2027 Honda CBR500R Four Preview

71-hp inline-four, E-Clutch standard, about $9,370 in UK

Summary: Honda’s all-new 2027 CBR500R Four puts a 502cc inline-four rated at 71 hp (53.0 kW) into a middleweight sportbike with E-Clutch as standard, rider modes, a 5-inch TFT and a 417-pound (189 kg) curb weight. It’s £6,999 (about $9,370) in the UK from January 2027. A U.S. price hasn’t been announced.

For years the small-bore inline-four was the one that got away. Japan got the CB400 Super Four, the rest of us got parallel twins and a lecture about cost. Honda just changed that. The 2027 CBR500R Four is an all-new sportbike built around a 502cc inline-four that revs to 12,500 rpm, and it comes with Honda’s E-Clutch as standard. Honda revealed it online on October 20, and it’s expected on Honda’s stand in Hall 7 at Fiera Milano Rho for EICMA 2026. We’re in Milan for the show, so we’ll get our eyes, and probably our fingerprints, on it as soon as the doors open. Keep up with everything from the show floor on our EICMA Motorcycle Show hub.

A Four-Cylinder CBR500R, For Real

Don’t confuse this with the parallel-twin CBR500R. The “Four” suffix is doing a lot of work here. Honda says the engine is an evolution of the 400cc four-cylinder from the Japan-market CB400 Super Four, grown to 502cc (30.6 ci) for a wider range of riding. Honda’s goal is a sportbike for the next generation of riders, with a big-bike feel at a middleweight price.

The styling backs that up. A sharp, wraparound fairing locks into the tank and side panels for a mass-forward look. Twin LED projector headlights with integrated turn signals sit up front, and the tail sweeps up hard. Honda says the CBR500R Four “looks like nothing else out there,” and from the press photos, it’s not wrong. It looks like a shrunken superbike, which is exactly what a 22-year-old with a poster on the wall wants.

The Engine: 502cc, 16 Valves, 12,500 RPM

The liquid-cooled DOHC, 16-valve inline-four uses a 2.36 x 1.75-inch (60 x 44.4 mm) bore and stroke and a 12.3:1 compression ratio. Honda’s spec sheet rates peak power at 53.0 kW (71 hp, or 72 PS) at 11,000 rpm and torque at 35.0 lb-ft (47.4 Nm) at 9,750 rpm. Redline is 12,500 rpm, so bring earplugs and a sense of adventure.

Honda borrowed some tricks from its bigger bikes. The cylinder walls are Ni-SiC plated instead of using separate sleeves, which saves weight and cuts friction. DLC-coated valve lifters cut friction further. Honda also rearranged the shafts to make the engine shorter front to back, which centralizes mass.

Breathing gets just as much attention. Dual ram-air ducts below the headlights feed a downdraft intake that draws from a 5.8-liter (6.1 qt) airbox right above the combustion chambers. The intake funnels come in two lengths, 2.8 inches (70 mm) for cylinders one and four and 3.5 inches (90 mm) for two and three. Honda says that tuning gives a strong intake howl. The 4-2-1 exhaust nods to the 1975 CB400 Four with side-swept downpipes, and a two-chamber muffler is tuned for a classic inline-four wail. A 35 kW (47 hp) A2-licence version is offered for Europe, which matters a lot more in Rome than in Riverside.

E-Clutch Standard, Plus Real Electronics

The headline feature is Honda’s E-Clutch, standard on the CBR500R Four. It lets you pull away, stop and shift up or down without touching the clutch lever. Just use the shifter. Paired with throttle-by-wire, it blips the throttle on downshifts and uses its half-clutch function to settle rear-wheel hop under hard braking. You can choose Hard, Medium or Soft shift-pedal feel, set separately for upshifts and downshifts. The lever is still there and works normally at any time, and the assist/slipper clutch helps when you shift manually. Honda says the system shifts faster and smoother than a quickshifter. That’s a bold claim, and we can’t wait to test it.

Throttle-by-wire also brings three riding modes, Standard, Sport and Urban, plus two User modes. Each one mixes three levels of Engine Power, Engine Brake and Honda Selectable Torque Control (HSTC), and HSTC can be switched off in the User modes. Honda’s spec sheet also lists wheelie control. Everything runs through a 5-inch optically bonded TFT with Honda RoadSync smartphone connectivity, a backlit four-way switch on the left bar and a USB-C port. That’s a lot of tech for a 500, and Honda clearly isn’t afraid new riders will get lost in a menu.

Chassis: Steel Frame, KYB Fork, Radial Nissins

The new steel-tube diamond frame weighs 30.9 pounds (14 kg) and uses the engine as a stressed member. Up front is a non-adjustable 41 mm KYB inverted fork with 4.3 inches (109 mm) of travel. Out back, an aluminum swingarm drives a Pro-Link shock with five-step preload adjustment and 4.7 inches (119 mm) of travel. Rake is 25 degrees with 3.9 inches (99 mm) of trail on a 55.6-inch (1,412 mm) wheelbase. Seat height is a friendly 30.7 inches (780 mm), and Honda says narrow subframe rails make it easier to reach the ground.

Braking comes from dual 11.7-inch (296 mm) front discs with Nissin radial-mount two-piston calipers, plus a 9.4-inch (240 mm) rear disc and single-piston caliper, with two-channel ABS. The cast wheels wear Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV tires, a 120/70-ZR17 front and a 160/60-ZR17 rear. Honda claims a 417-pound (189 kg) curb weight and a 3.7-gallon (14 L) tank. Its WMTC fuel figure of 4.5 L/100 km works out to about 52 mpg. Claimed top speed is 210 km/h (130 mph). We’ll leave verifying that one to someone with a longer runway.

Price, Colors and Availability

Honda UK lists the CBR500R Four E-Clutch at £6,999. That’s just £100 more than the twin-cylinder CBR500R (£6,899). It reaches UK dealers in January 2027. That converts to roughly $9,370 at November 2, 2026 exchange rates, but UK prices include VAT, so don’t read the conversion as a U.S. sticker. American Honda hasn’t announced the CBR500R Four for the U.S. market, so U.S. price and availability are N/A for now. Colors are Ignition Red (Tricolour) and Mat Ballistic Black Metallic. Genuine Honda accessories include a tail pack, tank pad, tank side pads, a smoked high screen, heated grips and an alarm.

For U.S. riders shopping a middleweight Honda right now, the closest four-cylinder is the CBR650R. See our 2025 Honda CBR650R Review and our 2025 Honda CBR650R vs. Yamaha YZF-R9 Comparison Review. If you’d rather dream bigger, our 2026 Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP Street Review covers the top of Honda’s CBR family. For the rest of this week’s debuts, see our 2026 EICMA Preview.

2027 Honda CBR500R Four Specs

2027 Honda CBR500R Four FAQ

How much horsepower does the 2027 Honda CBR500R Four make?

Honda’s spec sheet rates it at 53.0 kW at 11,000 rpm. That’s 71 hp, or 72 PS in European terms. Torque is 35.0 lb-ft (47.4 Nm) at 9,750 rpm.

Is the Honda CBR500R Four coming to the U.S.?

American Honda hasn’t announced it yet. It’s confirmed for Europe as a 2027 model, with UK deliveries starting in January 2027.

Does the CBR500R Four have a regular clutch lever?

Yes. E-Clutch is standard and handles launches, stops and shifts for you, but the lever stays put and works normally whenever you want it.

Is it the same bike as the twin-cylinder CBR500R?

No. The Four has its own 502cc inline-four, steel frame, styling and electronics package. In the UK it costs just £100 more than the twin.