only 940 miles on the clock at just £8799.00
Honda's charming take on a classic smooth and relaxed retro is the CB1100 EX.Don't get it confused to its sibling sport neo cafe offering though. The CB1000R is a completely different beast. The CB1100 EX doesn't demand that kind of attention.
Comfort
There's nothing like a good classic! The CB1100 EX is one of the comfiest of the bunch. In fact the seat is wide and well padded, offering superior comfort. Combine it with mid controls and almost perfectly straight and raised handlebars and you get an amazing relaxed seating position.
Although the weight of the bike is quite high at 255 kg you can only start feeling it around tighter bends. Handling at low speeds is excellent for a bike of this class. Also the seat height is only 790 mm making it one of the most accessible retro on a par with the Bonnie from Triumph.
Handling
At the front the 41 mm conventional forks are wonderfully damped to help the bike glide over bumps with ease. At the rear there's twin shocks with adjustable spring preload.
There's a familiar feeling of not only quality but also refinement. It definitely isn't meant to be hammered around bends. The CB1100 will actually let you get down but it will fight you the rest of the way. Perhaps the more sporty setting of the CB1000R is more suitable to be pushed hard on the twisties.
The brakes are excellent though. At the front there's dual disc set up with four caliper piston and ABS. While at the rear the single disc is a single caliper and it has just enough stopping power. In reality I would just use the front brakes most of the time.
The Engine
The inline four engine is air-cooled smooth and precise. Perhaps a little too much for my taste, I much prefer the character of the Bonnies.
It works great for what it's meant to do and that's to provide a quality ride that only Honda can offer at this level. So it might not scream performance but it still makes around 88 horsepower. That's definitely more than enough power for the road.
The gearbox is smooth, switching between gears and also finding neutral is very easy.
Long stretches of road are CB's bread and butter. You can make the best out of this engine at low to mid range. But it doesn't feel very happy at its peak, giving up quite a lot compared to its competition.
Equipment
With the CB1100 EX what you see is what you get and I don't mind it at all.
It's an absolutely beautiful machine, there's neat touches all over the place. Retro looking clocks and a display in the middle to show the most important stuff you need while riding. Nothing more.
Only spring preload adjustability at the front and back makes it a limited machine in my opinion. But there's a slipper clutch and ABS as standard.
There's no traction control or power modes but it's full of fine details that other bikes of the same class simply can't match.
Price
The CB1100 EX is the easy going brother that just wants to enjoy the view and please your need for a simple good old ride.
This beautiful Honda CB1100 EX is now offered at Bolton Motorcycles with only 940 miles on the clock at just £8799.00.
It's a mint condition retro motorcycle worth coming to check out.
Gianluigi Mango
GM MOTO
