VOL. 51 ISSUE 22 JUNE 3, 2014 P71
access to the cylinder head for
maintenance) and sharp nose
fairing add dramatic presence to
the looks. As does the stubby,
upswept tail unit.
Climb aboard the 31.8-inch
high seat (with generous pas-
senger provision) that allows a
5'10" rider to put both feet flat on
the ground at stoplights. You'll
also find a really rational riding
position thanks to the one-piece
handlebar mounted on 50mm
risers, which while offering good
leverage in turns is actually not as
wide as it looks.
The slightly sloping seat en-
courages you to sit quite close to
the short tank, resulting in a fairly
close-coupled but also comfort-
able semi-upright stance, which
while pretty confidence-inspiring
is no impediment to going fast on
an unfaired bike.
Okay, 87 horsepower is not a
huge amount of power by 600
Supersport standards, but it's
plenty sufficient for most riders to
have fun with - especially thanks
to the punch available all through
the rev range.
This makes the CB650F as
much fun to ride along twisty
mountain roads interspersed with
short stretches of freeway. It rolls
along in lines of traffic, with the
occasional quick zap to gain po-
sition, or carving corners through
city streets, when the generous
steering lock pays off in making
for easy U-turns while building
confidence in low-speed maneu-
vering.
It's a true all-arounder that yet
again is an embodiment of what's
clearly Honda's New Age prod-
uct philosophy - to make each
new model several bikes in one.
So like the CTX1300 custom tour-
er-come-sports commuter, this
new middleweight streetfighter is
truly polyvalent. And it's also cool
looking – look at the exhaust!
This is a motorcycle with an
appeal that's as broad as the
spread of torque delivered by its
long-stroke four-cylinder motor,
which makes for a smooth build
of power from very low down.
It's so flexible and forgiving, and
the PGM-FI fuel injection so flaw-
lessly well mapped, that you can
let the rpm drop as low as the
1400 rpm idle speed in top gear,
