[Sebring]

Thank you. The bikes have arrived and are in their container. Can't believe Honda is so fleet footed, this time around! I will be getting a call tomorrow regarding time-lines (TD, delivery etc)

Originally Posted by texmonster

Congrats. Any idea when the official pricing will be announced? Did the dealership give any date regarding commencement of test rides?

[krishnakarthik1]

If this has great reliability then RE is in trouble for sure. But the first and immediate casualties are the Jawa and the Imperiale.

[Nithesh_M]

Originally Posted by kamilharis

I was never interested to go for any brand other than Honda.

Same boat. My 9 year old CBR250R has surpassed 1.5 lakh kms and is still running with original clutch, gearbox, bore etc. The only part replacements have been the indicators that get knocked out of its socket in traffic.
I wanted to get the 650R this year but this pandemic has forced me to buy a car instead.

This CB would make for a great office commuter if only my city had a Bigwing dealer. No way I'd ride 400kms to service one.

[wheelguy]

I deferred my RE 350 purchase , now feeling happy that I deferred my purchase. I'd any day buy this over an RE 350. But there's one thing that I wish, probably I'm the only odd one here, I wish for a silent bike.

[sechebe]

Honda has Pleasantly surprised everyone.

More surprises awaited, As mentioned during the launch "Another Thump of surprise in the near future,...,another beautiful motorcycle".

An Adventure, A naked, A Thumper (The H'ness 350), Another bigger Thumper? (From the image), As Honda mentions they are focusing on middleweight category, upto 500cc).

[Malhi]

Does anyone know anything about the engine and the international contemporary of the bike (if any)?

My brief internet research gives me a feeling that Honda has made an exception for India by turning back the clock in terms of design and engine technology to suit the demands of the Indian market. If this is true, then will the cb 350 be able to deliver the high standards of "Honda reliability?" Needless to say, the only way to breach the RE fortress is through high quality and reliability.

This is a 1970 cb 350 which appears to be the inspiration for the Highness 350.

[Manan9876]

This seems gimmicky by Honda to me, more of a show than commitment. The fact that this product would be sold only through Big Wings it excludes almost 80% of the market for instance for the entire Assam and the other states region there is only one Big Wing showroom in Guwahati, if they were targeting RE they should have thought about the service network more.


Moving on, Honda’s irregular product priority seems puzzling to me, first they got the CBR 250 R let it die an inglorious death, the entire line from day one suffered from parts shortages and lack of dedicated mechanics, I had one in Bangalore, and for that entire tier 1 city there was only one competent mechanic. I could imagine the horror show at tier 2 and tier 3 cities.

To summarise mine was a 2013 model and by 2016 the bike was dead a run of only 3 years, while I had paid taxes till 2028 or so and am straddled with a product that no one wants to buy and it is extremely hard to repair.

On this product itself, Honda could for simplicity sake could have taken their gem of an engine powering the Unicorn and given us a cheaper more versatile bike aka the original Rebel 250 with the classic spokes and bell whistles. Heck even the body could have been made in a cruiser style and a standard style to attack both the RE and Avenger market share.

This engine with complicated parts+ overworked mechanics= costly repairs delicate tune and if anything amiss an unsatisfactory ride for the consumer.

Regarding the latter two companies one can say whatever about their products but they got one thing consistent that is certainty, that a person with a 2003 model either from the RE or Bajaj stable could still retro fit some of the modern parts and keep their machines going.

Regards to Honda apart from their scooters how many customers have been left dry with their Dazzlers, CB triggers and various iterant of the same? more so about the CB 300 owners who had paid around 3 lakhs and their model has not been confirmed to be continued for the BS 6 regulations.

Hence this is a hard pass for me; as a pervious CBR 250 R owner this so called company with its slogan ‘power of dreams ‘ has taken people for a ride and left them wondering akin to a dream being over of ‘why the heck did I invest in such a product?’

[R.G]

The sales and service may not be only through Honda BigWing Showrooms.

If I understand correctly there is only one BigWing Showroom in my state , and it is in Kochi.

