[narayan]

Hi all
You would find here my earlier thread
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motor...fighthawk.html (Obtaining a Singapore driving license and buying a pre-owned motorcycle (Honda CBF 190X Fighthawk))

about obtaining a CLASS 2B (upto 200cc) motorcycle license in Singapore. In this thread I would like to share my experience obtaining the next category of motorcycle license called the CLASS 2A.


But before that, a quick recap.

1. I got my Class 2B in July 2020 through the foreign license conversion route (which also allows me to drive cars under Class 3). This is a very easy process for foreigners with pre-existing driving licenses from their home countries to start driving in Singapore after completing only the Basic Theory test conducted by the Singapore Traffic police. However, a big bummer is that the Class 2B allows you to only ride motorcycles upto 200cc.

2. You need to complete 1 year from your Class 2B and be within 12 demerit points to be eligible to apply for a Class 2A license that allows you to ride motorcycles upto 400cc capacity.

3. Over the past 1 year, I have owned 2 Class 2B motorcycles. Initially, a Honda CB190X fighthawk (now launched in India as CB200X). My ownership experience of this bike is mentioned in the above thread. Later I moved to a Duke 125 whose ownership experience is mentioned in the below thread.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motor...uke-125-a.html (Review: My KTM Duke 125)

Now that the context has been set, I completed my 1 year stint as a Class2B on June 30th and applied for the Class 2A the very next day on July 1, 2021 with a nearby Driving school.

How do you obtain this license ?

One needs to apply through one of the three driving schools in Singapore. You can opt to attend classes under the schools instructor or take private lessons and turn up at the school only for your practical or tests. Usually, for Motorcycles, the default is to take lessons under the tutelage of the school's instructors.


What is the detailed procedure ?

Once you narrow down on the school you wish to train under, you need to pay the registration fee and get yourself a learner account. After that, you top up your online balance with the school and start signing up for courses that will eventually take you to the final practical test in front of the Traffic police


What is the course structure ?

1. Theory Lesson - there is a 100minute theory lesson one needs to attend to that covers basics of riding, safety practices, rules etc. Due to COVID, the theory lesson is done online. Else it used to be a class room session

2. Practical Lessons - There are 4 lessons in the circuit
Lesson 1 - Introduction to the CLASS 2A riding circuit
Lesson 2 - Understanding one part of the circuit
Lesson 3 - Understanding the remaining circuit
Lesson 4 - Understanding the full circuit and EVALUATION within the driving school

3. Simulator courses - 3 modules
This has been introduced from last year. One needs to complete 3X 20 minute motorcycle simulation lessons that cover various road conditions and emergency situations and evaluates you on how you react to it. Its conducted in a simulation center where they have a motorcycle wired to a large screen that displays the driving route

How much does the course cost ?
The entire course mentioned above would cost ~$400. If, for some reason, you fail the school evaluation at Lesson 4 above, you would be asked to reappear for one or more of the practical lessons. Every re-appearance will cost you ~$35 more

How do you enroll for these courses ?
Once you register with the school and get your online account, you need to keep checking for the appropriate lesson availability slots and book them online. The slots are released randomly at various timings during the day. So you need to keep checking their website/app regularly and grab the slot as soon as its made available. My chosen school also had a 2 week closure due to some COVID cases mid way during my course and hence that delayed my overall course completion timeline

What happens after you complete all the above lessons ?
Once you complete the school level internal evaluation, you are cleared to book THE test in front of the Traffic police. The test happens in the same circuit of the driving school where you undertook the lessons where you need to complete the entire course within the stipulated conditions. Usually, its difficult to get a slot for the traffic police test. I booked mine the moment a slot was available on the app - even that was about 12 days after my last practical lesson/evaluation. One can also pay and practise until your traffic police test so that you build up your confidence levels. Each practise sessions cost ~$35 and you get upto 100mins within the circuit. I chose to do only 1 practise session but the usual practice is to do atleast 3-5 sessions

Why do you need to practice ?
Practice makes you perfect ? Rightly so. Later in this post, I will explain how complex this course is and hence the more you practice the better. Also, if you fail THE final test in front of the traffic police, you need to go through a revision lesson and wait for a 1 month cool off period before appearing before the Traffic police again. Hence, a lot of people practise a lot to avoid this situation. The pass ratio in the Traffic police test is around 50-60%

The below link from the school I went has lot of info on the course structure and costs.

https://www.cdc.com.sg/course/class-2a

[narayan]

What is the circuit course like ?

