Get up close and personal with the new Honda Hawk 11

THE Honda Hawk 11 has been fairly big news in the last few weeks, as the winged brand makes a striking move into the large capacity café racer market with the revived Hawk nameplate. We now have some high-res images of the bike, although as yet no official technical specification.

In this article, we’ll be trying to decipher what is new, and what is carried over from either the Africa Twin, CMX1100, or newly released NT1100.

Honda Hawk 11 engine

It doesn’t take an engineering genius to figure out that the engine in the Hawk is the same 270° parallel twin-cylinder as is found in the Africa Twin, CMW1100, and new NT1100. Well, outwardly it is anyway. Mechanically the motor may well be the same, although, in this sportiest of the breed, we might see some significant changes to the electronics, assistance, and output.

While the other bikes I mention above all feature power outputs of around 100bhp or less, Honda may take the opportunity to bless the Hawk with a little more top end, a tad less bottom end, and a smidgen more mid-range than the other bikes here.

One thing we do know, and something that was only revealed when these pictures were released, is that the Honda Hawk 11 features three riding modes, like the CMX 1100, in the form of Road, Rain, and Sport, plus two user-configurable options. Like the other NT 1100, Honda Selectable Torque Control and Wheelie Control should also be included.

Honda Hawk 11 chassis, suspension, and brakes

Like the engine, it doesn’t take much detective work to figure out that the frame is the same item as shared across the NT1100 and Africa Twin models. Whether Honda has tweaked the geometry and wheelbase slightly for the new Hawk 11 though remains to be seen.

The suspension comes in the form of 43mm Showa USD forks and a rear shock, the same basic hardware as found on the new NT1100. From the images we have of the new bike, it looks like it may be running slightly less travel than the 150mm the touring machine is graced with. There isn’t much in it though, we might only be talking about five of ten millimetres at most.

Like the frame, the swingarm of the Hawk looks identical to that found on the NT1100. If that is the case on the full production machine (and Honda doesn’t tweak the geometry too much), we could be looking at a wheelbase of around 1,530mm.

The braking system on the bike comes in the form of dual Nissin radially-mounted calipers at the front that bit down on discs or around 310mm in size. It’s not clear as to whether the Hawk gains a cornering ABS system, something that would set it apart from the NT and CMX bikes in the model range.

Honda Hawk 11 electronics

First up is the dash. The Reverse LCD system on the bike looks like it's lifted directly from the CMX 1100 Rebel. It’s a very neat system, clearly laid out, and easy to read. While some may cry for a TFT on any new bike, I’m not sure either the CMX of the Hawk 11 really needs it.

It seems like the Honda Hawk 11 will feature three riding modes, like the CMX 1100, in the form of Road, Rain, and Sport, plus two user-configurable options. On top of that, we’d expect it to also gain Honda Selectable Torque Control, and Wheelie Control as well.

Will the Honda Hawk 11 come to Europe and the UK?

Hard to tell at this time, although the chances are it will. It has literally just been revealed to the public at the Osaka Motorcycle Show in Japan. And while dealers will be clamouring for a funky new roadster to add to their roster, with the way the world is at the moment (global pandemic/conflict/micro-chip shortage), the bike’s future is likely still being mapped out.

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