THE Hawk 11 shares the motor and engine mounting of the Africa Twin and NT1100, both of which are sold in the UK.
It is a great disappointment that the Hawk 11 is, according to Visordown’s Honda UK sources, not coming to the UK at all, especially considering the appetite for cafe racers, modern classics and retro bikes over here.
It was already confirmed by the time the bike was launched in the Osaka Motorcycle Show back in March that the Hawk 11 was not, at that time, planned for the European market. But our most recent information is that Honda are not planning to bring the bike to the UK at all.
We are currently in a moment of nostalgia, and particularly of romanticisation of 1960s and 1970s culture. Cafe racers fit perfectly into that, and with its 1084cc motor that powers the popular aforementioned adventurer and tourer of Honda’s current roster, the new Hawk distinguishes itself from other cafe racers, which generally feature smaller-capacity motors.
Of course, there are exceptions, like Triumph’s Triple 1200 RR and Thruxton Rs models, or Kawasaki’s Z900RS Cafe, but the Hawk 11 would not have been totally out of its depth in that field. And, evidently Honda do not have a different opinion, since they built the bike to be sold anyway. Why, exactly, they decided that the UK market is so different to others, then, remains mysterious.
One school of thought is that Honda is letting the newly released NT1100 have some time in the limelight, to give the new model some breathing space. That could be making the brand reluctant to introduce a new bike with the same motor to the market, with a lack of certainty about being able to sell as many units as they project, intend, or ship over for sale.
Whatever the reason, it is certainly a shame that the Honda Hawk 11 will not be coming to the UK, if for nothing else than that it would make the roads of the UK slightly prettier, but hopefully in time Honda will change their minds, and let their new cafe racer loose in Britain.