There was not a whole lot of detailed info about the course online. So I found only bits and pieces of info from various local blogs. There are a few useful videos on You tube though.
Given below is an image of the test circuit taken from the school.
The course involves riding through a set of 7 obstacles and a set route which involves traffic signals, turns, lane changes etc and there is a bunch of very strict rules one needs to follow throughout the course. Each obstacle also comes with its own set of rules to be followed in terms of gear to use, timing to complete and specific technique. Non adherence of any of these parameters results in various levels of demerit points.

The course is explained in brief below.

1. Start point
2. Turn right - go round and come back to the YELLOW X box and turn into the slope ( First obstacle where you need to stock the bike exactly at a marked line. Pause. Resume without the bike moving back. If you move back within 0.5m, you earn a few demerit points. Anything further - you are eliminated ).
3. Down the slope, turn left and head to the Figure 8 (Second obstacle - Complete the figure of 8 in 2nd gear WITH NO CLUTCH PLAY. This means you need to maintain speed and this is not a slow test. For Class 2A, you need to finish this in 11 seconds. Also you need to indicate as you enter the 8, cancel indicator and again indicate as you exit ).
4. Head out and then back into the Crank course ( Third obstacle - again complete in 2nd gear within 6seconds )
5. Exit and head to traffic light, turn left, again turn right and head to Narrow plank ( Fourth obstacle - basically a narrow metal plank - about 2 inches high, about 12inches wide ( slightly more than a motorcycle tyre ) and about 10meters long. You need to stay atleast 8 seconds on it without slipping off or your feet coming down
6. Then you proceed to the slalom - to be completed in 6seconds - a set of 5 cones to go zig zag around. No clutch usage
7. Proceed to emergency braking - achieve atleast 45kmph by the time you enter the emergency braking line and stop between 2 marked lines on a wet surface without activating the ABS
8. Proceed next to the bumpy course where you do stand up driving and go gradually over a set of narrow bumps placed on the road and stay within the bumps for atleast 6 seconds
9. Finally drive out, go around the course and back to the finishing point

If all the above sounds simple, do note the below points as well

1. At every stage of the course, there would be places where you need to turn on or turn of your indicators. Miss this and you earn demerit points
2. At NO POINT OF TIME can you place your left foot down when stopping anywhere ( except right after the emergency brake obstacle ). The default stance is always left foot on rear brake. miss this and you are immediately eliminated
3. Whenever you stop, you also hold your front brake with all 4 fingers. If you are spotted braking with less than 4 fingers you earn demerit points. Likewise for depressing the clutch. And no riding with one or 2 fingers permanently on the front brake or clutch lever. You earn demerit points for this as well
4. There are a host of places where you have to check your left and right
5. Additionally to pt 4, there are specific places where you need to check LEFT OR RIGHT blind spot checks. Fail to do this - earn demerit points. If you try to take the easy way out and keep checking LEFT AND RIGHT everywhere, you again earn demerit points for incorrect blindspot checking
6. If you are a junction and you have the right of way but you still hesitate or play it safe, you earn demerit points
7. You also earn demerit points if you don't stick to the correct lane, do not ride approx in the middle of the lane, do not change lanes at an appprox 45deg angle and within a specified time or change lanes at the wrong places ( e.g changing lanes during road bends or near pedestrian crossing etc )
8. You earn demerit points if you sit on the bike first and then push down the side stand. The correct technique is, hold the bike straight, push the stand away with your right leg and then mount the bike
9. for each obstacle, there are specified techiques. If you don't adhere to those techniques, you will earn demerit points for incorrect technique
10. If you fail to complete any obstacle - you are eliminated immediately

Given below are the extracts of the evaluation rule book for your reading pleasure

[narayan]

Given below are the detailed evaluation criteria and where all you earn demerit points.

During the Traffic police test, the traffic police staff sit at various vantage points throughout the circuit on elevated chairs and take note of your performance. if you accumulate more than 20points you do not pass the test.

[narayan]

How was my experience through this process ?

