Honda CB350RS

Soon after the H’ness CB350, the Japanese marque has launched another variant based on the same platform — CB350RS. Interestingly, Honda say that “RS” stands for Road Sailing. Launched at Rs 1.96 lakh (exshowroom), the RS costs Rs 9,500 more than the H’ness.

Visually, the CB350RS can be told apart from its sibling due to its bright dual-tone colours; red-black and yellowblack. The new variant gets a 17-inch rear wheel with a 150/70 tyre (the CB350 runs an 18-inch rear with 130/70 rubber), a slightly different seat, fork boots, bash-plate, and a re-designed tail section which includes a slightly different exhaust. It also uses the same 348.36-cc, aircooled, four-valve, single-cylinder engine as the CB350. It is mated to a five-speed gearbox and dishes out 21 hp at 5,500 rpm and a peak torque of 30 Nm at 3,000 rpm.

Also included are switchable traction control and a rather informative digital-analogue console that displays useful essentials including real-time fuel efficiency and distance to empty. Braking is managed by a 310-mm disc at the front and a 240-mm disc at the rear supplemented with the safety of dual-channel ABS.