[R.G]

There is a gaadiwaadi exclusive news of CB400 expected around March 2021.

https://gaadiwaadi.com/exclusive-hon...-pipeline/amp/

[NH08]

Originally Posted by R.G

There is a gaadiwaadi exclusive news of CB400 expected around March 2021.

Most of the automotive media had guessed launch of Rebel 300/500 before CB 350 was revealed. But Honda's secrecy levels were as good as its engines' refinement levels. So, even if anything is going to be launched, I doubt these 'automotive experts' will be able to sniff that.

BTW, I loved the suspense generated by Honda's secrecy in case of CB350.

[SaiNikhil]

After riding for 250 kms
My major grouse and pain points are

1. The absolutely stiff front suspension.
The shocks from the front really hits my shoulders even on small bumps. Forget the speed breakers.
The tyre pressure is set to F 29 and R 33 which is as per Manual.

2. The rear Suspension is also stiff but I will try to get it softened at the first service.

3. The stock seats for me personally are very uncomfortable.

4. Is there a way to soften the front suspension? It is too hard in my bike. I'm just hoping it isn't a problem on my bike

However, all the other aspects about the bike are excellent

[Jo-G]

Originally Posted by R.G

There is a gaadiwaadi exclusive news of CB400 expected around March 2021

Wouldn't it be a stupid idea for Honda to launch a CB with just 50cc increment probably if it is a "rebel" or a cafe racer it would make sense. In my opinion, they may only consider 500 or 650 for the next upgrade of H'ness badged CB.

[jaganm]

I’ve now had my CB350 for a little over a week. I’ve done a few long rides of 50-100 km and today took it out for a 250 km ride.

There is enough said about the good points of this bike, the smoothness, ergonomics, the way it rides, I won’t rehash those points. There are a couple of things that stand out for me

Gearing : it is not ideal IMHO. I had to remap my riding style, I’ve always had bikes where I’ve shifted quickly through the gears and got to the top gear. Here, it’s pointless shifting to 4th in the city and on highways, you need to shift down from 5th to 4th to get any kind of overtaking down. I’ve avoided speeds over a 100 except for a brief interval, but I feel this is most comfortable at 100.

Luggage capacity : the bike is great for luggage carrying capacity. I have a Rynox nomad which I was able to mount easily with good clearance from the exhaust. In addition, I can use a couple of my Viaterra pods and a tank bag which gives me a good 100l of capacity carried very comfortably. A week or longer trips should be no problem.

[Sebring]

Abhinav's last video on the CB350, looks like. Check out the accessories

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qejx7Dz6L40&t=3s

[S.MJet]

One of the owner is talking about discoloration on exhaust, is that normal?

Check video from 4:50 onward.

Youtube

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by S.MJet

is that normal?

Yes. Its actually a badge of honor, and to those who consider it as such, the rainbow heat bake patterns look really cool.

Then there are others who hate it and spend entire Sunday mornings rubbing and polishing it off ... (I hope he's reading this )

Cheers, Doc

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Yes. Its actually a badge of honor, and to those who consider it as such, the rainbow heat bake patterns look really cool

Cheers, Doc

Would read it differently,

Has the manufacturer mentioned about the discoloration in the owner's manual? If yes then I will ignore it.

If not then I will surely investigate the issue. Trying to be sure that the ignition is not running too advanced that causes this discoloration. Again there will be other symptoms that can be observed to ascertain if the ignition timing is not set right.

[neil.jericho]

I went to the Big Wing Honda Cochin showroom to check out the CB350. The waiting period for the bike has increased since I last visited them a week or so ago. I managed to get a short test ride, the actual route is just go straight on the service road, take a u turn, ride straight, take another u turn and get back to the showroom. Sigh! I told them that I dont want to waste my time with such a pointless test ride when the sales guy suggested a marginally longer route instead. When I returned from the test ride, there was no sales advisor in sight and the bored security guy just returned my driving license and I walked out of the showroom without getting the price breakup. So much for the premium Honda sales experience through the Big Wing network

As for the bike, I was left with mixed thoughts on it.

