[Sman999]

To Moderators - I know there is one more ownership thread regarding the CB650R but i dont know how the owner of that thread would feel if i start filling it up with my ideas and views hence a new thread. Feel free to move this to the same thread if necessary.

Hello everyone. Maneesh here. This post is all about my recent purchase of CB650R and my experiences with it.

My previous rides were:

CBR250R - 94k kms clocked and sold.
Dominar 400 - 72k kms clocked and sold.

The intention to sell my Dominar came after test riding the CB500x(after the price cut news came in). But unfortunately by the time i sold my Dominar and tried to book the CB500X, the bigwing dealerships were not taking any bookings for the same and asked me to wait indefinitely. I was disappointed and left without a ride.

We have a Versys 650(my uncle's dad's brother) at home and hence i was not interested in adding one more to the garage. After touring on the Dominar i was thinking to upgrade to a middle weight sport tourer which weighed not more than 200kgs. Thats the reason i looked for Cb500x.

The bike i considered and test rode:

The Versys 650 - was top heavy.
The Vstorm 650 - was too heavy and bulky for my physique. Im 50kgs and slender.
The tiger sport 660 - felt disconnected to me because of the Ride by wire throttle and more over out of my budget.
Trident 660 - Since i went to the Triumph showroom, i test rode the Trident 660 as well. Same throttle feel. Not my cup of tea. I also didnt like the placement of indicators in the rear mudguard for a tidy tail look.
Kawasaki Z650 - a little vibey engine and i wont be able to add a handle bar riser with ease. Parts were costly.

Then, One day i visited the Honda bigwing topline (Chennai) to check if they would sell me the cb500x test ride vehicle they had. They said they cant. By then i happened to test ride the CB650R. Thats when my heart started singing to my mind to book it. Went home and thought about it for few days. Since i pretty much didnt like any motorcycle other than that i decided to book it even though it was out of my budget. Since a 3 month waiting period was quoted, I thought of saving a little more before the bike arrived which would make up for the shortage. But honda surprised me by increasing the price by almost 50k 40 days after booking. My bad!

Vehicle arrived almost after 70 days as promised. As soon as i was informed i went there and chose one among the 4 vehicles that arrived. Finally the wait was over and the vehicle was delivered just before Diwali.



My observations with it so far

Likes:
Its a Honda. Reliable.
Super smooth engine.
The inline 4 symphony which only you can hear without disturbing the public.
Can ride in 6th gear all day long as long as you are not below 50kmph.
Simple electronic package just with ABS and HSTC.
Precise dashboard data - mileage, fuel guage, speed.
23kmpl mileage for an inline 4.
Cheap service cost. (I believe so)

Dislikes:
Price 1030000 on road without extended warranty and RSA.
The torque could have been a little more extra, atleast matching the kawasaki's parallel twins.
The foot pegs are a little higher to my liking. I feel like im siting on top of the motorcycle tank due to the position of the pegs. Its also sightly rear set but thats ok.
No proper mudflap for tail and dirt/water gets sprayed all over the tail light and the indicators.

Posted 2 pictures for now. Ill keep updating regarding the accessories i had added and the cost of it.

Attachment 2373543



BTB her name is Jett!

[rajeevsulu]

That is an awesome motorcycle. Precise and crisp write up. Honda engines are so smooth and crisp. Wish Honda would lock the price at booking time but nobody does it. Our bad! Congratulations and enjoy your ride

[Xaos636]

Congrats on the beautiful CB. It a well made machine, with a bullet proof time tested engine. The services are also cheap and a test ride, as you said will make you fall in love with the CB. In a market where faired bikes are more loved than their naked siblings, I appreciate that fact that you went with your heart here. Wishing you a million miles on your new steed. Do keep the thread updated!

[AtheK]

Congratulations on your new steed, it is a great choice indeed. Though i have not had the pleasure of riding the CB650R, i have ridden the CBR 650R quite a bit. You should have a lot of fun with this bike and it will take you to places.

Wishing you miles and miles of happy and safe riding.

