Creating a supernaked requires quite a precise balancing act and you are unlikely to please all of your potential customers. On one hand you have those who put performance above all else, demanding a balls-to-the-wall naked sportsbike that will more than match its faired sibling in most aspects, but does so with flat bars instead of clip-ons. However, a slightly less vocal – yet just as happy to part with their cash – section of the buying public want something a little more, shall we say, refined… In 2008, when Honda created its allnewsupernaked, you can imagine who it set out to please.
To be fair to Honda, it did make much more of an effort with the CB1000R than its previous big-capacity naked bike, the CB900 Hornet. Where the Hornet both looked and felt very much a budget naked, from a distance, the CB1000R has far more about it, with classy touches