(01-23-2018 09:25 PM)VLJ Wrote: Ulvetanna has had me going round and round on the subject of the CB1100RS, and whether he would choose the RS or EX if Honda offered it stateside in 2018. I finally came to the same conclusion he did; namely, that there is no real sporting benefit to the RS over the EX, and it actually steers more heavily due to the wider 17" tires, so I'd rather have the greater comfort, easier steering, and lower price of the EX.
Now, if Honda were to offer that one RS we've seen bandied about with the gold tank that does a much better job of matching the gold-colored suspension, I might have to rethink this again.
The thing about the 18" wheels;
a) there is absolutely ZERO tendency to stand up on the front brakes
b) there is a LOT LESS bump steer whilst leaned over in a turn, you can really relax on the bars (watch Guth's video)
c) the bike feels much more light and precise at lower speeds <25 mph
I also like the feel of the 18's on the open road.
If the bike made over 100 HP, I'd say go with the 17's because of the grip available for braking and acceleration with the premium rubber available. But now there are plenty of choices of grippy tires, long-lasting tires, bias-ply tires, retro-looking tires...
(01-23-2018 08:53 PM)Cormanus Wrote: I've no idea how reliable are the HP figures provided by manufacturers to the Government, but US Government documents show that Honda claims the 2013 (both ABS and non-ABS) produced 65.99445 KW and 88.5 BHP. Those numbers remained the same for both the 2014 STD and DLX. Both 2017 models—the EX and RS— produce 65.6216 KW and 88 BHP. Looks to me like they're down slightly on their predecessors. Not up.
This information was extracted from the links in this post.
It's interesting, too, that it tells you Honda could import the RS to the USA but has decided not to.
That is GREAT stuff. So as far as I am concerned, this settles the issue as to crankshaft bhp. NO difference at all. Those are bench test numbers under controlled conditions.