Here's why Honda's early '90s CB1000 didn't sell in the US: It was underpowered and overweight. At 575lb (tank full) with less than 100hp, it ran the quarter-mile in the mid 11s, a bit slower than the CBR600F2, vastly slower than the literbike king, the ZX-11.
Here's why the CB1300 wouldn't sell in the US today: It's underpowered and overweight.
Honda UK gives power at 85kW, which translates to about 100 rear-wheel horsepower, and weight of 224kg dry, or 550lb with a full tank. Like its predecessor, quarter-mile time will be in the mid-11s, which would draw a deafening chorus of yawns from US magazines.
I
like comfortable, unfaired motorcycles even if they don't go real fast. Yesterday, I rode my wheezy 40hp Hawk GT with a group of much faster bikes and had a ball keeping up with them--at least in the twisty bits. But not enough motorcycle buyers in the US do, dooming them to a small, unprofitable market niche.