Honda CB1100EX

Honda pretty much gave birth to the whole concept of the Universal Japanese Motorcycle with the CB750X. The CB750X went on to be imitated to death – or more like immortality. The CB1100EX tries to capture the iconic styling as closely as possible. And to be honest, it does a very good job. Every element that goes into recreating that iconic design has been crafted to perfection. The fuel tank is curvaceous – more so than its inspiration. It is created to be seamless and looks very muscular in its candy chromosphere red paint. The easily recognizable front end remains unchanged with its large circular headlight with old school indicators and twin pod instruments. But the headlight and indeed all the lights on the bike use modern LEDs. The classic looking instrumentation uses a small digital display between the two dials that includes a display for the gear position indicator. The skeletal design of the top of the triple trees along with the twin dials gives it the appearance of an alien staring back at the rider.

The rest of the bike, however, is much more familiar. The pipes sticking out of the engine end up in a single conventional exhaust that is chrome plated just like the steel front and rear fenders. The seat looks comfy and very much a quality piece of equipment. The fit and finish of the bike and the build quality is top notch. Everything that looks like metal is metal. Much like the original, this bike should outlive its rider and with not much effort. The bike is somewhat big at 2200 mm (L) x 830 mm (W) x 1130 mm (H). It rides on 18-inch steel spoke wheels with 110/80 front and 140/70 rear tires. The retro design of the bike might not appeal to everyone. Some might even consider it too modern. But while it is undeniably a solid design, the bike lends itself very well to customizing. Get rid of the parts you don’t like and build your own café racer according to your wishes.  

If it wasn’t clear from the dimensions and the weight mentioned above, the Honda CB1100EX is big. The 792 mm high seat will have most short heightened riders on the tips of their toes. But the Honda hides its weight very effectively. The steel cradle frame receives adequate bracing. The rear gets twin adjustable shock absorbers. The 41 mm Showa front forks come with dual bending valves and are adjustable for spring preload. 27 degrees of caster angle and 114 mm of trail give it great stability at straights but not the best cornering ability. As suggested by the engine, the bike responds better to a more gentlemanly riding style. But this is exactly the kind of setup that is expected from a bike like this.  

The engine in the Honda CB1100EX is an inline 4, 16 valved, air and oil cooled DOHC unit. The engine is unstrung and with its oversquare layout makes 90 PS at 7500 rpm and 91.3 Nm of torque at 5500 rpm. Yes, the power output is low compared to its competition and with the weight of 255 kg, this bike is sluggish. There is enough torque when you start it and a flat torque curve when you get moving. But you are not going to win many races. This is however perfect for a retro roadster that the CB110EX is supposed to be. The power delivery is easy – call it commuter friendly. But give it an open stretch of road and you can use the bike’s 6 gears to their full potential. The bike uses fuel injection with 32 mm throttle bodies and its exhaust layout gives it some old-world character without restricting the power. Anyone looking for that classic Japanese feel from a modern bike will be very satisfied with this bike. The fuel tank has a capacity of 16.8-litre and the rider can expect a fuel economy of 18.8 kmpl.

The Honda CB1100EX comes with dual 296 mm front discs while the rear gets a 256 mm disc. Nissin provides the front with four-pot opposed-piston callipers with the rear getting a single-calliper. Also included as standard is a two-channel ABS system.

The Honda CB1100EX is indeed the genuine article. It best imitates the fabled UJM styling not just in look but also in riding stance, power delivery, and build quality. It is a bit pricey and a little underpowered. But in many crucial ways, nothing else available today comes close to what this bike here delivers.