The Glass: Half-empty or Half-full? Honda CB650F Road Test Review

The stubby, squat styling and angled downpipes give more than a hint of the Hornet, but the look is a bit more modern and benefits from integrated headlamp and radiator surrounds, and the way the tank flows neatly into the seat. The high level of finish — no signs of Thai-built cheapness here — includes gold wheels and a choice of five paint options (not all available in every market), with white/red/blue likely to be most popular.

It all works very well, provided you’re not expecting an overdose of thrills. The seat is quite tall, at 810 mm, but slim enough to let average height riders get their feet down easily enough. There’s a gentle lean forward to the slightly raised one-piece bar. The motor fired up with a restrained purr, and the bike’s impeccable low-rev fuelling, broad torque spread and general efficiency made it controllable and easy to ride.

I wouldn’t have expected anything other than an enjoyable time on a spectacular Alicante launch route whose twisty roads began almost the moment we left the hotel. But the Honda’s smoothness, efficiency and rider-friendliness would be just as welcome on a dark, wet night in town. The controls were slick; there was plenty of steering lock and the throttle response was very smooth.

There was a decent amount of performance, too, though whether the 650F matched the speed and fun factor of the Hornet is another matter. On the plus side that broad torque spread, at least by the standard of middleweight multis, helped make the CB respectably quick, allied to a sweet-shifting six-speed gearbox. But when I was in the mood to go faster, the Honda was a bit reluctant to join in.

It revved hard through the gears if I insisted, the digital tacho’s bar jabbing round towards the 11,300-RPM redline as the bike headed towards a top speed of about 210 km/h. It even added to the entertainment with a throaty howl from that stylish exhaust, as well as the inevitable naked-bike tug at my shoulders at speed. But the CB felt a bit buzzy in the process, and its truncated top-end output wasn’t intended for playing the hooligan.