Honda brings in the all-new CB300R, a naked roadster with its design based on the Honda new Sports Cafe. The company brings in the neo-retro motorcycle via the CKD route and it takes on the likes of the KTM 390 Duke and the BMW G 310 R.
Honda plans to sell the CB300R in India via its 22 Wing World outlets in the country. Available in two colors – Matte Axis Grey Metallic and Candy Chromosphere Red, the new motorcycle is powered by a 286 cc, single-cylinder liquid cooled engine. Internationally, the CB300R sits in the lower half of the brand’s neo-sports cafe styled bikes, but in India, it is the only bike along with the CB100R+ to sport the retro-styling in the country.
On the features front, the new CB300R comes equipped with a full LED headlamp and taillamp, a full-digitalLCD instrument panel and a dual-channel ABS that uses an IMU(Inertial Measurement Unit) to improve the front-to-rear distribution of brake intervention.
Propulsion comes from a 286cc, liquid-cooled, four-valve, single-cylinder DOHC motor that is paired to a 6-speed gearbox. This engine makes 30.4hp at 8,000rpm and 27.4Nm of torque at 6,500rpm. These figures are slightly lower than the UK-spec bike and the spec sheet of the India-spec CB mentions that it makes 1hp less at 8,000rpm (instead of 8,500rpm) and 0.1Nm of torque less at 6,500rpm (instead of 7,500rpm). Handling suspension duties for the bike is a USD fork and a preload-adjustable monoshock. As for the brakes, the CB uses a four-piston caliper at the front and a single-piston unit at the rear. While the power figures don’t look to be the most impressive at this price point, its low kerb weight of 147kg does (which is 4kg more than the UK-spec bike). This makes it one of the lightest bikes in the segment. The CB has a fuel tank capacity of 10 litres.
The India-spec model also uses Michelin Pilot Street tyres instead of the Dunlops found on the international-spec model. We believe this could be one of the cost-cutting measures Honda has taken for India.
While the 390 Duke and the G 310 R may be more direct rivals to the CB300R, its price also puts it close to Royal Enfield’s recently introduced 650 twins (which start at Rs 2.50 lakh).
