Honda CBR400
Sport bike model from Honda
The Honda CBR400 is a Japanese domestic market small-capacity sport motorcycle, part of the CBR series introduced by Honda in 1983. It was the first Honda motorcycle to wear a CBR badge.
History
The CBR400R (NC17) naked bike was launched in December 1983. The 4-valves per cylinder, liquid cooled, four-stroke, DOHC, inline-four engine has a rotational-speed valve stop mechanism "REV" (a prototype of Honda's VTEC system) that changed from two valves into four valves at 9,500 rpm. The following two years, it came as semi- and fully faired version as the F3 Endurance. The CBR400R and early CBR400RR models both carry the model number NC23, which makes up the first part of these bikes' frame numbers. In 1986 the CBR400R was also known as Aero, Jellymould, as it shares its major design features with the rest of the early CBR600F and CBR1000F Hurricane family of motorcycles, which include significantly rounded body shapes. Whereas the later 1988 model was designated CBR400RR and was also known as the Tri-Arm, after its racing inspired braced swingarm.
The CBR400RR in 1992 was referred to as the 'Baby Blade' replica, then in 1994 it was styled to closely look like the CBR900RR or Fireblade motorcycle. Though over the years, in performance and handling, it was more closely compared to the CBR600.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Honda CBR400” is sport bike model from Honda. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Honda, CBR400 and Sport, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “sport bike model from Honda” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5892247. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1983, 1986, 1988 and 1992.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Honda CBR400”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Honda CBR400 primary sources, Honda CBR400 archive and Honda research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Honda CBR400” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.