Honda introduced this middleweight naked roadster for the 2019 model year as part of its Neo Sports Café family, positioning it as the successor to the earlier CB650F. The new nameplate marked a more focused direction for Honda’s four-cylinder middleweight street bikes, with styling and chassis development aimed at a cleaner, more premium, and more compact roadster character. In Honda’s own model history, it appears as a distinct CB-series entry beginning in 2019, rather than a continuation of the CB650F name.
The model quickly became known as Honda’s contemporary inline-four naked in the upper-middleweight class, combining everyday usability with a more modern design language than the CB650F it replaced. Honda later updated the bike for the 2024 model year with refreshed styling and technology, including the availability of its E-Clutch system, which brought the nameplate into a new chapter without changing its core identity. That update helped keep the bike relevant in a segment where Honda has continued to evolve its standard-roadster lineup.
The CB650R has remained part of Honda’s ongoing global motorcycle range, representing the brand’s long-running CB roadster tradition in a modern, neo-retro form. It sits between smaller CB models and larger four-cylinder machines, and its significance lies in being a mainstream, production middleweight that carries Honda’s classic inline-four heritage into the present day.