- The engine is peppy but the rev limiter cuts in abruptly in 1st gear. I was expecting a bit more excitement from the engine to be honest.
- The heel shifter takes some getting used to, Honda should provide an option of toe only shifter. The gearbox is nice to slot through once you get a hang of the heel and toe shifter.
- I was expecting to be more impressed by the Honda but the super light front end was a deal breaker for me. I was trying to get the right word for the steering feel and all I could think of was insipid. I prefer a more engaging, read, heavier steering.
- The CB350 felt more like a big capacity commuter than a 350cc motorcycle. I know it will sell well because its a Honda (and also, not a Royal Enfield) but purely as a product I feel that Honda should have done so much more engineering wise.
- The interchanged switch and horn is so annoyingly Honda and could be dangerous if the CB350 is the second bike in your garage.

Overall, my expectations from the CB350 were very high after reading all the feedback on this thread and from other seasoned riders but the short test ride that I got left me unimpressed. Maybe more time with the CB350 will change my opinion but it feels like Honda had the option of doing say, 100 things, but instead chose to do just 80, to compete with (and probably better) the Classic 350. So much unrealized potential down the drain.

I test rode the Meteor 350 soon after the CB350, and to me the Meteor has the better engine of the two. My opinion, yours might of course vary, is that
- a Honda Rebel 350 with the same CB 350 engine will be tough to justify over the Royal Enfield Meteor 350.
- a Honda CB 350 will be tough to justify over the new Royal Enfield Classic 350 that is going to come with the Meteor engine.

CB350 switchgear - notice interchanged horn and indicators!


Same with the base model. Sigh!


The Royal Enfield Meteor thankfully gets it right

[texmonster]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

- The interchanged switch and horn is so annoyingly Honda and could be dangerous if the CB350 is the second bike in your garage.

Not only the position is interchanged- the contour of horn switch is also inverted to what we are used to generally!

Happened to see the Honda's Mr.Guleria interview on Car&Bike. Link:

https://youtu.be/rQPB7W55eu4

He said there are few 'variants' lined up for launch based on CB350. I hope one among them will be a sportier version with higher output engine with oil cooling (the current 350cc mill has provision for oil cooler, saw in MotoVin77 YouTube channel), more colors to choose from, and a customisation initiative like RE.

To keep up the momentum on CB and BigWing, Honda should increase the customer engagement with Ownership clubs, branded riding gear etc., as they promised during launch time. Also, bring that CB500 real soon

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by texmonster

Not only the position is interchanged- the contour of horn switch is also inverted to what we are used to generally!

Excellent catch! I didnt notice that since my test ride didnt was over within 10 minutes.

Originally Posted by texmonster

To keep up the momentum on CB and BigWing, Honda should increase the customer engagement with Ownership clubs, branded riding gear etc., as they promised during launch time. Also, bring that CB500 real soon

I was told that the CB500 should be on sale in 2021. The timeline quoted was March, which I feel is quite optimistic, given Honda's traditionally measured pace.

[Sebring]

Just cant get used to that horn button. I search for it and use it only in emergency.

Originally Posted by texmonster

Not only the position is interchanged- the contour of horn switch is also inverted to what we are used to generally!

[S.MJet]

Was at BigWing website browsing through their dealer network, they have listed 42 dealerships as of yesterday which looks an impressive progress in two months. IIRC they had ~25 dealers at launch time. They'll easily surpass their target of 50 by March.

Most of these would be existing dealers opening BigWing showrooms (Nexa strategy?).

BTW have test driven CB & Meteor and shortlisted CB as of now. Will try to get a longer test ride of both in coming days to finalize. Jan/Feb'21 is the time I plan to book one.

For everyone's benefit >>

[srihari154]

Originally Posted by ownerofazkaban

Lucky to have got early delivery from first batch in Oct/nov. My CB350 first serve was done at remote location as couldn’t ride back to Bangalore for service! Fantastic service and it definitely doesn’t cost like a space travel ticket. It cost me only 1200/- extra as Honda had very smartly lined up various cb350 services along Udupi, Mangalore.
So based on my experience, at least in Karnataka one should’t at all worry about lack of dealerships. All scheduled service during mine was 400-600 kms away from Bangalore.

Hello oweerofazkaban,

Can you throw some light on this? I was under the impression that the servicing has to be done at the dealerships(Currently 2 in Karnataka as per the website).
Are there any dedicated servicing centers that have been setup in the costal belt of Udupi/Mlore to server the customers better?

All these days I had postponed the purchase of CB350 thinking on how am I going ride the motorcycle back to Bengaluru for every servicing.
If there are alternatives just like you have mentioned it should help a lot of customers from tier-2 cities.

if you could pass on some more info on the servicing part in the tier-2 cities and your experience, it will be helpful.