[motorcyclistonline] - Honda Previews 2016 CBR500R | FIRST LOOK

[Ninjette Newsbot]

Honda likes to tease us. All of us. For a very long time the RCV231V-S (see First Ride here) was a stack of rumors and denials thick enough make a hiking bridge. Word of the Africa Twin was in the air months before the actual bike broke cover. Careful, thoughtful Honda. So tease-y.

Big Red's at it again. We've been given intentionally vague information about the 2016 CBR500R and told to wait a week or so for the AIMExpo to arrive.

©Motorcyclist


Enlarge this photo (click on the magnifying glass icon ) and look closely. Can you see the changes from the current CBR500R?




What know from the cryptic pre-intro material is that the CBR now has LED headlights and more "aggressive styling," along with "numerous" updates. What we can see from the photo is that the CBR appears to have a larger front brake and possibly new wheels; there's evidence of a disc carrier where the current bike's rotor bolts straight to the wheel. The tank, riding position, and seats appear to be the same or at least very similar. We can see a different exhaust system—or perhaps just a different cover treatment—along with revised footpeg carriers. It's also clear that the main fairing's side panels are different this year, too, perhaps picking up a little from the newly released CBR650F.

Absolutely no word on the bike's mechanicals or price, though the tame parallel-twin is likely to remain largely unchanged and we'd be surprised to see much of a bump from the current bike's $6,299 ($6,799 with ABS) MSRP.




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