Its a CB1000 with a 919 Front End and gauge pack. Beautiful, but far from "original design". What do you think that would run here, about $14,000 - $15000?
**EDIT**
Let me rephrase, its a CB1000 frame and rear suspension, with a 919 front end, gauges, and styling touches. That wouldn't sell well here. People would say its too "old school".
I'm usually not a big fan of the newer standard bikes like the new CB1300, but I think it is a good looking bike so I decided to read a review on it and look at some of this stuff!
"Between the two binnacles is the usual array of warning lights and a large LCD travel computer. This LCD displays the odometer, dual tripmeters, ambient air temperature, coolant temperature, stop watch, countdown tripmeter, daily distance travelled, and a calendar function that can even be set to remind you of your next service interval or any other memorable dates. The only thing missing is satellite navigation!"
"In winter you really do need wear Gortex or at least carry your wets with you, now that's something that Honda have really scored with here. Under the big seat is a 12.5lt storage box, something you don't see much on most bikes today, it just swallows your wet weather gear and everything else you usually carry.
Man the new VFR1200 doesn't even have that stuff and it's a supposed to be part touring bike! Not like all that tech stuff is needed, but 12.5lts of storage without bags would be damn nice!
Naked bikes are the bastard children of the US market, if you don't ride a Harley or a Harley wanna be, you ride a sport bike. Both crowds look at naked bikes and don't quite get it, what's this comfort thing you speak of?
When I worked at a Honda shop in college, we would lead rides and get to pick bikes to take out. I had just bought a CBR600F2 so I started on that on one of the rides. Half way in, I was tired of the hunched over feeling so I traded a salesman my bike for the one he was riding,...a CB1000. I absolutely LOVE that bike and have wanted one ever since. I had my eye on one when I was in the market for one, but compared the reviews and decided the 919 was a better bike. I love my 919, but there is still something about the CB1000 that still makes me crazy to own one. It was SMOOOOOOTH as silk to ride. Too bad they are more expensive then the 919 these days...
Quote:
Originally Posted by curiousmike
I'm telling you guys... the '94 CB 1000.
I luv you long time.
Gas choices are 91 octane E10, 95 octane no ethanol, and 98 octane no ethanol - it's clearly marked that way on the pumps. Nice (apart from the price that is)
You do realize that the actual octaine rating of the fuel is no different in Europe than in the U.S; it's just the method they use to measure it comes up with a different number. (Europe uses the Research Octane Number (RON) to figure it, U.S. uses the Motor Octane Number (MON) to figure it.)
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Re: Mercedes screwing us all on personal importation - here's some stuff I wrote for other forums. I don't have time to rewrite it for here, so bear with me. Basically, Mercedes got pissed off at all the people who were refusing to pay their inflated prices for underwhelming vehicles in the US in the 80s and who were importing what they wanted direct from Germany and elsewhere in Europe (especially the G-wagen SUV) instead. After watching their profits tank, they decided to do something about it - and it wasn't 'give the people what they want.'
----
Quote:
Originally Posted by zenkidori
there are two sides to everything, where's the anger at the companies making these cars and then not bothering to bring them here?
I always thought our strict import regs were to protect domestic companies, hence the age rule. the cars are old enough that nobody cares.
Not quite. M-B coached it to the government in safety terms, claiming that M-Bs built for other markets could possibly be much less safe, etc., etc.
Importing cars to the US has nothing to do with protecting Ford, GM, or Chrysler. If you want to sell a model in the US, you'll pay for the crash testing and emissions certs. The Big Three have to pay that on every model made here or in Canada or Mexico just like everyone else.
So, what we got out of this was a 25 year rolling exemption because it was "assumed" that anything more than 25 years old would be an antique and no threat to anyone's current sales. And, well, it was presented as "antiques and classics are no harm to anyone as they won't be imported in any numbers" to pacify the classic/antique collectors (who do have a certain amount of pull) while chopping off the gray market importers at the knees. Now it costs $100,000 to $750,000 to certify a new/recent car model for mass importation into the US (assuming it doesn't meet the "substantially similar" clause and that it meets all the other regs - such as OBD-II, etc., etc.) PLUS you have to sacrifice at least three of the particular car for crash testing AND you have to submit another three for emissions testing on top of that.
The R34 won't be coming in for mass sale legally any time soon because it doesn't have OBD-II diagnostics (which actually was kind of dumb on Nissan's part) - which is required on US market cars of that era.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KaJuN
That's the way it should have been handled. The government didn't need to get involved and put the profits of a company before the rights of it's citizens. Capitalism my regio glutealis.
Except Mercedes did it by getting this stupid import regulation passed on grounds of "safety". It took Mercedes ***15*** more years to start selling G-wagons in the US on their own. In the meantime, G-wagens (W460/W461s) continued to be imported, but at great additional cost because they HAD actually been run through the US cert process by independents, and the cheapest one of THOSE you could find was $135K - of which maybe $5K was profit, $30K was the truck, and $100K was the importation stupidity.
FYI, M-B got the "casual importation" policy and thus much of the gray market killed in 1987; M-B was happy for a while until they realized that people REALLY wanted the G-wagen here. They started official sales of it here in 2002 for $75,000. And they did it by buying out the only people to successfully complete all the requirements to sell them here: G.Wagen USA
Check out their history section to see just what they had to do to get them into the US:
"In October 1993 Europa completed its five-year, $500,000 U.S. certification program, including destructive and non-destructive vehicle testing, becoming the exclusive U.S. importer and distributor for the luxurious, second generation Gelaendewagen..."
"In 1997 Europa began development and testing for the next generation G.Wagen, the powerful G500. In 1999 after nearly two-years and over $1 million invested, Europa gained U.S. Small Volume Manufacturer status for the Gwagen, finally making it a 50-state legal vehicle..."
