[skviknaraj]

Originally Posted by NoSugarNoSpice

Even worse its the extinct air-cooled Brazilian version's engine.

Guess Honda is playing ahead of the curve and is introducing brazillian engines which support flex fuel. Who knows, hopefully the reviews shed some light on Honda's strategy.

[saikishor]

I find this launch pointless. A price correction to the CB300R would have done wonders.

I'm out of words for this launch. I can only see pointless written all over.

[VijayAnand1]

With the build-up Honda was able to garner, I was totally offset in thinking that it could perhaps be an Activa with a jet engine, oh well. Jokes apart, this seems to have taken lot of inspiration from the xBlade. I personally like the tail light section, reminds me of the Fireblade and 600R series and the Nissin braking system. Pricing is as expected from a Honda. Greedy! But when the equipment warrant one, who am I to argue.

FWIW, this should be a great all rounder of a motorcycle, and should do touring duties with aplomb.

Here's a picture set from PD. Thanks PD.


















Cheers!
VJ

[amvj]

For a moment I thought they launch a new bike with the same engine as CB300R and for 50K less. Thank god they have not done that. It is still too expensive at 2.2X L. The recently launched Hunter has made everything too expensive. So another flop model from Honda without much market research. They should launch an ADV instead.

[tchsvy]

The BigWing dealers have the CB350 twins, CB300, and that's about it I guess. The dealers might have been bugging Honda for few models to showcase on the floor. But the dealers themselves will be facepalming hard right now.

[RD150]

You can get Duke 250/ Dominar 400/ Husqvarna 250 and loads of other good bikes for that kind of money. You can even buy a Gixxer 250, Pulsar 250 or FZ250 and won't miss much. I am sure even hard core Honda fans will find defending this bike's pricing an impossible task

[thirumalkumaran]

I have no idea what Honda was referring on their pricing strategy! A 2.2xL ex showroom for a 300cc bike? This is going to have a stiff competition from hunter or put some more money and get a 650. Looks like another unsold model at Honda showroom. The laurels of reliability are over Honda. You need to price correct based on current market. (Same applies to ronin to an extent).

[drt_rdr]

The presentation was awful, as usual. I'm disappointed its not a tastier launch too, but I'm excited at possible future prospects from this platform. There could be an ADV based on this down the line (hopefully not as half assed as the CB200X). And since Honda thinks this could co-exist with the CB300R, the CRF300L could also co-exist with a cheaper ADV.

Anyway, this bike has also piqued my interest. I'll wait for the full specs and ride impressions of the bike. It does seem to make an interesting proposition, the *** price aside. I mean, this will probably be 3L onroad bangalore.

Then again, most of the liquid cooled 300s are a lot more expensive. The only sporty 300s cheaper than this are the mojo and the classic legends bikes. But they're heavy. I wager this one will be below 160 kgs. No point comparing the retro 350s here because they're slow and heavy, hence cheaper.

There seems to be an interesting proposition here. Oil cooled is lower maintenance. It does come with some stuff many of the 250s miss: Slipper clutch, 6 speed gearbox, bluetooth features FWIW.

Just because it makes hp like a 250, doesn't necessarily mean it's gonna be as slow. Those 50 ccs are gonna be doing their thing after all.

The 250 segment doesn't seem to be getting a lot of market attention for whatever reason. Could be why Honda decided to skip it and go to 300. Could also be why TVS decided in their wisdom on a 225 for the Ronin rather than a 250.

The seating on the CB300R is cramped for taller people. If this is more relaxed, which looks like the case, it'll have its takers.

BTW, I'm NOT a Honda fanboy. I'm a Suzuki fanboy.


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EDIT: Honda's updated the website: https://www.hondabigwing.in/cb300f

Kerb weight: 153 kgs - Yes!!
Ground clearance: 177mm - Nice
Fuel capacity: 14L - Nice!

