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Recall

Honda Recalls Over 45,000 Motorcycles

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American Honda is recalling a slew of motorcycles for a faulty starter relay switch. The recall affects over 45,000 units made between 2013 and 2016. The affected models are the CB500, CBR500, CRF250L, CBR650, CTX700, NSS300, VT750, VT1300, 2015 CB300F, CBR300, CBR600, and NC700.

On the affected motorcycles, a sealant may have been incorrectly applied to the starter relay switch, and as a result the electrical system can suffer from a loss of power. This can cause the engine to stall, and the motorcycle to crash, so a recall is in order.

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Bikes

2016 Montesa Cota 300RR Trials Motorcycle

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Do you enjoy jumping rocks, crossing logs, and generally being a two-wheeled bad ass on a motorcycle? If you responded with a “hell yes!”, then trials might be the sport for you.

We’ll be the first to say, we’re not experts on riding trials motorcycles — the site is called Asphalt & Rubber for a reason. That being said, the 2016 Montesa Cota 300RR looks like silly fun, as well as some serious motorcycle porn…even if you’re not a true trials competitor

The Cota is bred for competition though, and it is the same machine that Cody Webb is competing on in the AMA NATC MotoTrials USA National Trials Championship, and it also is based off the Montesa Cota 4RT260 that Toni Bou uses to dominate the international trials scene.

Accordingly, the Montesa Cota 300RR has a 288cc Honda single-cylinder engine, which has a longer stroke and larger bore than the Cota 4RT260. The ECU is programmable for fine-tuning the bike for conditions, with two selectable maps controllable from the handlebars.

Other tasty features include a titanium header pipe, aluminum forks, a monoblock four-piston front brake caliper, and aluminum D.I.D. wheels. All of this means 4 lbs have been dropped from the 2015 design, making the 2016 model a paltry 159 lbs dry.

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Recall

Honda Is Recalling 126,000 Goldwings

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American Honda has filed a recall with NHTSA, which sees the recall of 126,000 Honda Goldwing motorcycles. The recall comes about because the rear brake of the Honda Goldwing may drag after the brakes have been released.

With 533+ bikes already experiencing the problem, Honda’s recall affects GL1800 bikes built between 2001 and 2010, and also affects GL1800A bikes built between 2001 and 2005.

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Bikes

Here’s the Honda CB300F & Yes, It’s Coming to America

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We first caught wind of the 2015 Honda CB300F back in March, and at the time we didn’t expect to see the naked small-displacement machine until the autumn trade shows. Well, Honda has proven itself full of surprises, because not only has Big Red debuted the Honda CB300F to the world, but American Honda has also confirmed the model for the United States.

Basically a Honda CBR300R without all of its fairings, the Honda CB300F offers a more upright sitting position, and a little bit less racer flair. At the heart of the CB300F is the same fuel-injected 286cc single-cylinder thumper, which has a longer 8mm stroke than the venerable Honda CBR250R, and thus accounts for its 37cc advantage in displacement.

Perhaps the best part about the 2015 Honda CB300F though is the price tag, which is downright affordable at $3,999 MSRP ($400 less than the CBR300R).

American Honda hasn’t locked down a delivery date for the USA, simply saying that the new model will be hitting Honda dealers in the fall of this year. From what we understand, that’s when you can expect to see the Honda CBR300R as well.

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Bikes

Official: 2015 Honda CBR300R Coming to America

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As we expected, the Honda CBR300R will be coming to the North American market, as American Honda has confirmed today that the single-cylinder machine as a 2015 model.

Though available in August later this year, Americans shouldn’t feel too bad about the 286cc machine coming late to the US, as even European markets have had a delay on receiving the machine, which officially debuted for that market at EICMA last year.

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Bikes

2014 Honda CBR650F Coming to America Too

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With the introduction of Honda’s 500cc bikes last year (Honda CBR500R, Honda CB500F, and Honda CB500X), Honda provided newer and experienced riders with a practical and cheap option in an otherwise relatively polarized motorcycle market. While those bikes were sensible choices indeed, they were commonly criticized for their relatively modest power.

So here comes yet another color in the choice spectrum from the Japanese maker: a middleweight faired sport bike, with street-centric aspirations, and a palatable price tag. So if the Honda Interceptor is too rich for your blood, the inline-4 Honda CBR650F might just be the bike for you.

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Bikes

Honda Interceptor Returns to North American Shores

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Good news folks, the legendary Honda VFR 800 is returning to US and Canadian shores after a nearly five-year hiatus. If you were disappointed when Honda didn’t confirm the VFR 800 for North America back in November at EICMA, take heart, it’s on its way.

