A Rebel for every day life

We all have to get to work somehow, but its more fun when you do it on a motorcycle. 

Deciding to ride the bike to work is a simple choice when your bike is easy to ride, nimble, and attractive.  A relaxing ride that can slice through traffic makes you more likely to ditch the keys to the cage and throw a leg over the motorcycle.  Honda solved that dilemma for me when they dropped off a 2026 Rebel 1100 DCT SE at my garage a few weeks ago.  Since then I have piled on hundreds of commuter miles and along the way discovered that the Rebel, while designed as a cruiser, just might be the perfect commuter bike.

Outside of a scooter there is not an easier motorbike to ride than a Rebel 1100 with a dual clutch transmission. You thumb the starter, hit the right lever to put it into automatic (or manual) mode, and roll on the gas.  It could not be easier or more fun.  Shifts are smooth and when stopped the bike idles at the ready in first gear- you can just put your hands in your lap and relax.

My photographer rides a 2024 Rebel 1100. We switch bikes often. “This bike is so simple. It’s easy, like riding a bicycle.”

When it’s time to pull away, just roll on the gas and go.  Honda’s big 1100cc parallel twin makes 87 hp and 72 ft lbs of torque that seems to be everywhere for the 535 lb bike.  Pulling away from stoplights, a crawl or passing on the freeway is smooth and easy.  As you accelerate, if you listen very closely you can hear it disengage and engage.  It is quiet, subtle and seamless.  The DCT adds 22 lbs to the Rebel, but mass is centralized in the engine bay for less swing weight and does not detract from sporty antics.  More on that later.

Three ride modes (normal, sport and rain) and two user customizable modes allow you to dial in power, engine braking, shift points and traction control.  Normal is best for everyday situations while sport mode gives more snatchy throttle response and more aggressive shift points- not what you want for chill commuting, but great for hooligan antics.  Again, more on that in the next article.  You can change ride modes on the fly by hitting the mode switch with your left finger and that mode will engage the next time you close the throttle.  I found this useful during a commute when a freak storm rolled in, causing me to change from normal mode to rain on the fly.  Select rain mode, close the throttle then open it again.  Done.

Low seat height means secure footing at intersections where there might be oil, gravel, off camber pavement or all three.

On the freeway the Rebel 1100 hums along like the good commuter it is.  Cruise control works seamlessly and is easy to read on the reworked TFT dash, a massive upgrade from the previous dash which looked like it was pulled from a 1980s vintage Apple IIe.  A narrow profile makes lane splitting stress free, if that is legal where you live, and if you want to pass a plodding cager, roll on more throttle.

The torquey parallel twin gives power all across the rev range while the DCT backshifts a gear, sometimes two, depending on your greedy right wrist demands.  Even while in automatic mode you can tap the thumb levers for a gear or two up or down and the transmission will stay in that gear for a little while before switching back to automatic mode, perfect for passing cars.  Goodbye to constant shifting as traffic speeds up, slows down, then stops, then starts again.

Dual clutch transmission nests two transmission shafts in one another, one with even gears (1st, 3rd and 5th) and one with odd gears (2nd, 4th and 6th).  Gears are always spinning at the ready when one clutch disengages and the other one engages.  For commuting, there is nothing easier.

The DCT makes parking lot maneuvers simple.  With no clutch to balance, the Rebel makes tight u-turns a matter of just modulating throttle.  Pulling into a gas station or into a parking lot on your commute makes you appreciate Honda’s efforts to centralize the mass of the Rebel.  Both the lack of clutch juggling and the low swing weight combine to make low speed balancing a breeze.  I must have made a million and a half u-turns at full lock for photo shoots and never failed to execute one perfectly within a two lane road with space to spare.

Bronze wheels, gloss grey colors, bar end mirrors and stitched seat set the SE model apart from other models in the Rebel line up.  This is my favorite by far.

At the end of the work day, when you look at this SE model out the window, you just love it.  Pearl grey color, blacked out frame and engine, bronze wheels, stitched seat, and bar end mirrors are subtle changes from the standard Rebel that add up to a bike that turns heads.  I commute on it to coffee almost daily and as I wrote this article one passerby stopped and chatted about the bike.  I ended the conversation by telling him to have a good day.

“I would have a better day on a bike like that,” he replied.

Agreed.  Compact, torquey, easy to ride and beautiful, the 2026 Rebel 1100 DCT SE just might be the answer to the question of whether or not to ride the bike to work.  I know it has no storage and minimal wind protection, but Honda knows that too, and makes a touring version with fairing and hard saddlebags.  It won our three way cruiser test in Georgia a few years ago, but my heart prefers it naked.

Honda created the 2026 Honda Rebel 1100 DCT SE with the intent of making a user friendly, exciting cruiser.  They have, and along the way also created the perfect daily commuter.

Ted

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