The Bike That Got Away: 1997 Honda Super Blackbird CBR1100XX

After recovering from the financial shock of buying a house, it was game on for MC reader Michael Weijers!

Michael Weijers sold his Blackbirld and a second bike and bought a 2001 Harley Heritage Classic.©Motorcyclist

Editor's note: Tell us your story! Send us plenty of words (“Why You Bought It, Why You Sold It, Why You Wished You Still Had It”) and a few good photos of the bike and if we use your submission, we’ll send you a magnificent Motorcyclist t-shirt and some other random swag. Email your submissions to: mcmail@bonniercorp.com

Why I Bought It: My wife and I bought a house in 1995 and to help with the down payment, I sold my bike, a 1971 Triumph. Two years later, we had recovered from the financial shock of buying the house (it's always worse than you think it will be) and the first thing my wife insisted on buying was a new bike for me. I was torn between a Kawasaki ZX11 and the Honda Super Blackbird, which had just come out. We went to the dealer, checked out both bikes side by side, asked a ton of questions, and finally settled on the CBR1100XX.

Why I Sold It: In 1998 my wife, who had never ridden a bike, decided she wanted to get into it. So we went and got a '98 Kawasaki Vulcan 800 Classic for her. Then she set about getting her license but came down with a middle-ear virus which affected her balance for many, many months. Motorcycling was out of the question for her and for a few years I was the happy owner of two bikes. I found myself riding the Vulcan more and more and decided that what I really wanted was a big, all-day-on-the-highway cruiser. So I sold both bikes and bought a 2001 Harley-Davidson Heritage Classic.

The CBR1100XX Super Blackbird©Motorcyclist

Why I Wish I Hadn’t Sold It: Although I didn’t know it at the time (or chose to not be aware), my wife made some enormous personal sacrifices so that we could afford the XX. She encouraged me every step of the way with that bike, from buying all new top of the line gear to building a new shed in which to store it. That bike represented a lot of the kind of person she is, not to mention it was a helluva bike in its own right. I love my Harleys but that bike has the most sentimental value of all the ones I’ve owned in over forty years. Just wish I had been smart enough to realize it at the time.

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