Is Honda Resurrecting The Legendary Hawk?

Honda's CB range of UJMs is undoubtedly one of the most iconic in the history of motorcycling. In fact, the first-generation CB750 Four was such a hit, that it secured itself a spot in the Japanese Automitive Hall of Fame. To this day, Honda continues to produce the classic-style CB400 and CB1300 Super Four models exclusively in Japan. The rest of the world, however, gets its Neo Sports Cafe bikes such as the CB650R and CB1000R.

In 2021, Honda unveiled the NT1100 tourer. The bike features the same 270-degree parallel-twin engine first seen on the Honda Africa Twin, and shared with Big Red's newest cruiser, the Rebel 1100. As it would turn out, modern day emissions standards have resulted in manufacturers turning away from high-capacity, multi-cylinder, air-cooled engines, hence the Final Edition of the CB1100RS. While more modern liquid-cooled powerplants continue to exist, the hands of time have forced Honda to bid farewell to the era of air-cooled four-bangers. As such, the parallel-twin engine from the Africa Twin seems to be Honda's newest flavor. 

Already present in three models, it appears that the 1,084cc engine could soon be finding its way to yet another model—the Hawk. Yes, speculation abounds that Honda is resurrecting the iconic moniker, popular in the '70s in the form of the 360-degree parallel-twin powered CB 400T Hawk. Well, true to its name, the new Hawk could indeed be powered by a parallel-twin, alebit one that's more than double the displacement. Japanese automotive publication Young Machine has published an article, as well as a few renders of the supposed Hawk 11. Needless to say, it looks very, very exciting.

Should the Hawk look anything like it is speculated to, we'll likely see a very neo-retro cafe racer complete with a half-fairing, low-slung clip-on bars, and streamlined bodywork. Just like the Rebel 1100, it will carry some of Honda's classic character, albeit reimagined to modern-day design and performance standards. Young Machine speculates that the bike will be showcased at the Osaka Motorcycle Show scheduled in March, as well as in the Tokyo Motorcycle Show. That said, be sure to keep your eyes peeled, as it looks like Honda has a huge surprise for us next month. 

More From Big Red:

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