[texmonster]

BikeIndia article mentions that CB350 will be displayed in all standard Honda dealerships too! This will help prospective buyers to check it locally too in nearest honda dealer.

Link: http://bikeindia.in/honda-hness-cb-350-launched-in-india/

The bike will be available at BigWing showrooms in Gurgaon, Mumbai, Bangaluru, Kochi and Bhilai and will reach all dealerships at the beginning of the festive season. The CB 350 will also be available for look and feel purposes at the manufacturer’s standard dealerships.

[srishiva]

Price will play a important role. For people who buy just for the looks and thump wouldn't mind buying the RE if its cheaper.

Honda might bring in newer people into the segment who might not be convinced with the RE and its issues. Reliability will play on their minds.

But I hope this is a wake up call to RE to re-design its bikes ground up. They have been flogging the same thing over and over without meaningful competition. It could also mean more and more design of its bikes outside India !

[vinair]

First look video is out!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0uc8684xdQ

[Abhi_Automobile]

Originally Posted by 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

Hey Doc.

So nice to see you still being active of forum. Thoughts we lost you the world that has a habit of keeping us all busy.

What are you riding these days? I remember back in the day you drooling over the Duke 690, which never made it here. Hopefully, you got yourself 790 instead


On the actual bike itself, it’s looks good apart from those Splendor like stickers. The power is a bit underwhelming though. Honda could have used the engine as a differentiator by giving this bike a proper USP. As of now, reliability notwithstanding, the engine specs are not middle of the road.

[texmonster]

Motilal Oswal Auto sector update today analyses the prospects of CB350.

Quoting from the report:

This is th first real competition to Royal Enfield from a mainstream player with good brand equity. However, considering the limited association of the brand on leisure biking and strong association with scooters, we need to wait and watch customer acceptance for the product.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by Abhi_Automobile

Hey Doc.

So nice to see you still being active of forum. Thoughts we lost you the world that has a habit of keeping us all busy.

What are you riding these days? I remember back in the day you drooling over the Duke 690, which never made it here. Hopefully, you got yourself 790 instead


On the actual bike itself, it’s looks good apart from those Splendor like stickers. The power is a bit underwhelming though. Honda could have used the engine as a differentiator by giving this bike a proper USP. As of now, reliability notwithstanding, the engine specs are not middle of the road.

Hey Abhi,

Nice seeing you too buddy. Old IDs.

Been active on the cycling thread mainly coz thats what Ive been riding primarily these past 3 years. Both the Bullet and my 390 are in mothballs in the garage essentially since after my North Sikkim tour late in 2016.

But the itch for the mountains is coming back. Cant be a biker and a cyclist together coz Sunday mornings get reserved for one or the other. Cant do both. And cycling has become a passion now big time. Lets see ...

Yeah, the bike has the look, but will be quite underwhelming performance wise. But if it has the fit and finish and reliability of a Honda, it should do decent numbers.

Cheers, Doc

[Abhi_Automobile]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Hey Abhi,

Nice seeing you too buddy. Old IDs.

But the itch for the mountains is coming back. Cant be a biker and a cyclist together coz Sunday mornings get reserved for one or the other. Cant do both. And cycling has become a passion now big time.

Cheers, Doc

Old IDs indeed. Interestingly, perennials fense sitters like me have since then added Bonnie Street Twin to my own repertoire. I needed ‘one size fits all purpose bike’. I’ve since realised there is huge satisfaction in being able to ride when you wish to - even though I’ve essentially ridden only 2k in about a year!

Fortunately, my passion for fitness does not include cycling yet so no competition yet

[alphadog]

The bike sure looks sweet. It has a good stance and fat enough rear tyre, on alloy wheels, making the bike look very fetching from front, back or any angle. The metallic solid colours of the DLX look much better than the dual colour matt scheme of the DLX pro variant. If I were in the market for classic UJM type stylish bike for commute or for shorter weekend rides then this would have been my pick.

Honda has also certainly priced the product well enough, to give a potentially more reliable alternative to the RE classic 350. The classic is so very common on Kerala roads, that it will be good to see something different in the mix, with the Honda.

In the background of the launch video, under the 'coming soon' part, there was another silhouette of a classic / UJM type motorcycle, I am hoping that it would be a 500-650 cc, dual pot, variant of the CB, priced at around 4-5 lakhs. Of course, the dream launch would have been a CB1100 EX /RS, but maybe that is asking for too much. One can only dream and sigh!. But then the power of dreams is the Honda tag line, so who knows.

As Neil pointed out, looks like Honda is opening up many Big wing outlets in preparation for these upcoming middle segment bikes. I, for one, am waiting in anticipation of some further exciting launches.

