2013 Honda CB1100 Review - Quick Ride

[seruzawa]

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

[The Spaceman]

Originally Posted by seruzawa

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

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!

[seruzawa]

Originally Posted by The Spaceman

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!

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.

[schizuki]

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

[jmdonald]

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.

[sarnali2]

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.

[Kevin_Duke]

Originally Posted by seruzawa

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

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

[Kevin_Duke]

Originally Posted by sarnali2

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

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.

[seruzawa]

Originally Posted by Kevin_Duke

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.

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.

[The_AirHawk]

Originally Posted by seruzawa

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.

F-Bomb'n Cheaters.