The CBR series of motorcycles are well known and best selling ones from the Japanese auto giant Honda.
The CBR series of motorcycles are well known and best selling ones from the Japanese auto giant Honda. Not many know that ‘CB’ stands for ‘City Bike’ and ‘CBR’ stands for ‘City Bike Racer’. Honda has tasted a lot of success in India with its CBR 250 which has been selling very well. So this is the right time to take the legacy of success forward by bringing the CBR 650F to India. The Honda CBR 650F is a sports tourer that can be used for daily commutes as well as those weekend long rides when needed. We ride Honda’s latest to find out how good it actually is. Read on to know everything about it in our Exclusive Road Test Review right here.
Honda CBR 650F Looks:
First look at the Honda CBR 650F and you begin to like the motorcycle. It’s got the right amount of style, not being loud like a few other rival models in this segment are. The red and white CBR 650F that we tested has just the right ratio of proportion and styling. It comes with a ‘V’ shaped sharp-edged headlight, which is a single lens headlight with twin DRL (day time running lights) on it. You have the transparent ‘V’ design visor, which is a fixed type visor and is large in size but suits the front end of this motorcycle nicely. The rear view mirrors come mounted on the fairing on the sides of the headlight. These stalk-type mirrors are in matte black finish. We think body-colored ones would have looked a lot better, but then you always have an option of fitting aftermarket ones. You have the typical sports bike type bikini mud guards in the front,hugging the 5 spoke aluminium cast alloys with 120/70 R17 spec Dunlop Sportmax tubeless tyres.
Honda CBR 650F Front Three Quarter
The front gets 320mm twin double petal disc brakes with ABS from Nissin. The front fork is regular type and not the upside-down one. The fork gets matte black finish on it to go with the alloys. The body fairing in dual color (red-white) is well designed and looks sharp, extending itself on the engine area. It covers a part of the engine area while some part is left open. The engine comes in special black color and you also can see four exhaust pipes that head out from the cylinders and merge into one unified main exhaust outlet which Honda calls the 4-2-1 Sporty exhaust. The exhaust comes in matte silver finish and is designed keeping in mind the best aerodynamics. The fuel tank capacity on this motorcycle is 17 liters and a large muscular-looking tank neatly merges with the body fairing at the extreme end.
Honda CBR 650F Instrument Cluster
The CBR 650F comes with a three piece handle bar which is not very flat but is at a pretty comfortable height and angle. For the instrumentation you get a twin pod LCD display unit on each side, with speedo and RPM reading on the left, and fuel, time, trip and consumption readings on the right pod. This bike also comes with the patented Honda HISS (Honda Ignition Security System) that electronically disables the starting of the engine in an event of theft. You get a single ‘Banana’ seat as it is called, this being a sport tourer unlike other sports bikes that come with split seats.
Honda CBR 650F Fuel Tank
The motorcycle comes with adjustable monoshock suspension with 7 stage spring load adjust at the rear with a very stylish looking unibody swing arm in silver finish. The rear section gets a neat looking LED tail lamp that’s housed in the extended slim mud guard. Due to RTO norms all motorcycles sold in India need to be fitted with a saree guard, with the CBR getting a very well designed and neatly integrated one, one of the best we have seen on large capacity motorcycles. The rear tyre is 180/55 R17 tubeless ZR Sportmax Dunlop mounted on 5 spoke aluminium alloys. The rear comes with a single 240mm Nissin petal disc brake with ABS as standard.
Honda CBR 650F Side
The Honda CBR 650F has a dash of aggression and a lot of sportiness in its design, with the fit and finish is very good on this CKD. The switchgear, other plastic panels etc. feel upmarket. The design is accentuated with the racing graphics across the fairing and the massive rear tyre that stares back at you make this a very smart-looking sports touring motorcycle.
Honda CBR 650F Rear
Honda CBR 650F Engine, Ride and Performance:
The Honda CBR 650F comes with a Twin-Spar steel frame chassis. Powered by a liquid cooled inline-four 648.72cc engine that is fed by the well known Honda PGM-FI Program Automatic Enrichment Circuit. This inline 4-cylinder engine makes 85.3BHP of peak power at 11,000RPM and pumps out 63Nm of peak torque at 8,000RPM. This engine is mated to a 6-speed gearbox.
