The 2025 Honda CBR650R gets a major tech update while staying true to its everyday sportbike roots. In this review, we take the latest CBR650R out on the road to test its new E-Clutch system—a groundbreaking feature that lets you shift without using the clutch lever. Paired with Honda’s smooth 649cc inline-four engine and aggressive styling inspired by the Fireblade, the updated CBR650R offers a perfect balance of performance, comfort, and daily usability.
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Read the best motorcycle news and reviews: http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/
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SportsTranscript
00:00Hey everybody, good morning and welcome to this episode of MC Commute starring Honda's CBR650R Sportbike.
00:07Who's ready to ride?
00:08This model was updated for the 2024 model year and now includes Honda's e-clutch technology.
00:15Now what e-clutch does is it fully automates the cable actuated clutch so you no longer have to use the clutch if you don't want to.
00:24If you do still want to use the manual clutch, you totally can.
00:28Here is the mechanism that allows that to happen.
00:32Now it's worth noting that this Honda e-clutch is totally different than Honda's dual clutch transmission.
00:39Dual clutch transmission fully automates clutch and shifting.
00:43This motorcycle, you still have to shift with the gear shifter on the left side of the bike.
00:50Now this bike's powered by a 649cc inline-four engine, water-cooled dual overhead camshafts with a 16-valve cylinder head.
00:57This engine is good for right around 80 horsepower and upwards of 40 pound-feet of torque at the business end of that 17-inch rear wheel.
01:04We have a six-speed quick shaft enabled transmission and this super cool bodywork that looks like the Fireblade SP.
01:12We love the new look of this bike.
01:14Look how pretty this motorcycle looks.
01:16All right, folks.
01:17Enough talking about this CBR 650R.
01:20Let's hop on it and see what it's like to ride.
01:22This particular model debuted as the 650F for the 2014 model year.
01:28We were there.
01:29We operated that bike.
01:30Fast forward to 2019 and this bike morphed into the CBR 650R.
01:37Fast forward again to 2025 and here we have this CBR 650R.
01:42That was the last updated for the last year.
01:45Honda fitted this nice color TFT and the E-clutch onto this bike, which we'll get to in a little bit.
01:51Now right away sitting on this motorcycle, the ergonomics.
01:56Well, this is a comfortable road-going sport bike.
02:00So the clip-on style handlebars are nice and high.
02:03They're not too forward, not too far back, and generally pretty comfortable.
02:07The seat, it's not as high as a typical racy sport bike would be.
02:12You can definitely put both of your feet flat on the pavement for this six-foot-tall rider,
02:17and the seat's not really jacked up like it would be on a more track-orientated sport bike.
02:23We also like that despite this engine employing an inline-four powertrain configuration
02:29with cylinders 1234 right there located horizontally,
02:33this bike's still very narrow between the rider's legs.
02:36Honestly, this bike isn't much wider than a parallel-twin-powered motorcycle.
02:41So good job, Honda, keeping this bike nice and slim.
02:44The seat is, the seat's okay.
02:47It's not the most comfortable seat we've ridden on a sport bike, but it's also not the least.
02:52I would say Suzuki does a little bit better job in the actual seat comfort department on these sport bikes.
02:58But still, the seat is definitely generously padded.
03:02It's thicker than you would typically see on a racy sport bike,
03:04and there's a good amount of room to move around on front and back if you're a tall rider.
03:09Again, we stand six-foot tall, and I wouldn't say this bike's too small by any means.
03:13This is a very comfortable sport bike.
03:16Now, this bike's powered by Honda 649cc, liquid-cooled inline-four engine, 16-valve cylinder head,
03:23dual-ride camshafts.
03:23This engine's actually very old in terms of architecture.
03:26I can't remember if this engine is from the 2005 CBR600 or what derivative,
03:32but it's definitely not the most current CBR600RR powertrain platform,
03:38which is still pretty old in a sense.
03:41But this engine's a little bit older, and this engine's great.
03:44In a world of parallel twins and inline twos, this four-cylinder engine really stands out.
03:51You know, we love four-cylinder engines because they have a lot of character.
03:54They have that high RPM wailing sound that's just awesome,
03:57and all that sounding character is in this 649cc engine.
04:03You do feel a good amount of engine vibration.
04:05That's where this engine and powertrain configuration really shows this age.
04:09You can really feel the vibration, especially through the foot pegs.
04:13The clip-on style handlebars, not so much.
04:15You still feel it, but the foot pegs are really buzzy.
04:19It's worth mentioning the foot pegs aren't too high, not too low,
04:22and generally this is a very comfortable sport bike, which we like.
04:26Now, this engine is good for 80 horsepower and just over 40 pound-feet of torque.
04:33Here is the E-clutch.
04:34Look, folks, we can just drive away without having to use the clutch.
