Honda CB 1100 RS 5Four 2019 — Specifications

Fifty years after the CB 750 swept like a Pacific wind over a European industry too confident in itself, Honda celebrates the anniversary in its own way — that is, with restraint. The standard CB 1100 RS is an honest, well-finished machine, equipped with a 1140cc inline four-cylinder producing 89 horsepower at 7,500 rpm and a generous 91.2 Nm of torque available from 5,500 rpm. It rides well, it reassures, it never bites. And that is precisely its problem.

This is where 5Four Motorcycles comes in — a British workshop commissioned by Honda UK to do what the brand never dares to allow itself: inject character. Guy Willison, founder of the house, took the CB 1100 RS as his base and set about infusing it with the energy of the great Honda endurance machines of the eighties. The result is not a café racer in the strict sense, but it clearly borrows its codes. The in-house machined aluminium headlight bracket, the Renthal handlebar fitted with Tomaselli grips, the hand-made single-seat tail unit with its integrated headlight — every detail has been conceived to tighten the silhouette and erase the easygoing character of the standard version. The embossed Alcantara seat with its visible contrast stitching is, on its own, a reason to buy.

The attention to finish goes well beyond the bodywork. The Honda logo and the iconic wing are hand-painted, not a sticker in sight. The mirrors are machined, the footpegs carved from polished aluminium, the levers are racing-spec. The pair of titanium Racefit silencers undoubtedly alters the soundtrack as much as the overall lines. And each example receives a numbered 5Four badge set into the tail unit — a discreet but firm reminder that you are holding something rare in your hands.

Rare — the word is carefully chosen. The series is limited to exactly 54 units, a number mirroring the workshop's name. Each machine is built to order, delivered in person by Willison after approximately three months' wait, for £17,600. That is the price of a well-equipped modern sports bike, for a motorcycle that tops out at 200 km/h and tips the scales at 252 kg fully fuelled. The power-to-weight ratio does not set the imagination racing on paper, but that is not the point. The CB 1100 RS 5Four speaks to the rider who wants a usable collector's piece, not a lap time.

The drawback — and it is a significant one — comes down to geography. This build is exclusive to the British market. There is no point watching your local Honda dealer: all 54 examples would already have found buyers before the ink on the order forms had time to dry. Which, ultimately, says everything about the potential this CB 1100 RS had in it from the very beginning.