[LongDrive lover]

Best, unbiased, detailed and very balanced review of Honda CB 350. I have been following this bike from the day of its launch and it is most likely to find its way into my garage one day. I am yet to test ride it and looks like your review will hasten this process as it has cleared most of the doubts .

Thanks

[mr_punks]

First of all hats off to you for writing such a detailed review of the bike. I can connect with each and every bit of the thread. All the things mentioned in the thread are to the point. I wanted to post my ownership thread but after reading yours I am speechless. Here's Some clicks of my bike.

[ram1kv]

Excellent, detailed and patient review @DarkLightning. Your love for the bike is obvious and yet the objectivity of the review is very helpful for other riders and prospective buyers. It's nice to see places through your eyes. As a fellow green anniversary edition owner, agree with your observations and have learned a lot of new things too!

I totally get your desire to never let go of the CB350. The feeling of being in the right place, riding the right bike; happened to me too and it's very difficult to explain in words. This is despite my bias towards RE Meteor.

Engine heat was never a problem in Bangalore despite heavy traffic jams, possibly due to the weather here. Those mileage figures are mouth watering, I'll try to reduce the urge to bring out Mr Hyde too often and report back. Currently stuck around 35-36 after first service.

Congratulations on your beautiful acquisition as well as the priceless "Team BHP Review" badge bro
Looking forward to your trips across the nation!

[Hagaru]

@darkLightning, What a wonderful write-up. Professional and very detailed. Kudos to you!

Congratulations! Personally, in the segment the Honda has placed this vehicle in, I feel you cannot go wrong with this choice. It is indeed a brilliant motorcycle, which thankfully, is getting more and more attention.

I wish you have millions of happy miles!

On a side note - Absolutely love that Windshield. It suits the bike very well.

[windiesel]

Originally Posted by darkLightning

Hello Team-BHPians,

Congratulations on getting this great machine. I too purchased a CB350 DLX pro in Feb 21, rode it for 10,ooo kms and sold it in Nov 21. I now ride a Meteor 350. CB350 is absolutely trouble free and deadly reliable, gives an awesome FE too. I used to consistently get 40+, whereas the Meteor is returning around 36. Now, you may ask if the bike is so nice why did you sell it off? The one and only insurmountable problem I had with this bike is the image and the pride of ownership, rather the lack of it. Everywhere I'd go, at red lights, in parking lots people would call it a Honda ki Bullet. I wonder why Honda copied a bullet to the T, not only does the Engine look the same, the bore and stroke also matches closely, it sounds similar too. Instead of making a Honda ki Bullet they should've made a Honda ki Honda, like the original CB350 was in the 70's, a twin with about 40bhp then. Even if they wanted a single, they could've added a differential by making it visually distinct from the RE Classic and given it a 400cc engine.
That said, and other than the tall gearing, the CB 350 is effortless to ride, I went to Udaipur from Delhi with zero aches and pains, I had the touring seats though, and I'm almost 57! In case you're my height or thereabouts (5'9") you may consider installing handlebar risers, they make the stance even more comfortable. All in all, if you're ok with the image, you will enjoy this bike a lot. It is faster and more efficient than the J-Series engined Meteor and Classic NG. Congratulations once again

[tunedv8]

Originally Posted by darkLightning

Attachment 2328851

Congratulations for your upgrade from Arjuna to Piccolo! The green is fantastic!

Although, judging by this image, the key is rather large and impractical!

Anyway, regarding your gripe of lack of real estate for apartment stickers, why not use a zip-tie tag with the sticker on it?

[neil.jericho]

darkLightning, congratulations on your Honda CB350 anniversary edition. That was quite a detailed and comprehensive review of a popular motorcycle.

The image of the front mud flap shows a lot of damage to it. Was this something that happened during the installation of the part? If so, you should probably ask the Honda dealership to replace it for you. It really does detract from the rest of the well maintained motorcycle.

Please do strap your helmet on tight! In the pictures, it does look like the strap is way too loose for comfort. The helmet will fly off your head in case of an accident, thereby leaving you with no protection whatsoever. I hope you and your wife find the SMK Titan helmets soon. If its not available, do consider getting your better half a good helmet from another brand. The pictures of her accompanying you without a helmet, were a little disconcerting to see.

Wish you a happy ownership experience with your full fledged beast!

