[NH08]

From Kawasaki-Bajaj to Honda

I booked my CB 350 (Deluxe Pro, Metallic Black) on 31st October and got it on 20th November from Gurgaon. I earlier had a Caliber (a product of Kawasaki Bajaj friendship), bought in 2004 and compulsorily retired last year after completion of 15 years although it was working fine. This forced retirement was due to overactive, overenthusiastic National Green Tribunal who banned renewal of registrations of petrol vehicles after 15 years in NCR area irrespective of their fitness.

Caliber having its last ride with me


So, after remaining motorcycle-less for around one and a half years, I got CB350 which has more than twice horses, more than thrice torque as well as engine size and heavier by more than 60 kgs compared to Caliber. I also have a Honda Brio, 7 years of age, running nice as is expected from Honda.

In front of HQ of my organisation


In front of HQ of Union Government


In the light of this background, following are my random observations about CB350:

About dealership

• The dealership experience was good. They took 2 hours to deliver after I reached there and were apologetic about that. After I reached, three owners took delivery before me and another three were lined up after me. One of them had come all the way from Jhansi, some 400 kms away.

• Regarding availability of CB350 only through Big Wing, I think it is a good decision because (i) of the premiumness and exclusivity of these showrooms and connected service centres and (ii) this step has injected significant life (i.e. moolah) into Big Wing dealerships.

• Dealership people explained to me the functioning of the Bluetooth system. As I was in hurry to avoid the rush hour travel (Gurgaon to Delhi), I just nodded to every step and still faced the traffic.

• Surprising that Honda has no fully functional dealership in Delhi, the capital.

• Paid Rs. 2,18,647 in all for Delhi registration. Nobody told me about RSA/extended warranty nor I was interested. I do not have same for my car.

The Rate List


About motorcycle

• Except sound, this motorcycle is a true Honda in every aspect like engine refinement, quality of parts, paint quality, fit and finish, smoothness of operations of clutch/gear etc.

• Although I am no fan of exhaust sounds, but realized that CB350’s sound is music to ears and compels people to take notice. I still would have preferred a less sounding exhaust.

• Clutch is light and information screen is readable in sunlight.

• Acceleration and braking both are very good.

• I was not able to connect to Honda Road Sync app which has been downloaded by around 1k riders and has a not so good rating on Google Play store.

• Using Caliber for 15 years, I was apprehensive about the weight issues as I was jumping from 118 kg to 181 kg. But CB350 did not let me take notice of that. With a height of 5’5”, I easily managed this in heavy evening traffic between Gurgaon and Delhi.

• The running-in period is just 500 kms, with no speed/RPM restrictions. Excessive acceleration/braking are not to be done. I take these running-in instructions quite seriously.

• As I was transiting from Caliber where gears up/down process is very simple (all up in one direction/down in another), I got confused multiple times changing gears in the set up of 1 down, 2-5 up.

• There is absolutely no pain in heavy traffic while you make way for yourself in tight spaces.

• The saree guard is the most decent looking saree guard I have seen in recent times on new launches. I intend to keep it and use its foot rest as a base for tying my bags for some long distance journey.

• The motorcycle looks bigger when you see it personally rather than in pictures/videos. While on move, it attracts people’s attention.

• I found mirrors giving true and fair view of your back and regarding suspension, I am unable to form any opinion in the 50 kms I have covered. Similarly, fuel efficiency, handling, pillion comfort etc. are to be seen.

• Wanted to put Leg Guard and Engine Guard from Honda but these were not available.

Some other things

• With this, there is an end to my ‘fully online’ research for a new motorcycle going on for the last two years. Some of the serious contenders were – Interceptor, R3, Jawa and one or two more. All of these were not materialized due to this or that reason. Interceptor is a very good improvement by RE. It was its weight (36 kg more than that of CB350) and long term reliability concerns that I decided to let the research continue.

• A group of staff from Honda Motorcycle factory in Manesar had come to book the motorcycle. They told me that there was a discount of Rs. 6500 for the staff.

• Most importantly, I was plain lucky as a new scheme by Government of India on Leave Travel Concession (LTC) for government employees like me meant that 1/3 portion of the cost of this motorcycle (around 70,000) will be reimbursed to me. So, I am getting this one only for around Rs. 150,000.

• The chocolates provided in the box were tasty. Do not distribute, eat these yourself.

