[ethanhunt123]

I am still confused on how succesful will this be. On one hand it would probably be overpriced against Z900 ... on the other hand Honda fully faired motorcycle which might be exciting to ride unlike its predecessor.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by ethanhunt123

I am still confused on how succesful will this be. On one hand it would probably be overpriced against Z900 ... on the other hand Honda fully faired motorcycle which might be exciting to ride unlike its predecessor.

For the CB300R, they had mentioned a price of under 2.5 lakhs and launched it at 2.41. I'm expecting the CBR650R to be priced at around 7.91 lakhs in a similar fashion.

Z900 is 7.68 ex-showroom. So yes - the Honda 650 is likely to be priced on the highest side.

[kailashnj]

If the Ex-showroom price is 7.91 lakhs then on-road pricing would be around 9 lakhs, that's too near the pricing of Z900. Though Honda will be a better buy for low cost of maintenance.

[Porschefire]

For the Z800 vs CBR650R argument, it all boils down to the customer preference of when he/she'd like to have a price shock, during the time of buying the motorcycle or while servicing it.

I for one would buy the 650R and live happily through its service cycle rather than buy the "cheaper" and "more powerful" Z800 and scratch my head for the service, especially when the only authorized service center here in B'lore is by far the worst I've seen in terms of attitude and costs (my personal view, please don't beat me for this). Two of my riding buddies are extremely happy with their 650s and their service costs seems to be significantly lower than my N250!!!

[whencut86]

Originally Posted by ethanhunt123

I am still confused on how succesful will this be. On one hand it would probably be overpriced against Z900 ... on the other hand Honda fully faired motorcycle which might be exciting to ride unlike its predecessor.

Might be true for most states, but for Maharashtra alone the Z900 will be much more expensive than the CBR650R. The CKD road tax is 11 percent + 2 percent cess on road tax. The CBU road tax is 20 percent + 2 percent cess on road tax. So I guess if the CBR650R is priced around 7.8 lakhs, the on-road will be around 9 lakhs but for the Z900 you are looking at an on-road of 10 lakhs (40K handling charges which the dealer will not waive off).

CBR650R like CBR650F may have 3 free services with a service bill of 3K+ for first three services and a service bill of 6K+ for every paid service post that. The spares are not expensive compared to other super bikes. Comparing this to kawasaki's service bills and spares costs, I would say atleast in the state of Maharashtra, the CBR650R would be a saner proposition. Would also have to wait and see if any used CBR650F's come up for sale and that would be a sweeter proposition.

[AbhisheKulkarni]

Originally Posted by whencut86

I would say atleast in the state of Maharashtra, the CBR650R would be a saner proposition.

Absolutely true - that's one of the reasons for not considering the Z900 in the state of Maharashtra.

Another value addition that Honda can claim with the CBR650R, as opposed to the Z900 specifically, is the inclusion of traction control.

Considering the amount of low/mid-range torque that the Z900 can deliver, Kawasaki should have launched the bike with traction control included in the 1st Generation itself.

I suspect that the MY2020 Z900 (possibly a facelift/refresh, rather than a 2nd Generation) will come with this feature as all it's competitors already offer it.

[Avinash_R]

Has anybody booked?

A few news outlets have reported that booking amount is 15k but no idea about the deliveries yet.

[GoBlue]

Originally Posted by Avinash_R

Has anybody booked?

A few news outlets have reported that booking amount is 15k but no idea about the deliveries yet.

I had booked in Feb, but requested the dealer to cancel the booking, about 3 weeks ago. The primary reason being that I was quoted a delivery time-frame of June 2019 for delivery of the Red paint scheme.

I'm not blessed with the patience needed to wait 6 months for a motor-cycle.

Also, Honda is super-slow. BMW has the 2019 R1250 GS and GSA in-stock for immediate delivery. Honda cannot arrange even a showroom display bike for what is a relatively 'mass-market-big-bike'. Disappointing, a little.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by GoBlue

Honda cannot arrange even a showroom display bike for what is a relatively 'mass-market-big-bike'.

But the bike isn't even formally launched yet! So display or TD bikes are out of the question.

Why were the pre-bookings opened so far ahead of the launch, is a question though! I'm guessing that the booking response so far hasn't been satisfactory enough to announce numbers during the delivery event.

[Avinash_R]

I wanted to book one tomorrow and this news is not great. Will try to get some updates.

[GoBlue]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

But the bike isn't even formally launched yet! So display or TD bikes are out of the question.

Why was pre-bookings opened so far ahead of launch is a question though! I'm guessing that the booking response so far hasn't been satisfactory enough to announce numbers during the delivery event.

They opened pre-bookings, which creates expectations in the mind of a serious buyer. 2 months down the line, they haven't announced the ex-showroom price, neither have they announced by when deliveries would be provided.

Uncertainty is not good for business, and personally, I prefer having clear visibility.

[whencut86]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

But the bike isn't even formally launched yet! So display or TD bikes are out of the question.

Why was pre-bookings opened so far ahead of launch is a question though! I'm guessing that the booking response so far hasn't been satisfactory enough to announce numbers during the delivery event.

Didn't they do the samething for CB300R, bookings opened before price was revealed. Most dealers won't even have a display bike or test bike.

I don't think most would opt for this if this is priced same as or above Z900. CBR650R has become more sportier now in the 2019 edition and needs to be seen how good it would be for sports touring compared to the previous editions. Only thing which can tilt in CBR650R's favour is the comparitively cheaper service costs.

They may as well be waiting for the Duke 790 pricing to price it accordingly.

[GoBlue]

Originally Posted by whencut86

Didn't they do the samething for CB300R, bookings opened before price was revealed. Most dealers won't even have a display bike or test bike.

I don't think most would opt for this if this is priced same as or above Z900. CBR650R has become more sportier now in the 2019 edition and needs to be seen how good it would be for sports touring compared to the previous editions. Only thing which can tilt in CBR650R's favour is the comparitively cheaper service costs.

They may as well be waiting for the Duke 790 pricing to price it accordingly.

All valid points.

The seating position is certainly a lot more aggressive than the CBR650F. I got first-hand inputs from a CBR650F owner who had checked out the CBR650R in France, at an auto show.

Due to this, I feel that it makes the Honda a completely different type of motorcycle as compared to the Duke 790 or even the Kawa Z900. Both bikes can be relatively easy commuters, but the Honda is suitable only for the highways.

Also the seating position being a lot more committed would mean that riders need to be in shape to do justice to the usage of the machine.

Good to have so many options in the 8-lac ex-showroom price-range, though!

[whencut86]

Originally Posted by GoBlue

All valid points.

Due to this, I feel that it makes the Honda a completely different type of motorcycle as compared to the Duke 790 or even the Kawa Z900. Both bikes can be relatively easy commuters, but the Honda is suitable only for the highways.

Good to have so many options in the 8-lac ex-showroom price-range, though!

Will have to wait and see. The Duke 790 had gasket leak issues like the 390s and multiple instances in the 790 forums abroad. So might need to wait for a year before all initial issues and niggles are sorted. The Z900 is due for an upgrade in 2020 and might get TC and riding modes. But the handling costs of 30K-40K for the Kawasaki and service costs and wait for spares would make owning one a tedious and costly affair.

[nitro.1000bhp]

The new CB 650 looks very tasty. I'll plonk my money down if Honda is listening.