A couple of years in the past, our managing editor, Allison Parker, wrote an endearing story referred to as “A Lady and Her Honda Insurgent” about her first bike, a Honda Insurgent 250. That story elicited a variety of suggestions from readers, a lot of whom have fond recollections of studying to journey on a Insurgent, their gateway drug into the fantastic world of two wheels.
Like 1000’s of others – the Insurgent 250 debuted in 1985 and varied variations have been constructed by the boatload over the previous 40 years – I additionally discovered to journey on a Honda Insurgent. I purchased my first motorbike, a used Yamaha FZ750 sportbike, within the late ’90s once I was in grad faculty, however I didn’t know the way to journey. Foolishly, I wobbled across the alley streets of Philadelphia, and I managed to maintain the bike upright once I rode it right down to the Navy Yard for my MSF class. I’d park the FZ750, hop on one of many many Insurgent 250s that made up the coaching fleet, and work my means via the car parking zone workouts. On the finish of sophistication, I’d journey dwelling with just a few extra abilities in my quiver.
GEAR UP: Honda Insurgent 1100 DCT SE
Nowadays, Rebels are available three sizes: 300, 500, and 1100. The Insurgent 1100 was launched in 2021, and its 1,083cc Unicam parallel-Twin is shared with the Africa Twin journey bike and the brand new NT1100 DCT sport-tourer. Utilizing the identical engine platform throughout a number of fashions permits producers to unfold the appreciable expense of engine growth over a bigger variety of items. A couple of tweaks, some digital tuning, and a brand new exhaust are all it takes to tailor the engine’s character to a mannequin’s specific utility.
Within the case of the Insurgent, the engine revs much less aggressively than the Africa Twin and NT1100 DCT due to a heavier flywheel. Distinctive valve timing, valve raise, and volumetric effectivity between the cylinders contribute to the heart beat feeling of the 270-degree crank. A devoted air cleaner, exhaust system, and muffler additional set the Insurgent aside from its stablemates.
The Insurgent 1100 lineup has expanded over the previous few years. There’s the usual mannequin with a 6-speed handbook transmission ($9,599), the DCT mannequin with a 6-speed automated Twin Clutch Transmission ($10,299), and the new-for-2025 DCT SE mannequin examined right here ($11,099), which provides a customized seat, bar-end mirrors, a headlight cowl, fork boots, a bobbed entrance fender, and bronze wheels fairly than the black hoops on the opposite fashions. The DCT SE additionally is available in a fetching Flare Orange Metallic coloration (the opposite fashions can be found in Pearl Hawkeye Blue or Matte Black Metallic).
In case you’re a bagger fan, there’s additionally normal ($10,799) and DCT ($11,499) variations of the Insurgent 1100T, which incorporates top-loading lockable laborious saddlebags and a batwing-style fairing with a shorty windscreen. Allison examined the Insurgent 1100T DCT in 2023.
All Insurgent 1100s acquired some updates for 2025. Their seats – that are solo on all fashions; a passenger seat and footpegs can be found as equipment – have foam that’s 0.4 inch thicker for extra consolation. The seating place was additionally revised, shifting the handlebar up by 0.5 inch and nearer to the rider by 1.1 inches, and shifting the footpegs 2 inches farther ahead.
Insurgent 1100s additionally characteristic a brand new 5.5-inch TFT show that replaces the earlier monochrome LCD. They’re additionally outfitted with Honda’s new RoadSync system, which is appropriate with Apple iOS and Android and connects the bike to the Honda RoadSync app to allow navigation, music, climate, and different capabilities. There’s additionally a brand new USB socket close to the handlebar, and cruise management is normal.
We’ve all heard the saying, “If it seems to be like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it’s most likely a duck.” (In accordance with one of many villagers in Monty Python and the Holy Grail“If she weighs the identical as a duck, she’s fabricated from wooden…(and due to this fact)…a witch!” however let’s not get distracted.) The Insurgent 1100 actually seems to be like a cruiser, nevertheless it doesn’t journey like a cruiser or really feel like a cruiser.
