1999 Honda X11 Naked Blackbird Overview 

im thinking of getting one, and trading in my fazer thou

alex watson Had both of them - I personally would Keep the fazer it us equally as good if not a better bike, it will out handle the X11. The Honda is heavier and is not as nimble as the fazer. Performance wise there is little or nothing in it. So unless your fazer is about to die, or the X11 is to good a bargain to miss,I'd save my money.

as you already know yams are prone to burning oil, mine is also an oil burner although more so due to the high mileage 45,000. Been told i get big blue smoke clouds out the back, local friendly mechanic thinks it's piston rings as i don't get any smoke on a cold start up, but like you said they handle great and ive just put an R1 can on it and i love it's burble over the heavy standard thing. Also mine has no exup valve i'm afraid, i assumed it had one and cos i got such a great deal on my R1100RT trade in price didn't want to start asking too many questions, still think it's a quick bike though.

How bizzare, also had an 1100rt, 10 years ago - did loads of miles on it - only ever had one problem and not the bikes fault - alarm went faulty whilst in Northern Spain - managed to get the bike going and did Monells to Le Harve in 12 hours - 749 miles - never turned the bike off all the way back - I always take a spare set of keys if going abroad - and on this occasion it paid off as it allowed me to fill up without turning the bike off - I'd never want to do it again - my missus was on the back and never complained once. Great bike. I've also had K1200GT brilliant mile muncher and got some shove for a lump. Have an 848 Ducati now as the wife only comes on the back occasionally - so bought something for me this time -if you get a chance - have a go on one.

ha funny story, my wife also loved the comfort on the back of the RT, was the alarm a Meta 357 V2 by any chance ?

yes but 5 speeds... lol I have the true cbr 1100 superblackbird, in black!

@@Big1_ why do you need 6 speed in a naked bike?

@@sergiotransalpero717 Why do you need 5 speeds in a naked bike? stupid question.

@@Big1_ I said 6 speed, not 5. 5 is ok

@@sergiotransalpero717 Even 3 is ok... Stupid point of view.

I had a 1200 bandit and I was also trying to change into 6th Gear all the time,, but good bikes all the same.

I don't have any of these bikes but I do believe more gears would have offered better fuel economy.

The lack of 6th gear puts strain in the engine and components of the motorcycle, you will find yourself replacing mechanical components in your 5 gear bike way more than if it was 6 gears

Yeah i had a bandit 600 yr. 2000.. wanted to buy a bandit 1200 yr. 2004 and it had 5 speed LOL. A tourer should have 6 speed. But i bought a X11 and i think for a naked 5 speed is the best. So you don't need to shift as much. You don't need the 6th fuel saving gear in a naked bike.

Lo hanno fatto per diminuire l' allungo della x11 nata per altri scopi rispetto al CBR 1100, ( ecco perché 5 marce), nonostante ciò resta un mezzo fantastico e possente!

Steering head (ball)bearings gone bad? Front tire pressure?

The wet weight, the actual weight of the bike when you’re riding it is closer to 250kg

BMW K1100LT is 264kg. You do get used to it! Sits like a rock at high speed.

Johnzoil nah, had a 900 Hornet to try and even compare that to an X-11 is really doing a disservice to the X-11, I enjoy the X every time I ride it, I only felt disappointment with the 900 Hornet. the X-11 production was halted just before the Hornet went into production, Honda really built a pile of crap with the 900 Hornet, I much preferred the 600 Hornet to the 900.

HarleyFirestorm I'm sure the X11 is a beast. I've got a blackbird and I can imagine the X11 with increased torque must be arm wrenching.

It is but not as bad as you would think, if you pull the throttle hard enough it will slide you to the back of the rider seat, the thing with Honda is they build them so well they feel slower that what they actually are, at least with the X-11 you get that sensation of the bike taking off. When I bought the Hornet 900 I had so many expectations of it, I thought the bike was going to be a slightly retuned blade engined monster, the problem is due to the mono frame they really tamed the Blade engine in it because the bike cannot handle anymore than it can, where as the the 600 CBR600 engined Hornet they got it so right, the power may be down but so is the weight of the bike. I'm sure if they had put a blade engine in a cradled framed bike and retuned it nicely then that would have been a monster to own, the 900 Hornet is a great bike in its own right, it does what's asked of it, looks nice as well, but its not the bike it should of, could of been, when I had the 900 run on a dyno it wasn't even making 100BHP, so compairing it to the X-11 is not doing any justice to the X-11 the X is a bruiser compared to the Hornet 900. I could never and can't work out why the X-11 didn't sell but the Hornet 900 did in comparison, a lot of 900 Hornet owners I've met when I was in the Hornet owners club ended up selling them and going back down to the 600 or buying something else.

HarleyFirestorm I like the look of the Hornets. I love the downpipes for some reason. My last bike was a naked 1200 bandit. It was such a nice bike to ride but I'm quite tall so the wind blast was terrible in colder weather, so got the faired 1100xx, which is less comfortable but it takes less time to get anywhere.

Well stop comparing because its pointless, its a naked street bike, not a touring bike, I find the Black bird probably the most hideous looking bike I have seen. I like the look of the X-11. Saying that I have done plenty of riding in Europe on my X and it does that quite well too.

Clearly you need your eyes testing and therapy :)

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and yes the X-11 is therapy for me :)

oh indeed I agree. I'v owned both the X11 and two blackbirds, ( still have one) they are very different bikes. The 5 gears and balance shaft removal on the X11 spoiled it for me and it only looks good in black with a black frame, very hard to find that combo in the UK www.bikepics.com/pictures/1320277/2001-honda-x11-cb1100sf

To be honest with you I get fed up of black bikes, and yeah I agree the black framed model is the best one colour wise, I have had 2 X-11s and its just a bike that I like, It is a marmite bike to be fair. I have had two SF1's one in Candy blue and one in yellow and grey, both colours I liked but the yellow and grey really caught my eye the most.