WE were given a taste of what’s to come from the next-generation of Honda’s air-cooled CB1100 range when the firm showed the Concept CB last year. Now it’s going to show a ‘Type II’ version as well.
Due to appear at the Osaka Motorcycle Show this weekend, the Concept CB Type II will appear alongside the existing Concept CB, and is expected to hint at a sportier version of the bike, perhaps including a café racer fairing like that of the CB1100R concept from 2007.
All Honda will say about the Type II at the moment is that it is a “new direction in air-cooled CB models.” However, rumours from Japan predicted that a sportier CB would be shown at last year’s Tokyo Motor Show alongside the Concept CB, which itself previews the next-generation of the naked retro CB1100. The sportier machine didn’t appear at the Tokyo event, but now looks set to be shown.
The Japanese rumours last year interestingly suggested that the sportier model would have a smaller-capacity engine, at 900cc, instead of the 1100cc motor. A shorter stroke would give the motor a higher-revving character. Honda has yet to confirm the capacity of the original Concept CB, but visually its engine is near identical to the existing CB1100 motor.
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