Honda CB1100 Concept at EICMA

Honda starts pushing the CB1100 forward

Honda CB1100 ConceptJeff Allen

With what seems like EVERY company entering the retro-modern motorcycle heritage segment, it has always bugged me that one of the major dominators of the day was virtually absent from the scene. Honda CBs defined the genre in the 60s and 70s, and were some of the coolest, most reliable, and best looking bikes out there. The CB1100 is Honda's only real retro styled motorcycle aside from the Rebel and Shadow line, which haven't change their style drastically in years, and honestly, it's sort of lacked guts.

My first big bike was a 1978 Honda CB750, so when I threw a leg over the CB1100, I was really expecting it to blow my old bike away. It didn't. From what Honda is telling us now, it will. They unveiled the new production bike back at Intermot, which got us all excited. Hopped up engine performance and suspension might bring the Honda CB back into it's rightful place on the retro-modern throne.

Honda CB1100 ConceptJeff Allen

Concept bikes rarely serve as more than an indication of the direction that a company wants to head. Even if that's all we get out of this... hell yeah. Honda hasn't done anything that really surprised us or pushed the envelope in a long time, and to see something as perfectly style and just wicked as this, gets us all giddy. The blend of flat track and 80s superbike style sort of reminds us of Roland Sands Faster Wasp that was released as part of the Yard Built program from Yamaha.

Honda CB1100 ConceptJeff Allen
Honda CB1100 ConceptJeff Allen
Honda CB1100 Concept front wheel detailJeff Allen