Shown at the Osaka motorcycle show were two Honda CB1100 concepts featuring naked litre-bike styling harking back to the days of four-cylinder UJMs (universal Japanese machines). While the first concept CB1100 had been shown at the Tokyo motorcycle show last year, the new bike, dubbed the “CB Concept Type II” by Honda, is subtly different from the first.

“They keep saying these are concept bikes but I have been told these two bikes preview the way Honda is thinking of splitting the CB1100 range across classic and modern performance. I know the CB Concept Type II has already started track testing at Honda test tracks. It may not be immediate production but it’s not that far away,” Motorcycle News reported an unnamed source as saying.

That the market for retro litre-bikes is gaining traction is not news, with Triumph launching the Bonneville series of bikes this year, including the Street Twin, and BMW Motorrad with the R nineT and Scrambler in its range, bikes that the Honda CB1100 concepts will be going up against if Honda puts them into production.

 

 

From pictures, it can be seen the CB1100 concept borrows heavily form the previous generation CB1300, with 17-inch cast alloy wheels, Showa forks and Ohlins rear absorbers, radial-mount brake calipers and retro-patterned Pirelli rubber, reminiscent of the Pirelli Phantoms of the 80s. A neat touch is the classic looking four-into-two exhaust, which is made from titanium by Japanese tuners Over on the CB1100 concept.

While Honda have been saying the CB1100 concepts are merely that, concept, it doesn’t take much to see that the quality of finish, and the way the bikes fit together, that putting these two into production wouldn’t take much of a stretch. What do you think? Is there room for a retro-styled litre-bike in your garage? Leave us a comment with your thoughts and opinions below.

 

HONDA Concept CB Type II 

 

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