[rajarsi]

Excellent review @darkLightning. I could relate to every bit of it as I also own a CB350 DLX PRO from Nov 2020. I booked and got the bike when it was launched without even taking a test ride. I just trusted the Honda brand and took a leap of faith. Looking back I consider this decision as the best I took during the pandemic year. I just love the no nonsense solo rides on this bike!

[darkLightning]

Originally Posted by Aditya

Exceptional, unbiased & detailed ownership reviews of bikes have started going to our homepage reviews box. It's the ultimate stamp of trust from Team-BHP (as a platform) because lakhs of visitors every month check out reviews from there & make purchase decisions.

Your review has also been included here. Thank you so much for sharing .

Thanks Aditya! This truly means a lot. I would look forward to keeping the quality of content up to the mark.

Originally Posted by witwat

Brilliant review! Thoroughly enjoyed reading it! Looking forward for more chronicles of Piccolo

Wish you a very happy and safe motoring

Thanks witwat!

Originally Posted by rajeevsulu

That was an excellent writeup. All doubts cleared, I shall book my highness in a couple of days. Thank you

Thanks rajeevsulu! Hope to meet your friend soon.

Originally Posted by LongDrive lover

Best, unbiased, detailed and very balanced review of Honda CB 350. I am yet to test ride it and looks like your review will hasten this process as it has cleared most of the doubts .

Thanks LongDrive lover! I hope you find your liking in the test ride.

Originally Posted by mr_punks

First of all hats off to you for writing such a detailed review of the bike. I can connect with each and every bit of the thread. All the things mentioned in the thread are to the point. I wanted to post my ownership thread but after reading yours I am speechless. Here's Some clicks of my bike.

Thanks mr_punks! You are maintaining your bike quite well, I am eager to read your review as well, Each person brings a new perspective with them.

Originally Posted by ram1kv

Excellent, detailed and patient review @DarkLightning. Your love for the bike is obvious and yet the objectivity of the review is very helpful for other riders and prospective buyers. It's nice to see places through your eyes. As a fellow green anniversary edition owner, agree with your observations and have learned a lot of new things too!
Congratulations on your beautiful acquisition as well as the priceless "Team BHP Review" badge bro
Looking forward to your trips across the nation!

Thanks ram1kv! You are right about the engine heat, as rains have started in my city the engine heat has gone down several notches (even though it was not really a bother during riding previously as well.)

Originally Posted by Hagaru

@darkLightning, What a wonderful write-up. Professional and very detailed. Kudos to you!
Absolutely love that Windshield. It suits the bike very well.

Thanks Hagaru! And yes the wind shield does suit the bike very well.

Originally Posted by tunedv8

Congratulations for your upgrade from Arjuna to Piccolo! The green is fantastic!

Although, judging by this image, the key is rather large and impractical!

Anyway, regarding your gripe of lack of real estate for apartment stickers, why not use a zip-tie tag with the sticker on it?

Thanks tunedv8! yes the key looks more suitable in a Aeroplane as for the zip tie-tag option won't that cause unnecessary noises while riding because of flapping ?

Originally Posted by rajarsi

Excellent review @darkLightning. I just love the no nonsense solo rides on this bike!

Thanks rajarsi! When you buy a bike and fall in love with it, it is one of the best feelings.

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

darkLightning, congratulations on your Honda CB350 anniversary edition. That was quite a detailed and comprehensive review of a popular motorcycle.

The image of the front mud flap shows a lot of damage to it. Was this something that happened during the installation of the part?

Please do strap your helmet on tight! In the pictures, it does look like the strap is way too loose for comfort. I hope you and your wife find the SMK Titan helmets soon. If its not available, do consider getting your better half a good helmet from another brand. The pictures of her accompanying you without a helmet, were a little disconcerting to see.

Wish you a happy ownership experience with your full fledged beast!

Thanks neil.jericho! The front flap is actually very clean on the bike I cross checked after you highlighted it, it would appear that I took the snap after giving Piccolo a quick wash and some of the washed dirt made it's way to the mud flap, As for the smudges appearing on mud guard actually there was some wrapping plastic stuck behind the rivets used to fasten the mud flap, these were removed during one of Piccolo's wash, in the pic it seems the plastic pieces are giving impression of damage to mud guard.

