Gold Rush

A stock 2014 CB11 is, let’s face it, a fairly dull device. But chuck some engine tweaks and a cosmetic makeover at it and all that changes.

- Alan Seeley

Riders of the ‘real thing’ tend to be dismissive of retros. Often with good reason. Many retros are hollow pastiches of the bikes whose lines they seek to emulate. That ineffable quality of ‘character’ is the one that constantly eludes the modern motorcycle designer.

What if you could inject some soul into a new retro? Then you would have a bike with none of the irritating foibles of an old one and all of the life-affirming charm that makes that machinery so appealing. Such was the aim of London-based cameraman Kevin White. A serial owner of motorcycles modern and ancient, he always struggled to find the right balance in a bike. He needed something that offered long-distance reliability for visiting family around the country as well as the pulling power for long-distance European jaunts with his partner. It also had to look right. Kevin has bikes in his soul and if a machine doesn’t stir his passion visually as well as on the road, he feels that he’s missing something. Hence the frequent chopping and changing of bikes. There are practical considerations too.

“My issue now is that I only have the space and the budget for one bike,” says Kev. “Living in London, storage is at a premium and insurance is astronomical.” In 2014 our man’s attention alighted on the Honda CB1100EX, a big and grunty air-cooled re-imagining of the firm’s epochmaking 1970s inline fours. A new model for that year, with a six-speed gearbox rather than the previous edition’s five, wire-spoked not cast wheels, redesigned sidepanels, a more retro seat and a revised dash that was most evocative of Honda’s green-faced 1970s clocks. When Kev realised there was a classy and busy aftermarket he took the plunge.