Honda CB650R: A short rider’s thoughts

This is a 2021 Honda CB650R. I had it for about a month, riding it around town as my errand bike, on the highway, and finally, my favorite, mountain curbs. I looked up the specs only after I'd ridden this bike for the month that I had it, and I can attest that some of the changes compared to the previous years, you can feel it in the ride. So I am 5'3.75 inches tall, with a 31 inch inseam crotch to floor. Yes, that is correct, ladies have longer legs than guys, but I'll tell you how this bike worked for me and fit for me, for someone who can barely do 10 push-ups. I am working on it though, ever since I realized how difficult it was to pick up an adventure bike off-road. I've added a strength building and protein into my routine. So I'll tell you how I handled this bike and how it worked in slow speed traffic, on the highways, in mountain curves, and how it compares to some of the other bikes in this level range I've ridden. For example, like the Kawasaki Z650, Ninja 650, Yamaha MT07, Trident 660, my bike, the Triumph Street Triple R 675. So this is actually the bike that I used in my short rider tricks video. So just basically how I handle a bike that I'm tiptoeing on, because I can't flat foot this bike. The seat height is 31.5 inches tall. If I'm backed up in a bad situation and I need to move it backwards, I can't duck walk when I tiptoe. So in order to move it around, I need to lean it against my hip. And doing the one trick of putting one foot down instead of two tiptoeing feet down is what finally helped me stop dropping bikes left and right. But all those things is when I had to feel the weight of the bike. This is actually the heaviest bike out of all those bikes I listed. It's 445 pounds wet, where the Suzuki, the Kawasaki, the Trident, they're all 430 pounds wet. My bike is 412 pounds wet, although it feels heaviest because the weight's higher, I guess. And the MT-07 is 406 pounds wet, I think. So Yamahas come lighter and taller, usually it seems like. So I was really surprised it did not feel heavy at all. But one thing it did feel, when I think Japanese, I think cost effective, I think cheap. My car is a Honda, I got it because I'm cheap. But this does not feel cheap. It only comes in one color, the matte black finish. I think maybe the paint job, the four cylinder engine making it feel so smooth, the pretty dash. It does not feel like a cheap bike. This feels almost like a luxury bike, minus the extra features. So riding it in traffic, the clutch is just so soft. I'm so grateful for standard bike clutches after riding those big baggers on my first road trip. My clutch hand was hurting so bad. The clutch is so smooth. So if you're stuck in traffic for a while, you won't be crying with a hurt hand like I was on those baggers. I've pretty much always said that Triumphs are the smoothest bikes I've ever ridden. But this four cylinder engine came really close. Really close. I wouldn't know for sure if it's, which one's more smoother without riding them back to back. I mean, it feels like you're, it feels like you're riding on glass on this bike. I think that four cylinder engine plus how good it was at wind buffeting. And this is the first time I'm ever saying this in my life. I've gone up to the mountains maybe about 30 times. My 675 just feels faster than other 600 level bikes. It feels more like a 900 level Japanese bike. And I'd say the same thing actually about this CB650R. But this CB650R up in the mountains, I could have gotten in trouble. More than once I looked down at the speedometer. I was like, oh, I did not know I was going that fast. What happens in the mountains stays in the mountains. And I did some things that I can not share on camera up there. I am, I am not a speed demon at all. Like I know my parents watch these videos. I'm not trying to do anything illegal. I'm trying to be a little old lady still riding motorcycles. But this bike could get you in trouble if you are not careful. And I don't know how I looked, but I definitely felt really nimble up in the mountains. Like I just felt like I just leaned so easily. And I found out actually reading the specs that they did bring the handlebars closer in the 2021 model so that it could feel more nimble in the curves. And I felt it. Sometimes other things will be new, but the engine will be the same in some bikes. But this one, the engine's brand new and it feels like it. So how this bike compares to some of the other bikes in this level range. This one, it just, it just feels more luxurious at a Honda price. I think it's like it retails at like $9,000. A little bit taller than the Kawasaki's 650s and the SV650. I don't have a video on the SV650 though. I just wrote it on a demo day. Shorter than the, than the MT07. Heavier, but it, it didn't feel like it at all. Physically, when I got on the bike, I would have guessed it as far as what it rode like and what it physically looked like. Like as far as how big it was. I would have actually guessed it was 900cc. Just comparing it to the Kawasaki Z900 or the MT09. That video will be out in a couple of months. And the most amount of miles I put on this bike in one day was about 300. That was a mountain day ride. I definitely felt the usual standard bike qualms. Back hurting, butt hurting after a while. But I felt like this was back about the same. It's about as upright as any other standard bike, but I felt like the seat was a little more comfortable. At least compared to the Yamaha seat. I mean, my butt still hurt by the end of the day, but not as quickly. Like I feel, I felt like I didn't need to shift my butt around as much as, as much as I might on, on the Yamaha. And I can't say about the Kawasaki because I only rode them for like 30 minutes on a demo day. If you want to see reviews on the other 600 level bikes, click this playlist right over here. And you better do it fast because this video is going to end abruptly.