HONDA CB1000R (2008 - 2017) Review

Year: 2009

Annual servicing cost: £150

Its a Honda so it will last as long as you want it too.

Buying experience: Bought from a dealer 4 years ago with 4k on the clock.Paid top dollar. Was in like new condition

Year: 2016

No worse features ABS fantastic with a truly great build Recommend to a friend yes

Year: 2016

It handles so well like it was just made for me

Buying experience: Dealer

Year: 2012

Annual servicing cost: £120

Love this bike,have upgraded from a vtr 1000 and this is hands down as much fun,lighter and corners slightly better when set up properly

Buying experience: Dealer

Year: 2016

Annual servicing cost: £575

Dual breaking is a must

Buying experience: Bought from a dealer Advertised at £5, 400 and paid £5,275

Version: CB1000R RA ABS

Year: 2012

Annual servicing cost: £160

Typical well made honda some say boring i say fast and forgiving.

Version: abs

Year: 2010

Annual servicing cost: £250

you only keep a bike for ten years if is very good! I have a mate who has done the Californian track school to the fourth stage and has owned many bikes and he loves this bike.

Buying experience: bought the bike new in 2010 from Honda ecosse Aberdeen and they have never let me down.

Year: 2008

The best bike I ever owned, easy fun and reliable, I gave 4 of 5 stars because it lacks a bit of power and character (sound) from the engine and the modern day gimmicks (auto blipper, maps, screen etc.). Other than that it is a better bike than most of the competitors that I have driven.

Version: CB1000R+

Year: 2019

Annual servicing cost: £120

Very handsome bike with a stylish unique attitude. Comfortable riding position , lots of power all the way through the rev range. Smooth power delivery until higher revs then things get a bit hairy like any other big four. Quickshifter is great up and down the gears. Very easy to ride and the handling encourages enthusiastic riding. High speed you feel plenty of head wind. But it is a naked. factory Suspension settings is set up for lighter riders.

Version: Plus model

Year: 2018

The bike itself does what is says on the tin, many smiles-per-mile!

Buying experience: Got mine from a very good dealer who did me a deal on my 17-plate Fireblade.

Version: plus model

Year: 2018

Annual servicing cost: £150

The best features are its looks, apart from the exhaust (but that does grow on you). I would definitely recommend to a friend.

Buying experience: I bought new from my local dealer.

Version: RA-F Tri-colour

Year: 2015

Annual servicing cost: £180

It's a capable and well balanced bike. Plenty for the average rider to have bags of fun on the twisties on a nice sunny weekend. And still tame enough to be an amazing commuter on weekdays. Since 2008 little updating has left it lagging with competitors but don't be fooled by the lack of modern electronics or apparent lack of power. You'll be pleasantly surprised with the build quality and the real-world usability of this bike.

Buying experience: Bought from a dealer brand new. The dealer probably convinced me more than the bike itself. It's been very well looked after since purchasing the bike. The price was £10.5k after a bit of negotiating and part ex. paid £7.5k.

Year: 2011

Annual servicing cost: £100

Easy to ride and a design that still turns heads.

Year: 2009

My wife bought me this for my 50th total surprise, not really rode a motor cycle for since the kids came along 25 years years ago, now at 53 me and my Honda cb1000r are still love, as for the wife yes I love her to, if I could fault it at all like most in line fours it just lacks a bit of soul, having been brought up on old second hand triumphs BSA's a whole hoist of two stokes and few Italian Classic's I do now find myself thinking about a change, the problem is that everything I look at falls at the side of this great get it out the shed go for a blast animal that makes me grin and, at the of the day that is what most Blokes my age do. 2hours is quite enough to satisfy my Saturday Sunday time slot both days .12000 miles faultless fun hard pressed to beat one of these ,very easy to ride regards Mr wood chesterfield

Version: ABS

Year: 2011

Annual servicing cost: £150

This really is 2 bikes in 1. At slow speeds through heavy traffic it is like a much smaller CC bike in it's easy going throttle, light clutch, comfort and agility. The gearbox is always silky whether filtering or at full throttle madness. Honda don't say if it has a slipper clutch but bang down the gears aggressively or blip on down shifts, it doesn't matter - the gears just slip in and the rear never locks up or shifts around. I love going through the gears at full wack on this thing! Pulls like a sports bike. The only thing I don't like are the are the stock mirrors, they are both too narrow and not in the style of the rest of the bike. Rizoma sorts this out!

