Honda CB900 Custom Vs Yamaha XJ1100 Maxim - Ride comparison!
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- Опубликовано: 7 фев 2025
- In today's episode I am riding Honda's CB900 Custom and Yamaha's XJ1100 Maxim in this fun back-to-back comparison of two early-eighties Japanese muscle cruisers! With funky 1980's styling and a 1100cc 8-valve motor lifted from Yamaha's legendary XS1100, the XJ1100 packs a punch! Honda's super-refined CB900 Custom also has a 16-valve motor and an extra gear as well! Who will win out in the brawl between these two burgundy bruisers? Let's find out together!
Hey Jon, if you'll remember : back in '81 the Honda CB900C was "The most comfortable ride" in a Motorcycle. I've owned one, and I currently own an '81 Yamaha XS1100H, I'm here to tell you, while the Yami rides good, the Honda way exceeds it in comfort!
I agree that the Honda CB900C has the best stock suspension out of all the muscle cruiser. It is well controlled, stable, doesn't dive under braking, and soaks up the bumps very well. Seating position comfort is subjective to body type. The Suzuki GS1100L has the best seat but we'll save that for a future comparison 😉. You'll be happy to hear that I just picked up a beautiful, all stock 1980 XS1100 Special with 5k miles on it. Stay tuned for service/review/comparison videos!
We are painting our Honda this weekend and that’s about got it back up to being around for another 40 years. We put the four into two exhaust and one of the Biggest improvements was he drilled the carbs out . Drilling the carbs and setting the vacuum evenly in sync made an amazing performance upgrade. Now it revs unbelievably fast ! All suspension was gone through and brides like a boat going through waves of water, very smooth . One of the smoothest riding motorcycles I’ve ever ridden. Just wonderful !
The CB900C had the best stock suspension of the early eighties big-bore cruisers.
The luxury of having choices. Sounds like both are equally good for different reasons. These colors truly identify the time period. My little '82 also is a version of maroon/burgundy. 40 years from now, will anyone say about today's bikes, "Hey! I remember the cyan Yamahas. Those were beautiful!"
Maybe... but I doubt they will be able to find a working digital display for the dashboard.🙂
I turn wrenches and im 60 new bikes I know nothing about but cars are going in a bad direction as far as lasting many years without spending big money when things break and packing a lot of HP into small displacement - HONDA CRV Used a 2.4 I believe run forever now it’s a 1.5 3 cylinder we will see
@@davidperry7271 The overbuilt, analog vehicles were meant to last. Most new vehicles have "designed obsolescence" built in so you're forced to replace it at some predetermined point.
I'M ENJOYING this video again. Love both bikes. I had a 1980 custom i bought used in 1987. Sold IT in 1990. But still had my V65 magna which I bought new in 1986 .
Nice! I had two V65 Magnas in years past. I loved the smooth V-4 power.
I bought a new 83 CB1000 custom and have ridden it from Main to Key West, from the Mich UP to Pikles Peak and from Ohio to Texas... I put a windjammer fairing onit right after I got it and right now, I can go out and feel like I could ride it anywhere in the US without any mechanical difficulty at all! The CB1000 went for the air ride suspension... which is great. You might wanna try one of those out as it is a bit of a different ride than the CB900. Oh yea... they also ditched the rivited wheels for cast aluminums. Sadly, my age and health are telling me that it's time to sell it... what a shame, it's been a great bike to own.
Right on John! I rode my 1980 CB900C for about two hours last week. It has the factory air-ride suspension and is the best stock suspension of all my early eighties muscle cruisers. I would love to compare the CB900C and CB1000C back-to-back if I get the chance!
Bought my 1980 CB900C off the showroom floor in early April 1980 and have never looked back. If was my daily until 2020 when I bought my new Goldwing. Although I have owned more then a few bikes over the years I always kept the Custom, they are truly bullet proof!
Right on Dean!
