‘How about it, Honda?’
We test Honda’s Hawk 11 in Japan – and we wish they’d import it
Honda’s striking Hawk 11 café racer burst onto the scene at the beginning of 2022, using the parallel twin found in the Africa Twin, NT1100 and CMX1100 Rebel in a sleek package.
Now in production and sharing the same 100.6bhp and 76.8lb.ft of torque as the £12,499 NT1100 tourer, it has sadly never been released in the UK - leaving fans of sporty retro bikes disappointed.
This was made worse still by the demise of the Triumph Thruxton 1200, which will depart dealers at the end of 2024, leaving nothing in the mainstream to scratch that itch.
Featuring the same 92 x 81.4 bore and stroke as the rest of its Honda 1100 siblings, the Hawk uses the NT as a base (itself derived from the now updated Africa Twin range) with a tweaked version of its steel semi double-cradle chassis.
Both bikes feature an easy-going 820mm seat height and 17in road-biased rims, but the Hawk moves away from the NT’s cosseting riding position with clip-on bars beneath the top yoke – shrouded by a neat bikini fairing complete with minimalist circular LCD display.
The styling itself does less to protect you from the wind, with a smaller pillion perch flanked by a more upswept exhaust can to the righthand side. You’ll also find Showa suspension front and rear, which is adjustable for preload only, while dual four-piston radial Nissin calipers provide the stopping power up front.
So, just what is this mystery café racer like to ride and are we missing out? To answer this, we sent our Product Specialist Justin Hayzelden for 250 miles of motorway and mountain road exploration, during a recent trip to Japan to meet the team at Arai helmets.
The short answer is it’s very good, with Justin saying: “It reminds me
very much of the old Yamaha TRX850 and Ducati 900SS – like a gentleman’s GT and almost what Triumph should’ve aimed to achieve with their Speed Triple 1200 RR.
“It allows you to buy into the sports world whilst feeling relaxed,” he continued. “It feels a little bit like the team at Honda built the Hawk for themselves to ride on a sunny weekend afternoon.
“In places it’s something of a bitsa, but in others, there are weirdly unique components such as the exposed fibre glass weave on the inside of the fairings. In that respect, it feels handmade.”
Away from the build, Justin went on to discuss the performance of the twin, adding: “It’s really engaging and – for me – probably the best use of that engine. The fact that it’s got clip-ons and rearsets, and it’s the only one of the 1100s to feel properly sporty makes it appealing.”
He continued: “It’s lovely and grunty, with a V-twin feel to it and it’s all about the torque.”
Although Honda confirmed to MCN this week that there are no plans for the model to come to the UK or Europe, never say never.
But for now the only way to get hold of this characterful 1100 cafe racer is to chat to grey importers and get them interested.
‘Unique parts make the bike feel handmade’