10 Things Every Motorcycle Enthusiast Should Know About The 2022 Honda Rebel 1100

2022-09-10 01:08:40 By : Ms. Bi Elaine

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The 2022 Honda Rebel 1100 cruiser bike is one of the top performers in its segment.

The Honda Rebel 1100 is a motorcycle that offers all the charm of the smaller Rebel 500, with a bit of extra grunt, features, and refinement. With the arrival of the 2022 Honda Rebel 1100, Honda has managed to take the ethos of the outgoing 2021 model, making it a supremely refined and reasonably comfortable motorcycle that the riders can depend upon. Top-notch build quality and reliability remain unchanged with this iteration, too.

Offered for a base MSRP of $9,399 for the 6-speed manual gearbox and $9,999 for the one equipped with the DCT automatic, the 2022 Rebel 1100 caters to all the demographics in the cruiser space. The engine is torquey, DCT has smooth and fast shifts, and the design language does make the motorcycle stand out from the rivals. With the fierce competition from the likes of the Indian Scout and the Kawasaki Vulcan S, here are 10 things every motorcycle enthusiast should know about the 2022 Honda Rebel 1100.

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Being unchanged from the outgoing 2021 model, the 2022 Honda Rebel 1100 comes with the same 1,084cc liquid-cooled Unicam four-stroke 22.5° parallel-twin motor. This motor offers about 81 hp and 67.9 lb-ft of torque. The motor has a compression ratio of 10.1:1 and gets the PGM-FI system as standard too.

Being a torquey parallel-twin motor, the Rebel 1100 feels at home when ridden sedately, which could be experienced on the highways. The motor has more than enough torque on offer and that makes overtaking a breeze. The low-end performance is superior to many of the rivals. Even the top-end feels unlike any other rivals of the segment.

The 2022 Rebel 1100 comes with the 6-speed manual gearbox as standard. However, you could also get one with the 6-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, and that would drive the price to an MSRP of $9,999. The DCT automatic transmission equipped Rebel 1100 is superb and makes riding a very easy task.

Put the motorcycle in drive and the Rebel 1100 goes forward with just a slight twist of the throttle. The gearshifts are butter smooth and almost unnoticeable, both during city riding and in the freeways. The transmission is quite eager to downshift, and it never gets confused with a sudden twist of the throttle. A manual mode is onboard too.

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The 2022 Honda Rebel 1100 is extremely refined all the way to the redline close to 8,000 RPM. The motor is super smooth and the harshness that you would normally feel at higher revs for a parallel-twin motor is not exhibited in this motor. The motor also sounds sweet at the higher rev range.

When it comes to the vibrations, it is well under control. The vibrations emitted from this parallel-twin motor are much lesser than some motorcycles with an inline-4 motor. The main reason for this is the counter balancer along with the four valves per cylinder architecture of the motor.

Unlike the smaller motorcycles from the Honda portfolio, the 2022 Rebel 1100 comes with a top-notch digital instrument cluster, which is very feature-packed. Coming with a reverse image LCD, it offers all the relevant information like speed, RPM, fuel level, gear position, torque control level, engine braking mode, engine temperature, and many more.

Apart from that, this LCD is also very bright and razor-sharp. The rider would have no problems reading and navigating through the settings. The viewing angle is the best of the segment too. However, Bluetooth connectivity is not offered with the Rebel 1100.

The 2022 Honda Rebel 1100 looks like a perfect motorcycle for tackling both the cities and freeways, however, it is not perfect by any means. One of the major issues with the design of the Rebel 1100 is the weird leg positioning for both the rider and pillion, which may not be comfortable for everyone.

A tall rider and pillion would have problems with the leg placement since the legs would be quite high up due to the low seat height and high footpeg position. This means that they would get tired sooner. Apart from that, the handlebar is a bit forward set, and you would need to lean forward a bit.

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The ergonomics of the 2022 Honda Rebel 1100 rears its ugly face while riding through congested city traffic. When ridden for a prolonged duration inside the city streets, the slightly flawed ergonomics, with legs being placed higher up, it's a bit less comfortable, especially in comparison to the likes of the Kawasaki Vulcan S.

The Indian Scout is more comfortable than the Honda Rebel 1100. The fueling is also not the best of the segment, mainly because it feels a bit choppy when ridden at a lower RPM. The suspension is quite stiff too, and that makes the ride a bit harsh when going through the undulations and irregularities on the road.

The stiff suspension system of the Rebel 1100 is what makes it an impressive offering on the highways. The front end of the Rebel 1100 comes with a 43mm conventional telescopic fork with preload adjustability, and the rear gets dual Showa shocks with preload adjustability and piggyback pressurized reservoirs.

As a result, the motorcycle is capable of absorbing even the sharpest and biggest of the potholes with utmost comfort and is much superior to all the rivals of the segment. The high-speed stability is top-notch, and so is the resistance to crosswinds. The tubular steel frame chassis and a curb weight of 492 lbs play an important role in the stability of the motorcycle.

One area that Honda has not skimped is in terms of features on offer as standard. Coming with a long list of rider aids and other features that make the riding experience very comfortable, the 2022 Honda Rebel 1100 is a highly recommended motorcycle for people who do long ride quite frequently. The inexperienced will be perfectly fine too.

The features like cruise control, 6-speed DCT automatic transmission, cast aluminum wheels, anti-lock braking system, wheelie control, under-seat USB-C terminal, and many more are offered as standard. Some of the styling features like blacked-out elements, a digital instrument cluster, LED headlights, etc. are standard too.

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With the programmable fuel injection system and a fairly low compression ratio parallel twin motor, the 2022 Honda Rebel 1100 offers the best-in-class gas mileage of the segment. This cruiser managed to churn out close to 41 MPG of combined gas mileage, which is quite impressive for the segment.

With a 3.6-gallon fuel tank capacity, the motorcycle could ideally give out a tank range of around 150 miles. However, if you ride sedately on the highways, you could claim a better gas mileage, which would also increase the tank range quite highly.

Both the front and rear brakes are more than enough to stop the 2022 Honda Rebel 1100 comfortably. The front braking is handled by a single radial-mounted 4-piston caliper with a full-floating 330mm disc and the initial bite and braking progression is pretty decent for the segment. The dive under hard initial breaking is quite minimal, too.

Even though the rear braking system doesn't have much of an importance, especially when compared to the front brakes, the Rebel 1100s rear brakes were better than what was expected from the spec sheet. The single caliper 256mm disc offers a decent feel and feedback and has a reasonable amount of stopping power too. There is ABS on board as well.

Mohith is our in-house motorcycle mechanic and automotive geek. He loves riding and driving at the limits, and you would frequently notice him on racetracks at the weekends. Mohith is someone who would redline anything that comes with a motor - even our office lawnmower. He often does cross-country road trips in his trusted 300ZX and you could find him riding his CB750 quite often through the streets of Pasadena as well as on the Moore Motorsports racetrack.