obviously a rabbit isnt it? a CBR it must be.

I have personally met Shinya Iwakura san, the former executive director & chief designer of honda. he is the legendary man who designed to the honda emblem, 1st gen civic, prelude, intergra, odyssey, legend and many more.

during the long meet up, i realized that they (japs) are no longer desperate in the league of horsepower/ displacement/ no. of cylinder. in fact, they are moving to the next era to harvest new sustainable energy and maximize that energy efficiency on their motor. So they are not concern if losing a few WSBK races, the are not worry about losing 0.2s over hundred meter sprint, they arent hunger for additional 5 horsepower in a liter bike. in fact they are planning for thier 50 to 100 years ahead by replacing internal combustion engine with a new motor.

ICE is an outdated technology which hasnt been changed much since invented 120years ago. instead of squeezing the last few drops of juices out of this dying breed, the japs rather spend their effort for break throught design which they can rely and survive for next decade or even century, hence.....comes the EV.

if you are aware of automotive scene, prolly you should have heard of the 100% EV nissan leaf has won the car of the year japan 2011-2012, which had been throned by ICE for 32years. it is a fact and a proved that EV is highly appreciated over ICE nowadays.

but dont mistaken me as a honda spokeman or fanboy, i have been in automotive for sometimes and i am a petrolhead that looked down on EV or hybrid. however after almost 10yrs of evolution and improvement on EV/hybrid, it proved that i was wrong. EV will become the mainstream in near future. that is why almost every jap 4-wheeled and 2-wheeled manufacturer is hitching into the EV R&D so that none will be left out when the world changed.

This post has been edited by yamato: Dec 16 2011, 10:43 AM

i too admit that rabbit isnt the best looking bike.
but how to we define beauty?

the rednecks love choppers with raised handlebar.
the teenage yankees like supersport with extended rear swingarm.
brits love cafe racers.
asian youngsters dont look at anything except sport/supersport
some may like streetfighter.
some may like cruisers.
some may like motard.
and the list goes on....

saying rabbit ugly is individual opinion, and i have no disrespect on personal preference.
but judging honda is making lousy bike just because the rabbit isnt your cup of tea is bias, dont you think so? no offense