| 2018 Honda CBR650F : Ownership Review
My first post here and I'm writing with the hope that some may find it useful. Please feel free to suggest corrections and edits, thank you. Especially if you feel there are too many words please let me know, I'll edit out the non-essential bits.
Note: Updated First Service Experience is added at the bottom.
My biking history:
1996 RE STD 350. Bought used in 2008.
2011 Pulsar 220.
2013 KTM Duke 390.
2016 RE Himalayan (sold it in 9 months)
2018 CBR650F (6 days old as on date of writing -14/02/2018)
Intro - This is my first bike with more than one cylinder. I've been riding for ten years now although I learnt to ride motorcycles when I was 11 years old. That was back in 2001. The Hero Honda CBZ and the original round headlight Pulsar were all the rage then. There were, of course, the Fieros and the two stroke RDs, RXs, Samurais, and Shoguns too. All of these were bikes a boy would dream of owning some day. There were also Bullets, the real ones. You had to have mechanical leanings and a devoted motorcyclist lifestyle to own one of those. Very different from the stuff that RE sells these days. There were also the Yezdis and the Jawas, the truest-to-form heritage motorcycles available in the country.
And that was it. This was the thriving biking scene in India back then. I grew up with posters of Ducatis and Bimotas and R6's and CBRs (along with an assortment of helicopters and fixed wing aircraft) on my wall but dreamt only of owning a CBZ or a Pulsar or a Karizma some day. That was the limit of aspirations set by my middle class upbringing. Fast forward to 2018 and I'm finally graduating to the middle of the pack. Alas, gone are the days of motorcycles revving up to 18000 RPM, making that demonic, frantic sound I grew up drooling over. Euro IV norms have killed the golden age of motorcycles, restricting everything that makes motorcycles fun. At least that's the case for the 600cc class motorcycles that I can now somewhat afford.
Choosing the bike: Being on the wrong side of 25 and dangerously close to 30, I decided to put down some money toward a real, actual motorcycle. First I looked at the Benelli 600i, for obvious reasons. It's the cheapest inline-4 in the market and sounds bloody good. I formed a rapport with the salesman at the Pune showroom and took 2 test rides, one of them 3 hours long. After having ridden it in traffic and on the highway I can say this about the test bike - It was unwieldy and its power unusable until you got to 9,000 rpm. And the brakes were shit. Service interval is every 4000 kms even though the engine is from a 2005 Yamaha R6. That's where Benelli recoup the money from you by the way. Your warranty is void if you don't stick to the service interval, each costing about 8000 - 10,000/- I've also heard rumours that DSK has filed for bankruptcy so reliability and parts availability therefore is an issue. At 6.84 Lakh on road Pune, not very a good deal in my opinion. Especially for someone who rides 2000 kms a month on average.
Second, I looked at the Versys 650. It was perfect in all respects. The ergonomics, the touring ability, even the feel and character of the engine. I do not like parallel twin engines, just something off about the way they feel. The Ninja 650 for example, feels vibe-y and shake-y to me, like a Pulsar on steroids and not much else. But the Versys, which has the same engine as the ninja is a different animal altogether. If I didn't know otherwise, I'd say they were two very, VERY different engines. I was blown away by the feel, character, punch, and refinement of the Versys 650. Only problem is I have that inline 3/ inline 4 itch that I must scratch. I feel like the Versys can be the bike I can keep for 20 years after I've got my fill of sporty inline 4s out of my system. At 7.76 Lakh on road Pune, I feel that it is the most bike you can buy for your money.
Third was the CBR650f. I never looked at it as a real option before actually, seriously coming to the market for a middleweight motorcycle to buy. It checks all the right boxes - inline 4 engine, Honda reliability, excellent ownership reviews, alarmingly low maintenance costs, fully faired for highway touring, etc. Before I got into researching this bike I thought of it as over-priced, sedate, boring, and quiet. That prejudice was shattered as I kept on digging into it on the internet. Today, there isn't a youtube video or an article or a forum review on this motorcycle that I haven't watched/read at least once. I test rode it on 3 occasions from 3 dealers in 3 different cities. The stock exhaust leaves a little to be desired but that's a compromise I'm willing to make. In Delhi the difference between the on road price of the CBR650f and the Kawa Z900 is 50,000 or so. In Maharashtra, it is 2.5 Lakh thanks to the weird CBU tax structure here. If I lived in Delhi, I would have been hard pressed to make a decision between these two but Maharashtra state taxes made that decision for me. Also, from all the reviews it seems the CBR is an absolute delight to ride in corners. That part is super important to me.