1. As I mentioned earlier, I registered for the license course the very day i was eligible to do so ( July 1, 2021 ) and then booked slot for the Theory lesson. Since the course follows a sequence, you can only book lessons as per that sequence i.e .you cant book all your lessons in one go

2. It took me a while to figure out how to keep checking the app periodically to get the slots sooner. That resulted in a week wasted. Then there was a 2 week COVID outage. Eventually by August 15th or thereabouts I was done with all my lessons and had cleared the driving schools test too

3. My performance in the driving school's internal evaluation was not that great. I earned 22 demerit points but my instructor allowed me to appear for the traffic police test but suggested that I do atleast 4-5 revisions

4. One of the main reasons I wasn't that good, in my own assessment was
a. I found it very difficult to follow the trainer's instructions because they spoke with a heavy local accept. Also with everyone wearing masks, the voices are always muffled. For me, this was the first time I was experience such a mode of evaluation since my Class 2B license was obtained via foreign license conversion process
b. During the lessons, the typical batch size is around 10-12 riders. So its quite difficult to follow what the instructor is telling you and I was mostly learning by following what others were doing. Clearly, I was also picking up the wrong stuff

5. Once I finished by internal evaluation on August 15th, I immediately booked the earliest traffic police slot for August 27th - 715am-12noon. I also booked a practise slot for 3 days prior to that date for August 24th -1245-215pm

6. From thereon, it was a painful wait, first for the practise date and later for the actual test. Quite a few nights went sleepless with me just thinking and visualising about each and every part of the course. I was also doing random blind spots checks even when walking inside my house

7. Finally, on August 24th, I was ready for the practise day. It was pouring like crazy. So i couldn't ride to the school in my Duke. I took a taxi and reached there on time. I wasn't sure about the rain policy. But the instructor told me that, unless there are thunderstorms, all booked sessions continue. I wasn't used to riding wearing rain coats, so I ventured into the practise session with my usual attire and got drenched within a few seconds of stepping into the course. But once you are drenched, you get used to it and I got a solid practise for the next 100mins. I did take note of my problem areas and tried my best to fix them - but there is only as much you can do. So I didnt take too much stress at that time. However, the plus was that i got to speak to a nice instructor who gave me a lot of useful tips which were never given during the earlier lessons

8. Aug 25, 26 were very stressful days for me. With the test coming up, 50% pass rate and my problem areas, I was mentally preparing myself for a 2nd attempt. Both nights were largely sleepless. The weather forecast for Aug 27 was also that of rains and partly thunder. Thankfully, when I got off my bed at 5am on Aug 27, sky was not so gloomy. Had a double dose of my normal coffee and with some light breakfast headed to the driving school in my Duke 125 by around 630 am. I was there in by 645am and there were already some 4-5 students from my batch waiting.

9. Prior to the actual traffic test, the school gives you 2 warm up laps. Bikes are randomly allocated. During the course of my various lessons and practise, there were 2 particular bikes i wanted to avoid because their gear levers were set too high for my regular canvas shoes and it was a pain shifting up from 1-2 and 2-3. Thankfully, for my first warm up lap, I did not get those bikes but for the 2nd warm up lap I got one of those ! Also i dropped off the plank on my warm up. So I realised the plank was going to be my weak point for the actual test. After the 2 warm up laps, it was time to wait. From 815am till about 930am it was tense waiting period. This particular batch had 24 Class 2A students ( including me ) and 10 Class 2 students ( Class 2 is the next license class which allows you to ride any capacity bike )

10. My jersey number was the first within the Class 2A. When the time for the Traffic police test came, there was brief pep talk from the School trainers as well as the Traffic cops after which the Class 2 evaluation started. The class 2 folks do exactly the same course as 2A does but with slightly tighter rules on certain courses. They also have 1 additional segment - where they need to drop a Class 2 bike on the ground and pick it up, do a figure of 8 rolling it and bring it back on its center stand. Once the 10 of them finished that, the riding part started.

11. The Class 2 folks were called in batches of 5 and then came my turn.

12. I got into the course and consciously did all the blind spot checks, indications, lane changes, obstacles to the best possible manner. No immediate failures thankfully. I had a few hiccups though. I did an improper lane change right after the crank course. Also when I was waiting at the traffic light, my engine just shut off. I was also on 2nd gear. So, if i stepped my right foot down, to get my left foot up to go down to 1st gear, I would fail immediately. I started the bike and deftly moved the bike off 2nd gear itself(do note that, if the engine revs too much, you earn demerit points !).