"With the 2002 model year, and after purchasing the U.S. distribution rights for the Gelaendewagen from Europa, Mercedes-Benz began selling the G500 through its U.S. dealer network. Europa G-WAGEN LLC continues to maintain and support the 2001 and earlier model Gelaendewagens and remains the source for pre-owned vehicles, spare parts, accessories and technical expertise."
A Gray Market in Luxury Cars
Monday, Dec. 17, 1984
Americans used to buy expensive cars at bargain prices in Europe and then ship them back to the U.S. But that practice declined in the late 1970s, when the slumping dollar drove up the price of a Mercedes-Benz, Porsche or BMW. The dollar is back, and so are the car importers.
This year as many as 50,000 automobiles will be brought into the U.S. privately, a twelvefold increase in three years. Herbert Singer, a Munich car dealer, claims that half his sales are exported to the U.S. Says he: "I could sell five cars a day to Americans if I had the right color." The savings can be big, even after the $8,000 or so is paid to ship a car from West Germany and adapt it to U.S. safety and emission standards. Example: a Mercedes 500 SEL, when bought from an authorized dealer in the U.S., is about $52,000. The same model bought in West Germany and imported by a U.S. buyer goes for some $40,000 after the extra charges. American auto dealers sometimes refuse to service a modified car or take one in trade. But as long as that huge price difference exists, the freelance importers will continue buying abroad.
--- another post, later ---
Specifically, what pissed Mercedes off was all the people importing Gelandewagens (which Merc couldn't bother to import themselves until very recently).
However, Mercedes recently did it again with the Canadians:
GREG KEENAN
From Thursday's Globe and Mail
February 28, 2008 at 1:48 AM EST
Two vehicle leasing companies have launched a class-action lawsuit on cross-border vehicle shopping with a new twist, alleging Transport Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency were participants in a conspiracy to keep vehicle prices high.
The two arms of the government have been named along with BMW Canada Inc., Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc. and Mercedes-Benz USA LLC in a lawsuit that alleges actions they required of people or companies trying to import U.S. vehicles into Canada reduced competition and enabled prices of vehicles sold here to be 20 per cent to 35 per cent higher than similar U.S. models.
The auto makers, Transport Canada and the CBSA imposed restrictions on vehicle importers that created additional fees and charges, said a statement of claim filed with the Ontario Superior Court.
Fournier Leasing Co. Ltd. and Canadian Auto Associates Ltd. are seeking damages that total in excess of $1-billion.
“These additional charges, fees procedures and restrictions prevent more competitively priced Mercedes vehicles from entering into the Canadian market, thereby enabling the Mercedes defendants to charge higher prices for new vehicles sold and leased by them in Canada,” the statement said.
For Mercedes and BMW, “these additional fees and charges are not payable under Canadian law,” the lawsuit said.
The charges have not been proven in court and none of the defendants in the lawsuit has filed a statement of defence.
JoAnne Caza, a spokeswoman for Mercedes-Benz Canada, would not comment. BMW Canada spokeswoman Stacy Morris said the auto maker was not aware that any such lawsuit has been filed.
The two luxury auto makers were among the first companies to offer cash incentives in Canada last fall when the Canadian dollar hit par against the U.S. currency. The rise of the loonie enabled Canadians to potentially save tens of thousands of dollars in the U.S. on such luxury vehicles as those sold by BMW and Mercedes Benz.
Luxury vehicles are believed to represent the bulk of the record 189,738 vehicles imported into Canada last year.
Transport Canada is named in the suit because of its role in certifying vehicles imported into Canada through the Registrar of Imported Vehicles program, which maintains a list of vehicles allowed to be imported and outlines the modifications necessary to make sure vehicles comply with Canadian regulations.
Among the requirements is one that importers provide proof to the CBSA that any repairs required under recalls have actually been made.
The auto makers forced importers to pay “artificially high fees and charges” for information about recalls, the lawsuit alleges.
BMW Canada's website says importers require a letter of admissibility from the company that costs $350. The fee for a letter saying the vehicle has been repaired under any recall orders is $500.
“There is a process. The law is quite clear that if you follow that process, you're entitled to import a vehicle into Canada,” said Brian Osler, one of the lawyers for the two leasing companies.
This avenue was increasingly successful, especially in cases where only lower-specification models were officially offered on the US market. For example, Mercedes-Benz chose to offer only the lower-output 380SEL model to Americans in 1981, ensuring a huge demand for the much faster 500SEL available in the rest of the world. BMW had the same issue with their 745i Turbo. The grey market was successful enough that it ate significantly into the business of Mercedes-Benz of North America and their dealers. The corporation launched a successful million-dollar congressional lobbying effort to stop private importation of vehicles not officially intended for the U.S. market. An organisation called AICA (Automotive Importers Compliance Association) was formed by importers in California, Florida, New York, Texas, and elsewhere to counter some of these actions by Mercedes lobbyists, but the Motor Vehicle Safety Compliance Act was passed in 1988, effectively ending private import of grey-market vehicles to the United States. No evidence was presented that grey-import vehicles' safety performance differed significantly from that of US models, and there have been allegations of improper lobbying, but the issue has never been raised in court.
Unfortunately, most of the references from that time are not online, but if you can get to your local library and they have back copies of the Los Angeles Times, one citation is "Wheeling-Dealing Gray Market Hits the Skids: Bad Publicity, Corporate Action, Legislation Put Brakes on Car Conversions" from the 11 July 1986 edition.
I'm telling you guys... the '94 CB 1000.
I luv you long time.
Saw one very similar to this ( I think ) earlier this year but I never got the chance to stop the guy tootling around on it to find out what it was. All i know was it was Honda red, said Honda and kinda looked like this cb1000
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