Honda CB1100 X-11 > Reviews > Honda X11 - not for the feint hearted.

Author's product rating:   

Comfort	Satisfactory
Handling	Satisfactory
Looks	Good
Features	Good
Fuel consumption	Satisfactory

Advantages:	Fun, speed, excitement, big grins
Disadvantages:	could loose your licence

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I used to own a Honda X11 blackbird about 2 yrs ago, and I have to say it was bloody brilliant. I needed a big bike for commuting 90 miles round trip into London - well that was my excuse. I bought it because I worked with a fellow biker who owned a red one and I was envious about him having fun while I owned a sluggish BMW. The X11 was capable of doing 75 mph in 1st, 130 in 2nd - you get the idea, although I was never loony enough to try and achieve these stats. It was very very quick, in fact I don't remember anyone beating me away from the lights. My friend who had one asked me to try something, he said on a straight piece of dual carriageway, in top gear and at 100 mph, snap open the throttle hard and feel the acceleration. I will never forget the feeling, the front wheel lifted a little and the bike pushed forward so hard I could feel my eyeballs go backward !! It was intoxicating. But you need to respect a bike like this or it will get you into big trouble. On the down side, the bike was heavy in town and got a little hot and bothered in traffic, but on the open road you often found yourself taking the long way home. Believe it or not Honda shelved this project as a failure because it did'nt sell very well in the UK, but ask any owner and you will be told that it was the greatest bike ever. As with a lot of bikes, you need to keep the revs up and select lower gears for good performance, however the X11 had big lumps of torque in all gears and would pull cleanly and quickly from 27 mph in top, so you did'nt need to keep the revs up as all the power came in at about 4000 rpm.. This engine is strong enough to raise the Titanic, it comes from the Blackbird, but the engine mapping is a little different to give lots of low down torque and top speed is not as high as the B'bird.
The other thing to remember about big heavy bikes is that tyre and chain wear will be heavy and expensive. If you want to know more about the tech side then there's loads of X11 web sites - check them out.