The original GB500 was a retro racing style bike with an air-cooled single cylinder engine. In the late 1980s, it was sold under a different name in the Japanese and US markets and some international markets. At the time, the motorcycle was available in 400cc and 500cc variants with a short stroke design and an output of over 30 horsepower.
In modern times, the GB name has been revived by Honda for the Japanese version of the CB350 H’ness, which was recently launched in Europe as well. The GB350 is manufactured in India, and the differences between the GB350 and the H’ness mainly boil down to a few small visual elements. Honda recently registered the GB500S name in the US, which raises a few interesting possibilities. The first is that the company could be launching a new retro bike with a parallel twin engine from the CB500 family, but that seems unlikely since the GB name has only ever been used for single-cylinder bikes.
If Honda does indeed build a 500cc air-cooled single-cylinder engine, we expect its performance figures to be roughly or slightly better than the Harley-Davidson X440, which produces 27 horsepower and 38 Nm of torque. The second, more interesting possibility, is that Honda is actually developing a new air-cooled firecracker in the 500cc displacement range. If so, Honda would be the only manufacturer to do so, as RE hasn’t made a 500cc single-cylinder since the introduction of the J platform and doesn’t appear to be currently developing one. All in all, this is could be seriously interesting update from Honda if it gets operational.
