What do you get for your money?
An engine and some wheels, somewhere to sit and something to tie them all together. That’s about it really. There’s nothing fancy here; you’ve even got a manual fuel tap to fiddle with (and it IS fiddly) when the carbs start to splutter, though you also have a fuel gauge to look at, along with a water temperature gauge, but not much else beyond the essentials. It may look exactly like the 1100 it replaced but actually, there are lots of detail changes - the extra engine capacity, stronger swingarm, revised frame geometry and extra frame stiffening, a new, lighter clutch, slightly longer wheelbase, and taller gearing to take advantage of the extra power. The exhaust system is stainless steel (with a catalyser) so it’s odd that the early versions were painted black. Mainly, what you get is a nicely integrated retro design. There’s nothing there that stands out as being incongruous, even the water-cooled engine. The rear shocks look the part and they’re high quality and rebuildable; connected to that lovely afermarket-looking braced aluminium
swingarm, they make the rear end the most authentic-looking part of the bike.