Small bike, big personality.
Sportbikes are undeniably some of the coolest-looking bikes out there, and are the reason why a lot of people are drawn to motorcycles in the first place. Not only are they the bikes we see racing on TV, but they’re striking aesthetics and colorful liveries really are a sight to behold. In terms of performance, meanwhile, sportbikes are, unsurprisingly, some of the fastest vehicles on the road.
Now, sportbikes are cool for all these reasons and more, but when it comes to commuting, they aren’t exactly the best machines for the job. They get hot, and tend to struggle due to their limited turning radius. On top of that, they tend to have very aggressive ergonomics that are dedicated to performance riding. That being said, over in the Asian market, nearly all Japanese manufacturers have street bikes with smaller displacements that are modeled after their bigger, supersport counterparts. These bikes usually have engines no bigger than 200cc, and have much more relaxed ergonomics, making them ideal for daily use.
Take, for example, the Honda CBR150R. Newly refreshed for the 2023 model year, this bike is a sporty commuter intended to evoke the spirit of the CBR1000RR Fireblade. It’s a really popular model in the Asian market, and has gone through multiple iterations and liveries. For a time, it was even offered in a replica Repsol livery as that of the Honda MotoGP race bikes. For 2023, Honda has launched it in an eye-catching Pearl Nightfall Blue paint scheme, that features a lot of blue, with some hints of yellow.
The colorway is undoubtedly playful, and won’t appeal to everyone given how loud and vibrant it is. Nevertheless, Honda has decided to offer this for riders with a more adventurous palette when it comes to style. The colorway reminds me of the vibrant paint schemes found on sportbikes of the ’80s and ’90s, and quite frankly, I’d love to see manufacturers release more bikes with more vibrant paintwork.
As for the CBR150R, it retains all its inner workings and performance features. It’s powered by a 150cc, liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, single-cylinder engine, and produces 16 horsepower at 9,000 rpm, and 9.6 pound-feet of torque at 7,000 rpm. It gets a conventional six-speed manual transmission. Honda throws in a fully digital instrument cluster, as well as ABS as standard.
