2021 Honda CB1000R and CB1000R Black Edition
Introduced in 2017, Honda’s Neo Sports Café range brings one of the best looking café racer-inspired naked motorcycles to the table.
Among the 7 new updated 2021 models that Honda Motorcycle Europe recently introduced, four of the bikes are from the Neo-Sports Café range. These bikes include Honda CB1000R, CB1000R Black Edition, CB650R and CB125R.
For 2021, the flagship of the Neo-Sports Café range, the Honda CB1000R gets an even more minimalist and purposeful styling. Although it isn’t a full redesign, Honda somehow managed to make the 2021 CB1000R look more updated.
The round LED headlight is now housed in a teardrop-shaped slanted cawl. We think this is a nice touch as this makes the front look much more sleek and minimalist.
At the back, the aluminium subframe has been redesigned too. The new upward slanting aluminium subframe adds a sense of sleekness and sportiness. Besides this, the new seven-spoke wheels add further aesthetic depth to flagship Neo-Sports Café.
Honda Europe also introduced a separate “Black Edition” model which takes the aesthetics to a different level. The Honda CB1000R Black Edition gets a deep graphite black paint scheme as well as blacked-out body parts all over the bike.
Speaking of the blacked-out components, the CB100R Black Edition features; black headlight bezel, fly screen, fork stanchions, exhaust, muffler, radiator and airbox covers.
Besides the aesthetic updates, the mechanical and electrical components on the 2021 CB1000R remain fairly unchanged from the current generation.
In the case of the powerplant, as earlier the engine is derived from the CBR1000RR Fireblade; however, Honda has revised the fuel injection settings with the new 2021 CB1000R. Mated to a 6-speed gearbox, the 999cc inline-four engine offers smooth and responsive power delivery. As before, the Euro 5 compliant 2021 CB1000R also makes 143.5 hp @ 10,500rpm and 104Nm of peak torque @ 8,250rpm.
Suspension duties are done via Showa SFF-BP USD front forks and gas-charged monoshock with HMAS damper at the rear. The rear suspension features 10-step preload and stepless rebound damping adjustments too.
In the case of braking, twin radial-mount callipers with 310 mm diameter floating brake discs upfront and a single 265 mm disc at the rear, take care of braking duties. 2 channel ABS is also standard as earlier.
As for the electronics, both the Honda CB1000R and CB1000R Black Edition get Honda Smartphone Voice Control system and a new 5-inch TFT display. Besides this, other features like the four riding modes, HSTC (Traction control), engine power mode, configurable engine-brake control and others remain unchanged.