When we first saw the Honda CB4X concept at EICMA last year, we fell in love at first sight. Honda Motor Europe has a history of making intriguing concept designs, and the CB650 platform lends itself to some beautiful options.
With the reception that the CB4X received, it seemed likely that Honda would bring the bike to market, and fuel was added to that fire when Big Red filed for intellectual property protections for the concept’s design.
Now, we get some hope from Japan (thanks to the folks at AutoBy) for the future of the Honda CB4X, though the bike has taken a turn in its evolution.
Like the Honda Rebel 1100 that we just saw debuting for the 2021 model year, we see the 1,084cc parallel-twin engine from the Africa Twin being used in a road bike platform. As such, we now call it the Honda CB1100X sport-tourer.
The super-clean lines of the CB4X have faded to some extent on the CB1100X, but Honda’s overall shape remains a bit in these concept sketches by AutoBy.
Truthfully, the shape takes us back to the proper roots of sport-touring, back when bikes like the Yamaha FZ1 reigned supreme.
With a bit more suspension travel, a full suite of electronics, and a modern take on the fairing styling, this new generation of sport-tourers could take over many duties found in the ADV segment.
In fact, we have already classified some of those alleged dual-sport machines as “Adventure-Sport” models, which is really the sport-touring design repurposed for a new generation of rider.
With that said, we hope Big Red brings the bike to market. The Africa Twin motor is showing itself to be a proper powerplant, and we think there are bevy of riders looking for a taller sport bike like the CB1100X concept here.
Hopefully the final machine gets a little bit more of the CB4X’s looks, but if AutoBy’s concept is truer to the eye, we would be fine with that as well. 2022 is a long time to wait though…
Source: AutoBy
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