13. I finished the course, parked the bike carefully as per the rules. Later i moved to the waiting area, removed all protective gear and the wait continued

[narayan]

Once all riders finished their test, we were asked to report at a designated classroom within the school's premises and there was a 30min wait there for the final results. Since I was among the first to finish the test, my total wait was the maximum. By then, I was clear that I did my best and if i flunked despite this, I genuinely need to work on the finer aspects and appear again.

At around 11am, the driving school instructor came in and told us that they will call out numbers of those who failed and those students have to walk out of the room to another room for a detailed debrief of their performance. To make matters worse, the instructor was randomly calling numbers. But finally when he was done, my number wasn't called. That gave some small joy. But he came back and said they are still checking once more and asked us to hold on to your joyful outbursts ( not that anyone was particularly jumping up in joy - people were simply too tired at the end of this 2-3 month saga of lessons, practise sessions and tests ).

Finally, the traffic police team came in and confirmed the results and wished us. They handed out our evaluation sheets which gives details of how we fared. I scored 16 demerit points in total ( of which atleast 10 - i really could not figure out where I might have earned those - so thats how crazy this test is ! ). But i was satisfied with the final outcome. Our licenses were digitally updated then and there and handed back to us. This means, we are ready to purchase a <400cc motorcycle immediately. The ownership transfer system in Singapore tracks your license category. Hence, if you do not have the correct license, you can't even purchase a bike of that category or even buy insurance.

With the new license in hand, I calmly walked out of the driving school. On one side there was relief, some joy and excitement about a new bike, but it was also 1 day ahead of my best friend's first death anniversary - someone I valued a lot as a friend and respected as a person - he had passed away in an accident in India a year back. So it was a bit of a poignant moment for me. I was quite sure, he played a big part in seeing me through this test and clearing it !

in my subsequent posts, I will cover my initial search for a Class 2A motorcycle

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Thanks a lot for sharing!

Was a treat to read how well though-out such tests are! And all of this just to prove yourself worthy of an upgrade from 200cc to 400! Nice.

Have you already started with the hunt?

[ganesc]

Thanks for sharing that and welcome to the club. I converted my Indian license back in 2011 but never bought a bike, used to rent cars at times though.

In 2017/2018, got my Class 2A and I can relate to a lot of what you said. Was thinking of getting class 2 but you reminded me a lot of what I went through and now seriously thinking if I should get into that again.

For your new purchase, do consider Super four. Better than the latest CB400X which is pretty boring to ride.

Had a Super Four which I just sold this June as I wasn’t using it much as I was working from home since Feb 2020. I regret selling it and badly want to get another, I am missing it so much. Mine was mostly original and I liked the colour combo a lot than the colourful ones one would see here.

It’s an awesome machine, that 4 cylinder exhaust note and the power once V-tec kicks in @5k+ rpm is very addictive!

Some photos of my 18 year old, 173K km run Honda CB400 Super four.

Once I was rear ended by a BMW while waiting to merge and had no sign of damage 😀, you can see BMW’s front wheel raised as it was still stuck between the rear tyre and mudguard.

Another photo showing the super four’s chassis/frame as I recently came across the broken Himalayan chassis story. Super four is one solid machine.

[narayan]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Thanks a lot for sharing!
Have you already started with the hunt?

Originally Posted by ganesc

Thanks for sharing that and welcome to the club. I converted my Indian license back in 2011 but never bought a bike, used to rent cars at times though.

In 2017/2018, got my Class 2A and I can relate to a lot of what you said.

Thanks for sharing your experience ganesc.

CrAzY dRiVeR - My search for a Class2A bike ended just today. But before I go into what I actually purchased, some more details on how I went about doing that.

This post is dedicated to the bike shortlist process that I carried out.



The Singapore motorcycle market has lots of options within the entry Class 2b and the open category - Class 2. The Class 2a, sandwiched between the two, has had the least options because most market participants view it as a transitionary category and not all manufacturers have lots of offerings in this segment ( 200-400cc ).



Like the Class 2b, the class 2a is also dominated by Honda. Yamaha would come a distant second followed by other players like KTM.



Let me list down the most commonly seen/popular models in Class 2a.



