RETRO REBOOT

Honda should make this: a modern CB900F!

The term ‘UJM’ was coined in the mid-70s to describe your typical standard road-going motorcycle. Short for Universal Japanese Motorcycle, it was a label to describe the trend of predictable machinery made by the big four Japanese companies. The template for a UJM would consist of a four-cylinder motor, a riding position you could take home to meet gran, a tubular cradle frame, twin shocks and a front disc brake. They were bikes that the Japanese could churn out and Honda arguably built the best UJM of the era in the CB series with the twin-cam 750F and 900F. The success of the 750 in AMA racing with Freddie Spencer on board guaranteed the bike iconic status. We thought we’d make our own virtual update. The frame is a mix of tubular steel and billet alloy while weight has been reduced with wheels from the Fireblade parts bin. Ohlins provides the suspension at both ends and Brembo continues its world dominance with effective modern-day radial braking. To save weight pillions are completely ignored so footrests and a subframe to accommodate them aren’t needed. As this is a virtual bike made up in pixels, we spoiled ourselves by giving it a classic twin shock option to satisfy our nostalgia and sit alongside the monoshock variant. Based on the 115bhp CB1300 powerplant, our sleeved-down, watercooled engine carries substantially less weight than the donor bike but with some modern-day production values (lighter internals, more aggressive cams, improved breathing) and tuning actually makes more power at the back wheel with plenty of usable torque. We’d say 130bhp is easily within reach which when combined with the reduced weight over the 1300 will make our CB much, much quicker. Channelling the spirit of Fast Freddie’s 750, we’ve incorporated styling elements from the cult classic into our reboot from the grooves in the sidepanel, to the simplistic panels to the paint. The superbright LED headlight not only uses less power but it saves substantial weight compared to the original and is more compact to boot. cmm