VOL. 54 ISSUE 20 MAY 23, 2017 P69
H
onda's CB650F—a
machine that has
been available in Eu-
rope and Asia for years—will
make its way to the Ameri-
can market for next year.
Going head to head with
machines like Yamaha's FZ-
07, Kawasaki's Z650 and
Suzuki's SV650, the CB650
signals an aggressive push
from Honda into a segment
of the market that has finally
started to see action from
the major manufacturers
after years of inaction.
The CB650 is powered
by the compact 649cc
inline four-cylinder engine
measuring 67 x 46mm
bore and stroke, mated to
side-swiped exhaust head-
ers and a muffler that looks
eerily similar to the previous
generation CBR1000RR.
Suspension is taken care
of by Showa's unadjustable
Dual Bending Valves fork
and monoshock that's pre-
load adjustable only. Brakes
come via twin piston Nissin
calipers biting 320mm wave
discs with a single piston
caliper clamping down on a
240mm disc out the back.
Pricing of the new
CB650F is not yet available
but expect it to be around
the price of the Yamaha FZ-
07 or the Kawasaki Z650,
both of which check in at
under $7200. CN
2018 Honda CB650F