The Insurgent’s 1,083cc parallel-Twin, rated at 81 hp at 7,000 rpm and 68 lb-ft of torque at 5,000 rpm on the crank, is the primary indication that this isn’t a standard cruiser. The engine likes to be revved, and its character (within the type of throttle response, traction management, wheelie management, engine braking, and DCT shift timing) will be altered by deciding on totally different journey modes: Customary, Sport, Rain, and Person (customizable).
The Insurgent 1100 is extra comfy than many cruisers in the marketplace. The plush seat is perched a really approachable 27.5 inches off the deck, and the feet-forward driving place doesn’t fold the rider into the traditional cruiser “clamshell” as a result of the bike isn’t stretched out and the repositioned handlebar is inside simple attain. Nonetheless, for the reason that engine hangs low from the tubular-steel body, the footpegs are positioned on both aspect of the instances, hooked up to cantilever brackets that stretch ahead from the body. The pegs are far aside, and for a tall man like me with a 34-inch inseam, they put my ankles at a clumsy angle, and my proper foot all the time gave the impression to be resting on the brake pedal.
Befitting a cruiser, the Insurgent 1100 has twin piggyback reservoir shocks. Their 3.7 inches of rear suspension journey, whereas not what you’d name beneficiant, exceeds that of another midsized cruisers, equivalent to 3.0 inches on the Indian Scout and three.2 inches on the Harley-Davidson Sportster S. There’s sufficient stroke to soak up many of the cracks, dips, and divots which are so widespread on California’s deferred-maintenance roadways, however as with most cruisers, effort is required to boost one’s keister out of the saddle to keep away from the jarring impacts of potholes and gravity cavities. The 43mm fork provides 5.5 inches of journey, and the one adjustment entrance and rear is spring preload. Damping qualities are good, delivering a cushty, responsive journey.
The Insurgent 1100 rolls on forged wheels, 18 inches in entrance and 16 inches out again, with Dunlop D428 tires that ship good grip and dealing with. Given its sporty engine and modest weight (509 lb able to journey), the Insurgent is greater than keen to assault corners. Actually, it encourages the rider to take action. The vast handlebar and slim profile lend themselves to quick transitions, and the bike feels rock strong at lean. The one restrict is cornering clearance; in tight corners, boot heels will scrape pavement.
A single 4-piston monoblock radial caliper pinching a 330mm floating disc up entrance and a single 1-piston caliper with a 256mm disc out again deal with braking duties with good energy and modulation, and ABS provides a security internet once you want it.
No, the Insurgent 1100 DCT SE isn’t your typical cruiser. It has a parallel-Twin as an alternative of a V-Twin. It has an automated Twin Clutch Transmission fairly than a 6-speed handbook. It might probably cruise, however it will fairly hustle. The metric cruiser world is so much smaller than it was once, and a motorbike just like the Insurgent 1100 DCT SE occupies a novel area of interest. It’s for individuals who don’t need to journey the identical cruiser as their neighbor or everybody at their native espresso store or bike evening. It’s the un-cruiser, and it’s a heckuva lot of enjoyable.
Take a look at extra new bikes in?Rider’s 2025 Motorbike Consumers Information
2025 Honda Insurgent 1100 DCT SE Specs
- Base Worth: $11,099
- Web site: Powersports.Honda.com
- Guarantee: 1 yr., Unltd. mill
- Engine Sort: Liquid-cooled, transverse parallel-Twin, Unicam SOHC w/ 4 valves per cyl.
- Displacement: 1,083cc
- Bore x Stroke: 92.0 x 81.5mm
- Horsepower: 81 hp @ 7,000 rpm (manufacturing facility declare)
- Torque: 68 lb-ft @ 5,000 rpm (manufacturing facility declare)
- Transmission: 6-speed, automated Twin Clutch Transmission
- Remaining Drive: Chain
- Wheelbase: 59.8 in.
- Rake/Path: 28 levels/4.3 in.
- Seat Peak: 27.5 in.
- Moist Weight: 509 lb (manufacturing facility declare)
- Gasoline Capability: 3.6 gal.
- Gasoline Consumption: 39 mpg
- Estimated Vary: 140 miles
