Blast from the past
Unfaired four-cylinder Honda retro under development
Honda appear to be working on a new retro four-cylinder naked to take on bikes like Triumph’s new 400s and the wave of big-selling Royal Enfields from India.
According to our sources in Japan, who also supplied these renders, the charming upright will come in a 400 capacity for the Japanese market, before being upped to a half litre configuration for Europe.
These images suggest the new bike will be very heavily inspired by the CB families of the 1970s, such as the CB400 Four – with the bodywork and side profile clearly influenced by Hondas of the 1980s.
Honda themselves declined to comment on the rumours when asked, but sources in Japan believe the model will be built to take on the competitive A2 licence class – although it is possible the new motor will exceed the 47bhp limit in unrestricted 500cc form.
If the rumours are accurate, the engine will be a completely new design, likely representing a more premium package to customers wanting something more than Honda’s existing parallel-twin CB500 range.
Despite obvious competition from their own larger displacement CB650R, which also features side swept polished exhaust headers, Honda are likely to pitch the new lightweight at a more nostalgia-driven audience.
Rendered images depict a very different style to the much sportier 650, with conventional (and likely non-adjustable) forks, twin Showa shocks out back and a pair of analogue chrome clocks in front of the upright handlebars.
The bike is expected to feature a basic steel diamond frame – keeping costs down and maintaining the retro aesthetic, alongside basic twin Nissin calipers upfront and a sweeping signature four-intoone exhaust paying homage to motorcycles of the past.
Despite classic looks, the new machine should be anything but old-school when it comes to technology.
Sources suggest Honda will use their E-clutch system, a device that allows the rider to shift, stop and pull away without the need to pull in the lever, and which is already used on their 2024 650 models.
MCN spoke with E-Clutch Large Project Leader, Junya Ono during last year’s EICMA show. He said: “We can also put it on a twin, or even a single cylinder engine without any problems. We can put it on different engines for sure.”
Release dates are as yet unknown and being a totally new engine power figures also remain unknown, although given the capacity we would expect non-restricted performance to be somewhere in the 60-70bhp range.