Honda Designs CB500 and CBR500 Instead of a 400cc Bike

With all the motorbike biggies of the world ready to launch some exciting bikes soon, Honda is gearing up with a move of its own. The Japanese motorbike manufacturer was rumoured to be developing a 400cc CBR, i.e. CBR400, but has actually gone ahead and designed a 500cc two wheeler instead. Two pictures of the bikes were posted on the internet by a user, who seems to know quite a lot about the engines of the upcoming 500cc bikes. Kawasaki recently launched Kawasaki Ninja 300 and Kawasaki ZX-6R in New York, and further intends to launch Kawasaki Z800 and a 400cc version, and probably got Honda to go for the 500cc Honda CBR500 that will give head-on competition to the yet-to-be-launched Kawasaki Ninja 400R. On the other hand, Honda CB500 will be a naked street-fighter version of Honda CBR500.

But why would this Japanese motorbike biggie want to introduce a 500cc bike when they already have the Honda CBR600RR? First, while CBR600RR is an outright sports bike, CBR500 is more of a sports tourer. Second, this bike will also help the company deal with the huge gap between its CBR250R and CBR600RR. Also, CBR600RR will be cosmetically upgraded, which will help differentiate it from CBR500 since they look quite similar for now. Honda CBR500 will run on a 500cc, twin-cylinder engine, and will be capable of delivering a power to the tune of 46bhp and 40 Nm of torque.

Quite like CBR250R, CBR500 employs a tubular frame, single front disc brake, and telescopic forks. Rumour has it that Honda could reveal the CBR500 and CB500 next month. But there is still no news of Honda's target markets for these 500cc masterpieces. That said, the bikes will be manufactured in Thailand and may be even in India. While the apparent specs imply an aggressive price of about Rs 3.75 lakh, Honda will be able to gain a staggering price advantage over its rivals if it manufactures these bikes in India.  

Source: Bike Advice