Long Term Report: Honda CB650F

With the early spring sun breaking through the clouds and the Honda CB650F due to be returned to Honda I knew I had to get out for one last ride. Wrapping up and heading out for just over an hour, I had a great time.

From my first ride on the CB650F I’ve felt right at home. The riding position is relatively upright and the seat comfortable, even on longer journeys. With my economical riding style I’ve averaged over 59 mpg, which means I could get almost 225 miles from the 17.3-litre tank. Whilst I’ve never sat in the seat quite that long I have ridden for two-hour stints, covering 150 miles, and only ended up with slight neck ache. I resolved this by fitting an Ermax screen https://www.pyramid-plastics.co.uk/, which was just big enough to channel the air over me rather than at me.

I’ve covered almost 6000 miles and one of my big adventures was a solo trip to Southern Ireland. I was so glad I went, because travelling solo was a great experience. Rather than be tied to doing what others wanted I was able to take whichever route I wanted, literally changing my mind as I rode. More importantly, I could have as many wee/tea stops as I wanted. On this particular trip I covered almost 1000 miles in four days and with the exception of the torrential rain I encountered travelling home through North Wales, I enjoyed every moment.

Hondas are known for their reliability, but unfortunately I did have one minor blip with the CB650F. Whilst on a trip to Middlesbrough to take part in a Santa Ride, with the Boundary 500 Motorcycle Club (http://www.boundary500.co.uk/), I had an issue. Whilst up north, some 200 miles from home, the bike wouldn’t start. Honda Assist and the AA couldn’t have been more helpful, they came out within 15 minutes of being called. After giving the battery the once over and checking all the fuses it turned out the main fuse had burnt out and once changed the bike started. I sent the CB650F back to Honda, where the technicians could find no fault and they put it down to it being a dodgy fuse.

That was the only real issue with the bike and other than that, it’s been a great seven months of ownership. I’m a big fan of middleweight bikes, I have ridden larger machines but find I’m more confident and comfortable on this size of bike. I do know I’m really going to miss the Honda CB650F. I’ve loved every minute I’ve spent riding from the first weekend running the bike in and covering over 500 miles in two days, to the daily commute to work, to dressing as Santa and riding through the streets of the North East. It’s been a pleasure to ride, comfortable, economical and above all fun.