Buying experience: Dealer. Got £800 off the asking price.

wanted to like this bike because to me it looks gorgeous and with the straight bars should be practical.However for and I must emphasis for me as I am sure many others don't I found it to be very uncomfortable. The problem I had was the magic triangle ie seat bars and pegs position.I felt that I was being pushed forward too much and even having had a gel pad placed in the seat I could not get comfortable.The end of the bars seemed to be looking upwards which also made it and I emphasis again for me uncomfortable and to make matters worse I seem to have brought one that had vibration through the bars which also made riding it a chore.The other issue I had was that the pegs seemed to be too high for me and after 50 miles my knees started to ache.It must be said though that I am a 61 year old man so that could be a big contributary factor in the issues that I had as well.On a positive note its a Honda so has Honda quality it looks gorgeous corners like a dream and the engine is a dream and even with a standard exhaust sounds brilliant.So in summary I would say if you are considering buying one don't be put off by any of my negative points as it may have been just me but do make sure that you have a good long test ride and also consider what you want the bike to do.Foolishly having brought it I thought about touring in France and I am sure you can do that in fact I know that you can but if you want to do that rather than mainly ride it local then get a GS etc or perhaps like me buy Tiger 1050

The CB 1000R is a very good bike, out of the box... but with the correct tuning it is a really great bike. Take off all the extra weight, stock exhaust, de cat, rear pegs , tail light lump, etc , install a power commander 5 and a full akrapovic exhaust system and prepare to ROCK . Now you can feel its,true power actually about 114 to 120 bhp..and smooth,excellent handling and beautiful soundtrack ,plus now it is also about 15 kg, lighter,add some new Dunlop SportSmarts, and enjoy.!

I had a 2008 CB600FA for 2 years which had the CBR600 engine tuned for midrange. I loved that bike! BUT then I saw the CB1000R at the NEC and just thought WOW. It looks stunning with sharp slick lines. The single side swing arm is mint....I fell in love. I test road it and found it so easy to ride. The instrument panel is awesome, everything about it is class and stylish and up to date. I opted for the Sienna Red with Extreme graphics and also got a cracking deal from John at Hunts Honda Manchester. Got some extras with make it better too, under tray kit, R&G tail tide, 3D graphics, Hand fuel tank protector and some R&G crash bungs. The engine provides smooth acceleration, very quick off the mark, loads of torque. Its not for thrashing over 100mph because of the buffeting of wind buts its a smart commuter or Sunday blast around/show off bike.

I first saw this bike at the bike show.Then I was down the local dealer when they were doing demo rides back in 2008.Did not take much notice and only had a demo on one this year.I had bike for one hour and rode it in town,country and on motorway.I found seat a bit hard but since I have sat on one which had the optional gel seat and that is far more comfy.I would go for non cbs/abs as it has better front brakes,less weight and less cables etc.The engine was great it had power where you want it .Power in the midrange off the throttle with out a flat spot with a very smooth engine.It got to 120mph quick and I done a top gear roll on from 70mph and it picked up well.combine this with low weight and the bike is quick to turn in .Very little wind protection though but it is a naked after all.But after market screens are avaliable. Good build quality and good accessories and very easy chain adjustment and you have one very good bike.The only thing I wish it had was a centre stand and a bigger headlight cowl like the fazer which I have ridden but found it revvy with power at top end.This is my favourite naked bike until I saw the kawasaki z1000sx on mcn and this looks very good as well.Honda is supposed to be updating the cb1000r for 2011 and I hope they get it right.

Great around corners this bike is, you look and it turns, no effort needed at all, the low centre of gravity Honda has attempted really pays off. Power is great as the torque has been increased at the low end making it accelarate like a banshee. Style is wonderful, the looks you get say it all, I've had groups of people standing around it on ocassion (have had some mods though, but not many)

This bike is the business as far as I am concerned. I am too old for the crouched riding position of sports bikes, with the CB1000R I can sit upright and go like the clappers. Things that put a smile on my face are the blistering acceleration, the incredible easy handling, good brakes, aggressive looks, good fuel economy (average over 10 miles per litre). My only complaint is that compared with my previous bike (CBF1000)the mirrors leave a big blind spot behind the rider where a following custodian of the law could hide. The engine is so smooth and the fuelling is spot on. The exhaust is fairly muted but then you do not need to be making a lot of noise in order to get a move on and I don't get complaints from my neighbours. If you are thinking of buying a CB1000R go and have a test ride and start smiling.

