Photo: Honda
We've seen Honda bringing forth various concepts in the last decade, with the 2009 CB1100R being the most recent one, and a rather credible upcoming machine. Now, the retro sport machines are back on the front page with the rumored CB900R.
Young Machine magazine, has been right on so many occasions when it comes to scoops in the Japanese market. The magazine mentions the CB900R on the front page of the August issue, and this means they could have learned about some secret moves at Honda.
If anything, a bike such as the CB900R is a credible rumor, given the fact that its 1100R sibling has been around (in a concept form) for quite some time now. Even more, the CB1100F and CB100EX have been launched as production models and were greeted with a warm welcome.
This means reducing the stroke, most likely raising the redline to produce extra power and keep the CB900R in the thrill zone. The same chassis could be used as well, while the bodywork is, so far, anyone's guess.
In reality, delivering a bike with strong connections to the old-school endurance road racing might be a most welcome addition to the existing line-ups of most manufacturers. It could even represent a strong competitor for the cafe-racer and, more recently, scrambler fashion.
We believe that the only iffy point in the whole story is the overall look of the bike. Make it too '70s-ish and the younger customers might not feel drawn to it that much. On the other hand, too much of a modern approach will be missing the whole point of the CB900R. Time will tell, like always.
If anything, a bike such as the CB900R is a credible rumor, given the fact that its 1100R sibling has been around (in a concept form) for quite some time now. Even more, the CB1100F and CB100EX have been launched as production models and were greeted with a warm welcome.
Honda might reduce the stroke of the CB1100F engine and make it rev faster
If there's any truth in the claims of Young Machine, it's rather hard to believe that Honda is thinking about a new engine, altogether. We agree with visordown in saying that the house of Tokyo could tweak the existing engine of the retro CB1100 platform with fairly low development costs.This means reducing the stroke, most likely raising the redline to produce extra power and keep the CB900R in the thrill zone. The same chassis could be used as well, while the bodywork is, so far, anyone's guess.
In reality, delivering a bike with strong connections to the old-school endurance road racing might be a most welcome addition to the existing line-ups of most manufacturers. It could even represent a strong competitor for the cafe-racer and, more recently, scrambler fashion.
We believe that the only iffy point in the whole story is the overall look of the bike. Make it too '70s-ish and the younger customers might not feel drawn to it that much. On the other hand, too much of a modern approach will be missing the whole point of the CB900R. Time will tell, like always.
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