If you were sitting, waiting, wishing that the Honda Hawk 11 would actually come to market, well—your wish is coming true. Sort of. Honda’s new cafe racer is reportedly going to hit dealerships this fall, but there’s a problem: It’s only been confirmed for Japan at this point.
A cafe racer with an adventure bike pedigree
Honda debuted the Hawk 11 on the Japanese motorcycle show circuit last month, and as far as we know, that’s the only place it’s been exhibited. It’s the perfect summation of Honda’s modern-day design principles, using an engine and chassis borrowed from another bike in the lineup mixed with a visual makeover to create something new. Honda does this with its 125 lineup, its 300 lineup, its 500 lineup, and now with its 1100 lineup, since the Hawk 11 uses the same parallel twin engine that originally debuted in the CRF1100L Africa Twin adventure bike, and is also currently used in the Rebel 1100 cruiser and NT1100 sport tourer.
Not for Canada (yet)
Aside from the engine, other parts of the bike are also borrowed from Honda’s parts bin, particularly the chassis, which is close to the same arrangement as the NT1100. And, like the NT1100, the Hawk 11 is not currently confirmed for North America. European magazines report it’s confirmed for Japan this fall, with a 1,397,000 yen price tag (roughly $14,000 CAD). However, there is not even a peep of the bike heading to North America anytime soon, and even Europe seems doubtful in 2022 (2023 is likely, we’d think).
How long will we wait?
So the next question is, how long until Honda actually brings the Hawk 11 here? Again, no word, but we could be in for a bit of a wait, as the NT1100 still isn’t confirmed for Canada. No surprise there; a couple of years after its debut, we’re still waiting for the CT125 mini dual sport, despite massive demand. Honda seems a bit slow to bring some of its newer models to Canada, and in fact, if you compare Honda’s motorcycle lineup in the US to its lineup in Canada, there are also some machines available there that have been discontinued in Canada, like the XR650L dual sport. In other words: Don’t expect the new Hawk 11 cafe racer to come here quickly, as it unfortunately seems we are not a priority in Honda’s global plans.
Having said that, if you are interested in this bike, pester your local dealer and stay tuned for the 2022 fall show circuit in Europe. That should give us an idea as to Honda’s plans for global sales of the Hawk 11, and we’d expect confirmation in the weeks following those shows if we are to see it here in 2023.
It’s strange how Honda Corporate works in Canada. After putting down a $250.00 deposit on a 2022 CB500X I went back the next day and asked if my pre sale deposit information was forwarded to Honda Canada so they could see the demand for this model. They said no it’s just a instore guarantee I was first on the list. So OK, but when these bikes were delivered to three dealerships around me weeks ago and still no bikes at my dealership I expected them to pick up the phone and fine out what’s going on. That’s a NO GO. There seems to be a Corporate concrete wall that even the dealer has to sit and wait with no answers . So riders out there excited about these new bikes – you might be in for a disappointment.