"Although the CB650 pulls well from 6000 rpm on, the definite powerband lies between 7500 rpm and redline at 9500."

"There is a clue to emphasis on engine breathing in the CB650's pistons, and combustion chamber shape. The chambers are open and spherical section in form, without funny pockets or ledges. The pistons are domed, but in a very particular way, curving in to follow the shape of the chamber and then going completely flat on top. It's the layout you use when you want the best breathing at any given compression ratio."

"The CB650's vastly improved quarter mile performance has to be a function of real, ex-dyno room, horsepower. The sheer power has to be there, it is there, and it puts the Honda CB650 securely at the top of the list of middleweight contenders. Kawasaki's KZ650, twin overhead camshafts and all, is no performance match for Honda's born-again Four."

"You can work the CB650 right out to the squirming stage of tire adhesion without banging bits of hardware on the road, but it can't be said that the bike encourages such lurid behavior. Neither for that matter does it do anything to actively discourage excessively brisk cornering. It's steady in corners, but not especially solid. What we mean is, the CB650 will arc around turns as steady as its rider; it doesn't have the solid stability that compensates for a little unsteadiness at the controls. If you twitch , it twitches...and does a bit of amplifying just to let you know you should change your ways."

"The CB650 misses being truly new because it was designed to be produced on the old CB550 assembly line, using essentially the same tooling. Honda's decision to build a new motorcycle with existing tooling meant, for example, that the CB650 could have a new cylinder block casting...but its bores and stud holes would have to be on the same centers as those in the earlier model. The decision may have cramped the Honda engineers' usually free-swinging style, but it also meant that the CB650 could be sent to market with a major chunk of its delivery price prepaid."

"Smooth shifting is not the CB650's forte. Shift action is notchy, especially in the first two changes, and we occasionally missed shifts. Although the lever requires only a moderate amount of pressure to shift, changes must be made deliberately; an inattentive flick of the foot won't do."