With a head-turning look that offers a modern take on the classically stripped-back retro café racer, allied to a race-bred chassis and engine that blends track-friendly power with road-friendly cruising, the Honda CB650R is the latest star of Honda’s Neo Sports line-up.
It’s the perfect bike for riders looking for both city-friendly urban commuting style and road-honed performance that is perfect for long weekend blasts. We wanted to give it a real workout, so we handed the keys to Isle of Man TT and Superbike presenter Matt Roberts and let him loose on the stunning roads of Exmoor.
To learn more about the Honda CB650R or to find out how Honda can help you hone your bike skills or get started, head to justride.honda.co.uk
Standout style and power
Let’s start with that head-turning Neo Sports look, marked by the CB650R’s ‘real metal’ flourishes and the classic circular headlight – now enhanced with a powerfully standout blue-tinted LED beam.
With a no-compromise chassis and engine based on the track-bred Honda CBR650R, every element of the CB650R has been subtly tuned to make riding even easier and more fun. The result is riding performance that is at ease in the city, but that really comes alive on the open road.
The 94hp four-cylinder engine has short gearing for impressive acceleration and a smooth rush of mid-range grunt. That makes it ideal for everyday commuting, weekend blasts, and maybe even the occasional track day. The intake and exhaust have also been tweaked for improved gas glow, further enhancing the engine note for a classic Honda howl at the top end.
Refined for the road
The CB650R’s lightweight chassis has been tuned for supple response and feel on the open road, with adjustable 41mm Showa Separate Fork Function (USD) forks, while an assist/slipper clutch eases upshifts and manages hard downshifts, and Honda’s Selectable Torque Control gives added confidence under acceleration.
Up-front, tapered handlebars and a digital TFT dashboard give you a confident riding position and a clear view of the trip ahead. Finally, large 310mm floating discs with radial-mounted calipers and two-channel ABS deliver impressively assured braking grip. The Honda CB650R also has Emergency Stop Signal as standard. It detects sudden braking and automatically activates the hazard lights, giving a clear warning if you should ever need to hit the brakes unexpectedly.
In fact, the Honda CB650R is the perfect performance bike for new or lapsed riders. An easy conversion is available from Honda dealers to restrict the CB650R to 47 horsepower (35kW), making it A2 licence-friendly. And, once you’ve got your full A licence, you can easily convert it back to full power.
Add your comment