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The Honda CB125X Concept Makes Us Think Dirty Thoughts

By 59 COMMENTS

We are not sure how big the market is for a 125cc adventure-tourer, especially in the European Union. Close to zero, perhaps? Yet, we are very excited about the Honda CB125X concept (along with its fraternal twin, the Honda CB124M concept).

Maybe the Honda CB125R platform is the wrong starting point for this project, but we like where the Honda Motor Europe R&D team finished with this build.

The CB125X is a clean and attractive motorcycle, and we would romp through every river crossing we could find on this small-displacement thumper.

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Bikes

Honda CB650R Completes the “Neo Sports Café” Lineup for 2019

By 18 COMMENTS

A motorcycle that we suspected that we would see at the 2018 EICMA show in Milan, the 2019 Honda CB650R brings a middleweight option to Big Red’s “Neo Sports Café” collection of retro-modern motorcycles.

Based off the Honda CB650F, this latest Honda Neo Café machine promises a 650cc inline-four engine package in a retro-modern style, similar to what Big Red has done with the Honda CB300R and Honda CB1000R. 

The Neo Café aesthetic ironically began with the 650cc platform, with the Honda CB4 concept debuting at the 2015 EICMA show in Milan. So, it’s interesting to see the line come, to what seems to be its conclusion, on a machine that basically set the whole ball in motion.

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Rumors

This Week’s Honda CBR1000RR Rumor, The 2020 Edition

By 31 COMMENTS

Another week, another rumor about a new Honda CBR1000RR. You can almost set your clock to the rumors that surround Big Red’s future superbike offering, and there are several factors for this.

First, the Honda CBR1000RR is a woefully old machine, even in its “all-new” guise, the current model can trace its lineage back to the 2008 model year. Second, the Honda CBR1000RR is obviously underpowered when you make spec sheet comparisons, by a palpable 20hp/10% margin.

The Honda makes up for this by being one of the lightest superbikes on the market, and it is easily the best handling of the bunch. But even still, in our tests, we found it to be a second a lap slower than the rest of the superbike class…and the stopwatch decides all in this segment.

Despite all this, the real reason that we keep seeing rumors about a new CBR1000RR likely stems from one simple reason: Honda is working on a new machine. Will that new bike debut for 2019? 2020? 2021? Well, that’s the debate, and even a broken clock is correct twice a day, so…

Here we are, another week, and another rumor about a new Honda CBR1000RR.

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News

Dani Pedrosa Signs Two-Year MotoGP Test Rider Deal with KTM

By 11 COMMENTS

It had been widely rumored, and long expected, but KTM has finally confirmed that Dani Pedrosa will be a test rider for the Austrian factory for the next two seasons. Pedrosa will take on the role alongside current test rider Mika Kallio.

Rumors that Pedrosa would take on a testing role with KTM have been circulating for some time, ever since it became clear that Pedrosa would not be part of the Repsol Honda team.

The Spaniard had been linked to the Petronas Yamaha seat as well, but in the end, he felt that some of the joy had gone out of racing, and he didn’t feel he had the intensity to keep racing beyond the end of this year.

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MotoGP

Sunday MotoGP Summary at Motegi: Winning Slowly, & The Legacy of a Champion

By 8 COMMENTS

“The secret,” said Niki Lauda, “is to win going as slowly as possible.” That racing maxim, first recorded by legendary writer and broadcaster Clive James (and how did I miss that he wrote about F1 in the past?) is as true now as it was back in 1984, when Lauda stated it to a press conference in Portugal. And as true as in the early 1950s, when Juan Manuel Fangio may have first uttered it.

If you want to see that maxim in action, watch a MotoGP race in 2018. The action is often thrilling, usually tense, and always absorbing. Race after race, we see podiums separated by tenths of a second, not tens of seconds. The reason for that is simple.

The field is close in terms of rider talent and bike performance, and the Michelin tires can be applied in many different ways, except for one: if you try to take off and disappear at the front, you risk using up the best of your tires, and being caught in the latter stage of the race.

So MotoGP has become a chess game. A battle of minds, as much as machines, of brains as much as bodies. Riders pace around one another like wolves around a herd of caribou, watching out for any sign of weakness, waiting to pounce and destroy their prey. And sometimes, getting it wrong and suffering a severe kicking from their intended victims.