At about 8:05 in the video you mention the linked braking system. I have rode my whole life from 14 years old and am 64 years old now. About 4 years ago I sold my last motorcycle and purchased my first step through design scooter and was told when I bought it that it had the Honda linked braking system (2001 Honda NSS250 Reflex). Never had it on any of my many crotch rockets or muscle bikes so I really did not know what to expect. Now after riding the bike for 4 years and going from 14000 miles on the clock 4 years ago to 57000 miles on the clock at the start of this riding season I can honestly say I just love the linked braking system. For me on slick surfaces it is the next best thing to anti-lock but there is a learning curve in order to utilize the system properly. I love it!! Honda fan forever!!
Right on! This was an early system and only gave braking on one front disc with the front brake. The rear brake pedal went to front and rear brakes - not ideal! The newer Honda systems are better and more transparent to use. I like ABS the best. It should be standard on all new motorcycles, in my opinion.
Love the funk of the Yamaha. And the smooth running of the Honda. Both very NICE. Thanks FOR The Rides.
Right on Bruce!
Both are very nice. My Son is building a Honda for me. I wanted a cruiser. It’s almost done. Oh yeah !👍🇺🇸
Very cool Fabien!
I like them both, the stance on the Honda is really nice..
Right on!
I had the 1100 Maxim & '80 XS1100. I've had a couple of Hondas (82 nighthawk & 85 V65 Sabre). I'm convinced Honda's seats were consigned to torture POWs and WW2.
*The XS1100 is my favorite bike I've owned. Comfortable, powerful, amazing bike.
I'm trying to finalize my XS1100 Special currently. I'm really looking forward to getting out and putting some miles on it and comparing it to the other bikes in the garage.
Same exact color CB900. I loved it. Had a 4 into 1 Kerker made it sing.
Right on Mark!
I like your comparison videos. Great stuff. Please give us a nice slow walkaround of each bike with detail shots.
Thank you and that's a great recommendation. I have three more comparisons in the que that were filmed earlier this year. I will do more walk-around footage of the bikes in future comparisons. 🙂
@@jonsmotorcyclerescueandrev3538 Thanks. I really enjoy these videos. Great choice of bikes.
I did Similar Work to My 78 CB-750. But instead of Plug's I took a couple of the Clutch Spring's left over from when I upgraded My XJ-750's Clutch and put those in it. It made a huge difference.
Right on Jerod!
Y replaced the clutch in the Honda with Barnetts Kevlar clutch and now no slip, and feels great !
As far as the ride... all of the motorcycle mags of the day were raving of/about the smooth ride of the Honda CB900C, I do agree with them.
No doubt!
They compared it's smoothness to that of an electric motor!
Cool video. I really enjoyed it. I had a 1982 Sabre 750 Honda in 82 and loved it. It was a shaft dive and a great bike. Also just sold my Honda Rebel 1100cc DCT 2021 bike. That was great, too. Put 14,500 miles on it. Greetings from the NJ shore.
Very cool, Andre! I would love to ride the Rebel 1100 DCT. Cheers from Pennsylvania!
I'm purchasing a 1981 CB900 from an older gentleman this month. Low miles. Garage-stored. Full windshield/fairing. Backrest. Runs like a top.Worth about $2500. I'm stealing it for $500, (his price, not mine.) Can't wait to stretch her legs. Hondas are the granddaddys of the classic Japanese bikes!!!
Wow, it sounds like you're getting a good deal on the CB900C!
@@jonsmotorcyclerescueandrev3538 Thanks!
the POWER, and BRAKING of the Yamaha,,, so very SUPERIOR! (my CB9 was an '81), you're on an '82 with dual puck calipers, mine only had singles.
I have a 1980 CB900C as well and the 1982 CB900C has drastically better stock brakes.
I had an XJ11 that I sold with 218K miles. The new owner rode it out of my driveway. The only serious issue I ever had with it was the 2nd gear transmission failure at around 25K miles.
The transmission failure was a factory defect and did not happen on all of them. The shift drum has a spacer on one side that has a bevel to it. At the factory, it was sometimes placed with the bevel facing out which caused the spacer to eat into the case and create too much slack.
The aluminum portion of the bars can be replaced with the ones from the 1300 Venture, but you have to grind out around the ignition switch. It makes the bars wider and pull back a little more.
