Honda CBR500R: Expected Price In India

Here’s what we think could be the price of the sportbike

Content with its presence in the commuter segment, Honda India now aims to increase its footprint in the premium categories. Hence, the Japanese manufacturer announcing its plans of bringing its entire range of 500cc motorcycles to our shores is welcome news for us enthusiasts. Now we have already guesstimated the price of the Honda CMX500 Rebel and if it turns out to be around that ballpark, then it will be a tempting proposition that’d be hard to resist. The other hot property from the family is the CBR500R sportbike. So what could it be priced at?

Currently, Honda’s CKD operations begin with with the CB300R. If we were to apply the same price delta between the price of the small-capacity naked in India and in the UK to the CBR500R, it would turn out the middleweight sportbike would not cost beyond Rs 3.2 lakh. That sounds a bit unrealistic, especially considering most parallel-twin, sub-400cc faired motorcycles in India like the Yamaha R3 and the Kawasaki Ninja 400 are currently priced above Rs 3 lakh.

If we had to compare the prices of the CBR650R in India and the UK and apply the same differential to the CBR500R, the expected price shoots up to Rs 6 lakh. This does make the upcoming sportbike a tad too expensive for a price-conscious market like ours. Also, with the 2020 Kawasaki Ninja 650 expected to carry a price tag of at least Rs 6.45 lakh, Honda would have its work cut out.

Also Read: Honda Rebel 500 India Price Analysis

Hence, we could see Honda aiming to keep the price as close to the Rs 5 lakh mark as possible. This would make it easier to digest for us buyers. While it will still be pricier than the Kawasaki Ninja 400 or even the Yamaha R3, the other two Japanese products would ultimately see an increase in price once they are updated to meet the upcoming BS6 emission norms.