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Bikes

Honda Teases a 650cc Retro-Modern Concept Model

By 41 COMMENTS

While we were busy running around Cologne, Germany for the INTERMOT show, Honda Motor Europe was busy in France, for the Paris Motor Show. Debuting there another “Neo Café” concept model, the Japanese brand seems set to release a middleweight version of this popular trope.

Based off the Honda CB650F, the latest Honda Neo Café concept promises a 650cc inline-four engine package in a retro-modern style, similar to what Big Red has done with the Honda CB300R and Honda CB1000R. As such, we are very likely looking at an early version of the Honda CB650R.

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Dirt

Honda CRF250L Recalled for Wiring Harness Malfunctions

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Honda is recalling 505 units of its 2018 Honda CRF250L dual-sport motorcycle because of production issues concerning the bike’s wiring harness. According to the Japanese manufacturer, the wiring harness may have been improperly installed at the company’s Thai factory, which could cause the harness to become damaged.

In its recall documents filed with the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA), a damaged wiring harness was found during routine quality checks at the assembly plant. Honda then began an investigation and determined that the wiring harness was damaged during installation of the front fork assembly. Additional units were inspected with some units exhibiting the same symptom of a damaged wiring harness. 

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Bikes

Your Definitive Guide to All the New Motorcycles Expected for 2019

By 16 COMMENTS

It’s that time of the year again, where Christmas comes early to the motorcycle industry, and we get to see all the new motorcycles that will be coming for the next model year, and beyond.

For the 2019 model year, we expect to see new models debuting at the INTERMOT, AIMExpo, and EICMA trade shows, which are in Cologne, Las Vegas, and Milan.

With things kicking off in Germany next week, we thought we would put together a guide for all the new motorcycles that we expect to see in the coming weeks. There are a bevy of new models that we know will be released at these three trade shows, and there are more than a few rumors of new bikes as well, which may surprise us.

Without wasting anymore time, let’s get down to it. We have broken down the new models and rumors by each manufacturer. Enjoy!

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Reviews

Gone Riding: Honda Monkey

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Hello from Santa Catalina Island, where we are about to go ride the new Honda Monkey mini-moto. A play on Honda’s past, the Monkey is built off the modern Honda Grom platform, but uses styling that is more at home in the 1970s.

A retro-modern approach to the mini-bike craze, the Honda Monkey is trying to rekindle some of those “you meet the nicest people on a Honda” feelings, which launched the Japanese brand into the public mainstream almost 50 years ago.

As such, we will be spending the day on this popular Californian destination to see how the Honda Monkey handles not only from a technical perspective on the road, but also we want to see what “je ne sais quoi” of two-wheeled fun the Monkey brings to the table.

With cars largely verboten on Catalina, bikes like Honda’s old Trail 70 and Trail 110 are popular choices here (as are golf carts, but that is an entirely different story), which makes the island a smart pick for this press launch.

Per our new review format, I will be giving you a live assessment of the Honda Monkey right here in this article (down in the comments section), and I will try to answer any questions you might have about this unique motorcycle.

So, here is your chance to learn what it’s like to ride the Honda Monkey, before even my own proper review is posted. As always, if I don’t know an answer, I will try to get a response from the Honda personnel. So, pepper away.

You can follow our thoughts on the bike live via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and you can see what our colleagues are posting on social media by looking for the hashtags #HondaMonkey, #POWERofNICE #RideRed.

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Bikes

Up-Close with the 2019 Honda CRF450L Dual-Sport

By 22 COMMENTS

Much was said about the 2019 Honda CRF450L before it even debuted in the United States, and the resounding collective opinion of the moto-journalists in attendance at its press launch was that the 450cc dual-sport is potent off-road, and well-mannered on the street.

Our own thoughts on the new Honda CRF450L are quite positive, and it rises to the top of the list of dual-sports that we would put in our garage. Getting an up-close look at the machine, you can see Honda’s quality shine through, from the engine to the switchgear, and even the body panels.

Making roughly 45hp at the crank, the CRF450L isn’t the most powerful bike in the category, put the torque curve on the Honda is tabletop flat and without holes. This makes the machine easy to hookup on the dirt, and refined for street riding…all the way to 85mph or more.

One of five new 450cc dirt bikes from Honda, the CRF450L is a true dual-sport – letting bikes like the CRF450RX and CRF450X fill the enduro niches for racing and pure trail riding. Thus having a weapon for every use, Honda smartly focused the CRF450L to be a dual-sport that can actually handle on street riding, instead of just compromising an exist dirt-focused machine.

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