Wow, that's a lot of miles! Thankfully, I was comfortable with the stock bar setup. It can be a real pain to modify this type of handlebar. Thanks for the tip about the Venture bars! Cheers
I love your channel. Such beautiful examples of the bikes I love.
Thanks, Travis!
The 16 valve FJ1100/1200 engine is not an updated XS1100. The FJ was a new design based loosely on the general layout of the two valve XJ 650 - 900, but enlarged and featuring Yamaha's first 16 valve production cylinder head. Even the FJ was not their first 4-valve per cylinder bike or even first 16 valve bike (most have forgotten about Yamaha's previous 4 valve per cylinder production bikes - the TX500, TT/XT 550, XZ550, and XVZ1200's)
Right on!
Great video!!
Both bikes sound and look great.
1:48 it's my favorite part of the video with the Honda, such a beautiful area with that beautiful sky and smooth road...its fantastic.
I've had the 82 550 Maxim with 4-1 and the 83 CB1100F with V&H 4-1 (the closest I can come to these bikes 🤣)
Those are two nice ones! I owned both the 550 Seca and CB1100F years ago. I should be getting a 1983 GS1100E on Friday with videos to follow.
@@jonsmotorcyclerescueandrev3538 Nice!!
Looking forward!!
This is a very interesting comparison. I have a friend who has the Yamaha and I have the Honda...... "Discussions" and comparisons will be spirited !
Both are great bikes - have fun discussing!
Oh man …your vids are so nostalgic or me ,in that you seem to have all the bike I had back in the mid 1980’s….or a version of em… he bike I had for most of the mid 80’s to right around 1990 was a 1982 maxim 750 … smaller front fairing and black but otherwise looking very close to that big version ….what a bike that was …aside from probably saving my idiotic teenage ass by being just fast enough but not quick enough to really race sportier bikes of the day kept me only pushing it to it’s limits usually alone …yeah I rode like a complete maniac (idiot)on it .. less than redline shifts were uncommon , yet it always ran even though I was a poor teen who never did maintenance… that 750 was the best $1250 I think I ever spent . I’m only t the beginning of the video and I can tell you the Honda probably is the faster / quicker bike …I lost a straight line race to a early 80’s cb 750 ….though not by as much as I expected to ,to around a 1/4 I was front tire to his rear +/- and stayed there to up around 3/4 a mile …then he started to gradually keep pulling away ….the only negative imo , or bigger negative was no front end dampening ..many times if i couldn’t muscle the wobble quickly under full power I Had to slow way down ,fast, or it got scary fast .
Thanks for sharing the memories Vic! It's amazing that any of us lived to adulthood with the way we acted as kids. My dad had a Maxim 750 (the only bike he bought new) and I remember hanging on for dear life as he ripped through the gears!
Love the team up, great video wish I could work on bikes like you do.
Thanks!
by the way, that Yami is still with that year , the original Yami 4cyl/ 4-stroke. First one Yamaha has ever made. The Honda, well since '69 they've been making the inline 4's....
Correct, and you can feel the difference in refinement.
I would rather have one of Yamaha's earlier 4 cylinder offerings. If only Yamaha had put lights and a license plate holder on the TZ750 in the 70's. The CB750 and Z1 would have been forgotten in a flash of two stroke smoke and ring ding exhaust. Even the Kawasaki 750 H2 Triple would have seemed slow, overweight, and docile in comparison.
I never figured out how it is that the CB900C, CB900F, and CB1000C were such disappointments in horsepower production (never tested better than 12.2 ish quarter miles), while the CB1100F and CB1100R were relative rocket ships in the low 11's, only a tick behind the fastest (83 GS1100ES and VF1100C), but a full 0.15 quicker than the 83 GPz1100. And that isn't hype - I owned an 1100F and have rode and /or owned all of the above except the 1100R. I will say the 900F has one of the best stock front forks of that era, though.
I've seen tests of the 1983 GPZ1100 running in the high 10s, but drag strip testing can be misleading. The margins between similar bikes are often very slim and irrelevant in the real world (other than bragging rights). For example, on a deserted strip of highway, I and two friends decided to do a three-way drag race. Three separate runs yielded three different winners.
