#Honda

Having grown up around motocross, and with a couple of years on the road on two wheels some 13-plus years ago, throwing my leg back over a motorcycle this past summer was anything but starting from scratch (thankfully). Sure, I was a little rusty to say the least, but the essence of riding isn’t something easily forgotten. After a few quick jaunts, I was back in the swing of things. Though the mechanics and principles remain the same, the new motorcycle market for more novice riders is a completely different beast than it was the last time I was on two wheels. A veritable boom of larger, and frankly more appropriate “starter bikes” is well underway in the form of the 300cc class. These more approachable and rookie friendly rides aren’t like the undersized and underpowered 125s and 250s that have been around for decades, which is a fantastic thing – a serious win for new riders who are on the taller side. Throwing my 6’1 frame over a CBR 125, well, can you picture the bear riding a minibike in a Russian circus? You get the idea.

American Honda is celebrating its 60th birthday in 2019, and as part of that celebration comes the release of the all-new Honda Super Cub. First introduced in 1958, it took a couple years before it came Stateside. Since then, Honda has sold over 100,000 100,000,000 (that’s 100 million) of the little scoots worldwide, making it the best-selling motor vehicle in the history of motor vehicles.

We just picked our ten best Used Bikes Under $5k last month – a pretty impressive list and, for me personally, a fine financial cut-off point. You really can get a lot of reliable motorcycle for $5k, with plenty of life left.

With 100 million Honda Super Cubs sold around the world, and counting, Honda holds the title as having the best selling motor vehicle in history. For comparison’s sake, Volkswagen only sold 23.5 million Volkswagen Beetles. The Super Cub is the machine that put Honda on the map, and as with all iconic vehicles, there’s a treasure trove of history and information stashed deep inside the Honda archives few know about – until now. With the introduction of the 2019 Honda Super Cub, on American Honda’s 60th anniversary, the company shared with us some interesting information I simply didn’t have room for in the First Ride review. So here are some fun facts about the Honda Super Cub.

It was only seconds after hopping aboard the 2019 Honda C125 Super Cub that laughter started to erupt. Despite rainy weather and cool temperatures, we journos couldn’t help but smile on the new Super Cub, and we hadn’t even left the parking lot of 4077 Pico Blvd – the site of the original American Honda HQ. This is the effect the Super Cub has on people; even those whose job it is to test ride every motorcycle under the sun. It’s cute, it’s inviting, and it’s just fun. If you can’t have a laugh on it, you’re dead inside. In a world where digital media is stealing away everyone’s attention (including yours since you’re reading this), maybe the Honda Super Cub can reinvigorate motorcycling in America just as it did 57 years ago when the original Honda Super Cub (called the Honda 50 here in the States) arrived on these shores.

Right, it’s that time of year again when all the new bikes are out, and we ask ourselves, which one must I have? Followed by a look at the price tag, and an immediate switching of the Train of Thought onto the Used Bike siding, particularly all the ones that have slipped below the $5,000 threshold ($5k is usually my cut-off point when it comes to buying automobiles – I have my eye on a 2004 Jaguar XJR right now – but in the spirit of the Trump Economic Miracle, let’s pretend like I’d spend that much on a motorcycle).

The first thought that went through my head when our former bro, Brent Jaswinski, was assigned to attend the Honda CRF450L launch was, “Damn, that’s going to be a fun one.” The new Honda dual-sport was a much-anticipated model with promises of real trail bike performance in a plated package. Did it live up to the hype? Well, I couldn’t wait for Brent to write his review. So, I shot him a text, “How was it?” To be honest, I’m pretty sure I texted him while he was still at the launch for the bike. I was curious, as was the rest of the world, about whether this new model would be a thrilling performance-driven machine, or yet another soft polite dual-sport with street bike mentality. I don’t remember exactly, but I’m pretty sure he responded with something along the lines of, “It rips!” It was at that moment I couldn’t wait to start planning a comparison of the Honda CRF450L against the time-tested king of dual-sports the KTM 500 EXC-F.

Every year Motorcycle.com gets invited to the press introductions for several new motorcycles – it’s the biggest perk of our job, and the reason all of us have stuck around as long as we have! The cycle goes like this: at the end of one year or the beginning of the next, manufacturers talk a big game about a new model launch, and/or the internet goes wild with social media rumors and opinions about a new bike. In turn we, the media, can’t wait to be the first to throw a leg over said bike to see what the fuss is about. Sometimes the motorcycle in question is a dud, other times it exceeds beyond our wildest dreams. Then you get the rare model that didn’t get much fanfare but turns out to be unexpectedly awesome.

We probably didn’t really need to compare the Honda CB1000R and Kawasaki Z900RS Cafe since they’re polarized enough in the looks department to make it appear that potential consumers will be drawn to one or the other – and their performance and mission statements both are close enough on paper to make them more or less interchangeable, aren’t they? I think we really just wanted an excuse to ride both of them again, they’re both such charismatic motorcycles. Everybody wants to hang out with them. What is a café racer? One that flits from Starbucks to Starbucks? Close enough for us.

With the championship already decided, what was there left for fans to root for in the MotoGP finale at Valencia? How about Pol Espargaro earning his first ever premier class podium? How about him doing it on a KTM machine, giving the Austrian factory their first MotoGP podium as well? How about Álex Rins giving Suzuki four podia in a row for the first time since 1994 and establishing his dominance over your boy Johann Zarco?

MotoGP’s traditional Valenciana finalé, in years like this, resembles a boxing match in which the undercards are vaguely entertaining, and the main event is moved from late Saturday night to Tuesday afternoon and closed to the public. Sure, it would still be great to have a ticket. Even with all three championships decided, you could still get solidly buzzed, maybe work on your tan, and stoke a few adrenaline rushes of your own for your €100. Get your picture taken with a bunch of bored fashion models, too.

There’s an undeniable appeal to the Honda Grom and other little bikes like it – the Kawasaki Z125, Kymco K-Pipe 125, SSR Razkull, and Benelli TnT135 come to mind. All of these little tikes offer silly amounts of fun for a relatively small ding to your wallet. Of course, gearheads being gearheads, we can’t leave well enough alone, and it was only a matter of time before the aftermarket had gone crazy modifying these things. It’s madness to see this little 125cc, two-valve Single, meant for simple mass transit especially in the Asian market, get transformed to fire-breathing racers with five-speed transmissions and carbon fiber wheels costing more than the bike itself! We’ve even seen some making double their stock 10-ish horsepower! Imagine taking your bike and bolting on twice the power.

Honda is bringing its sporting motorcycles more in line with each other, much in the way that it has embraced the Neo Sports Café for its sporty standards. Take, for example, the 2019 Honda CBR650R (née CBR650F). 

For 2019, the Honda CB500X  undergoes a bit of a transformation. Now with a more adventure-y style, the perky Twin should win new fans.

If you liked the 2018 Honda CB1000R but wanted it in a middleweight package, here’s the bike for you. From the Neo Sports Café styling to the revvy inline-Four, there’s a lot to like about the 2019 Honda CB650R.