[al90]

Congratulations on your new ride. I have been enquiring with all 3 bigwings in Chennai for trying to book a CB500x since aug but had no luck. They did tell me the 2022 model would be out soon in India, the one with the dual disks. But don't see that happening in 2022 at least. Congrats again on the great ride. I had the cb300r which was a really peppy ride. The only gripe i had with that was that you can't have a pillion. It's really uncomfortable in the the back.

Mod Note: Please stop typing like.... this....

[Sman999]

Originally Posted by al90

I have been enquiring with all 3 bigwings in Chennai for trying to book a CB500x since aug but had no luck. They did tell me the 2022 model would be out soon in India, the one with the dual disks. But don't see that happening in 2022 at least. Congrats again on the great ride. I had the cb300r which was a really peppy ride. The only gripe i had with that was that you can't have a pillion. It's really uncomfortable in the the back.

I was told to wait at least until April 2023 but they were not sure about that too. On top of that the price would be back to 8.5 to 9L bracket again. After riding it back to back with cb650r i felt the lack of power in the cb500x. so i was not as excited as i was before when i test rode it for the first time.

My cousin has a Cb300r and its an absolute hoot to ride in the city. But i agree with a pillion its a little cumbersome to manage.

[gururajrv]

Congratulations Sman999. Bike is a looker from all sides!

Please treat us with more pictures of your bike

Wishing you a safe and wonderful riding experience for lakhs of kms with the bike!

[Sman999]

Here are details and pictures of the accessories that i had fixed.

All accessories are sourced from aliexpress and shipped to Dubai. Two of my friends carried them to me here.

Radiator guard. ~1800Rs



I believe this is a copy of evotech performance.



The raditor guard sits only on these two bolts.
It was neat and very easy to fix.
You dont even have to remove any OEM screws. No rattling too.



You can see the frame sliders as well.
This is a temporary solution. I will get custom crash guard made for this with highway footpegs.
Im not satisfied with any designs out there in the market let alone the cost of it. I want something simple and compact.
Frame sliders were ~2500Rs.



Extended mudflaps. ~2300Rs



Rear.



Front.



Maddog fork clamps to mount Goldrunway aux lights.
Again its a temporary solution to fix them as of now.
Will get custom made clamps to fit one more pair of small goldrunway lights which will be used as riding lights. Clamps were 1699Rs



Mirror mounted switch for the GR lights.



Gear shift support. ~800Rs



It helps to eliminate false neutrals on the go. It works!



Volt, time and temp meter. ~250Rs



I had put it under the pillion seat.
I added this just to make sure the battery volt is up to the mark as i had added aux lights and horn.



Adjustable levers as i felt the stock levers too long. ~1500Rs



Also i had put on a copy of Puig windhsield upfront which costed ~2500Rs and bar risers from my Dominar.
Will post detailed pictures lof them ater with future updates.

[Sman999]

Some more accessories added.

Custom clamp was made to fit the aux lights on to the bike and fixed on to the Fork mounts from maddog. Cost was 500₹ for the clamp.

The number plate was also tucked in underneath the headlamp on to this clamp.

The smaller GR lights will be used as driving lights along with headlamp on highways. The bigger ones will be used as flasher for morons who refuse to dim the lights. It has a dimmer too which is handy in case i want to use it as driving lights in certain scenarios.



Home made DIY fork seal protectors. Bought a laptop sleeve and cut it to required dimensions and asked my aunt to stitch em for me with velcro. Cost 180₹ for 2 sets and still material left for 2 more pairs.



This is how they look on her.



Also added the flyscreen which i had on my dominar. Its a bit shaky on the bumps, have to figure out a way to stop that.



Engine crash guard, tail rack and footpegs lowering plate are yet to be made. May be by the end of this month. Will update once done.

[Sman999]

1st Service update:

Rajendran who takes care of big bikes at SVM Honda bigwing topline, chennai was kind and helpful in getting the first service done. Engine oil, Drain washer and oil filter changed. A quick wash was given to her and the saree guard was removed. Thats it, the first service was over in 1.5hours. Since no complaints were registered by me it was quick.

