Licks Cycles: Honda CB1100 Customized

Fashionable Basic Masterpiece from Wedge Motorbike…

In 2009, forty years after the introduction of the CB750 4, Honda launched the CB1100 as a religious successor to that iconic machine. The 1100 had many hallmarks of its legendary predecessor, together with a metal double cradle body, twin rear shocks, and an air-cooled inline 4 cylinder engine — this one displacing 1140cc, with ~90 horsepower on faucet.

All in all, the CB1100 mixed trendy facilities like gas injection and up to date construct high quality with a heavy pressure of classic nostalgia:

“It’s Honda at its highest and has a sense of high quality and refinement about it in addition to a welcome little bit of old-school rawness and attraction.” –MCN

Takashi Nihira, the headman of Japan’s famend Wedge Motorbike, sees the 2009-2021 CB1100 as an excellent donor for patrons who need a trouble-free customized with basic attraction, as did the proprietor of this bike:

“The proprietor wished to customise a barely older bike, however he wished one he may trip for a very long time, avoiding bother and with peace of thoughts. If potential, he wished a customized bike that he may trip for the remainder of his life.”

The modifications had been intensive, together with a customized tank, bespoke rear part and aluminum facet covers, new exhaust with the O2 sensors retained, full rewire, classic-style headlight helps, and rather more. However it’s the way in which these components match collectively — the distinctive cohesion and purity of line — that makes a Wedge Motorbike, and the method is nothing if not rigorous. Says Takashi:

“I took the bike off the workbench and took it exterior the workshop to confirm the physique traces many occasions from completely different viewing angles and at completely different distances.”

Beneath, we current an interview with builder Takashi Nihira about this CB1100, which was successful at Japan’s extremely prestigious Yokohama Scorching Rod Customized Present. A particular thanks goes out to our pal Tadashi “Tad” Kohno for bringing us this construct and interview, and credit score goes to Hiromitsu Yasui (@hiromitsuyasui_weekend) for these beautiful pictures. Take pleasure in!

Builder Interview: Takashi Nihira

How did this mission begin?

An proprietor noticed a Honda CB1100-based customized machine exhibited on the 2021 Yokohama Scorching Rod Customized Present and requested me to customise a motorbike utilizing the CB1100. The proprietor wished to customise a barely older bike, however he wished one he may trip for a very long time, avoiding bother and with peace of thoughts. If potential, he wished a customized bike that he may trip for the remainder of his life.

So I made a decision to make use of the identical Honda CB1100 as the bottom bike, however with a special method than the one I inbuilt 2021. And I made a decision to exhibit the bike to the Yokohama Scorching Rod Customized Present in 2022.

In regards to the Honda CB1100, the bottom car

Many homeowners need to trip customized bike for a very long time with much less fear about breakdowns. For such riders, the Honda CB1100, which has fuel-injection, meets strict exhaust gasoline laws, and was developed and manufactured utilizing present expertise, is an appropriate base for personalization. Within the used bike market, barely older air-cooled inline-four engines are very, extremely popular and so costly. Additionally, as a result of they’ve been available on the market for a very long time, the situation of used bike varies broadly, and there’s a excessive likelihood that they are going to have issues after beginning out on the street. On this respect, the CB1100, which went on sale in Japan in 2009 and remained obtainable till 2021, is much less prone to break down.

Nevertheless, bikes outfitted with inline-four engines are tough to construct the customized exteriors which can be the important thing to their model, as a result of the engines are giant and heavy, and the frames that maintain them are sturdy and enormous. As well as, newer bikes outfitted with gas injection and ABS have complicated electrical methods, which may actually scale back the diploma of freedom for personalization.

What was the idea?

The proprietor wished to include a classic style. To represent this, he wished to put in tires with a excessive top and longitudinal grooves, a basic model favored by European customized bike builders. On the identical time, he wished to cut back the danger of failure as a lot as potential.

Aside from the proprietor’s needs, I thought-about adapting the bike top and seat top to the proprietor’s mild physique form to create a machine that may be straightforward to trip and deal with.

How did you obtain this?

First, to construct a motorbike that’s straightforward to trip and deal with, I made a decision to maintain the gas injection and ABS which can be normal gear on the CB1100. Additionally, by retaining the inventory air cleaner field, a clear consumption was maintained. This additionally eliminates the necessity for FI changes, thus lowering stress on the engine. A full exhaust system was adopted to adjust to the car inspection required each two years in Japan. The O2 sensor that comes normal with the bike can also be used with out modification, so no FI adjustment is required, and fewer stress is positioned on the engine.

Nevertheless, to create a compact physique and delightful physique traces, I rebuilt the gas tank. I additionally rebuilt the rear body from scratch to suit the brand new gas tank. That rear body is slimmer than the usual one. Because the real air cleaner field couldn’t match there, a portion of the real air cleaner field was modified and put in. This allowed the bike to cross the inspection with out modification regardless of the intensive customization, and the engine feeling of the CB1100 was retained.

