Hot Standard: Honda annonced themes CBF1000 is coming to Canada. New windscreen (adjustable), frame, slick instruments, more power! $12,999

The 2010 Honda CBF1000 doesn’t just get tweaked bodywork and fresh paint; it is an entirely new motorcycle.

Topping the changes is a move from a steel frame to a new aluminum frame that is more compact and is claimed to improve handling. The lighter frame contributes to a 5-kg reduction in weight to 245 kg wet. Other chassis changes include a new 41 mm preload-adjustable telescopic fork with damping rates and shock that adds adjustable rebound damping.

The CBF’s CBR1000-sourced engine gets a 9 horsepower boost to 106, as well as a tad more torque, while fuel consumption is said to have improved by 7 percent.

A larger, more protective fairing contains new instruments and a new four-position adjustable windscreen (120 mm vertical range) that raises or lowers manually without tools, and as with the previous model, seat height is adjustable from 780 to 805 mm in 15 mm increments.

More aggressive styling now includes a single, large-volume muffler, and fuel capacity is up one litre to 20 for increased range.

The 2010 CBF1000A is available only through Honda Powerhouse dealers and is available only in pearl yellow. Retail price is $12,999 and combined ABS is standard.

In other news from the Honda Canada press soiree last night in Toronto in which they announced that they will be cutting prices of their new 2010 models and offering significant incentives on unsold ’08 and ’09 models.

According to big cheese Warren Milner, the building of the whole Powerhouse dealership network over the last few years has challenged financial and manpower resources, but with the job nearly done, with 43 dealers up and running and another 17 to go, Honda can now focus on some aggressive repricing to help get the brand back into motorcyclist’s heads.

The new pricing is supposed to be competitive with US pricing, which –– with the Canadian dollar closing on par –– would seem like a prudent move. Take the Varadero for example (Honda would be happy if you did), this year the big adventure bike was asking $14,500, but for 2010 the sticker price drops to $13,199, now within $900 of Suzuki’s V-Strom 1000 – which doesn’t have ABS.

The 2009 unsold models will not see MSRP adjustments but instead get cash rebates (which brings ’09 pricing below 2010 models), with the ’09 Varadero getting a $2,500 rebate on its $14,500 list price (all rebates are available on the Honda Canada website).

Honda Canada also used the event to announce the pricing of the VFR1200 which is listed at $18,999 for the manual shift, though no price has been set for the dual-clutch auto model, they hinted heavily that it will likely command a $1500 – $2000 premium and should be in stores in May 2010.

This pricing puts the VFR $2-3k under the sport-touring competition (though it doesn’t come with bags as standard) or about the same amount above the sporty competition (BMW K1300S, Hayabusa, ZX14), and undercutting the ST1300′s current $19,999 pricing.