#Cb1100

Honda announced it will introduce a new roadster called the Hawk 11 on March 19. Teaser images show a café racer-styled fairing with a round LED headlight and underslung mirrors.

One of the most famous taglines in motorcycle history is “You meet the nicest people on a Honda.” And when it comes to nice motorcycles, Honda most often exemplifies this description. The retro-themed CB1100, first offered on our shores in 2013, made a nice case for nice, and so does this nicely updated version, the CB1100EX.

We picked up one of the new CB1100 EXs from Honda last week, and so far we’re impressed with its higher level of finish and new suspension with better control. Stay tuned for our review of the $12,199 retro machine in the coming weeks.

We became fans of the Honda CB1100 when it first arrived on U.S. shores in 2013. It’s mix of old-school cool and new-school technology is a refreshing change from the hyper-focused sportbikes and streetfighters that surround us. Four years on, however, and Honda decided it was time for a few choice upgrades.

Oh, this is cool. To be sold alongside the standard Honda CB1100 in Europe, the new CB1100 RS is:

One of these three motorcycles is commemorative, the other retrospective, and the third, uniquely orthodox relative to the company’s ethos. Probably not hard to ascertain which bike is being referenced. They seem equally comparable yet disparate in the same moment.

Honda’s homage to itself was a big hit for 2013 with all those fans who still can’t get enough of the original earth-shattering 1969 CB750, even though the bike picked up design influences from a few more CBs as it rolled along Memory Lane: 1100F-ish fuel tank shape, 400F-like right-side four-into-one pipe … In any case, its style definitely pushed a lot of the right buttons for vintage Honda enthusiasts.