The honda BigWing website listed CBC Honda in my hometown when I opted to book CB350 . The same portal lists Kozhikode , Cochin and Trivandrum for CB350 booking. I didnt continue to payment screen , so not sure if there are any further validations.

I could be wrong , but thought it might be of interest here

Screen grab of booking screen

[drt_rdr]

Originally Posted by Malhi

My brief internet research gives me a feeling that Honda has made an exception for India by turning back the clock in terms of design and engine technology to suit the demands of the Indian market. If this is true, then will the cb 350 be able to deliver the high standards of "Honda reliability?" Needless to say, the only way to breach the RE fortress is through high quality and reliability.

There's just no way they'll go back to 1970s manufacturing standards just to cut costs if that's what you're saying. Even if they somehow unbelievably do, it's not like they had terrible standards 50 years ago either. You still see a lot of people abroad swear by their old made-in-japan motorcycles.

Besides, this "Honda reliability" thing seems like a myth and marketing propaganda. Is Honda really that much more reliable over Suzuki or Yamaha? Of course I've never directly owned a Honda motorcycle but I do have a honda design\product of the honda legacy in a heromotocorp motorcycle, and that one is quite well made but not really what you'd call bulletproof. It depends on how you use it I guess.

Originally Posted by Manan9876

This engine with complicated parts+ overworked mechanics= costly repairs delicate tune and if anything amiss an unsatisfactory ride for the consumer.

The cbr250r and the cb300r AFAIK were CKD kits imported from thailand.

This one is supposedly made in india. That could make all the difference as far as support is concerned. Besides, it's a simple air cooled SOHC engine that produces all the torque at low revs. You don't even get a tachometer. There's likely going to be no complicated parts\mechanics or delicate state of tune like the KTMs.

[Akash.D]

Masterstroke? Meh. Let's be realistic.

How can it compete with the RE 350 with its sparse availability? If HMSI had made it widely available across all its dealers then things could have been different. Until that, I don't think there will be a noticeable dent in the RE fortress.

Coming to the product, I would like one in single tone black (matte if possible), without the dual tone scheme or any sticker please. The name Honda is synonymous with reliability, which is why most people are interested in this motorcycle. But the engine is something that is not as tried and tested as the RE 350. Let's wait and see.

[ebonho]

Nice looking retro Jap bike, taking me back to the 80s and 90s. There is a definite charm to these machines and you will find many a gleaming original lovingly maintained by enthusiasts , all brilliant paint and acres of chrome.

This is no RE and those who feel this is a threat to RE are only very partially right. Displacement, power and torque are only one part of the equation.

A man who wants a Bullet does not want it for its specs ... he wants it because it is a Bullet.

What it represents to Indian manhood across generations.

It's history and heritage and cult.

It's feel. It's thump. Even muted as it is today, the Bullet is still the only real thumper we have.

The Honda will shine. But the Bullet is going nowhere.

Cheers, Doc

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Akash.D

How can it compete with the RE 350 with its sparse availability?

On second thought - Honda could be trying a Nexa here.

If this goes only to BigWing at 1.9L ex-showroom, then BigWing dealership numbers are surely going to increase over the next couple of years. Considering an Activa costs 90k onroad and the Unicorn costs near 1.5 - this isn't really a very premium proposition in the market.

Effectively - Honda BigWing will have much better numbers of scale than the likes of Kawasaki and Triumph.

[jaganm]

I’ve had some discussions with friends about the power figures. It always goes along the lines of Dominar has 40 bhp so is much more powerful.

I feel many people don’t really understand the difference between peak and usable power. Plus the torque is the thing that gives you the actual grunt on the road and the highness is very well served in this regard.

My feeling is that if the gearing is right, it will not have a problem cruising at 100-110 at fairly low rpm compared to other “modern” bikes. I see it struggling to cross 125 though.

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by R.G

The sales and service may not be only through Honda BigWing Showrooms.

If I understand correctly there is only one BigWing Showroom in my state , and it is in Kochi.

