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