V11 frame ( later model02-04 ) and 1100 sport .

[po18guy]

18 hours ago, Pressureangle said:

My first road bike was a KZ400. It had a soul. It's just that soul was reminiscent of the slaves who built the pyramids. Honda Hawks seemed relevant at the time, but their soul was part of the Honda hive mind. EX500s (the 80's ones) had the most obnoxious exhaust tone ever to come from a spark plug. Perhaps the newer stuff isn't so bad. I'm not persecuting them really, they just leave a bad taste in my ears.

OK, fair enough - the 360º crank of the KZ400/440 provided a pleasant exhaust note. But, the XS360/400 Yamaha, Honda CB350s, CB360s and Hawks, basically all of the commuter bikes were 180º twins with that Lawn Boy sound. For me it began with 250 and 300 Hondas in the 60s. In an age of Triumphs, BSAs, Nortons and Sportsters, the universal condemnation of a bike was "It sounds like a Honda"

The redeeming factor of the EX is the 7K-10K power band when it sounds more like a Waring blender.