And I really appreciate you concern regarding helmets, especially for my wife. As for the queries -

1. This Honda helmet that I have brought has a bit of offset design in my opinion, the strap which should ideally go under the chin actually goes a bit behind and sits just above my Adam's apple when I fasten it properly which creates a whole new set of discomforting issues for me. I have tried to achieve a level where helmet does not come off and the chin strap also does not get discomforting however I agree it is not the ideal solution, I can't say if it is a flaw with the helmet or it's design just does not sync with my head shape.

2. The search for Touring Helmets (Preferably SMK Titan) is almost at conclusion, I do liked MT and HJC helmets as well but though I can purchase them on order there is no service available for them in my city whereas SMK has authorised service outlet in my city. Now the reason it is taking a bit long is because I have made it clear to the helmet dealership that I will buy two helmets together and they need to procure the helmet of my choice in S size for my wife (If I accept their offer to buy my helmet first and wait for my wife's helmet when it is available I am pretty sure they will not procure it.)

It actually speaks volumes about the perception of safety we have in smaller cities that I cannot find one decent helmet in all shops of my city which fits well to my wife, The blank answer I get everywhere is that size S/XS helmets do not sell here and they won't procure just one helmet of different size. And in almost all the cases female riders buy helmet only for police check and their condition is that helmet should not mess up with their makeup and hair, I mean come on! All the options I am getting for purchase are of the face shield kind which in one look itself you can tell can cause more harm to the user. I even tried to procure something resembling a decent and safe helmet from ubiquitous Steelbird/Vega in size S as a stop gap arrangement but all they have are these cap style helmets.

Anyways I should hopefully get my hands on the pair of Titans real soon. (There is this understanding that SMK is going through a shell shortage right now.)

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by darkLightning

And I really appreciate you concern regarding helmets, especially for my wife. As for the queries -

1. This Honda helmet that I have brought has a bit of offset design in my opinion, the strap which should ideally go under the chin actually goes a bit behind and sits just above my Adam's apple when I fasten it properly which creates a whole new set of discomforting issues for me. I have tried to achieve a level where helmet does not come off and the chin strap also does not get discomforting however I agree it is not the ideal solution, I can't say if it is a flaw with the helmet or it's design just does not sync with my head shape.

2. The search for Touring Helmets (Preferably SMK Titan) is almost at conclusion, I do liked MT and HJC helmets as well but though I can purchase them on order there is no service available for them in my city whereas SMK has authorised service outlet in my city. Now the reason it is taking a bit long is because I have made it clear to the helmet dealership that I will buy two helmets together and they need to procure the helmet of my choice in S size for my wife (If I accept their offer to buy my helmet first and wait for my wife's helmet when it is available I am pretty sure they will not procure it.)

It actually speaks volumes about the perception of safety we have in smaller cities that I cannot find one decent helmet in all shops of my city which fits well to my wife, The blank answer I get everywhere is that size S/XS helmets do not sell here and they won't procure just one helmet of different size. And in almost all the cases female riders buy helmet only for police check and their condition is that helmet should not mess up with their makeup and hair, I mean come on! All the options I am getting for purchase are of the face shield kind which in one look itself you can tell can cause more harm to the user. I even tried to procure something resembling a decent and safe helmet from ubiquitous Steelbird/Vega in size S as a stop gap arrangement but all they have are these cap style helmets.

Anyways I should hopefully get my hands on the pair of Titans real soon. (There is this understanding that SMK is going through a shell shortage right now.)

darklightning, you are right. SMK is facing the problem of shell non availability. As a result, SMK isnt able to manufacture and distribute their Titan helmets, pan-India.

The difficulty in getting a small size is very understandable. Most stores prefer to stock medium size helmets, as that is what fits most Indian heads. Do consider the Axor Apex helmets, as well. They retail for Rs 5K and availability is really good in my part of the country. A lot of riders here use the helmet. I have only heard good feedback on it. I dont know if it is easily available in Bhopal. That said, I would guess that the Axor Apex would be easier to find that the SMK Titan. Happy riding!

[Gildarts]

Great acquisition and great review. Best wishes for safely munching many more miles. I know it's green but why Piccolo???

[rajeevsulu]

After a wait of a week, I took delivery of my highness anniversary edition(matt green) yesterday. I shall update my riding progress regularly

[darkLightning]

Hi Everyone,

Apologies for not posting any updates in the thread for quite some time now. Lots of updates to share and I have finished a two week bike trip vacation (round trip 3k km) in December to the Kumaon region, the travelogue for the same will be up shortly. A couple of pics from the trip.





Hoping to update the thread very soon.