![]() I could hang my 30-in legs atop the pegs when droning along to stretch them out, and I think the optional passenger pegs would work well too as a seating option. The Rebel had my hip flexors concerned at first, but even my old body adapted pretty quickly to the highish pegs beneath the 27.5-inch seat. Somebody on the ride said, “mid controls suck,” and somebody else answered “not as much as forward controls.” I agree. As for top speed, it feels like it’s fixing to blow through the Ton with ease right when the governor kicks in at 100 mph. If you want your power right now from a stop, the Rebel delivers, especially in Sport mode. We haven’t ever managed to run a DCT bike on the Dynojet yet, but the editorial butt dyno registers about 80 rear-wheel horsepower, and 72 ft-lbs of torque almost seems like a conservative estimate. A couple of riders in our group were able to keep the front wheel a foot or two in the air into second gear: There is wheelie control, but turning off traction control disables it as well. In a cruiser, that seems like a good trade-off. ![]() So the Rebel’s giving up 7% of the AT’s torque – but getting there 1500 rpm sooner. The business end of this cruiser means business, and lets loose with a healthy honk and a claimed 72 ft-lbs at just 4750 rpm. We’ve got revised cam timing and lift, designed to “change volumetric efficiency between cylinders for a unique pulse feeling at 4,000 rpm,” and the thing does make a unique nasal Canadian goose honk through its tuned airbox and exhaust when you whack the throttle open, along with eye-opening acceleration. The heaviest bit might be the flywheel mass, which Honda says is 20% heavier for 32% more inertia. The Unicam head keeps the weight mostly low, and with the heavier engine parts toward the bike’s center of gravity. Honda tells us this 270-degree crankshafted AT engine is from the 2020 version: The same attributes that make it a good Adventure motor serve it well in cruiser guise as well. Using the paddles quickly becomes reflexive. ![]() It’s still easy to honk the horn when you want to signal a turn and vice-versa, but the downshifter at least stands alone. Downshifts are instigated with your left thumb, and no worries if you’re heeled over in a tight left at the time shifts up or down are seamless and smooth. Or, at any time, a light touch of the paddle shifter at your left index finger gets you an instant upshift. Setting the ride mode to Standard, Sport, Rain, or User gives the trans its marching orders on when to shift. Ya just plink the thing into D for Drive with your right thumb, and from there Honda’s Dual Clutch Transmission will do the rest the one in the Rebel must be about Generation 3. Hats off to Honda for making at least some effort. Honda’s Euro website says the dual-clutch transmission technology has reached its 11th year of production, and more than 140,000 Honda two-wheeled vehicles equipped with DCT have been sold in Europe since 2010. If the goal has been to recruit new riders, that’s downright baffling. Before this Rebel, the only way to get an automatic trans was via the aforementioned Hondas in paragraph one, or in a scooter or Gold Wing. The new Rebel wears its 1084cc Unicam parallel Twin and cooling system outside its pants for all the honest world to feel, even as the Honda badging remains subdued.Ĭloser inspection of the DCT version also reveals the absence of a clutch lever and shifter. The profile says cruiser, but a slightly closer look reveals Honda’s done trying to copy Harley with fake cooling fins on flaccid V-twins and plastic chrome gewgaws (though the Fury et al remain in the lineup). I think that’s kind of what’s going on with Honda’s new Rebel 1100. And plenty of them aren’t interested in being Power Rangers either.įor a helluva lot of American motorcyclists, tradition is important, and a lot of people want something that looks traditional on the outside, even if it’s verging on revolutionary inside. You might get away with those things in California, but everybody doesn’t live in Lala-land. Nor does everybody want to assert their elite adventurousness aboard an Africa Twin in $2000 worth of Gore-Tex® regalia if they’re not all that interested in striking off into the hinterlands – especially if they already live there. I understand all of us don’t want to be seen in public, especially in certain publics, on a Honda NC750X virtue signalling our tiny, 745cc 60-mpg carbon footprint. Photos by: Drew Ruiz 2021 Honda Rebel 1100 DCT Editor Score: 87.25% Engine
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