Honda XRE 300 ADV Spied Testing

It could use the CB300F's powertrain

Honda has showcased a flex-fuel XRE 300 Rally at Auto Expo 2023. Check it out here.

The Honda XRE 300 has been spied on in India and it had the KTM 390 Adventure and the BMW G 310 GS for company, giving us a clear idea about what bikes Honda is benchmarking it against. 

What you’ll instantly notice is that the XRE 300 gets Honda CB500X-inspired styling. The upcoming ADV sports a tall and lean stance with a big beak, a seemingly stepped single-piece seat, chunky grab handles and an upswept exhaust. The Brazilian-spec XRE 300 is powered by a 291.6cc air-cooled motor that makes 25.4PS and 27Nm with pure petrol and 25.6PS and 27.45Nm with ethanol, specs that are close to the recently launched (in India) Honda CB300F’s 24.47PS and 25.6Nm. These specs don’t sound all that impressive, so should Honda get this to India? Our answer would be a resounding YES! In fact, we believe that Honda could get the XRE to India and power it with the CB300F’s motor.

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There’s a 21-inch wheel up front and an 18-inch unit at the rear, both are wire-spoked. You’ve a telescopic fork with 245mm of suspension travel and a pro-link shock that has 225mm of wheel travel. It gets discs at both ends with a 256mm disc at the front and a 220mm one at the rear. The bike’s SUV-rivalling 259mm ground clearance and low 148kg weight sound perfect for our roads. While its seat is a vertigo-inducing 860mm tall, its narrow surface area (especially where it meets the tank) should make it reasonably easy to plant one’s feet on the ground.  So, while the XRE 300 isn’t a spec monster when it comes to its engine, the rest of the componentry tell us that it should be a great, easy-going trail bike.

Honda has been known to make India-specific products. So, given the Japanese bikemaker has a 300-350cc bike in the pipeline for India, we cannot rule out the possibility of an ADV based on the CB300F, especially considering that ADVs are suddenly becoming the preferred choice among the Indian enthusiast. If Honda does decide to do it, it will be here sometime next year. 

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