The Honda CB is undoubtedly one of the most popular models in the motorcycling world. Coming in all shapes and sizes, the CB is offered in many versions specific to certain markets. While the sporty CB650R and CB1000R are popular models in the western market, there are tons of smaller, more utility and commuting-focused versions specific to the Asian market.
One of them, the CBF190R specific to the
Chinese market, has just been updated for the 2023 model year. In terms of
design and construction, the CBF190R is nearly identical to the Honda Hornet
2.0 sold in India. It’s distinguished only by a few stylistic elements in the
bodywork, graphics, and certain components.
For the 2023 model year, the Honda CBF190R
keeps its angular and sporty bodywork, giving it a similar design language as
Honda’s globally available CB500F and recently launched Hornet 750. Its livery
consists of a sporty white blue and red motif that’s reminiscent of Honda’s
racing liveries from earlier years. It gets an anodized gold inverted front
fork, a bronze crankcase, and a blacked-out cylinder head and exhaust. The
wheels are finished in the same dark blue color found on the bodywork.
On the performance side of things, the
CBF190R delivers similar performance to that of the Hornet 2.0 in the Indian
market. More specifically, it makes use of a 184.4cc, air-cooled,
fuel-injected, single-cylinder engine churning out a maximum output of 17 horsepower
and 11.2 lb-ft of torque. This level of power is commonplace in the entry-level
naked bike and commuter segment scattered throughout the Asian market.
As for the bike’s underpinnings, it gets
an inverted front fork without any adjustability. The rear monoshock features
preload adjustability, allowing you to tweak rear suspension depending on
whether you’re riding with a pillion or carrying a lot of cargo. Last but not
least, Honda has equipped the CBF190R with front and rear disc brakes and single-channel
ABS.