The honda BigWing website listed CBC Honda in my hometown when I opted to book CB350 . The same portal lists Kozhikode , Cochin and Trivandrum for CB350 booking. I didnt continue to payment screen , so not sure if there are any further validations.

I could be wrong , but thought it might be of interest here

Screen grab of booking screen

From what I have been told, Honda will have two different types of Big Wing dealerships,
- one is going to be a Big Wing dealership which will have the 300 to 500 cc bikes only.
- the second is going to be a Big Wing Top Line dealership which will have the full line up of 300 to 1800 cc bikes.

Cochin is getting the Top Line dealership with the full range of the big bikes. It is replacing the old Ducati dealership which in turn is now shared with Polaris at the old Polaris dealership location. From your post, it looks as though Kozhikode and Trivandrum are getting the regular Big Wing dealerships to sell the 300 to 500 cc bikes. In fact just yesterday, I was chatting with a TBHPian and I said the same, I wont be surprised if those two cities get the 'smaller' premium showrooms. Good move by Honda.

Originally Posted by Manan9876

This seems gimmicky by Honda to me, more of a show than commitment. The fact that this product would be sold only through Big Wings it excludes almost 80% of the market for instance for the entire Assam and the other states region there is only one Big Wing showroom in Guwahati, if they were targeting RE they should have thought about the service network more.

You bring up an excellent point. Many of us feel that RE is done and their dominance of the segment is inevitable. But even with their above mentioned strategy, there is no way that Honda can match the sales and service reach of Royal Enfield. I think Honda should not even try to compete on that front, it doesnt make business sense.

Originally Posted by Manan9876

On this product itself, Honda could for simplicity sake could have taken their gem of an engine powering the Unicorn and given us a cheaper more versatile bike aka the original Rebel 250 with the classic spokes and bell whistles. Heck even the body could have been made in a cruiser style and a standard style to attack both the RE and Avenger market share.

But then it would not be able to compete with the Royal Enfield 350 at all. To succeed, Honda had to take on the 350 platform head on and they did just that.

Originally Posted by Manan9876

Regarding the latter two companies one can say whatever about their products but they got one thing consistent that is certainty, that a person with a 2003 model either from the RE or Bajaj stable could still retro fit some of the modern parts and keep their machines going.

Funnily enough, the one complaint that I hear from every Bajaj owner I know is that the company unfailingly keeps changing parts every 6 months to a year for no rhyme or reason and that it is very difficult to get the right spares for their bikes once it crosses 3 - 4 years of ownership!

Originally Posted by Manan9876

Regards to Honda apart from their scooters how many customers have been left dry with their Dazzlers, CB triggers and various iterant of the same? more so about the CB 300 owners who had paid around 3 lakhs and their model has not been confirmed to be continued for the BS 6 regulations.

Euro 5 norms are kicking in a little later as compared to BS6 which came into effect on April 1st in India. As a result, some companies are not ready with Euro 5 / BS6 compliant motorcycles and are operating with a limited product range in India. This has impacted Suzuki, Ducati, Honda etc. Once the bike is Euro 5 compliant it will continue to be sold here.

[Beast_of_Burden]

Originally Posted by Malhi

Does anyone know anything about the engine and the international contemporary of the bike (if any)?

My brief internet research gives me a feeling that Honda has made an exception for India by turning back the clock in terms of design and engine technology to suit the demands of the Indian market. If this is true, then will the cb 350 be able to deliver the high standards of "Honda reliability?" Needless to say, the only way to breach the RE fortress is through high quality and reliability.

This is a 1970 cb 350 which appears to be the inspiration for the Highness 350.

There is no inspiration from any past Honda CB, this is a straight up copy of the classic 350 right down to wheel sizes and bore x stroke, including the thump. Imagine the uproar if an Indian company had copied to this degree. Honda would have sued. See the Thar thread. Honda is not trolling RE, it is trolling the Indian public. This is not a CB, that's why the CB350 in small print. H'ness what a stupid name. Was expecting more than a copycat product from Honda. I will lump Honda alongside the Chinese brands from here on.