1. CB400 ( Spec 2, 3, Revo ) - By far, not just the most popular bike in Class 2a, but THE most popular bike in Singapore. This, purely Japan made model, is exported/sold in select SE Asian markets and a few other global markets. It has a long legacy and is seen as the younger cousin of the CB1300 iterations of the quintessential 70s-80s classic Japanese inline 4s. Lots of trivia in this wiki page - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_CB400SF



It is very very common to find bikes with 2.5lakh+ mileage running strong on the roads. Service is supposed to be very cheap. Engines are overhauled and used until COE's can be renewed before these bikes eventually get exported to other SE Asian markets and even to Srilanka. One would find even those 20+ year old bikes in solid condition.



Again common to see is these bikes sporting Yoshimura, Moriwaki and a few other popular Japanese exhaust end cans or full system exhausts and the exhaust notes are a treat to hear. Most sound exactly like litre+ class bikes and some even sound like older F1 cars. Quite a few videos on Youtube can be found on the exhaust notes of the CB400s.


Since most of the following bikes are available in India in some form ( not sure of MT03 though ), i have only given an indicative image of the CB400 in one of the latest 2020 colour scheme launched under the PROJECT BIG 1 celebrating the 25th anniversary of the CB400.


2. CB400X - This is a cousin of the CB500X that was recently launched in India. Twin cylinder, quasi adventure, touring bike with better fuel efficiency than the CB400, this one is the 2nd most popular bike in this segment.



3. Duke 390 - Needs no introduction for all of us from India. Only recently, the 2020 390 has started selling here. The adventure was launched last year but not very popular given that CB400X takes care of that segment very well

4. Yamaha MT-03 - Next in line but far from the top 2. Resale value is quite poor. So very easy to get low run samples. The new Alien like front fascia is not very popular with most buyers

5. Kawasaki Z400 - Least popular and very rarely you would notice one on road. In fact I have seen none so far. Just saw 2 used bike sale ads but those bikes were just not finding any takers although the deal was very attractive

[narayan]

Shortlisting and buying process:

Since my current bike is a 2018 Duke 125, logical upgrade would have been the Duke 390. I was pretty much sure about this since I loved the Duke's riding position and nimble handling within city. The 390 would add well into that list with 3 times as much power as the 125 with a very moderate weight increase. I decided to go for the 2017 (onwards) face lifted models but briefly also considered 2017 pre-face lift models.

Another plus point for the Duke 390 is its cheaper than the Honda CB400 by a good margin ( new machine price difference is ~$10,000 Vs $17,500 ). These prices are without including the motorcycle COE ( which currently is $9500 for a 10 year ownership period ). Further, resale values of anything other than a Honda is poor in Singapore. Duke does better than Yamaha and Kawasaki though ( in this segment only ). Typical 2017-18 machines were going for $10-12k but with negotiation would easily come down to $8.75-10k. It all boils down to condition, mileage and to a certain extend number of owners.

One key factor against the 390 was that it looks exactly like the 125. In fact, the chassis is pretty much common with just the engine being different. Hence, no visual value add for the so called "upgrade".

I thought long and hard about this and finally decided, I should just take a big step and aim for the CB400. Power figures are 44bhp Vs 53bhp. Of course, the way the 390 makes that power is very different from how the inline 4 Honda with Vtech does. I also wanted to experience what owning an in-line 4 would be like. Hence the decision was made to go for the CB400. That would be the most powerful, largest cc bike I have ever driven or purchased.

Given the inherently higher price and better resale value of the CB400, I decided to narrow down on the model years I should look at keeping in mind my budget.

Accordingly, my initial shortlist was only model years 2018, 2019.
2018 was the launch of the latest version of the CB400 SUPER FOUR REVO series with the 25th anniversary editions and some upgrades.
2020,2021 bikes would be too expensive for me to consider.

After an extensive, exhaustive and exciting shortlist of 2018-2019 bikes, I had prepared a indicative "price to pay" for each model year (every month within that), with tolerances for multiple owners/higher Vs lower mileage/accessories fitted, colour.

The CB400 from these model years mostly came in the following colours - PLAIN BLUE, PLAIN BLACK, RED AND WHITE, RED/WHITE/BLACK TRICOLOUR and BLUE/WHITE/BLACK tricolour.
All colours look good as long as the shine existed. I found that Plain blue and Plain black were prone to looking dull the moment the shine wears out.
Hence, my colour preference was set as under

1. BLUE/WHITE/BLACK tricolour - as per the image in the previous posts
2. RED/WHITE/BLACK TRICOLOUR
3. RED AND WHITE
4. PLAIN BLUE
5. PLAIN BLACK

however, I was clear that I will compromise on colour of any of the other criteria turn out to be favourable.

