2003 Honda CBR1100XX

Pros: POWER, poise, smoothness, handling looks...everything?
Cons: Power may be too much for some, not for novices

I could go on and on about my '03 CBR1100xx about how great it is. But I'll just highlight things here. Let's start with the negatives. It will not carve corners like a 350-450lb. supersport bike. It's a sport tourer and weighs around 500lbs dry. It ...

Pros: Awesome bike. Nice ride for big guy's. Motor is "ELECTRIC" smooth.
Cons: Front end is a little soft for really hard riding, i.e. track.

Had a ZRX 1100. And modified the heck out of it, to get the HP I wanted. Bought the CBR 1100 XX, and did not need to change a thing, except added slip-ons, the thing is way to quiet. The motor is strong and pulls smooth all the way up through the rpm...

Pros: Quality Torque & Horsepower Counterbalanced Engine and Trans best ergos at speed
Cons: It's a pizza oven on wheels- short blip to cool Cheep OEM Components

It's not odd for Honda to put such build quality into the 2000-2003 Blackbird / Dos Equis yet cripple the whole with economy class price point suspension. Especially with the power plant: 1137 cc, fuel injected, dual balancers, mated to a six speed close ...

Pros: Vicious and comfortable as anyone could want; does everything with excellence and perfect balance
Cons: non-adjustable front forks

Update: I went across Canada coast-to-coast (11987.9km exactly over three weeks), and this bike was perfect for it! I've since put VFR handlebars (must be 02 or later), and get factory-looking quality and touring-bike comfort.

To summarize the whole review in one sentence, there is only one flaw with this machine: the front forks aren't adjustable (without taking them apart). That's it. The remainder of the machine is flawless, even the heavily - boo'ed LBS system; the perfect balance of an ST1300 and a CBR, touring and sport.

The purchaser of one of these models gets unbelievable power, linear predictability, stable yet responsive handling (considering the 492lbs dry weight), linear brakes, never-gets-old-styling, and no vibration whatsoever.

Compared to the 'Busa and 12R, this bike's never been recalled ('Busa), never been extensively re-engineered (12R) to cover engineering mistakes, has two counterbalancers ('Busa and 12R have one), it's engine is bolted directly to the frame, and it's not electronically speed governed! Also, rear huggers and front fender-extenders make a tremendous visual improvement. Note that the new Kawi ZX14 is the only GT bike featuring the same engine/counterbalancer setup.

Merry Christmas if we never meet ;-)