Honda Designs Show New 300cc Cafe Racer

Honda submitted actual photos of a prototype instead of the traditional CAD images for this intellectual property right application.

When brands like Honda file design registrations to secure intellectual property rights over their bikes’ styling, the usual route is to use CAD images to illustrate them. On this occasion, however, the company has broken from the norm by filing real photographs of a prototype for a 300cc single-cylinder cafe racer.

The bike has shown up in Honda’s Japanese design registrations alongside a host of more familiar bikes, illustrated in the usual CAD format, that have already been launched for the 2025 model year. But what is it? That’s still something of a mystery, but here’s what we can tell so far…

An obvious clue this is just a styling exercise at this point is the exhaust system that clearly doesn’t feature any sort of emissions equipment.

It seems the design, while published in Japan, originates in Honda’s Brazilian R&D department, which gives a clue to the source of that single-cylinder air-cooled engine. While similar to the motor that powers the CRF250F that’s sold here, it’s actually the bigger-bore version used in the Brazilian XR300L Tornado and the new Sahara 300 adventure bike, as well as the CB300F Twister streetbike. With a 77mm bore (6mm larger than the CRF250F’s) paired to the same 63mm stroke, it also gains an oil cooler that’s missing from the CRF version. In Brazilian models the motor puts out 25 hp at 7,500 rpm and 19.5 lb.-ft. of peak torque at 5,750 rpm.

Honda 300cc Cafe Racer design patent image.

The chassis, like the engine, is derived from an existing model, in this case the CB300F Twister, with the same backbone-style steel frame, monoshock rear suspension, and extruded swingarm. Upfront, an upside-down fork replaces the right-way-up units of the Brazilian-market CB300F Twister, and could be sourced, along with the triple clamps, from the Indonesian version of the bike (the CB300F BigWing) which is equipped with an USD fork as standard. The massive, twin front discs appear to have been purpose-made for the cafe racer, though, as they’re not shared with any of the current production models using that engine.

The headlight appears to be identical to the unit on the 300 Rebel.

Another thing that’s not shared with a production bike is the exhaust, which in the Honda design images appears to go without much in the way of a muffler or catalytic converter. That’s clearly not something that could be carried over to a production model if Honda wants to take that route with this machine. The fuel tank, seat, and tail bodywork are also unique to the cafe racer, while the headlight appears to be borrowed from the latest iteration of the Rebel 300, complete with four individual LEDs inside a circular housing.

Although there’s no way this design could go into showrooms in this form, it has potential as the basis for a rival to the increasingly popular low-cost singles from brands like Royal Enfield and Triumph. This is a market Honda has recently awoken to, launching the GB350 (based on the Indian-market CB350) in Europe late last year and with plans to introduce a larger GB500 model in the near future. Honda’s decision to apply for IP protection for its appearance certainly indicates the company is interested in marketing something with similar styling.

Browse our new Honda Cafe Racer inspired inventory here