Honda Reveals CB500 Super Four and CBR500R Four
Inline-Four models debut in China
Honda debuted a pair of 502cc Inline-Four models at the CIMAMotor show in Chongqing, China: a CB500 Super Four (or CB500SF) retro standard and a CBR500R Four sportbike. Both models will go to market in early Spring 2026, though it remains to be seen which markets will be getting them.
Details remain scarce at the moment, but what we know so far is intriguing. The two models share an all-new 502cc four-cylinder engine claiming about 80 hp. Based on trademark filings submitted in Japan, we can expect to see 400 versions for that market, and others where it makes sense for tiered licensing purposes.
Both models are equipped with a second-generation E-Clutch system. Like the first-generation system that debuted on the CBR650R and CB650R, the system uses small electric motors to automatically control the clutch. With the 650 models, riders controlled when to change gears, but the second-generation E-Clutch works with the throttle-by-wire system for automatic downshifts. With the original E-Clutch, the electric motors are positioned on the right side of the engine, but on the CB500SF and CBR500R Four, Honda moved the components to the left side, citing improved weight distribution.
Along with the electronic throttle, the two new 500 models come programmed with five ride modes.
The CBR500R Four and CB500SF share a diamond-shaped steel frame, with the engine serving as a stressed member. The front end uses an inverted fork, while the aluminum swingarm is attached to a monoshock via Honda’s usual ProLink connection. The front wheel is equipped with dual radial-mount Nissin four-piston calipers.
The CBR500R Four borrows design influences from other members of the CBR family. The sides in particular look very similar to the twin CBR500R, but with the trailing edge of the upper fairing now rising upward in line with a fuel tank cover.
The CB500 Super Four, meanwhile, adopts a retro look similar to the CB1000F concept, including a matching silver color scheme with two shades of blue striping. Without a fairing, the four header pipes are in plain view like they are on the CB650R, cascading down and to the right, leading to a chromed silencer.
Full details will be provided later, if not at EICMA in November then at one of the Japanese motorcycle shows in the new year.
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Dennis has been a part of the Motorcycle.com team since 2008, and through his tenure, has developed a firm grasp of industry trends, and a solid sense of what's to come. A bloodhound when it comes to tracking information on new motorcycles, if there's a new model on the horizon, you'll probably hear about it from him first.
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Good - thought the engine might've been a sleeved down 650-4. But, would've been far more fun if Honda had 'revived' the 400/500 v4 instead.
I think it's great to see all these mid-size bikes coming to market, but e-clutch only? That alone makes it a non-starter. ABS, e-clutch? Sell a version that doesn't have these gimmicks.