The time when Japan made a better cruiser than the rest of the world

When it comes to cruisers, we’re truly spoiled for choice these days. There is a wide choice of options available to us from all over the world. Traditionally this has been a segment dominated by American manufacturers and the Japanese manufacturers have been more or less content to build cheap imitations.

Things have changed quite a bit these days. While Chinese manufacturers have picked up the mantle of building low-cost alternatives, Japanese manufacturers have learned how to stand on their own two feet in this segment. If we were to remove all personal biases from the equation, one model really stands out. Not just as the best Japanese alternative, but a bike that in most respects beats the American manufacturers at their own game.

In order to provide you with the most current and accurate information, the data used to compile this article was sourced from Honda. While the opinions are ours.

The Honda Rebel 1100 DCT is one of the best cruisers on the market

MSRP: $10,399

You only have to look at a Honda Rebel 1100 up close to see the difference. Honda’s build quality is among the best in the industry, and while there’s always money saved somewhere on motorcycles in this price range, there’s no skimping on quality. However, it’s certainly not alone on this side of the cruiser market.

The Harley-Davidson Nightster is actually cheaper than this DCT model. It matches the Rebel 1100 in power and safety features, but has had its fair share of reliability issues in the past. While most relate to the first year model and have since been resolved, some electrical issues remain.

The other American cruiser in this room is the Indian Scout Sixty Bobber. It’s more of a simple option, but some will prefer that, and since the recent update, it seems like Indian has fixed the few reliability issues it has had in the past. If you want bare-bones, Yamaha still offers the air-cooled Bolt R-Spec. While reliable, it is both outdated and underpowered compared to all similarly priced alternatives.

A powerful Unicam motor powers The Rebel 1100 DCT

Power: 87 hp

This isn’t a motorcycle that’s going to win a showdown on the spec sheet. The Rebel 1100 is all about making good, usable, real power. On paper, it’s 14 horses and 10 pound-feet of torque less than the Africa Twin and the NT1100, both of which use the same engine. But the Rebel is optimized for torque delivery from the lowest speed range. Almost all of its torque is available from just over 2000 rpm.

Automatic transmission is an important point of difference

Honda has bet big on automatic motorcycles, and to the dismay of some purists, it seems to be paying off big time. It has proven to be a key point of difference in the touring segment, and by offering the Rebel, the bike really stands out as the only fully automatic cruiser on the market. In the past, if you wanted an automatic motorcycle, a scooter was the only real option. Honda now places an automatic transmission – or E-Clutch – in almost every type of motorcycle, giving you more options than ever before.

The Rebel 1100 DCT is a cruiser packed with features

A recent update has brought the Rebel completely up to date, which is quite important in a market that demands so much from motorcycles. While the TFT dash does somewhat disrupt the aesthetic, it is something most modern drivers want. That new dashboard lets you choose from four driving modes, and you also get cruise control, ABS and traction control.

The only thing missing is something that has become common within the segment, and that is the glaring lack of a passenger seat. While we know this saves money and you can always check an option box, this is still something that really shouldn’t be optional. It’s very much a design-first approach, but on what is otherwise a very practical motorcycle, you’d be hard-pressed to believe this isn’t even standard equipment on the high-spec SE version.

The peace of mind that comes with owning a Honda

As nice as all the modern technology is, it probably won’t be the main reason you would buy the Honda over any of the other brands. Along with the top-notch build quality comes the almost inherent knowledge that a Honda motorcycle will be reliable. The modern Unicam engine is proving to be as reliable as any Honda product that has come before it, and in this particular tune, optimized for mid-range performance, it is relatively underplayed. All this to say that it is very difficult to put a dollar value on the peace of mind that comes with owning a motorcycle like this.

Still, it won’t be to everyone’s taste. It certainly doesn’t offer the same theater as a V-twin. Honda’s metronomic reliability and exceptional build quality are in some ways a double-edged sword. This is exactly what makes them feel like an appliance, and an automatic will only make this worse. Objectively, this may be the best cruiser on the market, but you will still need to test drive it before deciding if this is actually the best cruiser for you.