[gkveda]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

Harsh or not it is a fact.

I think comparison of karizma or cb250 is not right comparison. Reason being: They are not retro design bikes. They are modern bikes intended to be loaded with technologies, jinx and gizmos (at their times). This bike is not intended to be loaded with technologies or Gizmos. It is released with a purpose of Retro theme(it is very evident)

Therefore, please compare with equivalent bikes of same class (reto)and explain why do you think it is over hyped. It may be just your opinion and I fully respect it. But, would like to know the basis for arriving at the opinion.

If I compare RE Bike equivalents or any other bike of same segment, I see more value in honda compared to competition.

Compared with RE Bikes, due to RE bike Reputations, quality issues, niggles etc, at the same price or slightly higher price (not really sure), if I get a niggle free, high quality, vibration free bike, how can I conclude it is over hyped ?

Asking this sincerely, to understand your thoughts

[Sebring]

No one hyped the bike. In fact this was the quietest launch ever. This bike had to come, as Indians (like me), wanted a non-fussy 'Bullet, from Honda'. Retro designs are plain Jane, really. Cant fault that, because that's their character. The 'excitement' (if I can call it that) was about the 350 CC Honda engine (really) that has debuted. So on numerous future iterations/models we can expect to have this beauty. Runs smooth like butter and is absolutely 'kick ass'!

Originally Posted by krishnakarthik1

I am still kind of not sure what the hype was all about. Is it a marketing master stroke by Honda in not providing mainstream media bikes initially which in return created so much user generated content and hence brought that halo around the bike? Could be or maybe its a great bike and it's just me who did not connect with it.

[jonesanto]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

Harsh or not it is a fact.


So I'd say not to worry about the CB350's upkeep in the long run and simply get the motorcycle if this is the only concern holding you back.

Regards,
A.P.

Thanks a lot, Ashwin, happened to notice your location mentioned as Kollam. I am from Kollam too "if this is the only concern holding you back" Yes, this is the only concern holding me back. In Bangalore, I would not even worry about service and parts, but the bike will be at Kollam I need to make sure I will get service and parts in the long run. I can't travel to Trivandrum or Cochin just to service this bike.

Cheers.

[Sebring]

What's service? Just changing fluids, really. And that can be performed by anyone. Honda engine parts wont breakdown, hopefully, so that's not a worry. Or in case of any accident, you need to have it shipped. But then, what are the chances

Originally Posted by jonesanto

In Bangalore, I would not even worry about service and parts, but the bike will be at Kollam I need to make sure I will get service and parts in the long run. I can't travel to Trivandrum or Cochin just to service this bike.

[jonesanto]

Originally Posted by Sebring

What's service? Just changing fluids, really. And that can be performed by anyone. Honda engine parts wont breakdown, hopefully, so that's not a worry. Or in case of any accident, you need to have it shipped. But then, what are the chances

Thank you, Sebring, appreciate the input, Honda is pretty reliable and other than Octavia all my bikes and cars are rare in the market and I am still able to service them without any hiccup. Doesn't hurt to do a research before the purchase. I am following your thread, lot of valuable information is available for CB350 and keep it coming

Cheers

[aravind.anand]

Originally Posted by Sebring

What's service? Just changing fluids, really. And that can be performed by anyone. Honda engine parts wont breakdown, hopefully, so that's not a worry. Or in case of any accident, you need to have it shipped. But then, what are the chances

True, but at least until the warranty runs out, we would have to get it serviced at the Big Wing dealerships right? Also, small nips always do happen, and knowing that you have a service centre close by really gives us a peace of mind.

In my 1.5 years of ownership of my Interceptor (which is not my primary bike) I have had to replace a bent clutch lever - no fault of mine, a reversing Innova pushed my bike down. Then when left parked, someone fiddled with the switch gear and the ignition switch had been pulled out and I had to get that fixed using RSA, as the bike does not even have a kick lever. These are things that we do not anticipate, but when it happens, that's the time we would be cursing our decisions.

