Honda CB300R: All you need to know

Honda has launched its 300cc offering in India. Heres what you need to know about this retro styled bike

Honda yesterday launched the CB300R in India at the price of Rs 2.41 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). This neo-retro street naked promise a lot in terms of design and performance and has us hot under the collar. Here’s why it would excite you as well.

It’s quite a looker We are not saying that just going by the pictures. We were at the launched and managed to get up close and personal with the bike. The display bike had an excellent paint finish and fantastic fit and finish. Switchgear too was high quality and felt like it was lifted off the much more expensive Honda CBR650F. All this will come in the models sold here as Honda is getting the CB300R here via the CKD route.

It will be quite a performer On paper, the 30.45PS and 27.4Nm of torque might seem modest (it actually makes 1PS less than the one sold abroad) but bear in mind that this bike weighs offers a best-in-class torque to weight ratio of 186.39PS per ton. That should make getting off the line a sprightly affair and also result is quicker acceleration times

It weighs just 147kgs! And that's not dry weight but kerb weight with all fluids and 90 of fuel. And much of this weight is centralised to reduce the moment of inertia or simply put, the force required to rotate an object around its axis (effort required to turn the vehicle). In this case, Honda claims the moment of inertia is as low as 125 to 150cc bikes.

Also read: Honda CB300R: Other Options At The Same Price

It gets high-spec underpinnings To keep weight down, the CB300R gets a minimalistic tubular frame and cast aluminium swingarm. It gets upside down forks and a rear monoshock. Braking is via a 296mm front and 220mm petal disc clamped by radially mounted Nissin calipers. While the international-spec version gets Dunlop Sportmax tyres, the ones here come with Michelin Pilot Sport radials.

Also read: Family Feud: Honda CB300R vs Honda CBR250R

It gets cornering ABS! When was the last time you heard tech like cornering ABS on a relatively small-capacity motorcycle? Well, the CB300R gets an IMU based cornering ABS tech. The benefits? Now even if you can brake hard into a corner, the ABS will factor in the lean angle and adjust brake pressure accordingly. Simply put, there is less chance of the front wheel washing out. How good is it? That question will be answered in our ride review of the bike. Stay tuned.