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Mark Hinchliffe·
By manufacturerMotorbikesHonda Motorcycles
··3 Comments·1 min read

Honda restyles CB naked bikes

Honda CB1000R naked bikes

Honda has extended its Neo Sports Cafe concept design to ts range of CB1000R, CB300R and CB125R naked bikes.

The bikes were shown ahead of the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan today.

Other Honda models on display include an updated Africa Twin and a more rugged Adventure Sport model, the GL1800 Goldwing which debuted last week, a more off-road X-ADV scooter and the Neo Sports Cafe concept which debuted at the Tokyo Motor Show last week.

Neo Sports Café Concept futuristic naked bikes
Neo Sports Café Concept

The naked bikes on show were led by the CB1000R with a new identity developed under Honda’s design theme of “Neo Sports Café”.

However, while the Neo Sports Cafe is both retro and modern, the new CB naked bikes are modern and minimalist. And how about that butt-ugly muffler!Honda CB1000R naked bikes

With the boom in retro bikes such as the new Bonneville range, BMW R nineT, Ducati Scrambler, Yamaha SCR900 and the release of Kawasaki’s Z900RS, Honda has missed an opportunity to capture a slice of this burgeoning market.

Kawasaki Z900RS quiet naked bikes
Kawasaki Z900RS

It’s not just a styling update, though. The CB1000R has a performance update with 15kW more power and a 12kg weight reduction which means a 20% improvement in power-to-weight ratio.

The CB1000R now has multiple riding modes with different combinations of Power, Engine Braking and Honda Selectable Torque Control run on a new state-of-the-art Throttle By Wire engine management system.

It is yet another motorcycle not imported by Honda Australia. Maybe the new look will change their minds.

Honda CB1000R naked bikes
Honda CB1000R

Meanwhile, the CB300R and CB125R naked bikes have several performance and technical upgrades.

They include 41mm upside-down forks, preload adjustable rear suspension, radial-mount four-piston front brake calipers and several other features more usually found on much larger machines such as LCD instrument display, LED lighting and Internal-Measurement-Unit-based ABS system.

The CB300R used to be imported here at $A5249 +ORC but has been deleted in favour of the CB300F while the CB125R is not imported.

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Mark Hinchliffe
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3 Comments

  1. Considering the production of the CB1300 continued in japan to 2016, it is disappointing honda stopped importing such models over a decade ago.
    Revamping that range with the CB400 & CB750 from the 90’s along with the 300/500f’s of today would have flattened the competition in the retro market.

  2. Not into the new retro stuff – the older original models look better – new Honda ones shown are just plain ugly to look at.

  3. No matter how hard I squint at the “Neo Sports Cafe” pics, I don’t see the cafe aspect. They look ok as sporty-ish nakeds.
    If you are a sylist working at Honda then I suppose you need some buzzwords to help fire up the bosses. “Sporty-ish Naked” might not sound as trendy or brochure-worthy as “Neo Sports Cafe”.
    As for the CB1000R muffler, well, what can you do? You need lots of internal volume to quieten the 1000 to legal specs all over the world, you may need a cat converter somewhere that hopefully won’t set dry grass on fire, you only have the right hand side to work with since the single-sided swingarm takes up most of the left hand space, you don’t want to compromise ground clearance or have pillions melt their boots on it. And it has to sound better than a strangled fart while minimising back pressure. Then some airy-fairy stylist comes along and wants it to look this way or that. It must be a tough life in the exhaust engineering department.
    Maybe the muffler coverings would look better in black.
    Eventually the aftermarket will offer a muffler that is better/different, but will those aftermarket parts comply with the same noise rules? Probably not.

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