Lastly, there was the Street Triple. Two of my closest riding buddies have Striples and I've ridden those bikes a lot. It's a brilliant motorcycle but a little too expensive for me and also a little small (I'm 6'4). It isn't the best at touring but not bad at it either. if it was priced within 9 Lakh on road I would've seriously considered it. But as it stands at close to 11 lakh on road Pune, I simply could not afford it.
Buying Experience: After considering all of the above I booked the CBR650F in Millennium Red in Nov 2017. The booking amount was 25000/- and the On road price quoted was Rs. 8.34 Lakh Pune. I had it financed through HDFC at 10% rate of interest. The dealer is Pashankar Auto in Shivajinagar. My experience with them has been very good and the bike was delivered earlier than promised. They waived off the 2500/- handling charges at my request and were nice enough to include the garage cover for the bike. I also bought the seat cowl which cost Rs. 7400/- It changes the entire look and profile of the motorcycle IMO. Honda also offer an extended warranty of 5 years for a modest fee of Rs. 2500. The on-road price of Rs. 8.34 Lakh is inclusive of the same.
Ride Quality: Honda is known for its smoothness and the CBR650F does not disappoint. I rode my friend's Street Triple 250 kms to Pune, picked up the CBR from there and rode back on it. Back to back, the difference between the two comfort-wise, is huge. Not that the street Triple is uncomfortable, mind you, but the Honda is leagues ahead IMO.
The engine feels eager and there is ZERO lurching/snatching even on 6th gear roll-ons. Cruising along on 4th or 5th gear is an absolute delight with the engine purring like a cat content and the feeling is one of drifting along on a cloud. Will update rev-happiness and outright acceleration/response after first servicing.
A well known issue with the outgoing model was the vibrations. I can say that as of right now, before first servicing even, the vibrations have not been bad enough to cause irritation. It exists between the 5 and 6k rpm pocket, and is limited mostly to the foot-pegs and the handlebars with just a teeny bit at the seat. I got used to it within the first hour of riding on the highway, then it is barely noticeable.
Out of the 600 kms done so far, 350 have been on the highway with constant speed variation for engine break-in and the rest has been city and outskirts riding. The indicated mileage according to the on-board computer is highway 20.5-21.5 kmpl and city is 18-19 kmpl which is consistent with online reports and reviews.
Build: The build quality is excellent. The switch gear works perfectly as expected from a Honda and the feel is premium. The position of the horn and indicator is famously reversed. I actually prefer having the indicator down below because I use that way more often than the horn (I have a strict 'no honking unless ABSOLUTELY necessary' policy). The panels sit flush with one another and I have not noticed any ugly gaps so far. The seat is quite wide and gives plenty of room for tucking in for aggressive riding while remaining supportive and comfortable on long rides. The sitting posture is more relaxed than sporty with just a slight forward lean. The tank is wide and its recesses are perfectly sculpted to lock in with your legs.
Tyres: The stock Dunlops do take a while to heat up so hitting the corners first thing in the morning without a proper warm up is not advisable. However once they're hot and ready to go, offer excellent grip on dry tarmac.
Headlights: Full LED. Good enough for a dark road but are largely ineffective against oncoming traffic glare on the highway at night even with the throw set to the max possible setting. The design is such that visibility becomes dangerously abrupt when dipping low into a corner at night. Max visible distance while cruising I would guess to be about ~15 feet ahead of your nose. Could benefit from higher luminosity too. If anyone has stock LED bulb replacement ideas, I'd love to hear them.
