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Honda CB 650 F in the driving report (2014)

Delicacies for four-cylinder fans

Lord! When did that happen before? Four elbows so beautiful that they attract thieves! In Spain, MOTORRAD was able to find out whether that’s all or the new Honda CB 650 F has even more to offer.

Please don’t cry out now! Of course, there have been manifolds that aroused just as much desire: The Honda CB 400 F, which rolled off the assembly line from 1975 to 1978, was equipped with a manifold that was at least equal, the four pipes of which led into a single silencer. Apart from this similarity, there are hardly any parallels between the Honda VS.B 650 F and the CB 400 F.

Honda CB 650 F in the driving report

Delicacies for four-cylinder fans

Price on par with a three-cylinder Yamaha MT-09

And so you sneak around the Honda CB 650 F and have to nod approvingly without having driven even a meter. The two cast wheels with their delicate spokes are not only light but also beautiful. This also applies to the huge 320 brake discs, which are made in wave design. And while the competition almost invariably relies on steel swing arms for low-cost products, at Honda they reach for the aluminum shelf for the CB 650 F. No question about it: nothing looks cheap.

Unfortunately, neither is the machine: At 7690 euros plus 265 euros in additional costs, the price is on par with a three-cylinder Yamaha MT-09. It is only 300 euros more expensive, but serves 28 hp and 25 Nm more and weighs 20 kilograms less. To put that in perspective, here are the values ​​for the 208 kilogram Honda CB 650 F: 87 hp at 11,000 rpm and 63 Nm at 8,000 rpm. So there must be other reasons to fall in love with the 650s. And that’s what we have to experience. Here we go!

The knee connection to the Honda CB 650 F is great

The seating position is typical for Honda. Nothing pinches or pinches, all riders from small to large have their legs stowed away, and the knee angle is never extreme. The knee connection to the Honda CB 650 F is also great, the fittings and levers are hand-held, everything is in the place where you would probably have screwed it down yourself. Pressing the electric start button frightens the four-cylinder from its rigidity. It hums cautiously from the silencer, first gear snaps smoothly into its claws.

The route leads casually from the city to the Spanish hinterland, where you can really put the spurs on the newly designed four-cylinder Honda CB 650 F for the first time. The following things go through your head: Officially, the CB 650 F from Honda is traded as a streetfighter with good manners. It replaces the Hornet 600 in the model range and is intended to close the gap between the CB 500 and the CB 1000 R. The engineers’ specifications stated: nimble handling, low fuel consumption, pleasant torque curve from the low rev range plus a real four-cylinder feeling including high revs. Oh, that was all?

Four-cylinder turns easily to just over 11,000 rpm

The fact is: The 649 cm³ strong engine of the Honda CB 650 F takes on the gas cleanly in all areas and never seems to be limp even in the lower and middle third of the speed. If you open the shower, you will be rewarded with noticeable acceleration in any situation. The four-cylinder is extremely elastic and does not refuse to work even at low speeds. And vibrations? Of course there are, they are available with fine frequencies, especially at medium speeds of around 5000 rpm, but don’t really bother you. Unfortunately, the new four-cylinder does not have the greedy thirst for revs of a CBR 600 RR or Honda Hornet 600, both of which for an extra portion of gasoline into the fire from 8000 rpm.

Nevertheless, it turns easily up to just over 11,000 rpm, but is emphatically everyday-friendly. Which means nothing else than that you can interconnect from time to time. Even if you drive one gear too high, you will still experience a respectable forward thrust, because the engine tenses its muscles from 3000 rpm. Wiring is a good keyword: the gears of the Honda CB 650 F driven at the presentation sometimes did not lock perfectly. Whether this is an individual case will be seen in the course of future tests.

Equipped with ABS as standard

The Honda guys did a good job of setting up the suspension. The shock absorber of the Honda CB 650 F, which is linked directly to the swing arm, cuts a fine figure both alone and in pairs, and the response is okay. Only those who are sporty, who approach it very quickly and are accordingly hard on the brakes, sometimes miss the perfect feedback from the front. The fork is certainly up to 95 percent of all requirements, but for extreme brakes it could be more tightly damped. The fact that such drivers can indulge their passion here is due to the good braking performance of the system, which is equipped with ABS as standard. At the front, two double-piston floating calipers that bite into huge 320 mm discs slow down. A 240 mm disc is used at the rear. As already introduced with the NC models, a front and a rear brake disc are punched from a stainless steel plate in one operation. Which of course reduces the production costs.

Cigarette break. It’s a pleasure to go around the machine again and sometimes discover new details that were born with a love for the bike or out of logical consequence. For example, the engine looks quite clean, the cooling circuit needs only a few hoses. Durable LEDs are installed in both the front headlights (position light) and the rear light. And the steel frame with its oval main tubes doesn’t look cheap either. The little four-cylinder is fun, the journalists agree. It remains to be seen whether he will be able to prevail in the range of cheap bikes with this price. But in order not to be unkind or to compare two-cylinder apples with four-cylinder pears or three-cylinder oranges: the Honda CB 650 F will remain a delicacy for a four-cylinder fan. And that’s not just because of the beautiful bends.

Technical specifications

plant

The four-cylinder engine of the Honda CB 650 F is fun.

Honda CB 650 F.

Engine: Water-cooled four-cylinder four-stroke in-line engine, two overhead, chain-driven camshafts, four valves per cylinder, bucket tappets, wet sump lubrication, injection, Ø 32 mm, regulated catalytic converter, 343 W alternator, 12 V / 9 Ah battery, mechanically operated multi-disc oil bath clutch, six-speed gearbox, O-ring chain, secondary ratio 42:15.

Bore x stroke: 67.0 x 46.0 mm
Displacement: 649 cm³
Compression ratio: 11.4: 1
Rated output: 64.0 kW (87 hp) at 11,000 rpm
Max. Torque: 63 Nm at 8000 rpm

landing gear: Bridge frame made of steel, telescopic fork, Ø 41 mm, two-sided swing arm made of aluminum, suspension strut,
directly hinged, adjustable spring base, double disc brake at the front, Ø 320 mm, double-piston floating calipers, disc brake at the rear, Ø 240 mm, single-piston floating caliper, ABS.

Cast aluminum wheels: 3.50 x 17; 5.50 x 17
Tires: 120/70 ZR 17; 180/55 ZR 17

Dimensions + weights: Wheelbase 1450 mm, steering head angle 64.5 degrees, caster 101 mm, spring travel f / r 120/128 mm, seat height 810 mm, weight with a full tank of 208 kg, permissible total weight 396 kg, tank capacity 17.3 liters.

Guarantee: two years
Colors: yellow, black, silver, tricolor (blue / white / red)
Price: 7690 euros
Additional costs: 265 euros

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