Honda at the Long Beach Motorcycle Show surprised everyone with the introduction of 2017 Rebel 300 and Rebel 500. These classic yet progressive custom Bobbers have a history which can be traced back to the mid-80s.
Both the Rebel 300 and Rebel 500 look exactly the same with the only difference between the two being the price tag and the powertrain (and the dual exhaust pipe on the bigger brother). The chassis and suspension setup are identical where the front gets 41 mm right side down forks while the rear is managed by dual shocks.
Braking duties are overseen by a single 296 mm disc at the front and another 246 mm unit at the rear. The Rebel 300 borrows the engine from the CBR 300R whereas the Rebel 500 gets its motor from the CBR 500R. The output figures have not been revealed but expect them to be around the same ballpark as the corresponding sports models albeit with some tuning changes.
To give you an idea, the 286cc single cylinder mill of the CBR 300R churns out 30.86 PS of power and 27 Nm of torque. And the 471 cc parallel twin on the CBR 500R produces 47.58 PS of maximum power and 43 Nm of peak torque.
The classic design of these Rebels has this low-slung silhouette which is crowned by a fuel tank. It also gets an aggressively raked front end and fat tires on 16 inch wheels. The stamped steel rear fender and the overall front-biased design lends it an interesting individuality.
The bike’s riding position is high-set and neutral, with arms gently outstretched and feet dropping straight down to the mid-mounted pegs. ABS is available as an option in both the Rebels and the motorcycles will hit the streets in the USA from April 2017 onwards. Honda, we won’t mind them here either, but only if you are listening…
