2021 HONDA REBEL 1100
RIDE REVIEW
P70
AUTOMATIC
FOR THE
MASSES
BY RENNIE SCAYSBROOK
PHOTOGRAPHY BY DREW RUIZ
A
utomatic gearboxes have been a thing for a
long time, but only if you're Honda. The Dual
Clutch Transmission (DCT) that was first seen
over a decade ago in the VFR1200F has been used for
sport touring and more recently in the Africa Twin 1100,
but it's never found its way into a cruiser—until now.
Introducing the Honda Rebel 1100, the largest
Rebel ever created by Honda, and a machine it
hopes will keep a stream of burgeoning cruiser
riders in the Honda fold, rather than disappearing
down the rabbit hole of bikes from the United States.
The Rebel 1100 sits at the top of Honda's re-
vamped cruiser tree, which now stands at seven
machines strong. What's important here is Honda
now has three Rebels—the base model 300, 500
and now the 1100—marking a proper family cruiser
tree instead of the more traditional Fury, Shadow
Phantom and Aero, and the CTX700N.
WANT A
CRUISER BUT
DON'T THINK
THE STARS AND
STRIPES ARE FOR
YOU? JAPAN'S
GOT A NEW
CONTENDER
IN THE HONDA
REBEL 1100,
NOW COMPLETE
WITH DCT