[Sebring]

You can take it to a regular Honda service for fluids replacement, and that wont void warranty. Chain tightening can be done even by RE mechanics. I clean it myself with kerosene, and lube it using Mannol. Brake cleaner sprays are aplenty (Using STP). I do agree small accidents do happen, but the parts are shipped overnight to your location. I know of guys who stay 300 Kms away and have bought this bike. Exotic/rare/retro bikes are still preserved in our country, so I don't see any problem with maintaining a new bike like CB 350

Originally Posted by aravind.anand

True, but at least until the warranty runs out, we would have to get it serviced at the Big Wing dealerships right

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by gkveda

I think comparison of karizma or cb250 is not right comparison. Reason being: They are not retro design bikes........But, would like to know the basis for arriving at the opinion.

Retro, NeoRetro... etc etc. Are just marketing labels and I honestly couldn't care less about them. Again, the traditional categorizations do make sense, it is just a few such labels that make no sense at all for someone with a utilitarian mindset.

If I compare RE Bike equivalents or any other bike of same segment, I see more value in honda compared to competition.

Keeping the OHC Enfields aside, comparing a OHC Honda to a OHV RE is like comparing a Ball Pen to a Fountain Pen. The value one derives is quite subjective, so lets leave it at that.

Comparing OHC's from RE and Honda side by side, I'd say it is too early to form a definite conclusion. Technology is Similar but both products are new and it would be best if we comment after people have put some serious miles on either.

Compared with RE Bikes, due to RE bike Reputations, quality issues, niggles etc, at the same price or slightly higher price (not really sure), if I get a niggle free, high quality, vibration free bike, how can I conclude it is over hyped ?

Asking this sincerely, to understand your thoughts

Honda doesn't take risks, with the exception of the CBR's, I've not really seen a Honda sold by HMSI to not be under tuned. This is a design philosophy generally adopted by the Japs hence why we have Japanese engines producing less output than their international counterparts but offering quite high engine life.

Having said that, Honda doesn't have as good a track record as most people believe. The other CB's in the Indian market are still plagued by random compression loss and what not, issues that have been found in the very first CB iteration in India almost 2 decades ago.

Plus, the CB350 is mostly being compared to the Pushrod 350's which is by all means an unfair comparison.

So all things considered the logical means to go about this is to let the test of time prove which product is superior. Cause honestly speaking component quality of Honda is nothing to talk home about considering pricing and comparing it to a few other indigenous motorcycle manufacturers.

Originally Posted by jonesanto

Thanks a lot, Ashwin, happened to notice your location mentioned as Kollam. I am from Kollam too "if this is the only concern holding you back" Yes, this is the only concern holding me back. In Bangalore, I would not even worry about service and parts, but the bike will be at Kollam I need to make sure I will get service and parts in the long run. I can't travel to Trivandrum or Cochin just to service this bike.

Cheers.

You do have the option of skipping service and along with warranty of any sort and resorting to maintaining the motorcycle yourself, the money saved can be used to fund an engine rebuild or other contingencies in the future, that's how I operate.

After all this is a very simple motorcycle to maintain and unless Honda has skimmed its owners manual like all manufacturers do these days, most if not all maintenance rituals would be given in detail in the manual itself.

As for spares, just place an express order and you'd get it in a weeks time.

So not much to really be bothered about.

I stay at Asramam when at Kollam, this is actually my parents place, my place is at Pothencode, Trivandrum.

Originally Posted by aravind.anand

someone fiddled with the switch gear and the ignition switch had been pulled out and I had to get that fixed using RSA, as the bike does not even have a kick lever.

If it was the Kill-Switch that was ruined you could simply bypass it as its just a ground switch, once that's done the self starter would work as intended.

If it was the self-start switch that was ruined then simply short the leads on the starter relay using a screw driver or take a wire and directly power starter motor from the battery.