The market practise here is for sellers to quote much higher than the expecting selling price because buyers out here are known to bargain brutally. Also, within Class 2A, given that the ticket size is higher, most bikes are gobbled up by dealers because sellers want immediate cash. Most buyers look for loans and that is a cumbersome process for the seller. For this reason, I found very few direct owner bikes but whenever I found one , I used to immediately drive down to the seller place and inspect the bike for further negotiations.

None of my direct seller discussions went well. We were just not able to meet on price although all the bikes I saw were in good condition. Some were in superb condition too.

I, more or less, reconciled to the fact that I would have to make this purchase from a dealer and I observed that dealers were more flexible in this class of bikes given that COVID had moved a lot of buying demand to the lower Class 2b. Hence, it was a reasonably good buyers market.

without going into all the various dealer level interactions and negotiations, I finally narrowed down to a RED/WHITE/BLACK TRICOLOUR, 2018 MODEL run about 38k in superb condition. It came with a Kappa luggage box as well.

[narayan]

It has been 2 weeks since I purchased the CB400 REVO and here is a pictorial review of the experience so far.

A quick recap on the model specs.

2018 CB400 REVO a.k.a. Super Four - Project Big 1 special edition (25th anniversary edition )
399cc
55hp at 11,000 rpm (upto 6000rpm its <30bhp )
39NM at 9500rpm ( 30Nm from about 3000rpm onwards )
CBS braking system
wet weight - 202kg

This is by far the most powerful Class 2a motorcycle available in Singapore. The CB400X, Duke 390, Z400, MT-03 will all group up in the mid 40bhp range.

Also, to the best of my knowledge, this must be the smallest capacity inline 4 naked motorcycle (not sure if any of the Japanese still make inline 4 fully faired 250cc bikes ?).

[narayan]

Exteriors/Proportions:

1. There is no mistaking the classic Japanese inline 4 naked bike looks.
But proportions are quite ok for a person of my height and weight (175cm, 68kg ). I can flat foot both my feet. So its quite low seating.
2. The handle bar reach is a bit away to my liking - so you do have an inclined forward facing stance (more than what i had with my Duke 125 ). However, I have fixed a small bar riser to correct it slightly. I would have preferred it if the tank was not as long as it is but that might have affected the classic looks
3. Foot position is not as rear set as the Duke but moderately rear set.
4. There is a lot of chrome to contrast with the body colour and the matte black engine bay area. All the surfaces are finished in very high quality. This is an exclusively MADE IN JAPAN model and exported from there to select international markets outside Japan.
5. This specific colour is called the CANDY CHROMOSHERE RED and this along with the ATMOSPHERE BLUE METTALIC ( shown in my earlier posts ) were my favourite shortlists.
6. The exhaust end can is finished in silvery chrome and is smaller in diameter compared to the previous REVO series that was on sale from 2008-2017. The smaller size fits well into the overall dimensions of the bike
7. 2 classic chrome circular mirrors and 2 pot chrome ringed instrument cluster add to the period look
8. The headlight gets LED elements for the first time in this generation. The shape continues the classic round theme with a good dose of chrome on the surround
9. The tail light also has LED elements and lights up nicely/differently based on brake inputs or night riding
10. The radiator guard is an official accessory ( again in chrome ) and the engine guard is an aftermarket one ( i would have preferred a matte black option but the chrome one came fitted from the previous owner )

[narayan]

Engine/Drive so far:
1. I am totally new to even 400cc capacity bikes (the closest I have gotten is the RD350 that i owned in Mumbai+Cochin in around 2003-04 period). I think it would put out about 20-25bhp max. Hence, driving this initially came with some apprehensions of whether i can handle the power. However, as you can see from the power figures, it makes <30bhp upto 6000 rpm. So I was quite fine and got used to the power sooner than expected.

