IgnITIOn

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) have announced a new motorcycle and we are excited about it

HMSI HAVE ANNOUNCED THAT THEY WILL soon be launching the CB300R, a 286-cc bike that has been in existence for the past two years but has not yet come to India. That is about to change now as the company seems to be focusing on the growing 300cc segment. Recently the company announced that the bookings for the new CB300R were open at just Rs 5,000 and that the bike would be available at less than Rs 2.5 lakh, which is quite a good price point. Although HMSI have not announced the launch date, we surmise that the bike will be launched before the end of the financial year, considering the fact that the bookings are already open. The company also said that the bike would come to India by the CKD (completely knocked down) route.

The CB300R belongs to Honda’s new Neo Sports Café line-up which blends retro design with modern engineering. The motorcycle borrows styling cues from its elder sibling, the CB1000R, which is an aggressive and old-school-looking motorcycle. On the smaller CB that very design language can be observed in the form of the minimal body panels, a round LED headlamp, a very clean-looking tail section, and a small instrument console. The semiexposed pressed and tubular steel section frame and 41-mm upside down front suspension add to the aggressive styling. The bike also comes with an upswept exhaust, a 296-mm front floating brake rotor with four-piston Nissin calipers, and a 220-mm rotor with a single-piston caliper. The CB300R also gets dual-channel ABS, a Pro-Link swing-arm with monoshock suspension, and 17-inch wheels.

The CB300R is powered by a 286-cc, liquid-cooled, single-cylinder engine which has quite interesting specifications. It produces a good 31.5 PS at 8,500 rpm and 27.5 Nm at 7,500 rpm, which is quite good for a bike that weighs just 143 kilos. The engine comes mated to a six-speed gearbox. The specs sound really good; however, we would have to wait to see how this new Honda performs. For now, the CB300R looks quite promising and we hope that HMSI will launch it sooner than later.