Honda Neo Sports Café 650 Retro-Modern Concept revealed at Paris Motor Show

The Honda Neo Sports Café 650 concept has been revealed at the 2018 Paris Motor Show. The motorcycle concept features a 650cc inline-four engine with a retro-modern style. The styling cues are similar to the CB300R and CB1000R. The production version should be a replacement for the CB650F and could go on sale as the CB650R.

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At the front, the motorcycle features a full LED headlight that is spherical in shape. The headlight is placed on a panel that appears to be in a brushed aluminium finish. The final product, similar to the CB1000R and the CB300R, is expected to feature just the headlight sans the panel. Behind the headlight is a single-piece handlebar that should support an upright riding posture. The concept motorcycle misses out on an instrument console but the production version will most likely feature fully-digital instrumentation.

The fuel tank gets a muscular look that is further enhanced by the addition of shrouds on either side. The concept motorcycle is seen with a dual tone finish on the fuel tank with red highlights and the combination looks quite appealing. We hope Honda retains the paint scheme on the production-spec version. The tank is followed by a rider-only saddle while a body coloured cowl with red highlights, similar to the theme on the fuel tank, sits in place of the pillion seat. We still hope that Honda offers the rear cowl as an optional accessory.

The 4-1-2 exhaust pipe layout ends with SC exhaust system. The exhaust features a CB branding, and so does the fuel tank (on the top) and the shrouds. The SC exhaust will be replaced by a stock unit on the production version.

Engine specifications are most likely to be carried over from the current Honda CB650F. Powering the new model could be the same 649cc, inline 4-cylinder, liquid-cooled, 4-stroke, DOHC, 4-valves engine on the Neo Sports  Café 650. The motorcycle, however, may arrive with Euro V compliance that is scheduled to come into effect from 2020. Hence, the performance figures could differ marginally.

For reference, the current generation Honda CB650F draws 91 PS of maximum power at 11,000 rpm and 64 Nm of peak torque 8,000 rpm. The engine will continue to use the 6-speed gearbox. Braking is courtesy of dual disc rotors at the front and a single disc at the rear. Both the units are flanked by Nissin-sourced callipers.

Unlike the current CB650F, the Neo Sports Café 650 concept uses upside-down telescopic front forks and the hardware will most likely be retained in the production-spec version too. At the rear is a mono-shock suspension.

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While the company is yet to divulge details on the release date of the production-spec model, we may see the final model some time in 2019.