Backhanded Compliment

[Lou07]

If sales were not that great according to the author or others, I don't fault the bike, I blame Honda.

I came to the game a bit late and was serious about buying a CB1100 just last year. I really wanted to see and ride a dlx but couldn't find one. I'm in Houston and I'm guessing there are 6-8 dealers I'm aware of but no bikes to be found. There were a couple standard CBs but no 1100A. Dealers didn't even seem to want me to test ride what they had. I test rode a Thruxton and a Bonneville then but held off buying one of those on the off chance I'd find a new CB.

If they want to sell the bikes don't they have to produce them? Did they even make a 2015? Now we don't know if the model is done or they are going to put the concept bike into production for 2016.

It seems like lousy marketing and a shame as the CB seems like a great bike and one I'd be very happy to own. I guess I'll move on to a 2016 T120 Bonneville.

[Paulb]

I agree with all that has been said but I would urge you all to take a deep breath and read the article again. After the history bit it says, "sweet machine with super-smooth 88bhp power delivery, easy manners and classy build". Can't argue with that. There are only two negatives in the article.

1) Pricey build. There is a big difference between being expensive and being costly. Expensive is when something costs more than its worth. Costly means the price is high because the quality is high - you get what you pay for.

2) Sale flop. This bike has not sold in great quantities but that is not a criticism of the bike, it merely tells us that most motorcyclists keep buying the wrong thing. I know bikers who change their bikes more often than their socks. Anyone remember the 3 retro Ducati bikes introduced some years ago. They were a sales flop, were discontinued after 18 months and are now the most sought after ducati bikes on the planet.

The article finishes, "one of the best retro's"

I don't have a problem with this article because tells me that I've found the gem that most bikers are searching for and have missed. Guaranteed future classic.

[Guth]

Reading what the guy had to say about the bike I'm not seeing all that much to get upset about.

Based on his "RCB Racer" comment, it sounds like the the author was making his assessment based on this (CB1100R Concept) being the concept from which our bikes were supposedly derived as opposed to the CB1100F concept:


That tricked out R concept is cool, but it's a totally different vibe. If that was what someone was actually looking forward to hitting the dealer showrooms, then I could understand some disappointment in the CB1100. Obviously that doesn't apply to most folks here on the forum.

Two concepts that share similarities, yet are totally different.

[Paulb]

I agree entirely but I have my doubts as to the success of the 'R' project on the showroom floor. Another bike which everyone wants to see but doesn't buy. Imagine a road test 'shootout' between the Honda 1100R, Yamaha R1 and the Kawasaki ZX10R. People would buy the fastest and most powerful according to the spec sheet and refuse to accept that they cannot use that performance. I know my limitations (100bhp) and I can run with riders on much more powerful bikes because they can't use their bikes full performance. It's all an ego thing, their loss our gain.

[Pterodactyl]

Personally, I don't give a tinkers curse about others opinions. I like the bike. I ride with others that have vastly different machines. Some I kinda covet, like Darryl's RSV4 for instance. If he was crazy enough to let me have a little blat I wouldn't knock it back. But I'm happy with what I chose. Suits me and I'm a happy camper. If mine was the only one sold by Honda then that's the way it goes. As long as Last Blast sees me out then the commentariat can take a running jump.

Cheers all, and happy CBing.

[Cormanus]

I dunno. Most of us like them. That's why we're here. But it's not the point, is it? A motorcycle journalist has asserted the bike has been a flop, even though he likes it. He asserts it's a flop because it 'failed on the showroom floor'. Who would know? Honda, but they're not saying. Nor are they saying what constitutes an acceptable level of sales.

Given one may still find a new 2014 Standard in the US and, apparently, no new bikes were imported in 2015, I guess it's reasonable to assume they haven't sold in sufficient volumes to make it worth continuing to manufacture them. For what it's worth, based on the registry for the US, I reckon maybe 1100 2013s with ABS, 1800 without; 2500 2014 standards and 300 or 400 DLXs. That's, what, about 5800 bikes at most in the US? Even if they've sold by the truck load in Japan and Taiwan, I would have thought it unlikely that's enough for Honda to make a buck.

I'm with Pterodactyl, I don't really care what anyone else thinks about this bike, I like mine a lot and I've no intention of parting company with it. It's a pity there aren't more of them and it will be a great pity if they don't make any more, but that's a product of them apparently not selling well. We've all done our bit.

[Paulb]

This acticle is published in the UK Motorcycle News and it is fair to say that very small numbers have been sold over here but I get great satisfaction when I go to bikers meets and get loads of people admiring the bike and the look on their faces suggests they wished they had bought one instead of their plastic rocket. I go touring with commercial tour companies and the people I meet on these trips are amazed at the performance of the bike and just how good a tourer it makes. Seems I spend a lot of time being proud and they spend their time being envious. Always go with your heart and not with the crowd.

[Pterodactyl]

(01-14-2016 03:11 AM)Paulb Wrote:  Always go with your heart and not with the crowd.

Ya got it!

Cheers

[alphonsus]

This is an interesting thread! I agree with those who say the article is fair. I think the guy liked the bike, (as did most reviews I think) but it's not been a sales success I think that's quite clear. Personally I "blame" Honda marketing for that. Basically I think they did nothing to promote the bike. A lot of US members here mentioned never even hearing of the bike until they saw one in a dealership. Likewise here in Europe, I remember no ads, campaigns, pr articles, or anything really that promoted the bike. If you compare that with what Ducati has done with the Scramblers, Triumph with the new Bonnevilles now, or BMW with the R9T, it's a very poor effort.

On the other hand, I'm not sure if it bothers me that it wasn't a sales success. I know that for me, it is the best bike on the planet, period. I don't need sales numbers to justify my choice. And, as Paulb has pointed out, it is likely to make our bike more valuable, and certainly more unique in the future.

One thing that other makers, especially Ducati and Triumph, are doing much better is offering accessories and merchandising. If you look at the Scrambler or Bonneville catalogue, they have literally hundreds of OEM accessories to personalise the bike, and a big merchandise catalogue as well. Would love it if Honda offered that...

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By the way, for those interested in sales numbers, they are publicly available for the UK. The UK market of course is just a small segment of the world market, and will have some strong biases (e.g. Triumphs are obviously very popular), but nevertheless it's an interesting resource.

The website is called https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/ and has numbers for both cars and bikes. They are not manufacturer released numbers, but based on license registrations - still they are fairly accurate. Here's the numbers for the CB:
2013 model: https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/vehicle/ho...-d#!newreg
2014 model: https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/vehicle/ho...-e#!newreg

Total sales figures (two models combined) in the UK:
2013: 154
2014: 77
2015 (up to sep 30th): 97

For comparison, the BMW R9t sold 448 in 2014 and 647 in 2015 (up to September 30). The Scrambler sold 879 in 2015 until sept 30.

[Paulb]

I agree 100% with the accessory comment. This was something that surprised me after I took delivery. I expected luggage, screens and all sorts of goodies to bolt on but instead I had to pay massive import duties to get kit from Samurider. The new modular bikes being released are a very interesting concept, one which has long been understood by Harley. It is interesting to see how Yamaha have formed relationships with custom bike studios in other countries to get ideas and designs.