The finished bike has the identical normal engine really feel, however the exhaust system has been modified and the outside has been rebuilt, leading to a a lot slimmer and lighter chassis. This has resulted in a major change within the using really feel. It’s now very straightforward to deal with. It’s simply as I had envisioned earlier than the bike was constructed.

The gas tank was fabricated from the inventory gas tank. Solely the highest floor of the inventory tank was used. Its width was narrowed and slimmed down. The inventory tank was taller, and the rear finish of the tank was designed to hook up with the facet cowl. Due to this fact, the general top was lowered whereas using the silhouette of the real gas tank to create an genuine tank form. Though the gas tank was virtually completely handmade from scratch, it retains the CB1100’s character, in order that anybody who sees it will probably acknowledge it as a CB1100.

I additionally lowered the peak of the gas tank and adjusted the mounting place on the chassis to be decrease, thus making a compact physique.

By adjusting not solely the form of the outside but additionally the place and angle of the gas tank, I’ve created a wonderful physique line that’s typical of the customized bikes that Wedge Motorbike builds.

I imagine that Wedge’s distinctive model is a straight physique line. With a purpose to create such a easy and delightful line, not solely the straight backside line created by the gas tank, seat, and seat cowl have to be in place, but additionally the headlight, the road main from the headlight to the highest of the gas tank, the dimensions and place steadiness of the outside to the entrance and rear wheels, and lots of different parts.

To assemble it, I took the bike off the workbench and took it exterior the manufacturing facility to confirm the physique traces many occasions from completely different viewing angles and at completely different distances.

Additionally this time, the seat is thicker on the main and trailing edges to steadiness with the gas tank, which has a powerful presence even when its width and top are modified.

I additionally imagine that to create a easy and delightful physique line, it’s essential to completely simplify the wiring in order that no extra wiring protrudes from the physique. For this goal, I rewired the wiring and completely thought-about the structure.

The rear finish of the gas tank may very well be slimmed all the way down to the width of the seat rail which I made. This allowed the in-line four-cylinder engine to be emphasised. When a rider sits on the bike, the engine may be seen protruding from each side of the gas tank. I believe this highly effective rider’s view is likely one of the options of this car.

The engine stays normal, however in consideration of the longevity of the trip, I took the engine off the body, eliminated the covers, and changed all of the gaskets with new ones. Then, the engine covers had been all polished to emphasise its presence. The facet covers, which needed to be reshaped to match the brand new rear body, had been additionally shaped from aluminum sheet steel.

The proprietor requested tires with longitudinal grooves to emphasise the classical picture. Classical model tires with longitudinal grooves and excessive top are sometimes seen on European customized bikes and are actually extremely popular in Japan as effectively. Nevertheless, when the CB1100 was outfitted with these tires, the rear tire would contact the swingarm. So I modified the swingarm to have sufficient clearance for the tire.

The classical-style headlight stays, just like the one utilized by the CB750 4, was the proprietor’s thought. The triple tree is normal. Nevertheless, I eradicated the pointless stays by slicing them off and smoothing them out. The entrance brake hose department was positioned in entrance of the underneath bracket, however I relocated the department to the underside of the bracket. The entrance floor of the underneath bracket was smoothed. I may have laid out two brake traces from the entrance brake grasp cylinder, however it’s simpler to create a easy model if the brake traces are laid out merely.

The bike has already been handed over to the proprietor, and he’s using it out on the road and really proud of it.

Construct Specs

■Donor Machine：2016 HONDA CB1100EX

■Engine
・Engine：Customary
・FI：Customary
・Air Cleaner Field & Filter：Customary／modified the form
・Exhaust Headers：MORIWAKI／modified
・Exhaust Silencers：MORIWAKI／modified

■CHASSIS
・Body：Customary／One-off Rear-Body
・Swing Arm：Customary ／ modified
・Entrance Fork：Customary ／ Low-Down
・Prime Bridge：Customary ／ modified
・Underneath bracket：Customary ／ modified
・Rear Suspension unit：Ohlins
・Entrance Brake Grasp Cylinder：Brembo
・Rear Brake Grasp Cylinder：Brembo
・Wheels：Customary
・Tire：Firestone F: 4.00-18 / R: 4.50-18

■Physique
・Entrance Fender：One-off
・Rear Fender：One-off
・Gasoline Tank：Customary／modified
・Seat：One-off
・Foot pegs ＆ Pedals：Customary ／ modified
・Headlight：Common Merchandise ／ modified
・Rearlight：Common Merchandise ／ modified
・Meter：Motogadget

・Paint：Wedge Motorbike