# Honda CB1100R (race)

- Source: https://racingcarnetwork.com/wiki/honda-cb1100r-race/
- Publisher: Racing Car Network (racingcarnetwork.com), the race car marketplace
- Type: bike · Brand: Honda
- Discipline: bikes
- Era: 1980s
- Last updated: 2026-07-06
- For sale on RCN: https://racingcarnetwork.com/for-sale/honda-cb1100r-race/ (0 live listings right now)

The CB1100R is Honda's first homologation special: the 1981-83 limited-production endurance-styled superbike built to win production racing — Australia's Castrol Six Hour its target — now classic-superbike aristocracy.

## Specifications

| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Engine | 1,062cc air-cooled inline-4 |
| Power | ~115 hp (period) |
| Generations | RB (81) / RC (82) / RD (83) |
| Production | ~4,000 total (limited runs) |
| Target | Castrol Six Hour production racing |
| Diligence | Generation codes + matching forensics |
| Years | 1981–1983 |
| Class | First homologation special (classic tier) |

## History

Honda built the CB1100R (1981) with a specific scoreboard in mind: production racing's rules rewarded showroom machinery, and the R — the CB900F architecture taken to 1,062cc, half-faired then fully-faired through the RB/RC/RD generations, single-seat homologation trim with the era's serious suspension — existed to win the races that mattered to the market: Australia's Castrol Six Hour (the production-racing institution the R conquered), South Africa's production classes, and Europe's endurance-adjacent showroom categories, in a limited production run (around 4,000 across the generations) that defined the homologation-special template Honda's rivals would answer.

The model's rarity arithmetic made the collector market: genuine Rs (generation identity through the RB-RD codes, matching-numbers forensics) price as the classic-superbike tier's aristocracy, with the racing survivors — period production-class machines and the classic-racing builds since — carrying the competition provenance the road-stored majority never earned.

Classic racing's present welcomes the R where classic-superbike grids run: the model's eligibility in the pre-classic categories, the CB-family tuning literacy sustaining preparation, and the aristocrat's tension — racing values against collector preservation — resolving per owner.

## Palmarès

Castrol Six Hour production wins — the target scoreboard conquered — plus South African and European production-class honours through the generations: the first homologation special's mission accomplished.

## What to check before you buy

Aristocrat forensics: generation identity (RB/RC/RD codes' differences priced distinctly), matching-numbers verification against the limited run's documentation cultures, and the racing-versus-preserved split — period competition provenance documented adds racing-market value while the collector tier prizes unrestored originality; the same bike can't be both, and the market prices the choice. CB-family mechanical literacy keeps preparation rational; classic-superbike eligibility papers structure racing use. The homologation-special premium is the template's founding example — buy the documentation at aristocracy stakes.

## Did you know

- The Castrol Six Hour was the scoreboard Honda built the R to win — a production race important enough to justify a homologation model.
- Around 4,000 units across three generations founded the homologation-special template — the limited-production race-basis playbook every rival copied.
- The R's single-seat homologation trim was the rules made metal: production racing's regulations shaping showroom motorcycles directly.

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