New Honda twin range to spawn Hawk 75, CBR750RR spin-offs?

Honda’s burgeoning 750 twin-cylinder platform is being primed to become a dominant model line in the Japanese firm’s range, it is rumoured.

‘Big Red’ is currently working on developing as many as four new models to use its newly-developed 750cc engine (thought to be 748cc to be accurate), the first of which - the Honda CB750 Hornet - will be formally revealed in the coming months.

Reviving a nameplate last seen on 600 and 900cc models in the early-2010s, the Hornet was quietly swatted from Honda’s range to be replaced by the four-cylinder CBxxxR models boasting chunky neo-retro design.

Previewed in a handful of sketches last month, the Hornet will be pitched as a more direct rival for the Yamaha MT-07 and triple-cylinder Triumph Trident 660 with its sportier dynamics and more rakish looks.

Honda won’t stop there though with the engine set to form the basis of a new Transalp adventure motorcycle. Though it originally planned to use a downsized version of the four-cylinder engine found in the Africa Twin, Honda has instead gone back to the drawing board and re-developed it with a twin to rival the Yamaha Tenere 700 and Aprilia Tuareg 660.

Now word out of Japan speaks of two more models that could be on the horizon in the Hawk 75 and CBR750RR.

According to Young Machine - an authority when it comes to predicting new machinery from the ‘Big Four’ - Honda will expand the all-new Hawk line-up with a ‘75’ version to pair up alongside the recently introduced ‘11’.

Based on the same platform that has already given us the Africa Twin 1100 and NT 1100, the Hawk 11 boasts neo-retro flair in a cafe racer theme. For now though it is only available in Japan, a fate that could also befall the ‘75’, though it is possible the smaller version would get the nod for overseas sales by way of its less impactful emissions.

Similarly, Honda’s mid-range sportsbike options have been reduced to the ‘warm’ CBR650R in recent years because the CBR600RR doesn’t meet Euro 5 emissions targets.

As a result, a replacement of a CBR750RR could do the trick to meet targets and return Honda to the quicker end of the middleweight sportsbike arena. It could also form the basis for a new racing version to compete in WorldSSP now regulations have changed to allow large engined models to compete.

As for where this leaves the current 750cc model in the range - the NC750X - remains to be seen, but this could be reconfigured to be a more dedicated NT750 sports tourer rather than a crossover.