Rumors of a proper mid-sized adventure bike from Honda have been percolating for some time now – as far back as eight years ago.
The news gained traction again last year, with rumors from Japan suggesting that an 850cc model was in the works, which be offered alongside the now 1,084cc Africa Twin 1100.
Continuing the release of MotoGP liveries for the 2021 season, next up we have the Repsol Honda squad, with their new rider Pol Espargaro. We can spot 11 changes to the Repsol Honda livery for the 2021 season, can you name them all?
Episode 54 of the Brap Talk motorcycle podcast is out with another weekly episode, for your two-wheeled listening pleasure.
Back in the studios…sorta…we recorded this show for you in the aftermath of a snow and ice storm, and in the middle of a power outage. Lit by candles, we cover only three topics in this show, but it will take you two hours to get through all of it.
Around this time in a normal year, we would be back from the launch of a couple of the MotoGP manufacturers, and looking forward to a couple more as we prepared to travel to Sepang for the first test of the year. But this is not a normal year, of course. Nor was last year, for that matter.
So instead of packing my bags in preparation of the test at Sepang – originally scheduled for February 19th-21st – I, like the rest of the media, are checking our microphones and internet connections to get ready to do the MotoGP launch season from home.
And not just the launch season: in all probability, the media won’t be allowed to physically attend a MotoGP race for the first half of the 2021 season at the very least. But at least we will have a 2021 MotoGP season.
When Honda brought us the Rebel 300 and Rebel 500 four years ago, I called the small-displacement cruisers the most important motorcycles to debut for the 2018 model year. Now, Honda is adding a third model to the family: the 2021 Honda Rebel 1100.
Debuting last November, the Rebel 1100 was Honda’s big new model for the 2021 model year , and the bike is basically the amalgamation of the Rebel cruiser line, with the familiar parallel-twin engine found in the Honda Africa Twin 1100 adventure bike.
This new metric cruiser is arriving in Honda dealers as we speak, but the American Honda team invited us to Murrieta, California to ride the Rebel 1100, to see if this interesting, if not odd, motorcycle was more than the sum of its parts.
Our ride saw us burn close to 200 miles, with a mix of tight canyon roads, rolling sweepers, and some urban commuting – the typical duty a bike like the Rebel 1100 would see in the real world.
Big Red will admit that the Honda Rebel 1100 is not a cruiser for everyone that rides in this segment, but the bike brings a unique appeal to a large market, and it does so with a certain flair that has been absent from this space. Let me explain.
The Rebel lineup has been a stalwart bike for American Honda, primarily in its role to get new riders on two wheels. But, what happens when those newly minted motorcycle enthusiasts want to upgrade to something bigger?
As Honda discovered, they go somewhere else, as the Japanese brand lacked an encore to the Honda Rebel 300 and Honda Rebel 500 motorcycles.
These motorcycle riders that Honda fought so hard to create were jumping ship to another cruiser brand.
But now the Japanese brand has a solution, the Honda Rebel 1100 – a bike that looks like a greatest hits album from the company’s current lineup.
If there is one complaint to make about the current edition of the Honda Gold Wing Tour, it is that Big Red really screwed the pooch when it came to the size of the integrated luggage compartments.
At the time, the thinking was that the modern motorcyclist needs less room to pack for a weekend getaway, thanks primarily to the fashion and use of compact camping materials.
That thinking lead the Japanese down a fatal path though, as the panniers became awkwardly shaped and small, and the top box couldn’t even fit two full-face helmets inside it (despite Honda’s insistence that it could).
Well, for the 2021 model year, Honda has finally answered the call for a revision on the luggage situation on the venerable Gold Wing.
When we first caught a glimpse of the Honda CRF300L Rally last year, we speculated that the machine could be making its way to the United States for the 2021 model year.
That educated guess is coming true now, as not only will the United States get the Honda CRF300L Rally, but also the Honda CRF300L for the current model year.
Today marks Stage 2 of the 2021 Dakar Rally, which means that the field is starting to separate a bit through the timed special stages. The day was a fruitful expedition for the Honda boys, with Joan Barreda leading the pack, with Ricky Brabec in close pursuit.
That’s good news for HRC, as the Japanese brand hopes to defend its historic #1 plate from last year, which Brabec won by upsetting KTM’s 18-year winning streak at the iconic rally-raid.
Helping Brabec & Co. challenge for victory is the 2021 Honda CRF450 Rally – an off-road racing platform that has evolved over multiple years of development into a proper dirt bike weapon.
We imagine that A&R readers have some extra time on their hands during this COVID Christmas season. So, if you are wondering how you are going to fill that void of time, might we suggest that you let Honda help?
This is because the folks at Big Red have no shortage of craft projects that are aimed at petrol heads, with the latest being a papercraft version of the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade superbike.
The “Big Red Pig” (as it is affectionately known) is a stalwart in Honda’s dirt bike lineup.
That is to say, the Honda XR650 has gone relatively unchanged over the past 20 years, and yet the big 644cc thumper has a loyal, loyal following.
In the US market, we have lost the “R” spec machine, but the XR650L continues on, as a plated dual-sport that comes in a mild, yet reliable tune.
So, when VMX Restomod cranked the bike up to 11 in order to make it into a proper street-legal supermoto, it got our attention.