When the Honda Concept CB appeared at last year’s Tokyo Motor Show there was little doubt that it would eventually replace the CB1100 in the firm’s range and now the original concept has been revised to look even more production-ready.
The changes to the bike, which gained its second showing in Osaka, are subtle but significant. They include a new LED headlight design that’s already been subject to a Honda patent and is clearly destined for the next CB1100 production bike, plus a host of other minor tweaks.
A new seat, which swaps the original suede for a much harder-wearing and cheaper vinyl finish, is one of the more instantly visible alterations. More restrained red paint, replacing the previous bright yellow, is also a hint that the bike is closer to showrooms.
Digging deeper you’ll notice that the indicators are new, and fractionally larger than the ones on the previous concept. That’s likely to be the result of needing to meet type approval rules in Japan, America and Europe. Meanwhile the mirrors have been swapped from rectangular to round, better suiting the circular theme at the front which starts with the twin horns below the headlight, extends into the larger front indicators and now continues to the mirrors.
Compared to the existing CB1100, the Concept CB gains a reshaped fuel tank that’s less angular than the current version, plus a new seat, new pillion peg hangers and a new grab rail. There are also reshaped side covers over the airbox and fuel injection.
Honda is already alone in offering a bike with an air-cooled four-cylinder engine and the firm has committed to ensuring it passes Euro4 emissions rules and ensuring it remains on sale for the foreseeable future. It’s an impressive engineering job, since many other firms are switching to water-cooling in their efforts to beat emissions limits.