Honda CB650F

The striking looks of the Honda CB605F are very reminiscent of the Honda Hornet. The bike carries its stripped-down look very well. A lot of the visual appeal of the bike comes down to mechanical aspects like the glorious pipes snaking down the front. The candy chromosphere paint on the muscular fuel tank acts merely as a beautiful case for the bronze colored engine. The tank fairings look like splashes of silver. The lines of the bike are just as muscular and organic as the tank.

Like all its contemporary naked bikes, this too has a Transformers-inspired headlamp design. There is the smallest of bikini fairings over the instruments with stalk-mounted indicators flanking it on each side. The indicators and the tail light also use LEDs but they look decidedly dated. The slim tail section houses a curvy seat and a huge mudguard with the indicators mounted near the number plate. The exhaust is mid-mounted and almost disappears under the visual weight of the bike.

The bike is indeed compact with a length of 2098 mm, a width of 826 mm, and height of 1358 mm. The wheels are 12 spoke alloys and use 120/70 front and 160/60 rear tires. The instrumentation uses two separate digital display that comes with a gear position indicator. It does, however, pose some problems with visibility, especially in the sun.   

The Honda CB650F’s very much visible twin-spar steel frame uses the engine as a stressed member. It also gets the assistance of Showa’s 41 mm dual bending valve telescopic forks. These imitate cartridge style forks and while being non-adjustable, give the bike variable damping dependent on the conditions. The rear gets preload adjustable rear shocks. The handlebars are rubber mounted to reduce vibrations. The handlebars are very wide making it difficult to swing around on the twisties. But it is in the urban jungle that they really go to town. Breezing through the traffic at slow speeds is really easy.

The narrow stature of the bike and the rear-view mirrors are also very cooperative in this. The suspension works well in giving a planted feel on corners as well as fast straights. But at 208 kg, it does pose a challenge. The seat is very comfortable and will be your perfect companion on long journeys. The seat height of 810 mm is a bit high, but the high handlebars and the position of the foot pegs give it relaxed ergonomics.   

Powering the Honda CB650F is a 649 cc liquid cooled and fuel injected DOHC inline four with 4 valves per cylinder. Power delivery is a bit sluggish to begin with but really comes into its own above 8000 rpm. The peak power of 89 hp then comes at 11000 rpm. Peak torque of 63.6 Nm is delivered at 8000 rpm. This lack of power at the lower end, however, is characteristic of inline fours and actually gives it a more learner-friendly power output. But give it an open highway and it will leave all its competitors in the dust. The inline four also comes with its characteristic growl. The 6-speed transmission gets tight gear ratios – tighter than the CBR650 between the 2nd and the 5th. The fuel tank has a capacity of 17.3-litre and the company claims a mileage of 21 kmpl.

The Honda engineers have given the CB650F great braking feel with a dual 320 mm disc setup in the front and single 240 mm disc in the rear. The bike also comes with 2 channel ABS as standard. Honda also throws in a tank pad possibly because of how good the brakes are.

The Honda CB650F ticks a lot of middleweight naked street bike checkboxes. It is stylish, comfortable, has learner friendly power and commuter like ergonomics. This is in fact exactly what is expected from a bike of this class and the Honda delivers it in spades. Both new and mature riders will appreciate it for these facts. For anyone looking for a middleweight naked with an inline four, missing this will be a mistake.