2005 Honda S2000 I've been a "Honda Guy" since I first started riding a Mini-Trail 50 (Honda Z50) when I was in grade school back in the early 1970's. My very first car was a Triumph Spitfire and I've been a fan of 2-seat roadsters ever since. These days I'm honoring both the Honda history and the 2-seat roadster history via this 2005 S2000 in Grand Prix White with a Black and Tan interior. For me there is nothing like top-down motoring. The S2000 definitely makes the top-down experience special.  ... View more

2013 Honda CB1100 2013 Honda CB1100   Here is my one and only motorcycle these days as seen earlier this year here in Portland, Oregon: my 2013 Honda CB1100. Before I began working from home a couple of years ago my CB1100 was my primary commuting vehicle year-round and it performed that task wonderfully. When riding for pleasure I prefer scenic local backroads over crowded highways. But this machine does it all with relative ease, living up to the "Universal Japanese Motorcycle" (UJM) moniker of the "standard" forebearers that it honors. This motorcycle truly fits my needs perfectly. The CB1100 was Honda's way of celebrating their heritage along with the significance that the CB line of motorcycles played in their history. Honda originally designed the CB1100 for the Japanese market with no intentions of bringing this motorcycle to North America. It was released in Japan (as well as Australia) in 2010 where it immediately became the top-seller in it class. Honda finally succumbed to the requests of American Honda dealers to bring this machine to the States in 2013, but the CB1100 would never enjoy the sort of enthusiasm over here that it was met with in Japan. It wasn't an inexpensive motorcycle to begin with (relatively speaking), even in Japan, nor was it intended to be. The mission of the CB1100 was to provide a true retro riding experience — not just to apply some retro-styling to a modern design. Yet that experience was to be combined with a few modern benefits such as fuel injection and powerful brakes. The mill found in the CB1100 represented Honda's first all-new air-cooled engine design in more than two decades. That engine was tuned for a wide, flat power band with ample amounts of torque from down low in the RPM range. The 18" wheels sporting fairly skinny tires (by today's standards) add to the effect, also helping to keep the bike nimble despite it's weight. Not that it's a large motorcycle as it's actually fairly compact for a liter bike. The bike was designed with a number of past CB models in mind rather than trying to replicate the looks of any one specific model. (I only wish that Honda had stuck with the 4-into-1 header design of the concept bike as it mimicked the awesome header design of the 1975-1977 CB400F.) Honda has made numerous changes to the CB1100 over the years since it's introduction and are still producing these bikes even though they are no longer selling them here in the States. I personally remain the most fond of the original examples like my 2013 model. The looks were a big part of the draw for me and Honda got it just right from the start given my preferences. I actually placed the deposit on my bike back in 2012 literally within just a few hours of Honda's announcement that they would be bringing the CB1100 to North America. Sorry @mlfreeman , I guess that wasn't exactly a short writeup. It likely won't come as a surprise that I was passionate enough about the CB1100 that I started a forum dedicated to the bike (cb1100forum.com) right after taking delivery of mine. It is such a pleasure to ride and to own that I'll surely own this motorcycle until my riding days are done and even then I imagine that I'll be reluctant to let it go. Thanks for letting me share. ... View more

My automotive dreams don’t grow overly elaborate or too exotic. Assuming that I can hang on to my current dream car - a 2005 Honda S2000 in Grand Prix White over a black & tan interior (I absolutely love this car), the following 3 would be my picks: First up some classic American Muscle in the form of a 1970 1/2 Camaro Z/28 (I’ve owned a ‘67 base convertible in the past so it would be nice to try moving on up one generation). Make mine a 4-speed manual in green (either Green Mist or Forest Green) with a black interior. Next up, I would stay in the Honda family (what can I say, I’m a big fan) – a 1960’s S800. While an early model with IRS and chain drive would be incredibly cool I would likely opt for a a later model S800M with LHD. I love rag-tops and would choose this configuration when it comes the S800. Make mine Ivory White (as red is to Italian sports cars and silver is to German sports cars, white is to Japanese sports cars — it just doesn’t get any better than that for me). As with the S2000, the S800 was only offered with a manual transmission (as it should be). Finally, while I could be easily be tempted by a 1st generation NA1 Acura NSX, and no doubt would love the driving AND the ownership experience, at the end of the day a supercar just isn’t my style (not even one where Ayrton Senna played a role in the chassis tuning). With that in mind my third choice would be an early Datsun Z car. I’m the kind of guy that likes to keep my cars all-original (or at least “all-stock”) so in this case I would likely choose an early 240Z— the so called cream of the crop Z cars and by far the best looking of the lot. Equip mine with a 4-speed manual and again, make mine white if possible. But I am also pretty fond of a few of those other 70’s colors that really popped. Great question, it was fun playing along. ... View more