A New Motorcycle I Would Love
Monday, August 20th, 2012
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.
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