If it was the Ignition Key unit that was ruined, simply trace its wiring and unplug the connector and short those two wires on the harness side.

If the battery is weak and you want to start the motor, just push start it in a taller gear.

Hope that helps.

[nutcracker]

Just found out from Big Wing Ghaziabad that the CB350 will receive a price hike of Rs. 2500 January 4, 2021 onwards. This was reconfirmed by Big Wing Gurgaon.

[Venkatesh]

Honda H’ness CB350 and Royal Enfield Meteor 350 comparison

https://youtu.be/hrWugp8kGlo

[Aryansood295]

Visited the Honda Big wing showroom in Andheri last week. The SA over there said that Honda will launch a 500cc CB Hness in the next couple months.
He also said that there's a 400cc bike, similar to the CB350, launching by March 2021.
No idea as to what extent this is true, but he was quite confident on the 500cc bike as he told me that I should wait till the end of February if I wanted a bigger capacity bike.
We have already heard rounds of Honda launching a scrambler version of the CB350 which, the SA also confirmed.
He also informed me about a price bump of around 2000 in the CB350 by the first week of January.

[Jo-G]

Guyz I fail to understand this fact since long about service nearby. Do you expect to be visiting a service/workshop every other day or every few hours after buying a bike? Then I better walk daily, or use public transport. I remember back in early 70s when my dad had a car (Morris) which was always at the workshop and dad used to prebook its fuctionality to take us out for weekend short rides until he bought a Lambretta which became more a family mover (Dad, mom, sis and me) where my place was on the slanded spare wheel at the back and sis standing in front. That was the days we had to book and wait 8 yrs for a new Premier Padmini or Ambassador. Well, in this age I dont expect to visit the workshop more than 2 or 3 times a year and it doesn't matter where the workshop is for a trouble free ride the other 362 days

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by Jo-G

Guyz I fail to understand this fact since long about service nearby.

To cautiously optimistic buyers like me, having a service center in the same city is an absolute must have. In fact, I am the type of automobile buyer who prefers to have multiple service centers in the same city for my car / bike. You never know what will happen if the only SVC in your city is not very competent, trust me, I have been through the worst of this and back with one of my bikes and it is not a very pleasant experience.

The other thing that might be of concern for buyers like me is, what happens if there is an accident? The bike needs to be transported / RSAed to another city, then its only phone updates by the service advisor, need to travel to another city to collect it etc. Even without Covid to worry about, this and so many other things are there to keep in the back of your mind when you buy a bike with a SVC in another city.

Each of us has a different risk appetite and Honda might lose some buyers who are not willing to take the plunge due to a lack of SVCs in their city. Honda is well aware of that and they have a strong game plan and those customers who are happy with their Big Wing offerings and the limited SVC footprint will happily plonk down their hard earned money for it.

[Jo-G]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Each of us has a different risk appetite and Honda might lose some buyers who are not willing to take the plunge due to a lack of SVCs in their city.

With due respects to individual appetite, that was the reason I also put an example of my own experience in early 70s about the serviceability. Been in India since 2007 and owns a Fiesta (2007) and XUV (2016) regular half yearly services keeps them going in pristine condition while also have an antique Activa (owned by my Late Dad) which still runs without any servicing (since Oct 2019) till date (to my knowledge) after relocating (after Dad's demise). What I meant to say is that the industry has developed far better in the past 50 yrs to give us robust products but we are still apprehensive about our childhood experiences.

[Sebring]

Let me give another perspective on this. If Norton or Triumph were to have a 'Big Wing Strategy' (as it stands now), I wouldn't bite. But with a Bajaj or Honda, there is this comfort factor that I wont be left in the lurch

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

To cautiously optimistic buyers like me, having a service center in the same city is an absolute must have. In fact, I am the type of automobile buyer who prefers to have multiple service centers in the same city for my car / bike