Honda CB1000F shown in Japan

Hornet-based retro bike to rival the Kawasaki Z900RS

When Honda introduced the new CB1000 Hornet into its 2025 model range there was never much doubt that additional models would join it based around the same engine and chassis platform – and now we’ve seen the first of them in the form of the CB1000F.

Officially it’s still a ‘concept’ but there’s little doubt the CB1000F is an upcoming production bike: not only is it essentially showroom-ready, but Honda showed three examples of the bike  at its unveiling at the Osaka Motorcycle Show – the standard version was joined by two modified machines, a Moriwaki-tuned bike and a custom-painted variant made in conjunction with fashion brand Beams.

If the CB1000F Concept looks familiar, that’s no accident. The styling is nearly identical to the CB-F Concept shown five years ago in March 2020, when it was given a digital unveiling because the Osaka and Tokyo Motorcycle Shows, where it was due to be revealed, were cancelled due to the Covid 19 pandemic. And of course both the CB1000F and the CB-F hark back to an earlier generation of Honda four-cylinders, notably the CB750F that was launched in 1979. Specifically, both the CB-F and the CB1000F feature paintwork reminiscent of the 1981 bike that was raced by Freddie Spencer in the AMA Superbike series.

While visually similar to the 2020 CB-F Concept, the CB1000F uses a different platform, sharing its underpinnings with the new CB1000 Hornet. The older concept had the aluminium frame and single-sided swingarm of the CB1000R, which would have made it a more expensive proposition than the steel-framed, dual-sided-swingarm-equipped CB1000 Hornet-based CB1000F.

Honda hasn’t released specifications, but the engine is the 150hp four based on the last-generation Fireblade motor that’s already used in the CB1000 Hornet, and the main frame, Showa SFF-BP forks and Nissin brakes are also shared with the Hornet. The CB1000F gets a new subframe to suit its retro proportions and a large, chromed exhaust silencer that mirrors the older bikes that inspire it.

The bike’s unveiling comes only weeks after Honda confirmed that the CB1300 Super Four and Super Bol d’Or models that have been in continuous production since the 1990s are being discontinued with a run of ‘Final Edition’ machines. The CB1300 Super Four is, itself, a development of the CB1000F ‘Project Big-1’ of 1992, and a spiritual descendant of the CB750 models that introduced the same style.

The styling aims at authenticity rather than pushing any boundaries. From the circular headlight above twin horns, through the muscular tank and back to the ducktail flip-up at the back of the tail unit, the look is very clearly in the same vein as generations of Hondas that have gone before. There are nods to modernity in the form of the monoshock rear suspension, upside-down forks, radial brakes and TFT instruments, but they don’t clash with the bike’s overall style.

While the CB1300 Super Four has been focused on Japanese domestic sales for years, the CB1000F stands a better chance of becoming a global model. Rivals are already finding a rich seam of customers for their retro bikes – notably the likes of Kawasaki’s Z900RS – and the CB1000 Hornet basis means the CB1000F will hit all the international emissions targets required to be offered around the world. Watch this space for more information as it emerges.