i know i am probably just begging for speculation here, but with the recent engine displacement change in motoGP, has anyone heard or seen anything about honda putting out a 750-800cc sportbike? it is about time someone tried to rival the damn GSX-750R...

good post, i have always wondered why honda doesn't put out something to compete with a 750 as well. and if they didi would definitley consider selling my bike and taking out a loan to getone.

as far as i've seen nothing has been posted about a production 800 but, i am in the same boat...i would seriously condsider selling my 900 for a new 750-800 cbr...perfect size machine...besides it would probably have more power and definatly be light years ahead in refinement compared to what i have now...not saying i don't love my blade but...

technology from MotoGP trickles down, not the bikes themselves
the RR's were designed to lool like the RC211V not to actually be one
displacement sizes in MotoGP won't affect production bikes, at least not directly. That change was made for safety in that series only. Superbike rules affect production bikes a LOT more than MotoGP rules, just look at the Ducati 1098. Also if motogp rules were really linked to production bikes they wouldn't still be racing 2 strokes in the 125/250 classes.
Also superbikes went to four strokes a long time before MotoGP did

anyway my point is that the only link to MotoGP bikes and production bikes is marketing and the big four rely heavily on racing for marketing. Since there aren't any top level series' for a 750 it doesn't make sense to spend the millions needed to develope an entire new motorcycle just to bridge the gap in sportbikes which only stands at 400cc's not a huge gap to fill, so whats their motivation?

for starters, their motivation would be todraw more people from the gsx-750r andopen up a new bike line that draws more money and attention to honda. i hate to ever say this, but suzuki has it right... they have essentially the EXACT same bike with two different engine sizes (600 and 750). all the other parts of the bike are homologated so the production costs and R&D costs are basically cut in half and it makes finding parts easier and cheaper for the consumer. dont get me wrong, i am not an automotive/racing engineer, but it seems like a "duh" to me... grab either the 600RR or 1000RR, manipulate the engine into a competitive 750 or 800cc machine, and eliminate suzuki's monopoly on the 750cc sportbike market (even more of a monopoly now that ducati dropped its 749).dont get me wrong, i understand that there will be costs associated with the engine modification, but i thinkthe market would love another option in this displacement and the profit would prove it...

i didnt mean for that to come off the wrong way woody, i was just saying that the motivation for honda to make a 750cc bike seemed pretty evident to me. but you did make some excelllent points about AMA vs. motoGP racing and their association with the consumer market. honestly, i hadnt even thought of that. i guess i was just hoping honda would have a "lightbulb" moment and someone would say "hey, lets make a 750". i have always said if they ever come out with something to rival the GSX-750R, i will be at the honda dealer the next day with my down payment...

yea it seems that it would be smart to make a 750cc bike from a marketing stand point, i cant think of any reason why they wouldnt

There's all the motivation you need to make one right here, 3 people who aready said they would buy one, now apply that to a bigger population.

actually i counted 2 "i'd consider"s 1 "definitely wouldn't" and 1 "definitely would
all out of people who already own Honda's in the first place

also one very important thing to consider is that on a worldwide scale Honda IS the big dog in motorcycle sales, there is no such thing as having to "keep up" with suzuki which sits around 3rd worldwide

as I said earlier though, the market for 750s has been dropping severely since the end of the 750 superbike era, its picked up a little bit here lately but overall its a declining class, so why would Honda invest in it? It may be a decent market for a year, maybe even two but if you go by 750 salesoverall (which they would), you can see that its not a good long term class to jump into.

Out of the "Big 4" Suzuki is the only brand to keep a 750. In fact Kawasaki is scrapping their 636 next year in favor of a strong platform ZX-6RR.

also I can assure you, especially from a marketing standpoint, if Honda did make a 750 it would be an all new bike, if they just dropped in a 750 motor there wouldn't be nearly as much to market.All-New bikes get more attention than the same bike with a different motor would, note the 1098 won't be simplya 999 with a bigger motor, its all new because thats what steals headlines

and btw, the Duc 749 competes with the 600s more than the Suzuki 750. Its that damn V-twin lol

and honestly there are several categories that would make more sense to jump into, the big bore sportbike (ZX-14/Busa) and the beginner bike markets, if they had something in the US to compete with the GS500, SV650, lil ninja's, etc other than the rebel (and whatever that other 250 they make thats almost exactly like the rebel), they'd be much better off financially imo

ORIGINAL: drprcbr
even more of a monopoly now that ducati dropped its 749

forgot to ask but where did that come from?
Ducati North America and Larry Pegram just announced a deal (and I mean "just" as in earlier today) for a factory support team racing AMA FX class on a 749
I looked on Ducati's site and the 749 isn't on there but I don't think any of the manufs have their entire 2007 lineup online

The 600's that are on the market now, are still very fast. To invest millions of dollars redesigning another bike to the sportbike line would then lower their sales in the 1000's. Honda already has several different models available, why reinvent the wheel when they already have something that works. Unless you feel you need to go 0-60 faster than 3.2 seconds and top out faster than 160 + mph, why do you need a 750? The 1000's are very fast, as stock bikes. To bring in a 750, it would take them several years to recomp their money investing in a new product. With Suzuki and Kawasaki already saturating the market, why compete? A 1000 will take the 750's, just go get a 1000. Size they aren't that much bigger and for the money, they are'nt that much more either, thats if you don't get a brand new one.

