2013 Honda CB1100 Review - Quick Ride

BTW, Honda was by no means the first company to produce 4 cylinder bikes. Indian and Henderson for starters. Ariel.

seruzawa said:

BTW, Honda was by no means the first company to produce 4 cylinder bikes. Indian and Henderson for starters. Ariel.

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Quite true, but certainly Honda blew every other bike and manufacturer away with the CB750. Engineering, style, technology, accessibility (price and volume) were an order of magnitude ahead of the competition. Every rider I knew from '70 to '74 either wanted one, was trying to buy one, had one, or was hatin' the guys who did!

The Spaceman said:

Quite true, but certainly Honda blew every other bike and manufacturer away with the CB750. Engineering, style, technology, accessibility (price and volume) were an order of magnitude ahead of the competition. Every rider I knew from '70 to '74 either wanted one, was trying to buy one, had one, or was hatin' the guys who did!

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True, 67hp for the Honda is a bit better than the Henderson's 14HP. But the Japanese were basically doing the same thing all through the 60s. They took technology that existed and made it affordable and, most importantly, reliable.

Nice sig, Seru. Do you have The Hat? How's it sit? Pretty cunning, don't you think?

My favorite bike

I had a 1975 CB750. It was my favorite bike of all time. I made the jump to light speed from a CB350. I was scared to death of it because it had so much power. Ha Ha! The thing that really sticks out in my mind is that it was so heavy compared to the 350. The 750 ran like a top and I never had to fix anything on it. Unlike the 75 T140 Bonneville I bought. I think it ran well for a month. It is still my second most favorite bike. I am blessed.

The only real innovation the Japanese came out with was splitting the cases horizontally instead of vertically. Pretty much eliminated oil leaks and gave a perception of quality, the 900 Z1 was the one that really raised the bar performance wise and put Kawasaki on the map as the performance brand. It wasn't until Honda came out with the Elsinore that anyone took them seriously.

seruzawa said:

They took technology that existed and made it affordable and, most importantly, reliable.

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And the world became a better place to be a motorcyclist!

sarnali2 said:

It wasn't until Honda came out with the Elsinore that anyone took them seriously.

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I dare say that people began to take Honda seriously nearly a decade earlier when it created a four-stroke GP bike, the incredible 250 Six, that beat the best the world could offer.

Kevin_Duke said:

I dare say that people began to take Honda seriously nearly a decade earlier when it created a four-stroke GP bike, the incredible 250 Six, that beat the best the world could offer.

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I recall that the motorcycle press in1964 got very irate ehen a test on the then new 305 Super Hawk posted a quicker 0-60 time than a 650 Triumph. People accused Honda of "supertuning" the bike (whatever that means). The old Honda Dreams used a pressed steel frame. Such frames wereused on GP bikes at the time. The Japanese were making waves long before the CB 750.

seruzawa said:

I recall that the motorcycle press in1964 got very irate ehen a test on the then new 305 Super Hawk posted a quicker 0-60 time than a 650 Triumph. People accused Honda of "supertuning" the bike (whatever that means). The old Honda Dreams used a pressed steel frame. Such frames wereused on GP bikes at the time. The Japanese were making waves long before the CB 750.

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F-Bomb'n Cheaters.

Kevin_Duke said:

I dare say that people began to take Honda seriously nearly a decade earlier when it created a four-stroke GP bike, the incredible 250 Six, that beat the best the world could offer.

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Very true, though Mike the Bike had something to do with it too. My perspective is colored by my obsession with Motocross at that time and it was the Elsinore that caught everyone flat footed. At least from a what you could buy point of view, the Suzuki factory bikes the Belgians rode were a far cry from the TM400 you could buy .

sarnali2 said:

Very true, though Mike the Bike had something to do with it too. My perspective is colored by my obsession with Motocross at that time and it was the Elsinore that caught everyone flat footed. At least from a what you could buy point of view, the Suzuki factory bikes the Belgians rode were a far cry from the TM400 you could buy .

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Indeed, Mr. Bike played a significant role, but that's not taking anything away from the brilliant engineering. BTW, the 250-6 had 41.7cc cylinders. Honda's five-cylinder 125 used tiny 25cc cylinder displacement!

Kevin_Duke said:

Indeed, Mr. Bike played a significant role, but that's not taking anything away from the brilliant engineering. BTW, the 250-6 had 41.7cc cylinders. Honda's five-cylinder 125 used tiny 25cc cylinder displacement!

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Unfortunately for Honda the 4stroke engine had reached it's limit with the technology available and became incapable of competing with the 2stroke in GP racing. That GP win was the last for many years until 4strokes returned by fiat.

Kevin_Duke said:

Indeed, Mr. Bike played a significant role, but that's not taking anything away from the brilliant engineering. BTW, the 250-6 had 41.7cc cylinders. Honda's five-cylinder 125 used tiny 25cc cylinder displacement!

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Unfortunately for Honda the 4stroke engine had reached it's limit with the technology available and became incapable of competing with the 2stroke in GP racing. That GP win was the last for many years until 4strokes returned by fiat.

seruzawa said:

Unfortunately for Honda the 4stroke engine had reached it's limit with the technology available and became incapable of competing with the 2stroke in GP racing. That GP win was the last for many years until 4strokes returned by fiat.

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As the former owner of an RZ500, I'm aware that two-strokes have a massive power/weight advantage. But keep in mind that it took until 1971 that a two-stroke won a 500cc GP, and MV Agusta won the '74 title with a four-stroke. It took some time - and Honda's withdrawal from GP racing in 1968 - before two-smokers became dominant.

Kevin_Duke said:

And the world became a better place to be a motorcyclist!

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Indeed. Honda with its brilliant "You meet the nicest people on a Honda" campaign together with affordable and reliable motorcycles, changed the face of the m/c world. Too bad the company became so hidebound in recent years, following the industry instead of leading it. However new models this year may signal a shift back to a motorcycle division run by m/cers rather than a committee of car guys.

seruzawa said:

Indeed. Honda with its brilliant "You meet the nicest people on a Honda" campaign together with affordable and reliable motorcycles, changed the face of the m/c world. Too bad the company became so hidebound inrecent years, follwing the industry instead of leading it. However new models this year may signal a shift back to a motorcycle division run by m/cers rather than a committee of car guys.

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Suzuki seems intent on that role with the B.O.S.S.

Buzglyd said:

Suzuki seems intent on that role with the B.O.S.S.

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Long live the Charter.

seruzawa said:

Long live the Charter.

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That was one hell of a party.

Good times....

Mr. Duke, were you able to ride the bike? I read they won't be in the US until March 2013, but I guess there's often demo models available before production units arrive.