04:38It's flashing like this because it's showing that we should be in first gear, not second gear.
04:43Again, you still have to shift this vehicle manually with the quickshifter-enabled electronic quickshifter,
04:50which works really well.
04:51It's also worth noting that there's a setting inside this display
04:54where you can choose the shift speed profile, slow, medium, fast,
05:00so you can actually tune that to the way you like your shifting platform to be.
05:07Now, again, this inline-four engine, God, it's buzzy, but it sounds so awesome.
05:12Listen to how cool that thing sounds.
05:14Oh, jeez, I'm really getting carried away with the speeds here.
05:17Let's slow her back down to the speed limit because we always obey all U.S. laws.
05:23Back to the engine.
05:25Great character.
05:25It's got a little bit more torque than a typical 600 Supersport.
05:32Really, no manufacturer really makes those bikes besides Suzuki.
05:38Honda still makes a CBR 600RR, but they're very limited in numbers.
05:42But this inline-four, 600, 650 to be exact, has some torque, which is nice.
05:47Conversely, it doesn't have the wailing top-end response of a typical 600 Supersport.
05:53Those things were good for right around 90 horsepower, 90-92 in their heyday,
05:59which is 10 more horsepower than this.
06:01So a little bit more torque, less horsepower, totally not a bad thing.
06:05This engine drinks from a 4.1-gallon fuel tank
06:07and delivers right around 44 miles per gallon, 45 miles per gallon.
06:12And that's what we've gotten on this bike.
06:15So pretty good on fuel, which we like.
06:17Keep it tabs on everything.
06:18It's this nice color TFT display.
06:21We have it set up right now for black background, white fonts.
06:25But you can adjust it if you want to have it be the inverse of this.
06:29This display is okay.
06:31I like the speedometer and the swept tack, horizontal swept tack from left to right.
06:35Gearshift position is nice too.
06:37But Honda has a way of not really getting their user interface the best.
06:43And this display to adjust the trip function on this bike is just...
06:48You're going to have to read the manual.
06:49That's how difficult it is just to reset the trip B function.
06:53So Honda, we've said this for years.
06:55Can you please upgrade the user interface on this bike?
06:58The user interface is the worst amongst all Japanese motorcycle manufacturers.
07:03Please do better.
07:04Now, it's worth mentioning that Honda is debuting its RoadSync app.
07:08It's iOS and Android-powered Bluetooth app.
07:11It's a Bluetooth-enabled app for bikes like the 2025 Honda Rebel 1100.
07:16I'm sure that's coming to this vehicle soon as well.
07:20What's up, everyone?
07:20So far, so good on a ride on the 2025 Honda CBR 650R middleweight sport bike from American Honda,
07:25Honda Motor Japan.
07:26This bike's really nice.
07:27Not only does it look super cool like Honda CBR 1000 RRR Fireblade SP,
07:31it also rides really well.
07:33It's comfortable.
07:34The ergonomics are nice.
07:35And that inline force sounds super cool.
07:38And that E-clutch, you don't even have to use the cable-actuated clutch if you don't want to.
07:42But then again, if you do, you can.
07:44And of course, that slick shifting electronic gear shifter that functions on the upshifts and downshifts.
07:49All right, folks, enough of this brake.
07:51Let's get back on the road.
07:52Now, the full tank of fuel, this motorcycle weighs 466 pounds.
07:57Definitely pretty heavy for a middleweight sport bike.
08:01But you'd be hard-pressed to feel its weight.
08:03In typical Honda engineering spirit, the center of gravity on this vehicle is very low and
08:09it's very apt for direction change.
08:12You can tell on this bike, the preload on the rear shock is a little low.
08:16So if you wanted this bike to steer a little sharper, you could raise the preload on the
08:21shock.
08:21That would give it a little bit more sharper steering response.
08:23But even with its neutral low-in-the-rear attitude right now, this bike's still pretty nimble
08:28for a 466-pound bike.
08:30It rides on Showa suspension.
08:32We have a single-function fork, big piston up front.
08:36That means that there is spring in one side of the fork and a dampening cartridge in the
08:42other.
08:43That reduces weight, but it also reduces performance to a certain extent, in our opinion.
08:48But it's a moot point because there's no adjustment anyways.
08:51Spring preload and damping is fixed.
08:54At the rear end, you have a linkage-powered Showa shock with just spring preload adjustment.
09:00But despite it just having fixed damping adjustment, I'd say the damping characteristic on this
09:05bike's pretty good.
09:07It certainly rides well over the rough stuff.
09:10And when you're getting some in a more sporty fashion, this bike still serves up good road
09:15holding.
09:16It's obviously not going to be as racy as a CBR 600R or a YZF-R6.