Currently run a Tuono 1000R and liked the look of the new Honda CB1000R and decided to take a test ride. Glad I did as, whilst it looks good, has safe handling and good brakes, it feels gutless in comparison. I cannot believe it is 130horses and hopefully one of the mags will dyno its output. It may be unfair to judge it after a short ride but it lacks any knd of personality or emotional pull. Easygoing would be a good description but is not what this class of bikes is about. So no sale and I will wait until hopefully Aprilia do an RSV4 Tuono ;-)

Took this bike for a fast ride on A&B roads in dry conditions. Linear power delivery no top end rush, handling on A roads no problem however when pushed hard on a good surfaced, crested B road the limitations of its suspension became apparent. From airborne on landing the front end complains and the need for a steering damper is clear. Brakes, no complaints there. On balance a bit dull and when pushed hard shows its limitations. Sorry Honda need to try harder.

As a new rider with little experience the Honda is perfect, predictable, easy to ride but with enough grunt to be exciting at the same time. Love it.

Done 2000 miles now on this bike a good bike yes but could have been so mutch better 130bhp ? reality 110bhp feel like ive been ripped off thanks 4 screwing me out of my hard earnt cash HONDA

I have had it for 2 months now. It is my best bike ever, the engine, the looks, the performance, mix between Honda sport bike and touring… all in all a fantastic bike.

I have had it for 2 months now. It is my best bike ever, the engine, the looks, the performance, mix between Honda sport bike and touring… all in all a fantastic bike.

New Transalp was in for some repairs on Saturday and dealer invited me to test ride CB1000R. After 35 years of riding a mixture of bikes including some high powered cruisers, and being lucky enough to have a collection of classics, I was a little apprehensive, but decided to give it a go. It was a fantastic experience and the smoothness and power delivery was amazing. The bike was light and handled as if it was on rails and it was a pleasure in traffic. Considering the power, the bakes were not quite as good as I expected, but then again the bike was soon doing 90mph in 6th without any effort and you will need to watch those yellow camera’s. Not generally a fan of naked super bikes, and whilst not as practical as Transalp with full luggage for my generally commuting, I could be tempted to swap the Tranalp. .

sold a gixxer thou for this,had a fireblade rr7 before it,regreted buying the CB,very very disapointing indeed,130 bhp ??? more like 110,,,no guts whatsoever,why why why do they do this?why have such a brutal looking piece of kit and re-tune it so much?.. the seating position is the most uncomfiest ive ever been on,your pushed into the tank and the longer you ride it the more you feel yourself getting pushed further into tank,and two up is a no no. enough of bad points,there is some good,the looks are fantastic,but let down by the lack of power,the handling is superb,i would even go as far as saying its one of the best handling bikes ive had,i did manage to keep it for two weeks and 780 miles but was such a dissapointment all round,no guts and no wow factor kick in ya face power that it suggests when looking at it... last honda ill be buying. traded in for yam fz1 fazer,,,much much better all round by a long shot,miles more power,and above 7000 revs open her up and your arms are wrenched,150 bhp,just how the honda shud have been,bigger bike feel too,and fab two up and very comfy. my advise,choose the FZ1s its far superior all round...you have been warned.

had test drive on monday with my son both of loved to bits great handling bike for two up he used to small seats i have 2005 r6 hopely change in new year go for black the non abs

had test drive on monday with my son both of loved to bits great handling bike for two up he used to small seats i have 2005 r6 hopely change in new year go for black the non abs

had 14 bikes now this motor's one of the best after bandit 12 & tl 1000

Great Bike Swapped my S2R1000 for it, but have had a CB900 which whilst underrated by the Motorcyling Press was a good alrounder. My impressions so far with nearly 1000 miles is a cracking bike, fairly stable and pretty fast from the go. Only issue is the rear end whilst very good looking is not made to handle touring (panniers), R35 rucksack has been purchased. Sitting position is more over the tank which for those not used to can feel strange to start off with but once going becomes normal riding. Brakes feel great, BT15's feel fine so far in the Wet and on Dry roads if you can find any. Have noticed a little more muck appears on the rear end then normal because of the very short rear end. Anyone thinking of buying for 2 up make sure you get your misses to go on a test ride with you, there are already some being sold because peoples other halfs not happy with the it.

