Honda CBX400 and CB1000F – probable models for 2025?

It is evident that we are speculating, but rumors abound. It seems that the return to the lines, to the aesthetics of the late 1970s and early 1980s, and, above all, to the inline four-cylinder engines that marked a large part of Japanese production for decades, may be making a comeback.

In fact, in recent years, manufacturers have been directing their production towards motorcycles with twin-cylinder engines, more economical, but the world market, led by the Chinese market, seems to be increasingly interested in 400cc motorcycles with four inline cylinders.

The arrival of the new Kawasaki ZX400 RR confirms this comeback, and it is undeniable that a very charismatic motorcycling approach has returned. It is also true that the old continent is clearly more oriented towards larger displacement motorcycles, and therefore Honda, by putting into production a CB1000F with typical characteristics of the 1980s, may achieve the goal due to a nostalgia effect that will probably be successful.

Will they really arrive? There is nothing official, but these two new models may indeed be part of Honda’s plans, perhaps with a first presentation in the fall of 2024 and then commercialization in 2025.

The last CB400SF, not marketed in Italy, ceased production in 2022 as a result of new anti-pollution regulations, so Honda would be forced to make an almost completely new engine for this displacement. On the other hand, a possible new CB1000F would have the base of the CB1000 Hornet that we saw at the last Eicma and that we will address in 2024. In this case, it would not be difficult to create a configuration based on the Hornet 1000, an aesthetic configuration capable of reminding us of the motorcycles that became famous in the early 80s and were successful in the early Superbike championships. We can only hope that both bikes are actually part of Honda’s plans and that both are marketed in Portugal. There is no denying that the sound of a four-cylinder is music to our ears, so let’s keep our fingers crossed and wait for official announcements.