Start the engine and you instantly notice the typical smooth and refined inline-4 engine note. This is a typical Honda engine with refinement levels being very high. The inline-4 engine is a personal favorite, and Honda is one of the best makers of these engines. The seating position is not extreme as on sports or pure sports, you can reach the handle bar easily and the foot pegs fall to your feet with ease. Seat height is at 810mm which is perfect for Indian riders of average heights. You are seated at a pretty comfortable angle and your knees hug the fuel tank rather well with you blending aerodynamically with the overall motorcycle. The exhaust note is highly refined but could be a bit quieter, but then you can fit one of those aftermarket exhausts to enhance the sound effects to your liking.
Honda CBR 650F Rear Suspension
There is a lot of refinement felt in the power delivery and the 6-speed transmission feels very positive with its shifts. Even at low speeds, the engine feels very attentive. Hit the highway and you reach speeds of 140-150Km/hr with maximum ease, with the refinement levels being very high at these speeds too. Typical Honda handling, that’s when you realize the benefit of the patented Honda Twin-Spar steel frame chassis. The bike never feels out of breath and is always ready to be pushed further. The motorcycle feels planted at all times and also feels surefooted due to the ABS brakes that do a good job at bringing this 215Kg motorcycle to halt with utmost ease and confidence.
Honda CBR 650F Front Brakes
The suspension on the CBR 650F has been tuned on the softer side offering a mix of sporty and comfort ride quality at all times. You can go over small patches of bad roads or pot holes with decent ease. The pillion sits at a much taller position and our pillion on the test ride was comfortable at all times. The engine redlines at 11,000RPM and the bike feels highly refined even while it’s being redlined. You can effortlessly cross the 200Km/hr speed mark with the engine running softly at these high speeds too. The throttle response is buttery crisp and the motorcycle is capable of returning an overall fuel economy of 24Km/L even when ridden fast.
Honda CBR 650F Front Three Quarter
Honda CBR 650F Verdict:
The Honda CBR 650F is a beautiful piece of machinery, being well-built with high standards of quality. Typical Honda standards of refinement go a long way in making this as one of the sweetest tourers currently around with excellent levels of comfort and ergonomics combined. This is one of the best motorcycles to get if you are out there looking for a highly refined Sports Tourer. The Honda CBR 650F is priced at Rs. 7.98 lakh Ex-showroom, Mumbai.
Honda CBR 650F Photo Gallery:
Honda CBR 650F Front Honda CBR 650F Front Honda CBR 650F Front Honda CBR 650F Front Honda CBR 650F Front Three Quarter
Honda CBR 650F Front Three Quarter Honda CBR 650F Front Three Quarter Honda CBR 650F Front Three Quarter Honda CBR 650F Headlight Honda CBR 650F Front Three Quarter
Honda CBR 650F Front Three Quarter Honda CBR 650F Front Three Quarter Honda CBR 650F Front Three Quarter Honda CBR 650F Front Three Quarter Honda CBR 650F Front Three Quarter
Honda CBR 650F Front Three Quarter Honda CBR 650F Front Three Quarter Honda CBR 650F Front Three Quarter Honda CBR 650F Front Three Quarter Honda CBR 650F Front Three Quarter
Honda CBR 650F Front Three Quarter Honda CBR 650F Front Three Quarter Honda CBR 650F Fuel Tank Honda CBR 650F Fuel Tank
Honda CBR 650F Logo Honda CBR 650F Logo Honda CBR 650F Logo
Honda CBR 650F Rear Honda CBR 650F Rear Honda CBR 650F Rear
Honda CBR 650F Taillight Honda CBR 650F Taillight Honda CBR 650F Side Honda CBR 650F Side
Honda CBR 650F Engine Honda CBR 650F Engine Honda CBR 650F Engine Honda CBR 650F Engine Honda CBR 650F Alloy Wheels
Honda CBR 650F Alloy Wheels Honda CBR 650F Alloy Wheels Honda CBR 650F Alloy Wheels Honda CBR 650F Engine
Honda CBR 650F Engine Honda CBR 650F Foot Peg Honda CBR 650F Foot Peg Honda CBR 650F Switchgear Honda CBR 650F Switchgear
Honda CBR 650F Rearview Mirror Honda CBR 650F Rear Suspension Honda CBR 650F Silencer
Honda CBR 650F Instrument Cluster Honda CBR 650F Instrument Cluster Honda CBR 650F Instrument Cluster Honda CBR 650F Ignition
Pics: Ritesh Madhok
Related Posts