The decision to bring a new bike to market has more than just business behind it. Honda actually listens to it's Engineers, which is why they are so damn expensive and take a long time to get to market.

Stepens, I'd have to point you to the latest SportRider on the 750. The 1000 is no match in the right hands. Sure it's got more power, but it takes too much to manage. It's only on the long straights that it has an advantage.

ORIGINAL: woodyracing
if they had something in the US to compete with the GS500, SV650, lil ninja's, etc other than the rebel (and whatever that other 250 they make thats almost exactly like the rebel), they'd be much better off financially imo


I agree. What I'd really love to see in this country would be an update of the CBR400. It would be cheaper to insure and operate than a 600, a blast in the twisties, and really more than enough power for most street riding.

honestly woody, i was looking into getting a bigger bike but i think the 1000RR is a little too much bike for me (and i dont want to switch to a different manufacturer-i am a honda faithful). the jump from ~110hp for a 600 and ~160hp for a 1000 is huge. but i would love to have something bigger than my 6, but not too much to handle. a 750-800 would fall into that gap really nicely. plus, with the new motoGP rules, i was hoping the consumer market would beg for a sibling to the displacement of the race bike. i hadnt heard anyone mention a new bike, but i was hoping others had...

oh i'm not arguing that it would be nice to have or even that it would sell well but that doesn't mean its necessarily in the intrest of Honda to actually make one, especially as a long term investment

i really dont understand why people say they wanna upgrade from a 600. personally i dont look at it as an upgrade at all, except maybe in number of tickets, its hard enough for me to stay off the throttle all the time with my 600, but i got it to carve out twisties which imho is more practical than an extra 50 hp or so my f4i is faster than i need so i just dont see the point in "upgrading" to a bigger bike but i guess thats just me

Id personally love to see an 800rr or something come out. It would be nice to have the extra power like a 1000 but have the nimbleness of the 600. Not that I am agureing on the motogp to production trickle down cause I dont know a whole lot about that but what wins on sundays will sell on monday.

+1 on a cbr400. i think that'd be a more "ripe" market segment to tap into, since the only other bikes are a 25 year old design (ninja 500/250) and the kawi 650r.

if anything Honda should jump into the 650 twin market, those bikes are becoming more popular rather than losing ground as the 750s are
especially with the MotoST class being formed
its one of those types of bikes that racers love as well as new riders so there is a good market for them

plus those bikes are fun as hell on the track, hehe

+1 on the CBR400 - as a starting rider the 600 was a little scary, and starting on a smaller
but still 'sporty' bike would have been great. I couldn't bring myself to even sit on a rebel, and
the only other suitable Honda was a 600.
Cheaper insurance would also be a plus, and it may get more riders out there too.

ORIGINAL: woodyracing

if anything Honda should jump into the 650 twin market, ..............................its one of those types of bikes that racers love as well as new riders so there is a good market for them

plus those bikes are fun as hell on the track, hehe

I'll co-sign on that

Sign me up for a Repsol CBR800RR.......

i don't think guys who want to buy a duc 749 say...oh there's no more, might as well get a suzuki...
it's not about performance, it's about the ride...if it was about perf. then they'd get th gsxr to start with.

ORIGINAL: Tahoe SC

i don't think guys who want to buy a duc 749 say...oh there's no more, might as well get a suzuki...
it's not about performance, it's about the ride...if it was about perf. then they'd get th gsxr to start with.



That's why I'm waiting another year for Ducati's 848. Definitely my next bike!

i didnt even know ducati was making an 848! damn, that may just be my next addition to the family...

ORIGINAL: stinger95

ORIGINAL: Tahoe SC

i don't think guys who want to buy a duc 749 say...oh there's no more, might as well get a suzuki...
it's not about performance, it's about the ride...if it was about perf. then they'd get th gsxr to start with.


That's why I'm waiting another year for Ducati's 848. Definitely my next bike!


ahhh...see what i mean meng? stinger isn't going to accept the 750 over a duc...cause no matter how well it performs, it's not a duc! it's like buying an hamburger when you're craving a steak...just doesn't do it! so you wait for the steak!

i'm going to get a duc one of these days...minichamps 1:12 scale! cause that's all tahoe can afford on minimum wage...heck i can barely pay the e-bill for my TRS80 and my dial up so i can surf this forum!

Ha! He said dialup.

ORIGINAL: drprcbr

i didnt even know ducati was making an 848! damn, that may just be my next addition to the family...


It's not "official", but word has it that it will be a '08 model. Just like they did when they introduced the 999.The 749 was released a year later, if I remember correctly.