Honda CB1100 - Brand new, you're retro

There's an old saying "What goes around, comes around". Triumph have tapped into this for a while now with their Bonneville range, while Moto Guzzi have also had success recently by building a number of bikes around the V7 concept. That's not to mention North American stalwarts Harley Davidson who effectively make nothing that doesn't look retro...

It seems to be an increasing trend in the marketplace. Not only are increasing numbers of "retro" bikes being sold, but new riders are increasingly buying older bikes, too. Look at the roads these days and there's almost as many CB350s out there as there was in 1973.

Honda could have gone full out retro and bought the CB350 back to life, but they have that segment covered already with the newer CB500 line. OK, it's not retro, but it's cheap and fun. Instead, for their foray into the retro world, they chose a bigger, meaner segment: The muscle bike.

History Lessons

Honda practically invented to segment with the CB750 back in 1969. It was based around a disc-front brakes, transverse four-cylinder engine that revved well and an overhead camshaft, both almost unheard of at at the time outside of racing machines. It made 69bhp and was known as the first super bike, though it bears little relationship to modern machines of the same moniker.

Back in 1969, it set the benchmark though. If you wanted to go fast, this was the bike and it pretty much stayed that way until Honda introduced the CBR900RR Fireblade in 1992, which is what we now call a super bike.

By this time, the CB750 was now somewhat "mid-range". Sure you could wear brightly coloured leathers and tuck behind the fairing of the new 'blade if you wanted fast, but the 750 was a more visceral machine, and probably more usable on the road. "Real men" stuck with the older, simpler machine, and it became known as muscle bike, probably because it took more muscle to ride it well.

And it stayed that way until 2003 when Honda finally stopped making them. By the end of it's life, it had been reinvented a number of times. The single camshaft became a double, and the Nighthawk (as the model came to be know in 1982) became more and more cruiser-like as the rest of the market surged past it.

An early attempt to continue the lineage was the CB1300, a monster 1284cc machine that for some reason never got sold in North America.

Fast Forward

In the interim time, the motorcycle world has seen serious evolution. Motorcycles have gone from being "small", "medium" and "mental" to offering such dedicated machines as the 190bhp sport bike and the all-day comfort, ride-it-in-the-desert adventure machines. All of these with the attendant price tag. The rider who just wants to get on with it has been faced with a tough choice - pick something that's not really that sexy or go to the used market.

And the latter is what's been happening.

The CB1100 is Honda's attempt to offer something new whilst also appearing old. It has the looks of an older muscle machine and is very reminiscent of the CB750, but it's made possible with thoroughly modern engineering. The 1140CC engine was created for this bike, and it's a peach. It's air-cooled so those fins really are a necessity and ping pleasingly as the bike cools down, but it's tuned for flexibility rather than raw power. You can drive from pretty much any rpm in any of the five gears in it's gear box, though for maximum fun, keep it between 5,500 and 7,000.

The 88bhp always feels super smooth, too - kind of like that foam in your latte. It's pleasing and comforting at the same time, and there's few of the tingles common with older machines thanks to a very well balanced engine.

How Does It Ride

In one sentence, very, very nicely. Whether you want to hang around and look stately on it, or drive it out of corners, the CB has something to offer. Progress is always at your pace, and even if it doesn't quite have the cojones to stay up with a modern sports bike, it's not going to be that far behind. Wind it up and the exhaust even has a pleasing hint of menace, even if it is perhaps a little on the quiet side to truly scare old ladies.

As I mentioned, the engine pulls superbly and everything is visible on the easy-to-read analogue clocks - Visible modernity is limited to a small LCD. The rest of the technology is well hidden behind a pretty authentic looks visage. It's all fuel-injected of course and it's fully emissions compliant, unlike older machines. Subtle rotors at the front and rear wheel remind you this bike has combined ABS, which is something you're going to see on pretty much everything from now on. Stops well, too. Brakes are two-finger light and breed confidence with excellent feedback on competent shocks that rarely get out of line.

Gear shifts are superbly positive thanks to a very light hydraulic clutch and adjustable levers. Clutch-less shifts are very easy with this gearbox should you be in a hurry, not that you need to shift much with all that torque.

And it handles well on account of it being so light. Actually, make that feels light. At 248kg (wet) it's actually more than 20kg heavier than the Bonneville but it never feels like it. Cornering is wonderfully light, but with excellent feedback. Point it and it goes with no mid-corner instability that I felt.

For those of you of a tall stature, I'm not sure it would make an all-day comfortable ride. Knees can feel a little cramped and as you would expect with a naked machine, wind-blast can take it's toll. Mind you, with a small 14.6 litre tank and a claimed 260km range (nearer 200km in the real world), you'll be stopping fairly often to fill up anyway.

Luggage options are also fairly restricted with the CB1100. There's a nice steel rear carrier, or you can stick with the four bungee points. Beyond that, you're looking at soft saddlebags and/or a tank bag only. If you're taking this away on a long distance ride, you're not going to be taking much with you.

How does it make you feel

Be honest, this is what really matters with this bike. While performance is better than you might expect, it's all about the looks. On that front, it's also a winner. There's some wonderful touches. For example, the mirrors look authentic without being cheesy and manage to work pretty well, too. Signals are definitely of their age and pulse rather than flick on and off like modern LEDs. The attention to detail is what you expect with Honda, and this is no exception. Pretty much everything has been thoroughly thought through.

The net result is that I doubt you'll ever get tired of walking out to the garage and seeing it there, and you'll definitely get admiring if not envious glances, no matter where you pull up.

Cost

I've deliberately left any talk of costs until the end as it's probably the one place Honda might have screwed up. If we consider the Bonneville and Guzzi V7 as it's rivals and compare prices, you're in for a bit of a shock. The Bonny starts at $8,699 and the Guzzi V7 classic is similarly priced at $8,899.

The Honda starts at $13,199.

That is a huge difference, and one I'm not sure is justifiable. While the Honda is clearly the better machine, the Triumph isn't that much worse in terms of performance. And if it's looks and exclusivity you want, the V7 Racer 750 might just be the more eye-catching prospect, even if it's not as much fun to ride.

Summary

Honda have made an excellent bike here. It's fuss free, instant motorcycling fun in a very neat and beautiful package. It handles excellently, feels incredibly reliable and looks like a million dollars, but compared to it's rivals, it also costs it.

So, is it worth that premium? That depends on the depth of your wallet. If you're on a budget, I'd have to say no. You're not going to that have that much less fun on one of it's main rivals.

But don't think of it that way: You're paying for the exclusivity. Honda haven't bought in too many of these to Canada and you can see that in the price. Even then, from what I understand, they've are already sold out.

By way of comparison, in the US the CB1100 is $9,999 and GBP8,950 in the UK. In those markets, the Bonneville is $7,699 and GBP7,199 respectively. For the difference in build quality and especially performance, this is definitely worth it and maybe demand will make Honda realize they could be selling a whole lot more next year? Let's hope so.

Given the risk in introducing any new machine into market, I can understand the cautious approach and it seems it's all gone to plan for Honda anyway. No matter the price, it's still a great looking bike and it will make you feel good when you ride it. And perhaps most importantly of all, it is a better motorcycle than the Triumph.