I was late to biking and a I'm relative newbie but I've crowbarred a fair bit into that time. I've owned 5 bikes in my 18 months, partly because I was experimenting and dismissing bikes pretty rapidly early on. I kept a CBR600FS for 10 months which was the bike I chopped in for the CB1000R. It was a great bike but all the fun happened at the top end of the rev range which is fine but I realised that was not what I wanted from a bike. So the search for a replacement started. I tried loads including New KTM Duke, Aprilia Shiver and had shortlisted the Speed/Street Triple for test rides. Anyhoo, after a lot of arsing around I put a deposit down on a Shiver. I did everything I needed - sounded great, looked good, torquey etc. Then I saw an ad for the launch night for the CB at Dobles. I'd totally forgotten Honda were releasing it. So, along to the launch night I went and fell in love. What fantastic looking bike! The price undercut the Speed Triple and virtually every other litre naked and the Honda accessories list was pretty comprehensive plus some non-oem stuff (the stuff of dreams for Shiver owners). Sorting the test ride turned into a pain in the arse but when I eventually got out on it it double ticked every box. Masses of low down grunt (which took a bit of getting used too having come from a 600), perfect fuelling, comfortable at 100mph (for a naked), flickable, drops in to corners soooo easily and very stable. Back to the dealers to do a deal. I've had it for 3 weeks now. The factory suspension settings are slightly softer than I'm used to but are virtually perfect for 99.9% of road riding. I'll tweek them for track days though. Its as fast as I'll ever need a bike to be off the mark - the quickest of the litre naked class according to "Bike". The extras I've added are purely cosmetic apart from Honda heated grips. A tail tidy is a must have. The OEM item isn't unsightly but the a t/t transforms the back end. It makes the bike look even more aggresive. It turns heads like nothing else I've ever ridden or driven before which is nice. I havent done any great distances on it yet but on 100/150 mile Sunday rideouts with the boys I've had no aches or pains at all - dead comfy. The clutch is hydraulic and therefore light and the gearbox is slick. I've not missed a gear yet. The breaks are good. I opted for the non ABS version partly because the ABS equipment looks a bit "busy" on the bike and the caliper spec is better on non abs. Partly price. I'm getting around 110-130 miles per tank to reserve so far but on a long run and not trying to pull my arms out of their socket with the constant aggresive acceleration I think that could be improved. The only drawback so far seems to be the lack of a good looking after market can. The oem item is pretty integral to the design of the bike, particularly the cover which hides the pipe work under the engine. After market manufacturers seem to be having a problem making a can that looks any good. Most (so far) seem to look like an after thought and spoil the look of the bike. If they can get it right they'll be on a winner. Having said that I think the standard can sounds sweet at full chat. All in all a fantastic bike - all the above with Honda build quality. Can't be bad.

I was planning to buy a Speed triple but decided on the Honda CB1000R instead. After just a few weeks of ownership I am very happy indeed. It handles at least as well as the S3 (at least for a mere mortal like me). I firmed up the suspension and now it is nice and stable under acceleration, quick turn in, easy to adjust your lines mid corner, a light clutch (important for me as I commute) and perfect fueling: no snatch at all in on/off throttle transitions. All in all a very complete bike! Great as a commuter, wondeful fun in the twisties, and an eye-puller and conversation piece when filling up.