Rear-view Mirrors: Good, solid units with large filed of view. No buzzing/vibrations at all so far, and they provide a clear picture of what's behind you. So far they do not seem to fold at high speeds like the ones on the Striple do. Will update if there is any change over time.
Transmission: Gear box is typical Honda. Smooth with no drama, no fuss. The clutch pull is lighter than any other big bike I've ridden.
Suspension: Plush but not overly so. Excellent at absorbing the many bumps and undulations on our roads, even with a pillion. The front does tend to bottom out over big bumps though.
Handling: On-road behaviour is sharp and confident, absolutely rock stable on the highway. Not as nimble as a supersport but quick enough to filter through traffic when needed. Turn radius is surprisingly small.
Brakes: Superb bite and feedback. Confidence inspiring to say the least.
Post First Service Ride: So. Now that the pesky but all important first service is out of the way, here are some thoughts on the bike:
First service cost came to 3400/- will post pic of the invoice below.
Things I like:
1. Acceleration: The power kicks in at around 6-7k rpm at which point the pull is strong and scary. strong and scary is good. Opening the throttle wide at 3-4, or even 5k rpm results in a very manageable surge. But 6k to 11k rpm is where the fun's at.
2. Highway Manners: Pune to Aurangabad is 220 kms with Ahmednagar bang in the middle. The road is a 4 lane highway throughout with the Pune to Ahmednagar stretch being exceptionally good with long straights and wide, sweeping curves. The bike is pretty quick to reach illegal speeds and feels extremely planted once it does so. I was honestly taken aback at its composure at high speed (mods please advise - am I allowed to post illegal speeds here?)
3. Seat and Riding Position: Perfect balance of comfortable and engaging. No back/shoulder/bum/wrist aches after 4 hours in the saddle. Will update longer ride times as they come. The seat as mentioned earlier is wide and supportive and not too forward leaning, very comfortable during city and highway rides alike. The bike's inherent cloud-like smoothness also lends to the lack of soreness usually felt after a while on the road IMO.
4. Looks: This is of course subjective but I can't stress this enough - Pictures just don't do justice to this machine. It has presence in abundance without being overly attention seeking. Best I can describe it as is 'Blink and you miss it' kinda feeling. I Haven't yet seen the black one in person but I imagine it looking like some apparition or a prowling melanistic leopard.
5. Fuel Economy: 17.9 kmpl indicated while riding like a retard with the throttle wide open and giggling manically within the helmet. My Himalayan returned similar fuel economy, but at 90 kmph.
Things I don't like:
1. Headlights: The throw is about 5 feet short of where I need it to be, leading to stress-filled riding at night time. Definitely not looking forward to long highway trips at night.
2. Stock exhaust sound: It's barely a whisper below 6k rpm and beyond that is the typical inline-4 wail. Would like to add just a little bass to fill my head inside the helmet, but it's no priority.
Next up:
0-100/200 kmph times
drags against Street Triple (2015) and Street Triple S (2017)
Just 2 points I'd like to add which I feel are missing from the original post:
1. Feel and Character: As with most bikes, big and small, there is a duality to the CBR's character. What I mean is how machines feel and behave differently when ridden at high rpms as opposed to cruising along in higher gears at the same speeds. With the CBR this difference is very pronounced because of how relaxed and breezy it is when cruising along. Roll-ons from 40 kmph in the 6th gear result in smooth, gentle and linear pulls without even the hint of a snatch, jerk or lurch.
2. Stock exhaust replacement: For those looking to buy the CBR and are thinking of changing the stock exhaust please take note that there is no option for slip-ons. A full system exhaust with header pipes and the works is necessary which will set you back by around 82k (for the akra) plus installation. There are people who will do the jugaadu slip on by cutting those pipes and the cat-con for you but then you have to really trust that person knows what they are doing, not to mention your voided warranty.
Hope this helps. Will post pictures of quotation, invoice and first service bill as soon as I get home from work this evening.
Cheers and happy riding.
Some pictures:
Last edited by GTO : 23rd February 2018 at 17:44.
Reason: PM coming up
| 
14th February 2018, 17:42
(54)
Thanks
