think it’s fair to say that Honda’s
production motorcycles are sometimes
a little on the conservative side in
terms of looks, and occasionally
performance. While build quality and finish
are always excellent in my experience,
Honda wisely tends to step back a whisker
from absolute cutting edge production
machinery, at least for non-racing models,
in favour of and deference to, ridability and
longevity. The all new Honda CB1000R fits
in to this category.
Honda never intended this bike to be a
naked Fireblade, to compete with the likes
of the super-naked Tuono or Superduke,
despite it using a version of the 2006
Fireblade motor. And to my mind this is
excellent for the consumer and all part of
the 1000’s charm, which I’ll come to later.
However, please don’t misunderstand
me; the Honda is still a compete hoot and
exceedingly quick, with more than a few
exceptions to the conservative rule.
To start with, the styling is on point for the
modern era. Honda describes the CB as
a ‘Neo Sports Cafe’. There’s a whole lot of
new niches for bikes to fall into these days,
but to me, and my simple Kiwi eyes, the
CBR has a bold, muscular design that gives
a strong nod to the past while embracing
the mudguard-less, minimalist, current
trend and all the while looking beautifully
made and thoroughly modern. But even
that doesn’t sound simple!
From the old school shaped headlight
with DRL, to the single sided swingarm,
slick looking four in to one exhaust and
minimalist bodywork, there is no doubt
the CBR makes a statement – while it’s
classy and somewhat understated, it’s still a
serious and innovative naked.
KIWI RIDER 45