Yep, the best bike I've ever ridden. Don't read too much in to that mind you because I've ridden a grand total of 7 different model bikes for any length of time, two 125s, two 500s, two 600s and one 1000; the CB1000R. I've only been riding for two and a half years and my main ride has been a 2006 Honda CB600F Hornet since August 06. But while the Hornet felt really fast at first I soon tired of having to constantly change gear to get any performance from it. I wanted more torque, but I didn't want to loose the speed or even the fun that the Hornet gave me. Sure it's a naked, but real world figures of over 130mph are plenty fast enough for the road. I've considered different bikes in the past year or so, including the Kawasaki Z1000 and Triumph Speed Triple, neither of which quite did it for me. But, I was off work last November after an elbow-op when I saw the CB1000R launch online. I'd considered the CB900F Hornet previously but a) it looks more dated than the 2006 600 Hornet I already owned, and b) it wasn't an exciting, light handling bike. When I saw the CB1000R though I was hooked. I had to have this bike! Within a month I'd been approached by an ex-member of a Hornet site that I was active on and asked if I wanted to help run a CB1000R site as I was obviously very keen. I dived right in and we soon had loads of interest in the bike. People were very excited and desperate for news. When Honda finally announced a July 4th launch date we all got on to the local dealers to see when we could get ours by. Most of us got the bike on the 4th (me included) and I got the black non-ABS model. Two weeks later and the 600-mile service had been done and it was time to really see what the bike could do. I'd already established that the suspension was too soft in the dry for my 13st bulk but I actually found it to be ideal when it was wet. The standard fitment BT015 tyres are responsive and grippy enough to let you know exactly what the bike is doing. It feels really small and light when on the move and the acceleration from the retuned 2007 Fireblade engine is astonishing considering this is a naked bike. The power delivery is very smooth too and there are no fuelling glitches at all. Everything is so predictable. Some people call it boring, but I prefer to think that it just means that I can twist the throttle and know what it's going to do. Amazingly the headlight is angled in such a fashion that windblast is actually acceptable well over 100mph (a speed which is achieved worryingly easily, without you even noticing), though you'll be pushing it trying to hang on beyond 130mph for long. Getting up to 150mph and you start to need to get down on the tank and gripping for dear life on the tank. At high speed the wind gets in between your legs and the bike and tries to spread your legs wide open. When I say at high speed though, I don't mean 60, 70mph, I mean well over 100mph. All tested off of Her Majesties Highway of course I bought the non-ABS for a couple of reasons: It's 5kg lighter than the ABS model, the ABS includes CBS which I don't feel confident with, the ABS looks a bit messy to me, and I prefer the 4-pot Tokico radial callipers to the ABS model's Nissin three-pot sliding callipers. While the brakes are not what I'd call mind blowing, they are amazingly good compared to what I'm used to from the Hornet. I feel exactly what's happening and feel like I can deal with whatever braking situation I'm put in. Looks wise, the bike turns heads everywhere. I've ridden in the past with a friend with a yellow/black Hornet and everyone comments on it and I wanted attention for a change. Now I get it. Even people who don't like bikes comment on how great it looks. Some are undecided on the LED position lamp but everyone admits that it does make the bike very distinctive from a distance, and you know it's there. The illuminated blue dash is also very striking and people comment positively on it too, though it doesn't glow in sunlight. The warning lights etc on the dash however do not show up well when there is direct sun shining on them. Non-biking friends say the bike would appeal to riders up to around 30 (I'm 29) but members of our CB1000R site are oddly mostly in their 30s. We also have a number in their 40s and 50s. Is this an old-man's bike or is it just the perfect way to convince the general public that you're in your 20s? Fuel range seems to vary between 130 miles (before the dash starts flashing to let you know you only have 4 of 17l left) and 90 miles, but taking it steady you can do 40miles on 'reserve' (just). If you run on the redline (a very rewarding place to be I must admit) then you will really see low mpg values, but when you're taking it steady you get plenty. About 10 miles to a litre. The official Honda accessories are plentiful, and the seat cowl is a very common touch. It looks great, especially if you remove the pillion pegs. Unlike on the outgoing CB900F Hornet, the CB1000R has a sports-style two piece seat, so you just remove the pillion seat and replace with the cowl. The next most common mod would be to replace that long, gangly numberplate hanger with something tidier, though Honda don't offer anything for this. Personally I'm in no rush as I don't dislike it, but many people buy a tail tidy before they even get the bike. Other Honda accessories include some nice engine details but also some odd 'titanium-look' panels which just don't match the rest of the bike and look a bit tacky in my opinion. We're still waiting for a rear hugger too, but thankfully the shock is actually quite well covered so doesn't suffer too badly. I commute every day in all weather on mine and it's the perfect bike for me. Most people test ride one and either don't like it or they buy it there and then, so while I'd encourage anyone who thinks it might be what they're after to try it, don't do it unless you can afford a deposit there and then! Check out the Honda CB1000R owner's forum for more info at www.hondacb1000r.com