Honda’s Retro CB1100R Concept Could Still Make Production.
If the rumours are true, the retro styled Honda CB1100R concept that was first shown in Tokyo in 2007 is not a dead project.
Rumours are that fresh patents have been lodged for the bike.
Back in 2007 the CB1100R was shown alongside the CB1100F concept – that bike actually did make it into production and was sold in Australia from 2010 to 2012.
But the single seat CB1100R suffered from heating issues in its air cooled engine because of the restricted air flow behind the fairing.
According to reports, Honda engineers have been working on the problem that kept the bike out of production. The likely solution would be to duct air from intakes on either side of the fairing and channel it to the spark plug area where the heat issues are the greatest.
The Honda CB1100R has a history dating back to the early 1980’s. The original model was produced in limited numbers from 1981 to 1983.
It was a single-seat, fully faired sports bike based on the Honda CB900F, and despite have the “R” designation of a race bike is a road-legal machine made available to the public to meet homologation requirements for racing.
The bike was ridden to victory by Australian’s Malcolm Campbell and Mick Cole in the 1981 New Zealand Castrol Six Hour, and by Wayne Gardner and Wayne Clark in the 1982 Australian race.
The original model has become a much sought after piece of Honda’s history, and now sell for upwards of $25,000.
Reviving the CB1100R would create a whole new interest for the model designation in the retro bike market.