, but I was lucky enough to get one during my trip to Germany, thanks to my old college buddy Manfred who still works at Honda. 
They have one for “evaluation” and he offered it to me to take for a spin, if I would promise I wouldn’t crash it. 
The weather in Germany wasn’t much better than in Ohio, but Tuesday had a short break in the perpetual rain and lower than average temperatures, just enough to make me seize the opportunity.
The first thing I was disappointed in was the color. The bike was white. I had hoped for a red one, to compare it to the Candy Glory Red of a CBX.
In this color, the absence of pin-stripes other than the hint of one on the tank becomes more obvious. I also didn’t like the chrome fenders. I think they take the bike too far into the 70s and it becomes a mixed celebration of CB750 DOHC and SOHC. The taillight is in the same category and almost looks like a left-over part from the first CB750 of 1969. I would have liked a silver engine better than the black one, but I guess the thermal requirements made this necessary as it is an oil/air-cooled motor sporting a huge, 8-row oil cooler. The instruments are nice. Easy to read, big round analog speedometer and tach. Red needles and white numbers on a dark blue-ish background are reminiscent of the big Hondas of the late 70s early 80s. Even the small digital display between them with a clock, the odometer, neutral, oil and other warning lights, reminds you of the small square display the 750 and 900F had. Speedo shows 220 km/h and the tach red-lines at 8,500. Tires are 18 inch with 110/80 in the front and 140/70 in the rear on wheels that are a unique looking 5-double-spoke cast design with black centers and aluminum finished rims. An old fashioned spoke wheel would propably have looked nice also. The seat is retro but comfortable and my earlier expressed preference for the two-up version met with another disappointment: There isn’t all that much room. Especially when the rider wants a little relaxed position and not push against the tank, there is little space left behind him for the passenger. Finally, as mentioned here by others, the 4-1 single muffler on the right leaves the left side looking unfinished and the bike unbalanced.A great thing about the bike is, however, it has a centerstand! Well done, Honda!
Hitting the starter is immediately responded to by a nice deep growl through the exhaust. Even when cold, the engine runs nice and smooth and follows agitations through small twists of the throttle without hesitation. In spite of the lack of a great classic look of a bank of carburetors, there is something to be said for fuel injection.
Transmission accepts the foot’s call for first gear without resistance and off it goes. Clutch pull is typical Honda easy and gear change is absolutely great, perfectly precise and soft, but with a classic touch and according to my taste...: Lever travel is not too short and not to long. Just right. A 15 minute ride through city streets and a little stop and go through traffic lights, gives me the opportunity to get a little more familiar with the ergonomics and the bike a chance to warm up. There is the entrance ramp to the A3 and with a determined twist of the throttle I can make use of the “acceleration lane”. While the bike misses the brutal grunt and forward pull of the CB1300S I rode a couple of years ago,
( viewtopic.php?t=2567&highlight=cb1300s )it still has enough confidence instilling acceleration at roll-on and it made it easy to find a spot in the moving traffic. (which is a nightmare around Frankfurt) . Getting over into the very left lane is also no big deal, in spite of BMWs, Mercedeses and Audis closing in rapidly. I can detect none of the famous wobble and weave that was a trade-mark of the Bold d’Ors and CBXes. Even the (relative) high speed turn from the A3 to the A5 North with a slight downhill banking and a decreasing radius feels quite fine. Here the Autobahn opens up to 5 lanes and there is plenty of room to let the CB fly – the 120km/h speed limit signs, present during rush hour are switched off. At around 170 km/h, (105 mph) I quit pursuing faster speeds because the wind pressure on the unfaired bike becomes really uncomfortable. The wind catches under my helmet and tries to jerk my head around a little too much to feel safe in Autobahn traffic. I start to look for the next exit to see how the F will do in turns. And I know there is the perfect road: The ascent to the Feldberg mountain, which is the Mecca of the biker community in the area.
Here the 1100 performs flawlessly. Mind you, it is not a MotoGP replica and would probably be left far behind by one of them, but you know that. The way you sit on the bike is completely different. It is not the crouched-over position, provoking a hanging-off style, nor is it the heel-forward, sight-seeing cruising. It is a determined presence with a nice handlebar position telling you that you are in control and that wants to make you flick this stallion through the curves. And you can do this. Although the bike’s underpinning is far from a performance chassis, with 41mm conventional forks, average brakes and no-frills rear shocks, the ride through the turns, up the mountain is swift. And fun! I have actually no problem following a guy on a bike with a significantly better paper form – a new Kawasaki Z1000 , but whether this was because of rider disposition or the fact that 90 horsepower are plenty enough to move on public roads, is open for debate.
In the parking lot on top, after placing it amongst all the others, the bike soon draws a crowd of motorcyclists knowledgeable enough about the rarity of it. I was able to dodge all questions by standing away acting like I had nothing to do with it.
Final verdict: A really nice retro bike. Enough performance in both motor and chassis for its purpose. Would it be a sales success in Germany? I doubt it. Not enough “old f..ts” to be willing to buy back some of their own motorcycle past. Not focused enough for the younger crowd.
In the U.S.? Was the Kawasaki W650 a success? Decide for yourself.
If they would sell it in Europe, the price would most likely not be much less than 11,000 Euro.
all the best Mel