has Honda started making them again? Can anyone help me out?

Biker Quote for Today

People are like motorcycles: each is customized a bit differently.