The Milan Show is always full of surprises, but I don’t think anybody saw this one coming. The new Honda CBR1000RR repli-racer, unveiled last month, was shocking enough, with avant-garde styling and what looks like a light, compact and powerful package. “Wouldn’t a bike like that,” you might say, wistfully, “make a great naked streetfighter?”
Abra-cadabra! Somebody at Honda was thinking just that same thing, because here’s the CB1000R, sprung on us at Milan. I wasn’t expecting anything significant from Honda at the show, and I’ve never been happier to be wrong.
The CB1000R isn’t exactly a naked CBR1000RR, but it’s close enough. It’s actually a modded 600 Hornet chassis (a Euro-only backbone-framed nekkid based on the CBR600RR) with a liquid-cooled, 16-valve, 998cc Four based on the 2007 CBR1000RR powerplant. But it’s no flexi-flyer; it uses an aluminum backbone for good rigidity and 43mm inverted fork similar to what is on the 2008 CBR1000RR. And holy crap! Is that a single-sided swingarm? Other tasty bits include radial-mount calipers, a digital display and optional anti-lock brakes. The swoopy headers are reminiscent of the CB400F Supersport of yore, and they vent to a muffler unit similar to the new RR’s. Of course, the motor (everybody sing along) gets the “tuned-for-torque” treatment, with tweaks to add more bottom-end and midrange power, because we all know how slow and weak a CBR1000RR feels just off idle… (Honda claims you can release the clutch at 2000 rpm and not stall the bike, it’s so torquey). Dry weight, power and many other numbers are not disclosed.
It’s a replacement for the very aged Hornet 900 (the late great 919 in the USA), and European pricing is not mentioned. But it would surprise me to see one in American showrooms; Americans buy more buggy whips than big standards like the 919, and this bike, if it’s anything like the 599 (American for “600 Hornet”), will probably be built in Italy. Thanks to currency fluctuations, that will make it 30 or 40 percent more expensive than its competition in the U.S. A query to American Honda yielded the following dry statement: “American Honda has released its 2008 model lineup.” Translation: no CB1000R for you.
Me, I’m moving to Canada.
Sound off! Should the CB1000R be sold here?
