Honda CB200X

The Honda CB200X is a ADV style motorcycle from the Japanese manufacturer. But Honda calls it an ‘Urban Explorer’. After riding the bike through town, and putting it through its paces in the pouring rain, here’s what we have found out about its real world performance.

The CB200X looks like a higher capacity ADV bike thanks to its half fairings. But the bike still has a few design elements borrowed from the Hornet 2.0 such as the LED headlight. Honda has done a good job with the turn indicators integrated into the knuckle guards and they look quite good, but are likely to break in case of a crash. The smoked finish on the windscreen goes well with the overall colour of the bike. 

The 184.4cc air-cooled engine is very peppy and revs happily. There’s enough grunt at low revs so that you don’t need to work the gearbox continuously during city commutes. It will happily zip along at low speeds in high gears. 

Overall, the engine is quite tractable and has a healthy mid-range, so overtaking in traffic won’t require too much effort on the rider’s part. It feels comfortable cruising at speeds of up to 90kmph, post which some vibes creep in from the handlebar and the fuel tank. 

The CB200X weighs in at 147kg, about 5kg more than the Hornet 2.0, but still manages to feel quite light on its feet. You don’t even feel the weight when taking U-turns. Its agility is a real boon in city traffic, and we really enjoyed our time in the urban jungle. 

The monoshock is quite firm, which is evident when riding on bad roads. While most regular bumps and undulations are handled without too much fuss, the sharp ones end up transferring to the rider and may even toss them off the seat. Even though the ground clearance isn’t particularly high, the belly pan didn’t scrape even once on bad patches or speed breakers.  Braking on the CB200X is commendable with adequate bite and lever feedback with minimal ABS intrusion under hard braking. However, since it only gets single-channel ABS, the rear wheel may lock up when you push really hard. 

The Honda CB200X provides riders with an upright and relaxed riding position thanks to the wide and forward-set handlebar and mid-set footpegs. The seat is quite spacious and can accommodate both the rider and pillion without any trouble and also gives enough space for both to move around. The seat height is a bit towards the taller side coming to 810mm, but the narrow profile of the seat in the front makes it easy for even shorter riders to get both feet down.

The only issue with the seat is that it is a bit towards the firmer side and wouldn’t be comfortable when going on long trips.

The CB200X comes with the same negative LCD as the Hornet 2.0 and gives readouts like speed, tachometer readings, gear position, clock, trip meters and odometer. The display has 5 levels of brightness which is quite convenient and makes it easy to read the console under different lighting conditions. While the console does have a side stand indicator, an engine cut-off sensor should ideally have been offered as well. 

The switch gear is easy to reach but overall feels quite cheap and the hazard lights give little to no feedback. The bike only gets single-channel ABS and at this price point, this is quite disappointing. We expected dual-channel ABS to be standard. 

The CB200X isn’t a true ADV but it makes for a brilliant daily rider within the city that can also handle the occasional weekend trips with ease. But the main issue is the bike is much more expensive and overall feels like a Hornet 2.0 but with new fairings and a slightly altered handlebar. The Hero XPulse 200 4V which is the main rival of the CB200X does a much better job as a dual-sport/ADV motorcycle. The only reason why you should get the Honda CB200X is if you like its looks and don’t mind paying the premium for it.