Honda Rebel 1100: Specs, Features, Background, Performance & More

HONDA is a Japanese automobile company founded in 1946. Beginning production in 1955, Honda became the largest motorcycle manufacturing company in the world. Honda also won the honor of being the world’s largest motorcycle production company, producing 400 million motorcycles at the end of 2019. In the 1960s, Honda started exporting motorcycles to the United States. By the end of 1963, Honda sold about 90,000 motorcycles.

Honda has managed to compete with other companies due to excelling at advancing combustion engine technology. Honda built its racing motorcycles with a good power-to-weight ratio that could compete with a racing motorcycle from other companies.

Honda has launched many different types of motorcycles over the years. Honda entered the motorcycle market with only average consumer motorcycles, like scooters and standard motorcycles, before gradually building more advanced motorcycle categories, including sports bikes, cruisers, tourers, standard motorcycles, etc.

Released in 1985, Honda Rebel is a cruiser series fitted with a 250 cc engine. Built with a small air-cooled, parallel-twin engine and an overall weight of 150 kg, the Rebel 250 is an entry-level motorcycle capable of reaching a top speed of 79 mph (127 km/h). By the time the REBEL 250 was released, other cruisers from other brands like Harley Davidson were built with bigger engines, larger sizes, and more heavyweight builds. Compared to other cruisers, the Honda Rebel 250 was best suited for beginner and female riders.

In 1986, Honda launched the Rebel 450 and kept it in production for two years. The Rebel 450 shared many similarities with the Rebel 250, except that it had a bigger engine and a slightly larger frame.

In 2016, the Honda Rebel 250 was discontinued and replaced with the newer REBEL 300 and REBEL 500. Both are currently still in production and are considered entry-level cruiser motorcycles. Both models draw inspiration from their predecessors but are built with different frames and dimensions. The Rebel 300 and the Rebel 500 share plenty of similarities and only some minor differences, specifically the engine’s size, performance, and color.

In 2020, Honda launched the Rebel 1100 with a similar design to the Rebel 300 and 500, except it had a bigger engine, more color schemes, more features, and the latest technological features.

The Honda Rebel 1100 is a retro-looking cruiser inspired by the first HONDA REBEL from 1985. This model’s has a naked engine and is covered in a matte black color scheme. The Rebel 1100 has a minimalistic design with straight HANDLEBARS, a round headlight, a solo seat, a small but wide fuel tank, and a lower back. The fuel tank has a small gap on both sides to provide more legroom. The Honda Rebel 1100 has a compact and lightweight frame that makes it easier to turn. The short seat height, upright front, and mid-mounted footrests provide a confident riding position for beginner and female riders.

Like its predecessor, the Rebel 1100 is equipped with a four-stroke, liquid-cooled parallel-twin engine. This engine is capable of providing enough horsepower and torque to deliver a smooth and aggressive power output. The Honda Rebel 1100 is an ideal lightweight cruiser for traveling through the city or on long highways. However, due to its low ground clearance, it is not suited for off-roading.

The Honda Rebel 1100 is a bobber-style cruiser with a solo seat, upright and straight handlebars, and a wide fuel tank. The chopped fenders and fuel tank are the only colored parts, while the rest of the motorcycle is covered in matte black. At the front, it has a retro-style diamond-shaped frame and a circular headlight. At the rear is a horizontal tail light. The Rebel 1100 is available in two colors: green metallic and iridium grey metallic.

The Rebel 1100 has a wheelbase of 1,518.8 mm, an overall length of 2,240mm, a weight of 487 lbs, and a height of 1,115 mm. This Rebel model offers a comfortable riding position whether riding through the city or on highways. The Rebel 1100 has mid-mounted standard footrests that are best suited for shorter riders. However, Honda also offers an optional accessory seat for shorter riders that brings them one inch closer to the handlebars.

