What is Honda planning for 2020 CB400 Super Four?

(Image courtesy: Wikimedia Commons)

Japanese motorcycle manufacturer Honda seems to be working on a new café racer, to improve its existing CB400 motorcycle. A thorough-bred Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) product, the CB400 seems to be undergoing several changes, as suggested by recently leaked images.

Honda's continuation of the suffix ‘Super Four’ to the motorcycle indicates that the bike will house an improved inline-four-cylinder engine. The patent images also suggest that the bike will be built around a new chassis, with the engine as a stressed member. It is expected that the company will drop the downtube members present in the current model, replacing it with a steel backbone joined by two aluminium side plates at the swingarm pivot.

The swingarm itself gets a redesign and now supports a monoshock. It also gets a bolted-on subframe, which is expected to be made of aluminium. These changes seem to have been done to reduce the weight of the motorcycle.

The patent images also show a rounded fuel tank, sleek tail design, and signature café racer styling. However, the bike misses out on clip-on bars, getting a conventional handlebar instead. The bike is also expected to be equipped with an LED headlight unit, along with a semi-digital console.

The current engine which powers the CB400 makes 56PS of maximum power and 39Nm of peak torque. While the power figures might remain constant, the engine tuning is expected to change for the new motorcycle.