The CB900F & C were based on the CB750 and probably not tuned to the maximum potential of their displacement because of the CB750 bottom end. The CB1100F was a different animal and beefed up throughout. I had a blue and white CB1100F about 8 years ago. Should have kept that one!
When the 900F came out in Europe, 1979, it was highly regarded and was tops in it's class but remember Honda was putting all it's marbles into the CBX at the time. The Customs also came with a shaft drive which pretty much took it out of the running right there but put them side to side with the other shaft drives they held their own, still lost but made it a race!
@Dean Gilles Right on Dean!
Your correct in quarter mile but 900 had higher top end
I had an '81 CB900 custom. I am still angry with myself for selling it. That bike and I ate up some miles. I've ridden over 400,000 miles on various bikes but the CB900C was my favorite. I just got scared one too many times and figured I was running out of "Karma Coupons" so I quit riding. I sure do miss it though.
I hit the same wall that many motorcyclists hit.....Instead of being fun and free, it turned into a white-knuckled adventure trying to avoid bad drivers. It became more about survival than fun. Now everyone on the road is staring at their phone. You have no idea what the car near you will do. I love riding, but sadly I'm done with it.
I understand that. Fortunately, I live in an area where I can avoid most of the traffic, but I don't ride in town if I can help it. Cheers!
@@jonsmotorcyclerescueandrev3538 Cheers!
Hola Jhon. Excelente prueba. Las custom no so mi gusto pero la Honda la conoci mas de cerca. La Yamaha habia pero en cilindradas mas chicas( Maxin 550) .saludos
Gracias Ricardo. ¡Ambas son buenas motocicletas! ¡Salud!
@@jonsmotorcyclerescueandrev3538 Hola jhon. El otro dia te pregunte ( video anterior) si que moto elegirias entre la GS1100 81 o la GS1100 83? Y si me podrias decir el porque a tu gusto . Gracias como siempre por responderme. Saludos
Nice videos
Thanks Octavio!
Buying another one next week
Nice!
Both are nice bikes I would take the Yamaha
Right on Charles!
that Yami engine is, you know a "HEMI"!
So were Kawasaki's regular issue 73-83 KZ 550, 650, 750, 900, 1000, and 1100 fours. I believe the Suzuki 2-valve GS fours were also a Hemi design.
The 4-valve CB and CBX pent-roof head was very similar to the Cosworth DFV Formula 1 engine.
Yeah, the honda seat, and the seating position absolutely sucks! My '81 XS11,,, way more COMFY!
What is the price for the 900 Custom?
I sold both bikes in this video last year. $3300 for the CB900C in this video.
The Yamaha sounds much nicer, but I am a Honda guy. I don't think I could stand looking through that warped plastic windscreen, and when it gets covered in bugs, I'd go cross eyed. Maybe if it was just below eye level it would be OK. I like the idea of the Honda 6 speed though.
Fortunately, only my GoPro looked through the windshield (being mounted below the front of my helmet).
My first bike was a xj1100, I loved that bike. Cops didn't
Right on!
I'm rebuilding a cb900c right now. Gotta tear the carbs down I think
I had to get into the carbs on two out of three of my CB900C motorcycles. I would recommend going one size up on the midrange jets if it's all-stock. If it has an exhaust on it, then I recommend going up one size on pilots, mids, and main jets. Good luck!
@@jonsmotorcyclerescueandrev3538 I just ordered the randakk kit
I had a cb900c used to eat up sx1100s the 900 had a reputation as riding a cloud
The CB900C is a great-riding motorcycle. Cheers!
Jon, neither one of them has a big enough fuel tank IMHO to do any long ride.i`ll pass .
I just did 150 miles on the Yamaha without hitting reserve. It took 3.5 gal to fill up so the range and mileage aren't terrible.
By the time you run a tank though that 900 your butt will be screaming for you to get off anyways!
You sit in a CB900 not on it.
Right on!
Hondas rule baby!🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉😊😊😊😊😊❤❤❤
Right on Cynthia!
The Yamaha not bad either!🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
Right on!