When it first appeared in late 1996 the Honda CBR1100XX Blackbird was the world's fastest production motorcycle. Two years later the title passed to the Suzuki Hayabusa. Nonetheless the Blackbird has earned a solid reputation as a powerful, fast, smooth and very reliable sport-touring motorcycle. As an example of its reliability, Dale Wilson rode a Blackbird 1500+ miles/day for seven consecutive days in late spring of 2007, setting a motorcycle endurance record. The Blackbird name is an obvious nod to the Lockheed SR-71, the world's fastest aircraft.
Production of the Blackbird began in 1996 and still continues, although Honda is scheduled to halt production in late 2007. The Blackbird was last imported to North America in 2003. Major changes to the Blackbird were introduced in 1999, when Honda switched from carburetion to fuel injection. Many other modifications were made in 1999 as well. The 2001 Blackbird received an LCD instrument cluster. Since then only the color schemes have changed.
The Blackbird was a founding bike in the hyper sport touring niche market. The Kawasaki ZX11 or Honda ST1100 may have been the first. This market has since expanded to include the Suzuki Hayabusa, Kawasaki ZZR1200, Yamaha FJR1300, Kawasaki ZX14 and the redesigned Kawasaki Concourse. In the US the CBR1100XX has never sold as well as the Hayabusa, though its owners all appreciate the smooth, elegant lines of the bike and its dual counter balancer shafts which give the Bird its exceptional smoothness.
