Honda Hawk 11 Revealed in Japan

Honda has released the first full photos of its new Hawk 11, which reveals a bullet-faired development of the Neo-Sports Café design theme based on the Africa Twin and NT1100 engines and chassis. The first images were released at the start of the Osaka Motorcycle Show in Japan, but the full reveal of the Hawk 11 isn't expected until the Tokyo Motorcycle Show on March 25, where it will be the highlight of Honda's presentation.Although the photographs don’t give much away, it is evident that the SOHC engine is the same 100 horsepower configuration seen on the Africa Twin. The Hawk will be close to the Africa Twin in terms of performance and will produce 100 hp at 7,500 rpm and 77 pound-feet at 6,250 rpm. Unlike the Africa Twin, which offers Honda's semi-automatic DCT transmission as an alternative to the normal six-speed manual, the Hawk is initially only available with a traditional six-speed. That makes sense given the bike's back-to-basics aims.The frame comes straight from the Africa. It is a steel semi-double-cradle design, with a bolt-on subframe. It gets a 17-inch alloy wheels. Up front, the Hawk gets its own Showa SFF-BP fork, as well as Nissin four-pot radial calipers. The rotors, however, appear to be the same 310mm units used on the NT1100.Honda is especially proud of the Hawk's ergonomics, demonstrating that it can suit riders ranging in height from 5-foot-1 to 5-foot-11 or more, seemingly without the need for an adjustable seat height. The same images that depict the riding position also reveal that the odd, low-placed mirrors—which dangle from the fairing but are mounted below the bars—are far enough forward to keep the rider's hands from impeding their vision. Because they reflect the view below the rider's arms, they may be crisper than traditional, high-mounted mirrors, which often reflect more of your shoulders than the traffic behind you.The Hawk, like the other models in Honda's lineup that use this engine, offers ride-by-wire with numerous engine maps and riding modes that change the outright power levels as well as the throttle responsiveness. There is also engine braking control that can be adjusted. However, all signs are that Honda intends for this to be a low-cost machine; the instruments use a simple liquid-crystal display, with a small circular gauge displaying all the information, rather than the bigger, full-color TFT that is becoming more widespread. Because the Hawk shares many components with the Africa Twin and NT1100, economies of scale should allow the Hawk to be priced lower than you might anticipate for a twin-cylinder sportbike in this capacity class.Initially, it appears that the Hawk will be a Japanese-market model; all of Honda's publicity for the bike has so far been centered on Japan. However, with an engine that already fulfills all international emissions regulations and chassis components shared with two worldwide models in the form of the Africa Twin and NT1100, all logic says that the Hawk will be released around the world in due course.In addition to the basic Hawk 11, Honda has shown the initial elements of a set of aftermarket Hawk 11 components. An updated version has been exhibited, with silver and black paint instead of the blue and silver of the initial exhibition model, a Moriwaki exhaust, and alternate rear-set footpegs, with more bolt-on parts promised in the future, as well as a planned line of Hawk riding gear.