We have received information that the 2023 CB1000R announced on November 11 will be the final model.
The end of the flagship model of the neo-sports cafe concept will have a significant impact on the future of the「CB」 series.
Expect to see a New CB that can compete with Kawasaki Z900RS
The CB1000R is the top-of-the-line model of the Neo Sports Café concept, based on the model sold in Europe and modified and launched globally in 2018. The CB250R and CB125R debuted simultaneously, and the CB650R will join the lineup in 2019. The series is based on the common image of a round-eyed headlight.
The information is that the CB1000R will be last in 2023, the sixth year of its debut, and the reason for this is poor sales. However, the CB650R and below will continue due to stable sales. This would lead one to believe that the CB-F concept based on the CB1000R will be the next model to go on the market. One would think so.
Unfortunately, the answer is that it will not appear. This is a statement made by Tetsuo Ban, the creator of the CB-F concept, at the Project BIG-1 30th Anniversary Designers' Talk Show held at Honda's Welcome Plaza Aoyama on November 26, so there is no doubt about it.
In fact, not a single CB was displayed at the 2022 Motorcycle Show, the first real motorcycle show in three years, which would have indicated the end of sales of the CB1000R and the end of the CB-F Concept project. For Honda's part, can we allow the Kawasaki Z900RS to continue to run alone?
HONDA 2023 CB1000R Japan Specs. The current model, which underwent headlight and other design changes in the 2021 model year, is said to be the last in the new 2023 model year colors. The engine is based on the 2004 CBR1000RR.
HONDA CB-F Concept (2020) [HONDA] A proposal derived from the consideration of a new Japanese CB on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the CB in the previous year. Based on the CB1000R, the silhouette of the CB750/900F was reproduced.
Tetsuo Ban (on the right in the photo), who was in charge of designing the first generation CB1300SF (1998) and the fourth generation CB1300SB (2005), also discussed his own work, the CB-F Concept, at the talk show.
That composition, in which CB Super Four was born out of CB-1's poor performance, is back.
At the Designers' Talk Show on November 26, Mr. Toshiaki Kishi, who designed the first CB1000 Super Four (SF), shared an interesting episode.
In 1989, Honda launched a 400cc model called CB-1, which was a full-fledged 400cc model, but it was beaten at every turn by an air-cooled 400cc model from a certain company. I was asked to draw a sketch of the CB1100R tank, which I personally had a strong image of, and it was very comfortable.
My boss at the time responded that it was nice, and this led to the CB400SF. The CB1000SF was started because it would be nice to have a large motorcycle like this. So the trigger was that the CB-1 did not work out. And the 400 led to 1000.
Needless to say, the opponent of the CB-1 was the Zephyr, which coincidentally debuted at the same time in 1989.
Similarly, the Z900RS and CB1000R, which currently boast overwhelming popularity, are two cars that differed greatly from each other in the same category of synchronization. It is not clear if they were told behind the scenes to change the model immediately, but there is a trend that the CB-F concept was proposed for 2020.
This is a CG reproduction of a sketch of the CB1100R tank on the CB-1, which led to the birth of the CB Super Fore series.
The designer, Toshiaki Kishi, is holding the microphone next to the photo.
HONDA CB-1 (1989). A pioneering naked motorcycle with a parallel four-cylinder engine similar to that of the CBR400RR mounted in a very thick pipe frame.
The Zephyr, with its old-fashioned two-piston suspension style, was the first to be accepted by the market.
HONDA CB1100R (1981). The top model of the air-cooled 4-cylinder CB series, a small number of which were released as racing base models. The livery of the later CB1000SF was modeled after this model.
Now is the time for an image strategy that integrates medium and large CBs
The CB1000SF exhibited at the 1991 Tokyo Motor Show was not actually scheduled to go on sale, and was positioned at the time as a teaser model for the CB400SF, which was to be launched in 1992 as the Zephyr to defeat the Zephyr, and to create an image (according to Kishi).
Thus, the CB SuperFour will be a sibling model, with the 1000cc and 400cc models advanced with overlapping images, and it is probably exactly the right time for a new CB, both large and medium-sized, to be in demand today. The CB400SF, in particular, was discontinued at the end of October, and while the supply of new models has been cut off, there is no successor in sight.
It is unclear whether the successor to the CB1000R will join the new 400 or whether the successor to the CB1300SF, which is expected to be discontinued in 2025, will be developed in the same image as the new 400. The current rumor is that a 500cc model with a parallel 4-cylinder engine, also targeting China, will be introduced to Japan.
This is expected to be the successor to the CB400SF, but by overlapping its image with that of the CB1000R or CB1300SF, Honda will be able to strongly promote its image of the Japanese "CB" for the new era. This would also be a weapon against the Z900RS.
HONDA New CB400. Editor's CG forecast. I expect the CB400 Four to be launched at the end of 2024 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the CB400 Fore, which was launched in December 1974. This line would be a good alternative to the CB-F concept, even if it is a large one.