09:21Around the corners up in the canyons, where we do the bulk of our real vehicle testing,
09:25this bike's totally capable.
09:26The tires, on the other hand, the OE-fitted Dunlop tires, are a little bit more rudimentary.
09:32That's one of the things we'd upgrade immediately on this bike is the tires.
09:36Just give it a modern tire.
09:38This windscreen's not too tall, not too short.
09:41I like the curvature.
09:42It makes the bike look really cool.
09:44This bike looks awesome.
09:45It's brushing its Grand Prix red color away.
09:48It looks just like a CBR 1000 RRR Fireblade SP.
09:51This E-clutch is so cool.
09:53How neat is it that you no longer have to use the manual cable-actuated clutch if you don't
09:57want to?
09:58You can simply twist and go like you're riding a scooter, plus shifting the gears manually.
10:06I think that's so neat.
10:08What do you folks think?
10:09Sound off in the comments.
10:11Now, the rearview mirrors on this bike are nice and big.
10:14Despite the engine vibrating, the vision is still very clear from the rearview mirrors,
10:21which we like.
10:22Now, another important change Honda did for the 2024 model year was the fitment of this
10:27new switch gear.
10:29So we have this new switch gear right here with this multifunction button, which is kind
10:34of nice, but realistically, it's a little too small.
10:37And the tactile feel is a little wonky.
10:40We've definitely sampled switch gear on other motorcycles that is superior.
10:50I don't know why we didn't use E-clutch there.
10:52We should have.
10:52Let's give it some beans.
10:54Yes!
10:55Yes!
10:55Oh, I love it!
10:57Oh, we're speeding.
10:58We better slow down.
11:00We started speeding a lot.
11:01I just couldn't help myself.
11:03The euphoric roar of the inline-four engine was teasing me to break the speed limit.
11:11Now, it's worth mentioning that if you do actuate the clutch, at higher RPM, it reverts
11:16back into automatic operation within a one second.
11:19At lower speeds, it takes more than a few seconds for it to revert back to automatic
11:24operation.
11:25So you can still stall this bike.
11:28It's really neat what Honda's done.
11:29The actual tension of the cable-actuated clutch, it has a little bit different feel than a
11:34traditional cable spring clutch.
11:38It's got immediate tension, and then it loosens up.
11:41So it's got just a different feel, so you can tell there's something special in there.
11:45But still, if you're a new rider and you have limited left-hand clutch strength, pulling
11:50strength, this clutch is not too heavy for you to depress the clutch lever with your left
11:58hand.
11:59It's also not too whippy.
12:00Honda went through a stage where they were making their clutch lever pull just so ridiculously
12:05easy that there was no tension.
12:07There was no weight to it.
12:08It just felt cheap.
12:09Well, Honda and a lot of other manufacturers have gone away to that, and they've gone to
12:14a more well-weighted clutch lever, which we really like.
12:18Cruising at highway speeds, 60 miles per hour, we're pulling just south of 5,000 RPM, and
12:25we really like that this bike has that authentic inline-four engine character, the ocean of boring
12:32parallel twins.
12:33This engine stands out just because it's different, which is ironic because in the old days, they
12:40were all the same inline-four, and now the companies have switched to parallel twins to
12:44be different, but now they're all the same, and now Honda stands out as being different.
12:49Go figure.
12:50Braking!
12:51This motorcycle has triple-disc hydraulic brakes with independent front and rear ABS.
12:59ABS is fixed always on.
13:00You cannot turn it off.
13:02Brakes on this bike are nice.
13:03They have nice response.
13:05They're not too sharp, but not too dull, and they have good power, slowing down this
13:09466-pound vehicle.
13:12Other electronics, we have adjustable combined engine power and throttle modes, Honda selectable
13:21torque control, which is Honda-speak for traction control, non-IMU-powered, and of course, we
13:26have the electronic foot shifter, which makes for lightning-fast shifts.
13:31To be fair, it's not the most lightning-fast.
13:33There's other production motorcycles out there with more slick-shifting quick shifters, but
13:38it's also not totally dull either, and we really like being able just to grab a gear without
13:43having to use the clutch at all.
13:45Well, everyone, that was a really fun ride on a Honda's 2025 CBR650R middleweight sport bike.
13:50This bike's really nice, super easy to ride, and it sounds really cool.
13:54This 649cc inline-four engine, it really stands out in an ocean of now boring parallel twins.
14:00This thing really stands out with this high-revving inline-four engine character.
14:04And of course, that E-clutch.
14:05This E-clutch technology allows you to ride this motorcycle without even having to know how to work a manual clutch.
14:11How cool is that?
14:12And of course, if you want to work the manual clutch, you always can.
14:15Well, folks, that wraps up our official MC commute of this 2025 CBR650R.
14:19We'll see you in the next episode.