Since 1998, the Honda VFR 800 has combined the seductive power delivery of a V4 with subdued styling, comfy ergos, all-day practicality and bulletproof Honda reliability.

Sure, it doesn’t have the sex appeal of a Ducati 1199 Panigale or the rough-and-tumble attitude of a KTM 1190 Adventure, but what it does have is probably the best blend of comfort, performance and practicality for riders who consider a motorcycle to be their primarily form of transportation.

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MotoGP

Aspar Decides: Nicky Hayden to Ride a Honda in 2014

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The future of Nicky Hayden appears to have been decided. Jorge Martinez, boss of the Aspar team, has decided to drop Aprilia in favor of Honda, according to German language website Speedweek.com. Aspar is set to make an announcement later this week on its future, and that decision appears to be that the Spanish team will be running Honda’s production racer RCV1000R for next season.

The decision was made almost inevitable once it was announced that current Aprilia racing boss Gigi Dall’Igna would be leaving the Noale factory to join Ducati. Dall’Igna and Martinez had a strong working relationship dating back to the years in which Aspar ran 125 and 250cc team, and Aspar’s faith in Aprilia’s MotoGP program was based on the strength of that relationship.

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Racing

MotoGP Silly Season Update: Forward’s Privateer Yamaha M1s, Hayden’s Future, & Honda’s Production Racers

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With all of the prototype seats occupied for 2014 – barring a contractual bust up between Ducati and Ben Spies, which is only an expensive theoretical possibility at the moment – battle has commenced for the rest of the MotoGP seats regarded as being most competitive. While the factory bikes – the bikes in the factory and satellite teams being raced as MSMA entries – are all taken, the privateer machines – using Dorna spec-ECU software and extra fuel – are still mostly up for grabs.

The three most highly sought after machines are the 2013 Yamaha M1s to be leased by the NGM Forward squad, Honda’s production racer (a modified RC213V with a standard gearbox and metal spring instead of pneumatic valves) and the Aprilia ART bikes, which are a heavily modified version of Aprilia’s RSV4 superbike.

Of the three, only the ART machine is a known quantity, with Aleix Espargaro and Randy de Puniet having raced the bikes with some success in 2012 and 2013, joined by Yonny Hernandez and Karel Abraham this year. Teams and riders will have to guess about the performance of the Yamahas and Hondas, though given the basis of the two machines, it is a safe bet they will be relatively competitive.

The most popular machine among riders is the Yamaha M1, naturally enough. The bike is a near complete 2013 machine, with a few parts excluded, such as the fuel tank, and will utilize the spec-ECU software from Dorna, being developed by the current CRT teams.

Given just how good the 2013 M1 is – Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi have won races on it, Cal Crutchlow has scored regular podiums – it is expected to be the best privateer machine on the grid next season, and anyone hoping to advance in the series is angling for a ride on it.

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Bikes

2013 Honda CB500X – Eats Potholes on a Budget

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If you haven’t caught on yet, American Honda has announced a trio of 500cc machines, just ahead of the upcoming EICMA show. Featuring the fully-faired 2013 Honda CBR500R sport bike, and its fairing-less sibling the 2013 Honda CB500F, the slightly taller 2013 Honda CB500X completes the trifecta, and adds an adventure-esque dimension to Honda’s midrange options.

Like the Honda CBR500R & Honda CB500F, the Honda CB500X uses the same modest liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, DOHC, 180° crank, parallel-twin motor that will put down 54hp at the wheel for the US market (tiered-license countries will see a 47hp machine).

A slight variation on the chassis that is shared with the other 500cc machines, the CB500X has a bit more travel to its suspension (5.5″ on the front forks), and the seat height is a full inch higher (31.9″ to be precise). Visually the philosophically similar to the Honda NC700X, the Honda CB500X is also a tad heavier than its relatives, sporting 430 lbs of fully-fuel heft at the curb, which is likely due to its larger 4.5 gallon tank (4.1 gallons on the other models).

Building three motorcycles from one versatile core design, American Honda has some aggressive prices on the CBR500R & CB500F, but the American subsidiary of the Japanese brand has yet to release a price on the CB500x. We would expect something in the $5,000 range though when it hits dealer floors in July 2013, with the ABS version getting a $500 price increase over the base model. Full technical specifications are after the jump.

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Racing

Americans Get Ready for Moto2 at The Brickyard

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Taking a two-day testing session at The Brickyard, American riders Roger Lee Hayden, Jason DiSalvo, Kenny Noyes, Robertino Pietri (US Resident) had an opportunity to lap around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in preparation for the Moto2 race held during the Indy GP this coming weekend. The first riders to take to the 2.6 mile, 16 corner course since MotoGP visited The Brickyard last year, the four riders were given 90 minutes each day to setup and practice for Sunday’s race.

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