Cheerio!

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by vinair

First look video is out!

If this is the "thump" then the Bullet market is safe and untouched.

Cheers, Doc

[ani_meher]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

A puny 20bhp from a 350cc engine !!! Now that's taking the fight to RE at their own yard. Honda - seriously??? My 250cc CBR makes more power.

Apples vs oranges. See the RPMs:

For Hiness:
Maximum Torque: 30 Nm@3000 rpm and peak power: 20.8 bhp@5500 rpm.

For CBR250:
Maximum Torque‎: ‎22.9 Nm @ 7000 rpm and maximum Power‎: ‎26.5 HP @ 8500 rpm

At such low RPMs, other bikes will barely walk. I am curious to test ride this bike, even though such classic designs are not my choice. Similar to you, hope that this leads to powerful ADV bikes in future.

[avishar]

Originally Posted by vinair

First look video is out!

https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=o0uc8684xdQ

I guess I am not a target demographic since I wouldn't usually be considering a Bullet 350 also, but overall I guess I am the only one who is a bit underwhelmed about.

Rs 2 lakhs for an air-cooled, 20 bhp single? It doesn't even look like retro enough, looks a bit wonky from the rear three-quarters. Reminds me of how Hero once retro-ed the Splendor with the Pro Classic.

It sounds horrible too. They actually artificially engineered the exhaust to create a phat-phatiya! Why would I want that in a Honda?

As much as I have spoken against the Jawa, atleast the Jawa is way more authentic and charming than this. And the Mojo was a better deal as a street-fighter.

[Sting]

Nice, very nice! A great proposition for India. Honda reliability and peace of mind, 350cc, good GC and tubeless tires, acceptable power and torque for the street and highway, dual channel abs, front and rear discs, seemingly comfortable ergonomics for rider and pillion and good looks. Looks like a mini Bonneville rather than a Splendor on steroids to me.

Don’t know if this is an RE beater or not (it doesn’t have to be), but seems it will make a place for itself in our market, the odd name notwithstanding.

Cheers
Sting

[rajshenoy]

Originally Posted by ebonho

If this is the "thump" then the Bullet market is safe and untouched.

Totally agree on that. This sounded more like the Jawa sound to me.
Wondering if RE too will end up sounding same once they launch the OHC based engine.

With the initial big-wing only dealerships, I doubt Honda is even planning to sell in bulk. they should be happy with few thousand sales and(hence) long waiting period.

For those bashing Honda for not bringing the Rebel, I feel cruiser market is not very wide and they have played it safe. biggest sales figure today comes from ADV or RE classic(not a cruiser).
Honda has tried to give this a Japanese classic look and that is why this is more similar to the RD350 and W800 than a British classic(triumph,RE).

Personally i liked the single tone variants, but they don't come with bluetooth feature.

[vinair]

Bullet in any avatar is still a bullet. I do not think people who are die hard bullet fans or potential Bulleteer will ever consider this machine.

This is for those who want a bit of refinement along with a fuss free ownership experience! Thats pretty much about it. Actually, the Bullets are more local-mechanic friendly and the Big Wing service of this new baby is going to be a Big rip off!! These are guys (Honda in general) who started the trend of charging extra for a side stand!!

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

Totally agree on that. This sounded more like the Jawa sound to me.
Wondering if RE too will end up sounding same once they launch the OHC based engine.

With the initial big-wing only dealerships, I doubt Honda is even planning to sell in bulk. they should be happy with few thousand sales and(hence) long waiting period.

For those bashing Honda for not bringing the Rebel, I feel cruiser market is not very wide and they have played it safe. biggest sales figure today comes from ADV or RE classic(not a cruiser).
Honda has tried to give this a Japanese classic look and that is why this is more similar to the RD350 and W800 than a British classic(triumph,RE).

Personally i liked the single tone variants, but they don't come with bluetooth feature.

The thump is less about the sound and more about the feel that goes through the rider's entire body, from feet to backside to hands to heart and head, when he's astride the bike. Especially at rest.

Its not just about the stroke.

Its a lot to do with the metallurgy. And the size of the crank.

One only has to look at the naked crank and flywheel of any Bullet, even the so-called modern new ones and compare them to the tiny saucer shaped ones of truly modern bikes to know what's happening down there.

Even in a cycle indoor wheel-on fluid trainer, its the size and weight of the flywheel that is critical to the real-life road-like feel that the rider gets as a simulation. And how much effort and resistance he gets in his legs versus how much spin-down time it takes from a certain speed to come to 0.

Same principle here I guess.

Cheers, Doc