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Driving report: Honda CB 1300

Big brother

With the completely redesigned CB 1300, Honda now also wants to cut a large piece of the cake of the large-capacity uncovered. The recipe for this is »Tanoshii«.

The Japanese in general and especially those who belong to the species of motorcycle developers always have a flowery synonym for their product. “Tanoshii” comes from his lips when he hands over the new CB 1300 for a first test drive in Japan. With a beaming smile he underpins the meaning of the word, which in German means fun, pleasure, happiness. So far so good. It remains to be seen whether said Tanoshii will appear while driving. When standing, the CB 1300 radiates cool functionality rather than euphoric bliss.
During the seat rehearsal, however, there is a certain anticipation. With his arms relaxed on the handlebars, the pilot feels comfortable right away on the tightly padded bench at a moderate seat height. When you press the button, the large row of four gently whispers to itself. In Europe, however, the CB 1300 will be more audible because there is no noise-reducing throttle valve in the exhaust manifold of the Japanese model. For Honda, the smooth and clean engaging clutch is almost a matter of course.
And finally the Big Four can prove its potential. Although there is decent propulsion when the throttle valve is fully opened, the bite initially falls short of the high expectations. Only at 3000 rpm does the second wind come, then the 1300 engine pours out its power loosely and pushes the Honda, which weighs more than 250 kilograms, including the driver evenly into the red area. Pleasing for all European interested parties: The export version has 116 hp at 7000 rpm to offer an additional 16 horses, and the lush torque of 117 Newton meters at 6000 revs is also impressive.
The engine picks up the gas cleanly and spontaneously over the entire speed range. The pilot steps through the easy-to-shift, precise transmission with short shifting travel and regulates the forward thrust in fifth gear only with the throttle. After a short period of acclimatization, relaxation begins to spread. But what part does the chassis play in this?
Thanks to the tight coordination of fork and shock absorber, this encourages a more sporty driving style. The handiness is also amazingly good for a motorcycle weighing more than 250 kilograms. The CB 1300 cannot hide its weight in very tight bends alone. The more the curves open, the more the big Honda is in its element. Thanks to the stiff fork, it follows the targeted line with high steering precision. The double disc brake with four-piston calipers always has the ample weight firmly under control. Even a dedicated, moving CB 1300 catch the brakes? astonishingly without the composite brake system CBS – always safely with little manual force and easy control.
TSo anoshii on the whole level? The powerful engine is undoubtedly fun, the stiff chassis is fun, and the driver feels happy after a very short time. The marketing strategists also want to participate in this, at the latest when they achieve their ambitious goal of selling four thousand units each in Japan and Europe.

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