HONDA CMX1100 REBEL (2021 - on) Review

Barely more than a ’box worth of shifts after pulling away and it’s only taken metres, not miles, to slip under its spell.

While many a feet-central/forward cruiser leaves you dangling off the bars like a prostrate bodybuilder attempting chin ups on the handlebars, you sit in the Rebel in supportive calm.

Yes, the seat starts to get uncomfortably pushy on your tailbone and numbs your bum after 50 miles in the saddle, but feet never float from the pegs, and neither arms nor neck muscles ever feel stretched even if you’re tanking on at near three-digit speeds. Impressive.

Much of that surprising pace and composure is thanks to the poise and balance of the chassis - again, despite figures on the spec sheet suggesting less deft control would be on offer.

The Rebel wears its mass (223kg) with athletic ease, and it’s all so low to the tarmac that it feels 40kg lighter the scales say. Steering and cornering manners should also lack refinement, but the chubby 130/70 R18 front and 180/65 R16 Dunlop D428 tyres somehow deliver a neutrality, lightness and precision that’s backed by the chassis’ composure and stability.

At walking pace it suffers none of falling-in or tiller-like steering characteristics of many a cruiser, and at pace it feels more like a low (the seat height’s a pretty dinky 700mm) naked bike than a boulevard bruiser.

There’s no weave, no wobble, and even on its ear, boot heels grinding to dust as you edge it over to its 35-degree max dangle angle, there’s no loss of composure. You can be brutal with direction changes, lean hard on the brakes and treat the throttle like a switch - it’s soaks it all up.

Only the twin rear shocks show any sign of being flustered, stiffish settings and short travel causing the rear wheel to skip if you hit a sharp bump while canted over mid-corner.

And if changing gear feels all too last year, you can opt for Honda’s latest-gen DCT transmission instead.

It’ll swap the cogs for you with a level of refinement and accuracy missing from earlier iterations of their clever tech, boasts three modes and you can programme your own settings - or treat it as a push-button manual if you want to take back full control.