Honda CL550

[Jampy00]

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*"The new CL500 drips with raw style and detail that only comes with long history. It packs a strong, A2-compliant twin-cylinder engine into a sturdy, compact chassis that begs to be ridden, customized, and enjoyed. Just like the original."

* Taken from YT video

 

[bitzz]

Long history? Just like the original?
I don't think there WAS a CL550, just CB or CB-K (in Honda nomenclature the "CL" was a up-pipe scrambler)... and the 550 was one of the worst "little" Honda super bikes.
Well, it does sorta have an "up pipe"

If you didn't cut and paste that blurb from a Honda ad, you should work for Honda

 

[TK4]

Long history? Just like the original?
I don't think there WAS a CL550, just CB or CB-K (in Honda nomenclature the "CL" was a up-pipe scrambler)... and the 550 was one of the worst "little" Honda super bikes.
Well, it does sorta have an "up pipe"

If you didn't cut and paste that blurb from a Honda ad, you should work for Honda

There was a CL450 back in the day, this new bike sort of harkens back to that if you squint really hard.
The CB550 four cylinder was a lovely motor, certainly not the 'worst'.

 

[Jampy00]

Long history? Just like the original?
I don't think there WAS a CL550, just CB or CB-K (in Honda nomenclature the "CL" was a up-pipe scrambler)... and the 550 was one of the worst "little" Honda super bikes.
Well, it does sorta have an "up pipe"

If you didn't cut and paste that blurb from a Honda ad, you should work for Honda

It is a cut and paste from the YT video.

 

[bitzz]

There was a CL450 back in the day, this new bike sort of harkens back to that if you squint really hard.
The CB550 four cylinder was a lovely motor, certainly not the 'worst'.

There were lots of "CL"s, the 150,175,350 twin, 450twin.... BUT they were the high pipe scrambler, modeled after the Brit scramblers.
Nothing like this bike.
Of the "little" Honda super bikes: the 350 was the best all rounder, the 400 was the best sport rider, the 500 and 550 were too big for the genre, you should have bought the 650 or 750. You are already carting around the size, you might as well buy the HP that goes with the size.
It's like everyone BOUGHT the 650 Bonneville Triumphs, cuz it was the "big" Triumph, but he 500 was a FAR superior riding bike.
North American thinking is "bigger is better"... not always

 

[MacDoc]

That's an interesting retro.


Same motor as the CB500x - clearance looks okay and 19" front wheel. I think Honda is overhyping the power tho on the "film".
It's chunky at 422 lb wet tho slightly lighter than the CB500x at 439.
I still like my 350 lb CB300 but this would be more fun with 50/50 tires on for around here. Small tank tho ....12L versus 13 on my 300 ....which gets me 350k km+ on a fillup.
This will be LAMS compliant so fit a nice niche in many countries.
Honda making good use of that 471 motor. 5 models now including a cruiser.

 

[Hardwrkr13]

That’s a big meh from me ghost rider.

 

[Scuba Steve]

That’s a big meh from me ghost rider.

I think that meh is the Honda corporate slogan.

Sent from the future

 

[xrljoel]

That's an interesting retro.
View attachment 58329

Same motor as the CB500x - clearance looks okay and 19" front wheel. I think Honda is overhyping the power tho on the "film".
It's chunky at 422 lb wet tho slightly lighter than the CB500x at 439.
I still like my 350 lb CB300 but this would be more fun with 50/50 tires on for around here. Small tank tho ....12L versus 13 on my 300 ....which gets me 350k km+ on a fillup.
This will be LAMS compliant so fit a nice niche in many countries.
Honda making good use of that 471 motor. 5 models now including a cruiser.

Yeah, that's not bad.

Like yourself, I really value fuel range, though (for me) not necessarily outright fuel economy.

The limiting factor for me in many cases is seating/riding position. The low seat height that reassures the new rider creates a cramped seat to footpeg space. Even with my current KTM1090R I installed lowered pegs to reduce the ache in my worn-out arthritic knee.

And feet forward cruisers are and will always be a non-starter.

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