The Honda Rebel 1100 is powered by a 66.1 cu in (1,084 cc) liquid-cooled parallel-twin engine with an Uni-cam and four valves per cylinder. This engine has a bore size of 92 mm and a stroke size of 81.5 mm, capable of a horsepower of 85.8 hp @ 7,000 rpm and a torque of 72.2 ft-lbs (98 Nm) @ 4,750 rpm. This engine has a compression ratio of 10.1:1 with a EURO5 emission rate.

The Rebel 1100 has an STC (Selectable Torque Control) feature that adjusts for the difference in speed between the front and rear wheels and ensures fuel injection. This feature also ensures you maintain control when performing a wheelie, minimizing the front-wheel rise when increasing acceleration, allowing the rider to retain control of the throttle even when riding aggressively.

The Honda Rebel 1100 has a small but wide fuel tank with a capacity of 3.6 gal (13.6 L). It has a programmed fuel injection with a 46 mm throttle body delivering an average fuel mileage of 44.9 MPG (19 km/l). The fuel mileage does vary depending on the speed and road conditions, able to reach at least 50 MPG. To complement its good fuel mileage, the Rebel 1100 has a 1.1 gal (4.16 L) of reserve fuel capacity. The Rebel 1100 weighs 487 lbs (220.8 kg) and can carry around 350 lbs (158.7 kg).

At the front, the 43 mm fork has a wheel travel of 139.7 mm, a single 330 mm disc brake, and a 130/70-18 tire. At the rear, it has 12.5 mm dual Showa shocks with preload adjustability and a wheel travel of 93.98 mm, a single 256 mm disc brake, and a 180/65-16 tire. The Rebel 1100 has a trail size of 109.2 mm, a rake angle of 28°, a low seat height of 698.5 mm, adual-channel ABS, and a comfortable riding position.

The Honda Rebel 1100 has a six-speed transmission system and a O ring-sealed chain. The Rebel 1100 series has two variants: a manual version and a DCT version. The DCT variant does not have a clutch and can automatically shift between gears depending on the speed and rpm. The DCT variant also has an option for manual shifting, allowing the rider to shift between gears using the buttons on the left-hand grip. The Rebel 1100 has three riding modes: standard, rain, and sport. Sports mode has the most aggressive gear shifts and delivers the strongest power output, while rain mode offers better traction control.

The Honda Rebel 1100 is a lightweight cruiser with a large and reliable engine. It can last as long as most heavyweight cruisers at over 80,000 miles. If you ride this motorcycle an average of 3,000 miles per year, the Honda Rebel 1100 can last around 25 years.

The Honda Rebel 1100 has a low seat height with mid-mounted footrests and straight, upright handlebars. it produces enough horsepower and torque to ensure a comfortable riding experience. It also has cruise control, traction control, and three riding modes that allows the rider to adjust based on road conditions. The Rebel 1100 does not come with pre-installed saddlebags, trunks, or other luggage bags but can be fitted with them.

By looking at the specs and the price, the Rebel 1100 is surely a very good motorcycle for normal day driving within the city and also for highways. For an average consumer, Honda Rebel 1100 has all the things a rider could ask for at a very reasonable price range.  Rebel 1100 has a DCT variant for automatic gear shifting and it also has multiple riding modes with traction control and ABS as a standard option.

The Honda Rebel has a low seat height, high handlebars at arm level, and mid-mounted footrests. This riding position is ideal for all riders, especially newer riders. Overall, the Honda Rebel 100 offers a comfortable riding experience and can be easily handled by all riders.

For beginners, shorter, or female riders, the Rebel 1100 is the ideal cruiser with all the features necessary to ensure a fun and safe riding experience. The Rebel 1100 might be more difficult for taller riders to handle due to the low seat height, mid-mounted footrests, and tight legroom. Though the Rebel 1100 does not have pre-installed CRASH BARS, SISSY BARS, or SADDLEBAGS, they can be easily fitted with aftermarket parts.