2. The engine is super smooth. Absolutely no vibes until 110kmph ( max I have reached so far ). totally linear acceleration. The torque is solid even at low revs. I always had this perception that in-line 4s would be totally dead at low rpms and have to be constantly kept at higher rpms to get reasonable power. However, for city driving, the torque at lower rpms is more than sufficient. The bike starts moving easily from 2nd gear even with a passenger and one can swiftly go up the gears to 6th and stay as low as 30kmph and accelerate from there on. So city driving is very convenient

3. Gear shifts are not as smooth as i would have wanted. N to first gear is very clunky as with any Honda. from thereon, I have observed that if you upshift within low rpms, 1-2 and 2-3 are smooth ( really smooth ). However, if you want to rev the engine to say 6k rpm and then upshift, then the 1-2 and 2-3 shifts are not as smooth and a bit clunky. 3-4, 4-5 and 5-6 are super smooth. Under cold engine conditions, 1-2 also requires a firm pull, else you land up in N. I am assuming this is normal behaviour for this bike. Will check with a mechanic during the next oil change

4. There is a good amount of heat generation in city driving and one can feel it in the upper thighs and crotch area. in fact, the fuel tank portion closest to your groin does get warm in city riding. Not so much while in highways

5. Clutch is super super light

6. Engine note is to die for. I urge all of you to check out You tube videos on the stock engine note of a CB400 REVO 2018. Its the typical inline 4 hum at start and then the wail starts as early as 4000rpm. It sounds like a proper litre class bike. I will try to record a sound clip and upload here ( i.e. idle + revving )

7. The engine visually looks extremely attractive with the usual inline 4 muscle. Although this is a liquid cooled engine, to retain the class looks, the engine carries fins which are functional plus make the engine look lumpier. The chrome accents add to the overall period + modern feel. The 4 down tubes are also a treat to look at with a polished bronzhish colour

[narayan]

Some more pictures:

Switch gear is of top notch quality. the indicator buttons though, don't have that click kind of feel. So sometimes, I need to check if i have cancelled it.
The instrument cluster is a simple 2 pot chrome finished unit. 2008 ONWARDS - Honda introduced a small "digital" cluster in between which was further enhanced in 2018. This cluster has 2 trip meters, clock, fuel efficiency, ambient temperate and a few other things (I need to really check what those are. I think there was something to do with fuel left or fuel consumed in a particular trip). these are operated by 2 tiny black buttons which are not that great to feel and use but do their job.

Left side cluster has the horn, indicator and the headlight high beam ( its default low beam once you fire up the engine + a low intensity glow on the front 2 indicators )

Right side cluster has the engine start stop, engine kill and another button which i just noticed when i looked at the pic - This one is probably the one leading to the 2 front indicators remaining on ( LOL again ). Getting old, so I haven't been paying as much attention as I used to when I bought my first bike !

The bike came with a nice brown seat (stock is a harder black ). This one has a ribbed pattern and softer too. It looks like leather but not real one. I was pleased with that because I firmly try to avoid animal skin.

The box as seen in the pics is from my previous bike ( Duke 125 ). The Honda came with a aluminium Kappa 42L box. But the thing with these aluminium boxes is that due to their boxy shape, the interior capacity is compromised. The 42L aluminium box is for 1 helmet + a small bag maybe. Whereas, the box seen in pics ( Kappa 39Litre - plastic ) can take in 2 helmets placed side by side. So for practicality sakes, I swapped my old box to the new one

[narayan]

Suspension duties are done by Showas on both sides. No USD upfront because we are talking of the period look. Pre-load adjustment is available both sides. Initially, the ride was super hard but improved after I rectified the tyre pressure. I might have to still reduce the pressure because its mostly me (68kg) and my son (49kg). So I should probably go a bit lower than even the recommended pressure.

Braking duties by Nissin on both sides. Twin caliper upfront and single at the rear. Bite is good in city driving. Haven't done any emergency brake tests. Given the moderate built of both me and my son ( and we don't have big butts also ), a minor problem I have faced in all my bikes so far is that upon braking, my son will slide into my back and then has to adjust his position again. Basically, HALF THE SEAT LENGTH is more than enough for both of us !

[Black_Star]

Congrats on your new ride!!

CB400 is my dream bike and I am happy to see one in the forum. Truly a one of a kind bike and I hope get to own one some day.

Once I wrote to Bike India asking Honda to bring the bike to India .

Originally Posted by narayan

Also, to the best of my knowledge, this must be the smallest capacity inline 4 naked motorcycle (not sure if any of the Japanese still make inline 4 fully faired 250cc bikes ?).

Actually the smallest inline 4 today is the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R