The genealogy of Sports models featuring Honda's parallel twin cylinder engine begins in July 1957 with the Dream C70 (247cc), which was powered by Honda's first 2 cylinder 250cc OHC engine.

After the Dream C70 came the Dream C75 (305cc), a powered-up version of the C70. Next came the Dream C71, which was equipped with a self-starter, and then the Dream CB72 Super Sport (export name, The Hawk) said to be a direct descendent of the works machines. The foundations of Honda's sports bikes were built in tandem with the development of motor sports.

In 1962 the Dream CB77 Super Sport (305cc) (export name, The Super Hawk), based on the Dream CB72 Super Sport but with greater displacement, was launched. This was followed in the same year by the Dream CL72 Scrambler, which could be ridden both on-road and off-road.

In the early Sixties, European manufacturers focused mainly on 650cc Sports bikes for the European and American markets. Honda believed that in terms of performance it could amply compete using a 450cc engine and introduced the Dream CB450. This high-performance, parallel-twin DOHC engine powered bike, with its 650cc-beating performance and refined styling, was very well received overseas. And then in 1969, after the CB450 had gained Honda a foothold in the overseas Sports bike market, in response to the expansion of the highway network in Japan and the need for high-speed transport in Europe and North America, Honda released the Dream CB750 FOUR. After this a move to 4 cylinders in all displacement classes was envisaged, but a revision to driving qualifications in Japan in 1975 split motorcycle license categories into medium-sized (up to 400cc) and large-sized (above 400cc). Because the test for the large-bike license was clearly harder to pass, 400cc became the largest market for the Sports bike. In 1977 Honda responded by launching the Hawk II CB400T, a Sports model that presented a new sense of value, featuring as it did numerous new technologies designed to deliver "4 cylinder performance with 2 cylinders" without losing "the enjoyable throb and exhaust noise of a 2 cylinder machine," at a more affordable price. Further evolution was seen in 1980 with the launch of the 250cc Super Hawk and the 400cc Super Hawk III.

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Since then, Honda's Sports models have continued to evolve to the present day. Against the backdrop of a shift towards multi-cylinder engines and the rise of Cruiser machines, advanced technologies have been added to the core CB, CBR, VFR, VT and GL series bikes in accordance with the character of each model, and different engines have been deployed (single, in-line 4, V-2, V-4 & horizontally opposing 6 cylinder). For this project we returned to the source of a motorcycle's appeal and developed 3 versions of a new, easy-to-handle 500cc parallel-twin model that has the potential to create a new worldwide market.

At Honda we proactively monitor user needs and change with the times. While acknowledging the regional characteristics of each country, we always seek to propose a new sense of value and today are going with the flow to create a new Sports market.