FOR all the bikes in the expansive Honda range, about the only style of motorcycle notable by its absence is a nicely styled middleweight naked retro.
Sure, it has the CB650R, but that's more Neo than retro, and with the new parallel twin-cylinder waiting in the wings, we don't know how much longer it will be around. And the omission of a mid-weight retro is, we think, a bit of an own goal for one of the world’s biggest motorcycle manufacturers. Bikes like the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 are some of the best-selling bikes in the UK, Europe and beyond. And it’s not just Royal Enfield that relies on some retro machines to shift units, Kawasaki, Yamaha and, of course, Triumph all have some middleweight offerings in the class.
Well, that own goal could be turned into a last-minute winner, as the Japanese website Autoby is reporting that a classically styled 750 is on its way, using the engine from both the CB750 Hornet and XL750 Transalp as its powerplant. The new Unicam 750 twin-cylinder is a very punchy unit, with a shade over 90bhp, and 54lb-ft of torque. Its delivery is rev-happy at the top with a significant mid-range shove that would kick every other middleweight retro motorcycle into the weeds. With that in mind, if this new bike did arrive, we’d expect Honda to tone down the delivery slightly, focusing more on delivery, engine character and exhaust note.
For an idea of what the bike could actually look like, we don’t have to do much think very hard. Honda already has a couple of neat-looking, authentically retro machines in the range – they just aren’t models sold in the UK or Europe. The CB350 is a classy-looking, single-cylinder sold in India, while the similar GB350 is a Japan-only model. if Honda wanted to make a good-looking machine based on the new 750cc platform, the little CB would be a good place to start!
