2013 Honda CB1100- the proper way to revisit a classic.

[taco2go]

Kudos to Honda for paying tribute to the CB750. Just love the idea of paying genuine homage to a specific legacy model, with hidden upgrades. Very well executed, I think.

What if Toyota did this with some of their classics. (40/80 series trucks)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leMY993bhpI



(Images from Sport Rider and Bike Catalog, courtesy of Honda)

 

[Ray Hyland]

I had a 2008 CB750 and it was a beautiful bike, it showed just how much you can polish and perfect a platform.

I'm not sure, was the 2008 model sold in North America or did they stop bringing them in earlier? I had mine in Asia.

 

[taco2go]

per wikipedia 2007/8 model was Japan only. Mid 80s onwards, the Nighthawks began pushing away from the "standard" look of the classic 750s.
I just liked listening to the reasons the designer gave in bringing this motorcycle back- and glad that Honda understood enough to produce (and sell)
Wish the bigger automakers did stuff like this too.

 

[Martinjmpr]

I owned a 74 CB750 and as much as I like this new 1100, I have a couple of concerns regarding its longevity in the US market:

1. At an MSRP of $10k, it's well above the median for the "retro" market. By way of comparison, you could buy the top-of-the-line Triumph T100 for almost $1000 less than the MRSP of the Honda. Additionally, both Moto Guzzi and HD also offer "retro" bikes in the $7k-$8k price range. So that handicaps the 1100 from the get-go.

2. More significantly, I doubt Honda's commitment to this platform. This isn't the first time a Japanese manufacturer has tried to introduce a "big naked" bike in the US. Remember the naked Bandit 1200? Remember the Kawasaki ZR-7? The Zephyr? The CB1000? All those bikes had two things in common: They were big naked standards, and they were dismal failures on the sales floor.

IMO the reason that "big naked standard" bikes don't sell in the US is because the market segment that prefers clean, unadorned bikes has been completely taken over by HD and its imitators, IOW, the cruiser market owns them.

And the people who don't like big cruisers typically want things like fairings, luggage and other stuff that big naked bikes lack.

So in order to sell a "big naked" bike in the US, you have to appeal to a customer that

(a) wants a large bike with no fairing and a big round headlight, but also

(b) doesn't like v-engine "cruiser" bikes.

That's a very small segment of the market and not enough to sustain the importation of a large number of bikes to the US, which is why the efforts to bring big naked bikes to the US have consistently failed for the past 25+ years.

 

[taco2go]

Those were some insightful observations regarding the US market, and likely true. Ironic, given that the original 'UJM' was intended specifically for the US.
Seems to be selling well enough in Japan, and even Europe and Australia the last couple of years.
Maybe there'll be a handful of nostalgic 40-60 year olds here who remember the first superbike fondly enough buy and ride it. And yes, Def not the least expensive option out there......

 

[Martinjmpr]

Those were some insightful observations regarding the US market, and likely true. Ironic, given that the original 'UJM' was intended specifically for the US.
Seems to be selling well enough in Japan, and even Europe and Australia the last couple of years.
Maybe there'll be a handful of nostalgic 40-60 year olds here who remember the first superbike fondly enough buy and ride it. And yes, Def not the least expensive option out there......

If you look at my sig you'll see I ride a "retro" bike myself - a 2008 Triumph Scrambler. Triumph has done amazing work to breathe life back into a brand that used to be a bad joke and now they're every bit the equal of the other major manufacturers out there with a full line of road bikes and adventure tourers.

My concern is that Honda is more interested in moving metal in mass amounts - I don't see them having the "staying power" to push a less popular bike until it achieves "critical mass" in terms of sales. That's the reason the Zephyr, Naked bandit, ZR7, and CB1000 were dropped, they weren't immediate sales successes so rather than nurture them, the companies just pulled them off the market figuring people would be more likely to buy a full on sportbike with a fairing or a naked V-engine cruiser.

I do have to disagree that the UJM was designed for the US market. I think it was really designed for the world market as a direct competitor to the British bikes that had come to dominate the street scene in the 50's and 60's. Have to remember that outside the US and Canada, Harley was always a very minor player until recently and even today outside of the US they are a very small "niche market" bike.

 

[haven]

Ride apart.com has a review. Sounds like a sweet ride for someone not interested in canyon carving or long distance riding.
http://rideapart.com/2013/07/rideapart-review-2013-honda-cb1100-abs/

 

[Clutch]

What if Toyota did this with some of their classics. (40/80 series trucks)

Keep dreaming

 

[BlackdogGS]

The Honda is cool, I had a new CB750 in the 70"s. problem I see is the price, 10K will buy a nice bike with real power and performance. Remember how everyone got excited when the XR1200 came to market? I believe the new Honda will be short lived also. I hope I'm wrong.

As far a naked bikes go, look at how successful the Ducati Monster, Triumph Speed and Street triples have been. These bikes are making 100-140 HP though. Admittedly, these are in a higher price range but they are selling well.