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This Gorgeous Retro-Styled Japanese Motorcycle Could Finally Be Going from Dream to Reality

Insiders believe a version of Honda’s long-shelved CB-F Concept is getting an actual rollout soon. Let’s hope they’re right.

honda cbf concept macroHonda

By Steve Mazzucchi

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Five years ago, Honda showed off a pretty sweet old-school-looking two-wheeler. Dubbed the CB-F Concept, it boasted a 998cc power plant, single-sided swing arm and Superbike-inspired graphics.

Sadly, the brand’s pencil pushers did not sign off on the risk-reward math (expensive to produce, low prospects of export success) and the project went into hibernation.

honda cbf concept show side
Unveiled in March of 2020, the CB-F Concept has yet to become the CB-F Reality.
Honda

But now, Cycle World is whispering that the bike just might resurface, riding the momentum of the CB1000 Hornet, a stunning street fighter launched last year in Asia and Europe and reportedly coming to North America soon under the name CB1000SP.

With its flat round headlamp, angular gas tank sweeping into a sleek saddle and duck tail rear-end, complemented by minimalist graphics, a largely blacked-out body and gleaming chrome exhaust pipe, the CB-F Concept plays some seriously smooth jazz: hitting all the right notes and skipping the unnecessary ones.

Here are the latest, admittedly scant details on a dream I am hoping against hope comes true.

Through the grapevine

The big breakthrough with the Hornet is the use of a bare bones steel-tube chassis and dual-sided swingarm. 

While perhaps not as sexy as an aluminum spine chassis and single-sided rear suspension, this approach supports a bike that’s lighter, stronger and cheaper than the platform on which it is based, that of the sporty CB1000RR. 

honda cbf concept off side
With graphics that are basically red white and blue, Honda had to be strategizing a US release, right??
Honda

CW dishes that two respected Japanese moto mags, Young Machine and Auto-By, predict the launch of something resembling the CB-F Concept, called the CB1000F, very soon. 

These publications believe it could appear at the Osaka Motorcycle Show or the Tokyo Motorcycle Show, both of which occur later this month. 

honda cbf concept taillight
As someone who bought a used Bonneville T-100 and almost immediately shelled out for a fender replacement kit, I have to say that the swooping tail and integrated rear light just look so freaking clean.
Honda

Such a bike would be underpinned with the Hornet’s more affordable mechanical components rather than the C1000RR’s, make 150 or 155 horsepower and weigh around 465 pounds. 

Though I would prefer the latter, which mirrors the CB1000SP I wrote about last month, I am really just rooting for this thing to exist. 

As something of an analog enthusiast, I’m always delighted by stripped-down bikes that focus on compelling engineering and architecture rather than superfluous bells and whistles.

honda cbf concept headlight
Considering this headlight pretty much looks like a ring light, I feel like it’s the least likely thing to actually show up in a production bike.
Honda

With its flat round headlamp, angular gas tank sweeping into a sleek saddle and duck tail rear-end, complemented by minimalist graphics, a largely blacked-out body and gleaming chrome exhaust pipe, the CB-F Concept plays some seriously smooth jazz: hitting all the right notes and skipping the unnecessary ones.

So let’s all cross our fingers and toes, because there are really three big things to hope for…

  1. The bike actually launches.
  2. It looks something like the CB-F.
  3. Honda decides to export it beyond Japan’s shores to a place where smaller, nimbler bikes are becoming increasingly more desirable: the US of A.
honda cbf concept dramatic
I mean, does this beauty beckon “Come ride me” or what??
Honda

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