[iamahunter]

Back in 2011, Honda introduced a 250 CC bike with 6 gears, proper liquid cooling and a smooth single cylinder faired bike, the CBR 250R. Kind of a pioneer of many things in India back then. The bike was slightly ahead of its time and did not sell much. It was also priced higher than the rest, just like any other good Honda bikes, but it did have that tech! The CBR was eventually laid to final sleep in 2018.

From 2011 to 2022, Honda continues to overprice its products, however they have lost the edge and the ahead of time spirit.
Infact, now-a-days Honda is usually late to the party. The tech and products they bring already settled in the market for sometime. Only positive, the built quality is only marginally better than the rest of them, but does it command the that presence, I don't think so.

The Indian market today is an adv market, a 350CC Adv would have been so much better than this half-baked Hornet XL Plus!

[swiftnfurious]

Very inspiring to see so many people still believe(d) in Honda !! I lost all hopes few years back itself, so not too disappointed.

[Black_Star]

Originally Posted by RD150

I am sure even hard core Honda fans will find defending this bike's pricing an impossible task

Exactly, I am a Honda fan and this bike is a disappointment in many levels. CB300R already fulfills the position of a great urban commuter. CB350 and RS are great highway machines and decent RE competitor. The CB500X and above bikes are great in their own way but bit overpriced, I can live with that.

But this bike is something nobody asked for. Its basically a rehash of Hornet 2.0, we already know its a sales dud so I can think CB300F will follow similar fate. I wanted a bike in ~1.5 lakh category, something fun or cool looking.

Seriously Honda you guys are sitting on great bikes, why dont you make them for a change, and maybe lower the production cost of the CB300R along the way.

Originally Posted by drt_rdr

And since Honda thinks this could co-exist with the CB300R, the CRF300L could also co-exist with a cheaper ADV.

Just because it makes hp like a 250, doesn't necessarily mean it's gonna be as slow. Those 50 ccs are gonna be doing their thing after all.

The 250 segment doesn't seem to be getting a lot of market attention for whatever reason. Could be why Honda decided to skip it and go to 300. Could also be why TVS decided in their wisdom on a 225 for the Ronin rather than a 250.

Yeah one can hope but at this point I have given up all hopes for Honda. That extra 50 cc will help in the long run and probably wont be straining the engine in highway runs.

[GutsyGibbon]

Originally Posted by thirumalkumaran

I have no idea what Honda was referring on their pricing strategy! A 2.2xL ex showroom for a 300cc bike? This is going to have a stiff competition from hunter or put some more money and get a 650. Looks like another unsold model at Honda showroom. The laurels of reliability are over Honda. You need to price correct based on current market. (Same applies to ronin to an extent).

They did warn us in advance. When they said "Formidable" - they meant the pricing. Yeah Formidable pricing indeed. I was hoping for a 300cc ADV bike to take on the Himalayan and KTM 390 ADV

[amvj]

After thinking about the bike for some time, I realised that while it may not be a competitor to other brands, it can be a competitor to the CB300R. Both have similar cubic capacities with USD forks. This is 50K less, has a 4L extra fuel tank capacity which is good for touring. This could spell doom for the CB300R. People who enter into the Honda Bigwing showroom may astonish by the price of cb300r will go for cb300f. After all, the horsepower and weight are not that different.

This could be a bad news for CB300R. The bike is already selling in very poor numbers.

[hphse33]

The only interesting part of the whole launch was when the host asked "are you excited to be alive" and received a tepid "yes" from the audience

[drt_rdr]

There seems to be some reuse of parts between the CB300R and this.

The indicators, the taillight, the rims and handlebar are obvious ones.

The instrument panel uses the same housing atleast if not the screen. Brake master cylinder appears to be the same one, though it doesn't get the radial mounted front caliper and petal discs.

It could also possibly be using the same suspension as the R. But most likely, it's the one from the Hornet.

Also the pillion footpegs if I'm not mistaken, and probably more bits and bobs.