Honda Headlight Patent Hints at Upcoming CBR250RR
Honda has filed a patent for an aggressively-scowling headlight design that looks remarkably similar to the unit on Light Weight Super Sport concept presented at last October’s Tokyo Motor Show. The concept was supposed to represent the “design direction of Honda’s next generation lightweight super sports models,” with most observers speculating will lead to a new CBR250RR. The design patent, filed in March with the European Union Intellectual Property Office, offers clues that the CBR250RR may be announced fairly soon.
As on the concept, the design patent shows a thin pair of angled lights above two banks of three lights. Here’s a head-on look at the lodged design below. Note the sharp angle of the two main lights and the two rows of lights below them.
Now look at the Light Weight Super Sport’s headlight from a similar angle:
The concept’s lighting had two thin slits of LED whereas the design patent shows a pair of much larger lights, though they are still much squintier than most lights. The design looks very similar to the concept bike and may turn out to be for the headlight unit of the production model.
The patent application lists Takeshi Futamata and Hirofumi Yaegashi as its designers. Futamata’s body of work includes design patents for the CB650F and CB500F while Yaegashi’s credits include the design of Honda’s RC-E electric concept. Based on these resumes, it’s not a surprise if these two designers were tasked with creating a new lightweight sportsbike.
Of course, it’s very possible the headlight design patent is for an altogether different motorcycle than the rumored CBR250RR. The aggressive design of the headlight and the concept suggests a match.
Incidentally, Honda filed two other separate design patents on the same day it filed the application for the headlight. Unfortunately, Honda applied to defer the publication of details for the two patents but given the timing, it’s a safe bet that at least one of them is for a motorcycle that uses this headlight design.
Check back here with Motorcycle.com in the months ahead for further news of Honda’s upcoming CBR250RR.
Dennis has been a part of the Motorcycle.com team since 2008, and through his tenure, has developed a firm grasp of industry trends, and a solid sense of what's to come. A bloodhound when it comes to tracking information on new motorcycles, if there's a new model on the horizon, you'll probably hear about it from him first.
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