Take a good look at the Honda CB1000R, because you won’t see it here stateside. That’s right, its de-tuned CBR1000RR motor, single-side swingarm, and streetfighter looks will be staying on the other side of the pond, and we think we’re the lesser for it.
Honda might be the lesser for it as well. With no fairing-less sportbike in its arsenal, we have to wonder what the folks in Japan were thinking on not making the CB available in the US. The only conclusion we can come to is that they just don’t like being competitve in the largest motorcycle market in the world worried that the CB would cannibalize on VFR sales.
But, seeing as how we all know the Interceptor as we know it won’t exist in 2010 (and is slated to fill a different hole in Honda’s line-up), we still have a hard time wrapping our heads around this strategy. Apparently at Honda, sportbikes must still have fairings in order to his US soil. We guess us American riders will have to somehow manage with the Tuono, Streetfighter, Z1000, FZ1, & B-King’s available to us…or move to Europe.
None-the-less, with its Fireblade heritage the CB1000R has impressive performance characteristics and go-fast parts. Stopping its 123hp/73lbs•ft motor, are radial brakes up front, that with the optional C-ABS package, are linked to the rear brakes for maximum applied stopping power. We imagine with some modest modifications, CB owners will be able to get the full CBR pep out of the engine bay, and create a real street-scorcher that looks great too.
If the bike looks familiar, then you have a good eye. Borrowing from the concepts of the VFR1200 we’ve seen, the 2010 CB1000R has the same exhaust and swingarm aesthetics. Setting it apart from the VFR though is the bikes color palette, which includes paint schemes in: Pearl Nightstar Black, Matt Vanguard Beige, Metallic Pearl Siena Red/Pearl Nightstar Black, and Pearl Cool White, all of which are available on both the standard and C-ABS model.
We’ll see the CB1000R at this year’s EICMA convention, expect more photos then. Until then, watch the drool.
Technical Specifications of the 2010 Honda CB1000R:
| Engine | Liquid cooled, four stroke, transverse four cylinder, DOHC, 4 valve per cylinder. |
| Capacity | 998 |
| Bore x Stroke | 75 x 56.5 mm |
| Compression Ratio | 11.2:1 |
| Induction | PGM-F1 Electronic fuel injection36mm throttle bodies |
| Clutch | Wet, multiplate with coil springs. |
| Ignition / Starting | Computer controlled digital transistorized / electric |
| Max Power | 123.4 hp 92 KW @ 10000 rpm |
| Max Torque | 100 Nm 73.8 ft-lb @ 8000 rpm |
| Transmission / Drive | 6 Speed / chain |
| Gear Ratio | 1: 2.538 (33/13) / – 2: 1.941 (33/17) / – 3: 1.579 (30/19) / – 4: 1.363 (30/22) / – 5: 1.217 (28/23) / – 6: 1.115 (29/26) |
| Frame | Mono-back born coast aluminous |
| Front Suspension | 43mm Inverted HMAS cartridge type telescopic forks, with stepless reload, compression and rebound adjustable, 120mm wheel travel. |
| Rear Suspension | Monoshock with gas charged HMAS damper rebound adjustable, 128mm wheel travel. |
| Front Brakes | 2x 310mm discs 3 piston calipers |
| Rear Brakes | Single 256mm disc 2 piston caliper |
| Front Tyre | 120/70 ZR17 |
| Rear Tyre | 180/50 ZR17 |
| Seat Height | 828mm / 32.6 in |
| Dry-Weight | 217 kg |
| Fuel Capacity | 17 Litres |
| Consumption average | 18.3 km/lit |
| Standing ¼ Mile | 11.3 sec |
| Top Speed | 228.6 km/h |
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this is a very bad omen in regards to the u.s. availability of a v4 naked, if ever one should actually appear… :(
it’s very frustrating, but sales are sales, if we had a market like france, with z-750/z-1000 sales the way they are, we would definitely see this bike on our shores; but alas, faired sports bikes, harleys, and bmw’s rule the americas.
also, i liked the “Matt Vanguard Beige” (aka tan) from the get-go.
great write-up man, and yeah, i definitely need a bib.
-peter
This is an awesome bike, perfect for the US market, and I can’t believe Honda isn’t willing to bring it here. I never quite understand those decisions – there must be costs involved to make it legal for the US market that they don’t want to take on…?
This bike is right up my alley and I would seriously consider one. I guess I’ll have to make due with my lighter, more powerful Triumph Speed Triple! :-)
I can’t imagine they wouldn’t sell more CBs than Furies (Fury’s?). Bad decision Honda.
Alas Honda seems to understand that naked sport oriented bikes that seem to thrive in other markets tend to wither and die in the US.
I love nakeds (streetfighters), I also still think they are more suited for street duties than any repli-racer I know of. But in the US market the choices made by those that buy bikes are rather myopic. Dirtbikes, Fared bikes (race, sport tourers, tourers), cruisers. The minor smattering of others often struggle to remain viable and often are found at large discounts as they are found rusting and taking space on the dealers sales floor. (B-king, z1000, even the 919 before retirement, FZ-6 and FZ-1 isnt a common as they deserve to be either. Euro streetfighters likely because of their size seem to have a more agreeable economy of scale, I dunno but they seem to survive okay..’Il Monstro’ is Ducati’s bread and butter right?
A consumers eye tells them that a naked bike should cost lest (significantly) than a fared bike here in the US, just because of the perception of ‘less bike’. Often they are awfully close in price or a tad more. I see the added efforts that go into painting the engine cases, routing of cables, components to visually clean things up that you can get away with not doing so well if you have a faring covering things but there you go.
I have $12k at the ready and I’m gonna look at a CBR100rr with it’s power, specs, faring, my peers riding in squadrons on hot summer days and I’m going to say …nah..let me get the lower powered, non-clip on, ‘softened’ streetbike and lose is a straight line every time by any liter race bike out there. I understand the narrowminded silly-ness of that thought as I swear by nakeds and own one (Speed Triple) and love it but it’s a hard cookie for others to break here.
It’s almost like you have to be older and wiser to make sense of it. Europe and Asia also tend to have more densely packed and environments more suited for naked streetbikes. The USA has wide open spaces, crazy amouts of super-slab and for me the simple truth about a faring-less street bike at speed is that the sustained windblast can be a chore at times. Motorcycles are generally not primary means of functional transportation in the US, more than not they are our ‘escape’ and ‘toy’. If you add a faring..the mini-farings seems often slighty efeminate versions of what is possible when compared to a race-ready look of the repli-racer..and the half-fared bikes are…”well why not go full faring”..always seeking a reason to compare it with not going for the full repli-racer it seems. It’s a shame..
Once you ride a naked bike it seems that you get to understand it and experience what is so great about them but test rides are generally not available for anything other than Triumphs, BMW’s, and Harleys. Under 30-males are not so individualistic as they might proclaim, the riding season is evidence of this…glaringly so.
I suggest Honda have a fleet of purely demonstration models that dealers are instructed are solely for test rides (give away test rides to licensed, insured and ‘waver signed’ riders over 25 yrs old) and allow them a couple of hours to take a significant spin. Have models that are carried to every bike event (like Can-Am did for the Spyder pre launch), the specs on the bike are already out there, lots of folks express an interest but expression doesnt always translate to purchase as we know, but give away seat time, give it freely, build the buzz.
Jeez I can prattle on when given a chance….Let me put a plug in it…just my meandering thoughts here…
Ugly.
Don’t bring it.