The Box

[texmonster]

CB350 Vs Meteor Vs Imperiale
Autocar Comparo:

https://youtu.be/lszYfUUNxak

[Ferruccio]

Originally Posted by NH08

From Kawasaki-Bajaj to Honda

• With this, there is an end to my ‘fully online’ research for a new motorcycle going on for the last two years. Some of the serious contenders were – Interceptor, R3, Jawa and one or two more. All of these were not materialized due to this or that reason. Interceptor is a very good improvement by RE. It was its weight (36 kg more than that of CB350) and long term reliability concerns that I decided to let the research continue.

Thank you for a wonderful review. Crisp and well balanced. I have been the same way researching and going back in endless loop. As a former Dio owner having never ridden any geared bike, Dominar, RE Classic, RE Interceptor all caught my eye but I was worried about weight and safety starting to ride a bike at half-century mark in age.

Another thing that I can't absolutely tolerate is quality niggles, rust spots and misalignments. That Tripper screen in the Meteor being off a few degrees caught my eye in the first sight. All 3 clocks on my Storme not being same down to the last minute drives me nuts Working with and being friends Bawajis, Germans and Japanese all my life rubs off in the form of OCD which is getting worse with age!

So Honda CBR350 is now on my final list along with Ather, and now there are rumours of Forza 350. With 2 cars in the garage, a 2 wheeler is a 'want' not a need. In difficult economic times even when the Missus approves, it is difficult for the mind to approve a 2 Lakh wanton expense. Let us see how long I can resist the temptation.

[SportsMedicine]

My observations on Highness versus Meteor.

1) Gears have been calibrated better in Meteor. Meteor will pull better than Highness when needed as Highness has pretty tall gears. So better cruising and overtaking speeds in Meteor.

2) Suspension setup is better than in Meteor. So Meteor is better suited on Indian roads. I doubt Honda has tested CB350 enough on Indian roads.

3) Service network and availability. Any tom dick and harry knows at least something about mending RE.

4) Seat is far more comfortable in Meteor while cruising than in highness. Highness best in city.

So thats sums upto 8.0/10 for Highness and 8.5/10 for Meteor.
In short if looking for a city commuter it would be Highness but for cruising and highway Meteor is better hands down.

[jaganm]

Wouldn’t the tall gearing work to Honda’s advantage while cruising? We just did a run from Bangalore to Yercaud and Koli hills. My friend on his CB350 was maintaining 100-110 speeds throughout on the highway stretches effortlessly. The other thing I noticed is the initial acceleration. May not be there in terms of actual figures, but it gets to speeds of 70-80 extremely quickly.

He didn’t have many complaints on the seat also, the bike did extremely well. The only hiccup was that he had opened up the seat to fix some buckles for his tail bag and probably didn’t tighten it properly, the nut fell off and we had to get a spare ordinary one at a local mechanic.

Lot of enquiries about the bike wherever we stopped. There is a huge amount of interest about this Bullet competitor

[ebonho]

As I've said somewhere else before, all solutions to powerband "issues" rest in your right wrist.

Add left hand and foot for all gearing "issues".

Ride a bike like it's meant to be ridden. Not how you want to ride a bike.

Cheers, Doc

[Sebring]

I'm happy that you consider Meteor to be so worthy. Your point No. 3 is about reliability, and I've seen my friends' RE bikes more at the service station than at home. Honda should have a 'bullet proof' engine (It's too early to call, and only time will tell)

Originally Posted by SportsMedicine

3) Service network and availability. Any tom dick and harry knows at least something about mending RE. So thats sums upto 8.0/10 for Highness and 8.5/10 for Meteor. In short if looking for a city commuter it would be Highness but for cruising and highway Meteor is better hands down.

[Sridhar K]

With my xuv 300 sold and being swapped with a small car, the prospect of a 'High'ness 350 looming large, approached JSP Honda in Chennai since theirs was the only one whose webpage listed H350. They said that they are expecting bikes to arrive next month and promised to call me back :( once they receive the vehicles

[texmonster]

The YouTube channel 'MotoVin77' has the two owners of CB350 talking about most aspects of it. Prospective owners could take a look on their videos

https://youtu.be/jols1qocgpg

[SportsMedicine]

Originally Posted by Sebring

I'm happy that you consider Meteor to be so worthy. Your point No. 3 is about reliability, and I've seen my friends' RE bikes more at the service station than at home. Honda should have a 'bullet proof' engine (It's too early to call, and only time will tell)

I hope there is no sarcasm to the word 'worthy' in your post. Also to your comment of most REs being at service station i would like to say: 'At least RE owners can find a service station, what would a CB350 owner who has bought the bike from 200 kms away do?'

