Is it possible to enjoy a magic show even if you know how the magician is doing all the tricks? I’d argue yes, but they’d better be one hell of a performer. I know what the bike companies are doing with the retro modern bikes. It’s a trick. Pulling at our nostalgic heartstrings with every dual rear shock, spoked wheel, and flat seat. Just like the magician though, they better perform, and a lot of them do. With every new model, it seems like they perform better and better. With these retro styled bikes, it’s also more of a sum of their parts game. They’re not the fastest bikes, or the best performers, but they do a lot of things, very well. They’re versatile, like the originals, commute, tour, or carve canyons, they can all do a pretty great job at all these things. I’m not fooled by the trick, but I’m enjoying the hell out of the show.
Honda released the Honda CB1100 overseas in 2010, jumping on the retro style bike craze. It was said to be a throwback to the original CB750, and the styling didn’t disappoint. The CB1100 made it to the States in 2013. There were a couple different models released, the EX being the most retro styled with spoked wheels. Honda stayed as true to original CB as possible, equipping the bike with an inline 4, air-cooled 1,140cc engine which generated 88.5 hp, and 67 ft-lbs of torque. The Honda does a great job of blending new with old, notably with the 2014’s updated gauge cluster. From afar, they look like classic CB gauges, but they are integrated with a digital display with a gear position indicator and even average mpg readouts. As for how it performed overall, Cycle World named it the “Best Standard” in 2014’s Ten Best awards. Check out Andrew Bornhop’s 2014 write up about the CB1100 for Cycle World in 2014 here.
This 2017 CB1100 EX looks to be what the seller states: like new. It has 3,500 miles, and some pretty killer upgrades. The bike comes with an Arrow 4 into 2 exhaust system, Ohlins fully adjustable shocks, and a DART flyscreen. It also comes with a Motech Quickloc tank bag, and all the original parts that were upgraded. All early services are completed, and nothing is due for thousands of miles according to the seller. With all these upgrades on a basically new bike, it would be a good buy for someone like me that can’t look away from the new classic show.
Find this 2017 Honda CB 1100 EX in Mesa, Arizona for $10,499 here on Craigslist.