Any CB1100 Owners On WG?

[Dave Swanson]

Just wondering if there are any CB1100 owners on the forum.  It looks like a cool bike. 

[Travlr]

Ron Boe where are you?

[Seamaster]

I was looking at this before went to V7. Did not like the red only with ABS. Too bad they don't offer this one in US:





I would buy this one in a heart beat!

[Seamaster]

Or you can drop $5000 USD for a kit

[aschem]

I have a 2013 CB1100. After tweaking suspension, seat and pegs, I really enjoy the bike. It really came to life when I installed a 4 into 1 exhaust. Of my three bikes, this one is going to stay around the longest...I think.

[Seamaster]

Can you give us more details?

[guzzinka]

They are really nice bikes, what my ujms aspired to be back in the day, but fell short.

[rboe]

I'm on a 2012. So far, she is a very long term bike. When it comes to choosing what to ride up for coffee, most of the time the CB gets the nod.





Last year at Death Valley, took the CB while the Griso was waiting to be rollerized.

[rboe]

Since I pulled the trigger on mine several other Griso owners have picked up a CB (one fellow in the Phoenix area went through a Griso and a CB and has now moved on to something else, a BMW I think).

I saw you over on the CB1100 forum, that is a good place to pick up information. Like this place they are pretty bike agnostic and don't get too caught up in brand fanboyism. The guys that get rid of them are the ones thinking they bought a Mustang when they got a T-Bird.

I was looking at the V7 before I got the CB. But being of long legs and body the V7 was a poor fit. CB is a bit bigger and has more poop. She handles the twisty bits better than the Griso, has better brakes, feels lighter on her feet than the Griso. Griso is better out on the road, more hp (I don't need more hp though). Oddly enough, one reason I went with Moto Guzzi is the exclusivity, but in Phoenix Griso's are very common. CB1100's are not. I'm pretty sure there are more CB's in Phoenix than Griso's but I just don't see them.

When the CB prototype was shown I was smitten, but bought the Griso when I thought Honda would never import it. Naturally, less than a year later over she came. When I picked her up I thought the Griso would be surplus, but they are totally different machines. I can see the Griso moving on at some point, but the CB will stay.

[vstevens]

I was also looking at the CB1100 right before getting my v7.  Great motorcycle, reminds  me of my first bike ... 1980 Suzuki gs550... Except the Honda is more of everything. 

What swayed me to the V7 was ease of maintence and great durability... and the V7 euro-cafe styling won me over.  If I had time for 2 bikes I'd get a Honda but not the CB.  The new Afica twin looks interesting.

[Cool Runnings]

So reminds me of the CB750, those were built proof!

[jas67]

.....The new Afica twin looks interesting.

I just rode an Africa Twin on Monday, both on, and off road.   It is a fantastic motorcycle, both on, and off road.
Like the new Triumph classics, it has a 270 degree crank, and thus, the exhaust pulse timing is like that of a 90 degree V-twin.   It is a versatile motor with torque everywhere.

The bike I rode has the dual-clutch automated manual transmission.     I expected to hate it.  It was a little odd on the road, esp. when going into turns, but, off road, when you are standing while riding the rough stuff, it is perfect.   It was almost always in the right gear all the time.  When it isn't there are up/down shift buttons on the left hand controls.    "Drive" mode shift a little too quickly for my tastes, and felt sluggish.   Sport mode sometimes stayed in a gear too long after accelerating and reaching a steady speed.  In those instances, I just touched the up shift button and was happy.

The suspension is excellent.    It soaked up the rough stuff very well, yet did not wallow when putting it through its paces on the road.

I have also ridden the new BMW R1200GS.    I'd have a hard time spending the addition $7k on the BMW.   Yes, the BMW has a good bit more power, but, the Honda is a better off road bike.

The same day, I also rode the F800GS Adventure.   This bike is quite comparable to the Africa Twin, but, about $2k more.     I prefer the sounds of the Honda engine to the BMW 360 degree twin.   Also, at road speeds the F800GS has a bit of high frequency buzz in the handlebars.    I own an F800GT which has the same engine, but taller gearing, and don't find it to be a problem on that bike.

OK, sorry for the side track, back to the CB1100.

[Beerman]

I was very tempted by the CB1100: beautiful looking bike, great build quality, Honda - but was put off by the weight of it. Not when riding it, but manhandling it around - it seemed to me a very heavy bike, though at 260kg (from memory) plenty of people won't think so.

I bought a new (2016) V711 Classic instead - and I love it.

Beerman

[rboe]

I put case savers on mine. When it comes to picking it up it is very easy to lift it up to the case savers, from there it's a simple lift to full up. I had my wife video tape me doing this - with a broken collar bone. That said, she can be heavy at parking lot speeds but the cg is pretty low and I feel much more insecure hoofing my XR650L around than the CB. It's a bit sneaky in the weight department and normally I don't feel it.

But many folks (including myself) feel your concern and smaller bikes (e.g. V7/V9 and the CB500 family) are getting more popular.