Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1127887
P76 2019 HONDA CB650R & CBR650R F I RST REVI EW The CBR650R should prove a brilliant machine for first-time sportbike riders as it's about as unintimidating a bike of this class can be. Plus, it looks gnarly in the metal so that you won't get sick of the aesthetic any time soon. Testing the CB650R When we tested the CB1000R back in September of last year, we loved it. When we tested the CB300R a month earlier in Au- gust, we loved that, too. The rea- son we liked both bikes so much was that Honda used a bit of imagination with their Neo-Sports Café range, employing some (for Honda, at least) abstract think- ing in how the bikes look and the feeling they give to the rider. I'd like to surprise you and say I didn't love the CB650R, but then I'd be lying. Whereas the 1000 is a big boy's toy and the 300 is for the kids, the 650 gives a lovely mix of power, size and style, with the exposed, slanted header pipes and bronze accents on the top and bottom of the motor and wheels. The CB is more a styling exer- cise than anything, and Honda is all the better for it. However, the proof is always in the ride, and when I shared the two bikes with my colleague Adam Waheed, both of us were fighting over who got to ride the CB over the CBR. The CBR can feel a touch cramped if you're north of six feet tall, but the CB's more relaxed stance makes for a much more comfortable ride and one that allows the rider to take command of the situation. You get plenty of leverage with the CB's single flat bar, and there's very little weight slanted forward even though this particular edition is sportier than the 2018 model. One area I wasn't enamored with on either model was the front brake. There's enough power on offer, but the feeling is a little wooden in application. Both machines use a pretty old-school master-cylinder, but you can at least adjust the lever span, so that's something. Like the CBR, the CB has dropped nine and 11 pounds for the ABS/non-ABS machines and the suspension is on the soft side, but it's more suited to the given application. The ride is a little more relaxed with the CB, so the overly stiff suspension would take away from the experience. I have a feeling that the 650 will become the top seller of the three Neo-Sport Café CB machines. Even though I'd have loved to see the CB come in on the lower side of $8000, it's still a very solid machine from Honda. CN ENGINE: ........... DOHC, 4-valve, inline, 4-cylinder DISPLACEMENT: .............. 649cc BORE X STROKE: .... 67 x 46mm COMPRESSION RATIO: ...... 11.6:1 FUEL SYSTEM: ...................... EFI EXHAUST: ............................4-2-1 CLUTCH: ........... Wet multi-plate TRANSMISSION: ............6-speed CHASSIS: Steel twin-spar frame FRONT SUSPENSION: ....... 41mm inverted Showa Separate Function Fork (SFF) REAR SUSPENSION: ........Showa single shock w/ adjustable preload FRONT WHEEL TRAVEL:..4.72 in. REAR WHEEL TRAVEL: ........ 5.04 in. FRONT BRAKE: ....................Dual 4-piston, radial-mount Nissin hydraulic calipers w/ 310mm floating discs; 2-channel; ABS optional REAR BRAKE: .......... Single one- piston hydraulic caliper w/ 240mm disc; 2-channel; ABS optional FRONT TIRE: ...........120/70 R17 REAR TIRE: ............. 180/55 R17 WHEELBASE: .....................57 in. SEAT HEIGHT: ................ 33.9 in. FUEL CAPACITY: ..............4.1 gal. WEIGHT: ........447 lbs./445 lbs. (wet, claimed) S P E C I F I C A T I O N S 2019 HONDA CBR650R/CB650 (CBR: $9399/$9899 ABS; CB: $8899/ $9199 ABS)