Honda Rebel 1100
As if poor old Harley hadn’t enough to deal with, now Honda are upping their cruiser game…
This is Honda’s new Rebel 1100, the company’s first custom that could legitimately challenge Harley’s big-selling Sportster 1200. The new Rebel isn’t a V-twin though – it’s powered by the 1084cc parallel twin motor from the latest Africa Twin. The new model is due in UK dealers in March.
Japanese customs often get sneered at but the Rebel 500 – same style, smaller engine – is a big seller. In Italy and Germany it outsold the Suzuki V-strom 650, BMW F850GS and Ducati Multistrada 1260 in 2019. In the UK it’s the biggest selling major manufacturer custom. Honda say they want to pick up sales from Rebel 500 owners looking to upgrade, but there’s also a chance they’ll nab a few customers who might have been considering a Harley – the entry-level Sportster 1200 won’t be on sale in 2021 because Harley haven’t bothered making it compliant with Euro5 emission regulations.
Of course, Honda have targeted cruiser buyers before with the
VTX1300 and 1800, the Fury chopper and the latest CTX1300.
But those are all huge, heavy bikes aimed at stealing sales in
America from Harley’s big twins. The Rebel is a comparative lightweight at 223kg (Harley Sportster 1200: 252kg), which puts it into Triumph Bobber territory.
The Rebel’s ex-africa Twin engine has been fettled to give it more cruisery low-end wallop. The flywheel is 32 percent heavier to create more of a relentless chugging feel and the valve timing and lift have been altered to shift power and torque down the rev range. Peak power is 85bhp at 7000rpm (down from the Africa Twin’s 100bhp at 7500rpm) and torque is 72 lb.ft at 4750rpm (down from 77 lb.ft at 6250rpm). The Africa Twin’s uneven firing order is carried over to the Rebel to give pseudo V-twin feel, as are the twin balance shafts to make sure vibes don’t get annoying. The exhaust has been modified to give what Honda call a ‘deep low-frequency sound pulse’. Translation: Eurofriendly farty noise, probably. The Rebel gets lashings of electronics. There are three riding modes – standard, rain and sport – which alter the power curve, throttle response, traction control and wheelie control, plus a mode you can configure yourself. There’s also the option to have Honda’s brilliant automatic DCT gearbox – great for urban customites.