Regarding reliability of RE: I had a RE Desert Storm 500 CC which i sold just before few months. It had lots of battery issues and rusting issues. The rust had bothered me so much that for me the full form of RE was Rusting Enfield.

While i absolutely agree with you for RE QC concerns, newer RE like the 650 twins and the BS6 Himalayan are far more reliable. These mostly do not have rust and other concerns and i have met many fully satisfied owners.

Now engine wise cannot comment on both as its too early but even i am more confident on Honda. So i would stick to Honda CB350 as a daily commute in city and Meteor for highway cruising.

Rust reliability of CB350 is too early to comment upon, though have a look at the video below 04:30 onwards. The owner mentions of rusting at 2 places, which IMO is too early.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqfEcFE4050

[Sebring]

Rust is something you cant avoid. Even the Honda will rust. Our climate is like that. But my neighbour's Himalayan is stuck in service for repairs (this model has a lot of complaints), while a friends Interceptor has engine and gear box issues. In fact I was primed to pick up the Interceptor, and I was waiting for these few issues to be resolved. Finally, I feel even karma has a role to play

Originally Posted by SportsMedicine

While i absolutely agree with you for RE QC concerns, newer RE like the 650 twins and the BS6 Himalayan are far more reliable.

[Cyborg]

Originally Posted by SportsMedicine

Rust reliability of CB350 is too early to comment upon, though have a look at the video below 04:30 onwards. The owner mentions of rusting at 2 places, which IMO is too early.

The rust part mentioned by this guy in the video is really funny, I don’t own either bike, but this sounds and looks like nonsense to me. I have only seen 04:30 onwards to the part of the incline story and lost interest after that.

The first part under the number plate “which I cannot show you” (the guy says), I mean come on folks, seriously.

The second so called rusting on the allen key bolt, there is absolutely nothing to be seen in the video and they make it fast without any real effort to show if there is any rust there.

This guy should also be taking lessons on how to ride a bike. Taking an incline at 80 in the fifth gear and (applying it particularly for the CB) the bike struggles, come on, that’s not what the fifth gear is there for in the first place, drop a gear (or two) and disappear

I don’t own either company but this takes the cake in unbelievable (negatively) video making with little to no knowledge. The guy should be made to prove his “quality concerns” by Honda or made to shut up.

Cheers

[NH08]

Originally Posted by Cyborg

The first part under the number plate “which I cannot show you” (the guy says), I mean come on folks, seriously.

The second so called rusting on the allen key bolt, there is absolutely nothing to be seen in the video and they make it fast without any real effort to show if there is any rust there.

As an Auditor, I consider myself an expert in finding faults, but this guy is seriously one step ahead of me. Rusting in the bolt threading that he can not show (I think it is because he does not want to show the number plate) and another one that we can not see.

The point is whether the rusting is common in the area of this youtuber because of climate or is it CB 350 specific. I checked mine and found no rusting in those areas.

[Cyborg]

Originally Posted by NH08

The point is whether the rusting is common in the area of this Youtuber because of climate or is it CB 350 specific. I checked mine and found no rusting in those areas.

Actually the point is, does the rusting even exist! With no evidence to show this person is spoiling the name of a manufacturer. If he wanted to show rust behind the number plate he should have simply unscrewed it and proven his point. Same for the allen key bolt he is talking about.

Even you as an Auditor are believing the man without a shred of evidence by talking about the rusting and checking your bike. Unless he can prove his “rusting issues” actually exist, the point should be disregarded. Seems a ploy to generate interest in himself/his channel.

Cheers

[girishv]

Originally Posted by Cyborg

Even you as an Auditor are believing the man without a shred of evidence by talking about the rusting and checking your bike. Unless he can prove his “rusting issues” actually exist, the point should be disregarded. Seems a ploy to generate interest in himself/his channel.

Cheers

I am sure NH08 was saying that sarcastically as an auditor, his mandate is to look for mistakes, but the vlogger outsmarted him by finding a fault (which may not even exist).

I am sure few members here have already completed their first service and can chip-in. Hemanth?
I have not got my HSRP plate till now and can check while getting that fixed.