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The pretty CB1100 has attracted a huge amount of attention already, and that’s despite uncertainty over whether or not the bike will be released in the USA or UK."
The glory days for these Japanese bikes really began in 1969. This was of course the year Honda unveiled their CB750. It’s been all uphill from there and fast!
In just a few years “the Land of the Rising Sun” would scorch the horizon with the burnouts of more exciting and ever-evolving Japanese superbikes.
The Honda CBX1000 stunned everyone with it's six-cylinder sophistication, super-smooth power and great handling. Kawasaki went bore and cylinder-happy with the KZ1300, and earlier Yamaha XS1100's were thought to be the biggest friggin engines practiceable. But the Suzuki GS1000 turned out to be perhaps the primo Japanese superbike of it's era.
Nowadays, you can supermodify your Japanese classic bike with ingenuity and cubic dollar$. There are so many merchants out there looking to help you make your seventies machines into super-cruisers, it's easy to go overboard. We'll link to many of these great sites so you can check out all of this good stuff.
By the early eighties the big four had pretty much figured it out themselves.
Here come the Kawasaki Ninjas, Honda Hurricanes,Suzuki GSXRs and Yamaha FZs to show how it's done for the future.
These days, the performance of 600cc HondaKawaSuziYam Supersports would humble any seventies or early eighties classic heavy-weights we might hold dear. But really, what's the difference between a Honda CBRR and a Suzuki GSXRR?
A lot of folks consider that if a bike is not 750cc's or larger, it can't be considered super. But there's some real fine machines like the Kawasaki KZ650, and Yamaha xs650 that were, in their day, as powerful and quick as anything NOT made in Japan. We'll have a look at some of these if only for argument's sake!
Apart from the awe-inspiring powerplant, the original CBX was fairly conventional in execution, but no less exceptional. A steel backbone frame, along with telescopic fork, twin-shock rear suspension and triple-disc brakes, provided handling prowess that equaled that of the era's best big-bore streetbikes. But, of course, it was that engine, with its amazing power, ethereal smoothness, unforgettable exhaust note and sheer visual theater that made the original CBX such a showstopper.
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The American press were overwhelmed by the CBX. Cycle magazine, which published the first road test, had this to say: "The bike is more than fast; it is magic. The exploding glitter of its technical credentials lights up the sky. To know the motorcycle is to know the only rules Honda follows are Honda's own ... it is uncompromised and utterly self-assured, and it is the most exotic, charismatic motorcycle we have ever tested.
"The CBX is an immensely flattering bike with perfect elegance and total class, and history will rank it with those rare and precious motorcycles which will never, ever be forgotten."
Ebullient praise? The CBX deserved every word, and to this day a ride on the CBX is every bit as awe-inspiring.
The CBX had but a short four-year production run, the first two years as a pure sports machine, and the last two as a sport-touring model with fairing and saddlebags. Despite its excellence, the world wasn't ready for a six-cylinder motorcycle quite yet. That would come later, with the introduction of the six-cylinder Gold Wing in 1988, and the Valkyrie in 1997.
It was the original 1979 CBX, though, that demonstrated once again the sheer audacity of Honda's engineering. Building a six was one thing, but putting one into mass production, one that lived up to Honda's standards of performance, durability and ease of use, was a marvel. The CBX is one of a long line of Honda motorcycles that amounted to a thrown gauntlet, a two-wheel dare that said, "Top this!" To this day, nobody has.
Today, the International CBX Owner's Association (I.C.O.A.), formed in the early 1980's, and "dedicated to the preservation of the CBX motorcycle", boasts over 1200 members world-wide.
CycleChaos.com had this to say about the XS1100.The Yamaha XS Eleven motorcycle made its debut in 1978. It was a superbike powered by an air-cooled 1102cc 4-stroke, DOHC inline four-cylinder engine mounted transversely in a duplex cradle frame. At the time of it's release in 1978 the XS11 was the fastest production motorcycle in the world. It was supposed to be an 11 second bike hence the Eleven name instead of 1100.
There were three models: the standard style XS Eleven, factory custom XS Eleven Special, and XJ1100 Maxim. The standard model, first released in 1978, had a larger, 5.4 gallon tank than the special's (1979 and up) 4.5 gallon tank, as well as a larger rear tire and wider handle bars. The special had "buckhorn" style handlebars and a leading front axle, giving it more of a cruser look. In '80 and '81 Yamaha offered a "Midnight Special" version (all across the XS line) with a black tank (with gold flakes) and gold trim/side covers/wheels. It featured dual front disc brakes, a rear disc brake, shaft drive and cast wheels. A "factory custom" styled XS Eleven Special was released along side it in 1979. Both models were superceded by the 1982 XJ1100 Maxim.
