Escalation and Brinkmanship: 1997 Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird for Sale

1997 Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird
Miles: 30,000
Clean Title
Listed Price: $4,000 Or Best Offer
Listing Ends: April 24th, 2025

At the opposite end of the spectrum from yesterday’s BMW is this Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird, a bike that, when it was new, certainly would have satisfied the most speed and power-hungry riders and kept up with all but the fastest cars on the road. Throughout the 80s and 90s, the various Japanese manufacturers were in a bit of a running battle to claim the title of the “world’s fastest motorcycle,” while at the same time trying not to scare the bejesus out of pearl-clutching non-riders and government officials who might seek to ban these sleek machines outright. Prior to the introduction of the CBR1100XX in 1996, the “world’s fastest” title had been held by Kawasaki’s ZX-11 and, while the Super Blackbird upped the game in terms of outright power, significant improvements to aerodynamics were a major reason for the bike’s top speed advantage. In spite of its 178.5mph maximum velocity, the Honda was really more sport-tourer than outright sportbike: at 526lbs dry, it was fairly heavy, with non-adjustable forks and Honda’s innovative and effective, but decidedly non-enthusiast-oriented “Dual-CBS” linked-braking system. In addition, that monster 1137cc motor included dual balance-shafts and featured relatively low-compression 11:1 pistons that allowed the bike to run on regular unleaded gas, making the bike highly civilized, as well as blindingly fast.

Nothing to do to this bike. Just register it and ride it. Runs great. Reset oil change and tires. All electronics work.

I’m assuming the seller meant “recent oil change and tires”? I’d normally grouse about the minimal description here but… It’s a Honda, so maybe that’s okay? Miles aren’t collector-bike low at a vague “30,000”, but these are pretty famously unburstable bikes so, assuming he’s also followed the factory maintenance schedule, I’d imagine it’s probably good for another couple hundred-thousand miles… I’ve never had a bike that could do big distances without permanently crippling the rider [me], so there’s a certain fascination with big, mile-munching sportbikes like the Honda CBR1100XX, especially now that air/oil-cooled GSX-R1100s are likely out of my price range forever… There may not be all that much information in the listing, but the $4,000 asking price has me wanting to know more. Just for research purposes, of course.

-tad