The first service bill was Rs.3892.

The Hiflo 204 oil filter is Rs.100 cheaper than the Honda OEM oil filter which was surprising.

After first service mileage has improved 1kmpl. It was 22kmpl earlier and now 23kmpl while mainiting speeds @125kmph. And if you could keep the engine below 6000rpm will lead to better mileage.

[no_fear]

Originally Posted by Sman999

1st Service update:

The Hiflo 204 oil filter is Rs.100 cheaper than the Honda OEM oil filter which was surprising.

Hi Flo oil filter sold in India are mostly fakes from China. The original ones usually cost more than Rs 1,000.

I would recommend you to put back the Honda OEM oil filter to keep your warranty active.

[Sman999]

Originally Posted by no_fear

Hi Flo oil filter sold in India are mostly fakes from China. The original ones usually cost more than Rs 1,000.

I would recommend you to put back the Honda OEM oil filter to keep your warranty active.

Is it?

But according to a leading online accessories/spares platform it says

Brand - HiFlo
Part No. - HF204
Generic name:- MOTORCYCLE PARTS AND ACCESSORIES
Net Quantity:- 1N
Country of Origin:- THAILAND
Importer/Manufacture address:- PLUSGROW MERCHANTRY PVT LTD, T 31A, MIDC INDUSTRIAL AREA, HINGNA RD, NAGPUR 440016 MH
Warranty:-
BEST BEFORE: 10 YEARS FROM DATE OF IMPORT

BTB Hiflo is not used yet OEM is in place.

[no_fear]

Originally Posted by Sman999

Is it?

But according to a leading online accessories/spares platform it says

Brand - HiFlo
Part No. - HF204
Generic name:- MOTORCYCLE PARTS AND ACCESSORIES
Net Quantity:- 1N
Country of Origin:- THAILAND

HiFlo is a branded product of Bike Alert, an UK company which subcontracted the production to a supplier in Thailand. The supplier makes the OEM oil filters for KTM, Triumph, Kawasaki in the factory.

Unfortunately, the Thai supplier's sub-contractors are Chinese, who copied the designs / schematics and started producing the fake filters in Thailand itself with the complete packaging.

The fake filters landed in India when a distributor in South India bought a consignment from Thailand. All Hi Flo filters sold in India are fake as Hi Flo does not have any authorized distributor / dealer in India.

Plusgrow is part of Motousher who is an importer and bought the filters locally.

This is first hand knowledge as I have been actively involved with Hi Flo Europe as part of my business and I know the exact selling cost of the filters globally.

Genuine Hi Flo filters abroad cost about USD 8.00. You can check on Walmart or Amazon US. If you apply dealer margin of 25% and then 28% GST + 20% customs duty, the minimum cost before shipping and dealer profit is about INR 800.

Yet, the filters are being sold in India for INR 600, which is below the global distributor price set by Hi Flo.

Hi Flo is well aware of this issue. The fake products have become such an epidemic that all dealers in South East Asia have stopped carrying Hi Flo for service.

If your Honda dealer has installed Hi Flo instead of Honda OEM filter, then that is actually a breach of contract, and Honda can / will void your warranty.

Honda manual clearly states to only use OEM oil filter.

[Sman999]

Originally Posted by no_fear

HiFlo is a branded product of Bike Alert, an UK company which subcontracted the production to a supplier in Thailand. The supplier makes the OEM oil filters for KTM, Triumph, Kawasaki in the factory.

Unfortunately, the Thai supplier's sub-contractors are Chinese, who copied the designs / schematics and started producing the fake filters in Thailand itself with the complete packaging.

The fake filters landed in India when a distributor in South India bought a consignment from Thailand. All Hi Flo filters sold in India are fake as Hi Flo does not have any authorized distributor / dealer in India.

Plusgrow is part of Motousher who is an importer and bought the filters locally.

This is first hand knowledge as I have been actively involved with Hi Flo Europe as part of my business and I know the exact selling cost of the filters globally.

Genuine Hi Flo filters abroad cost about USD 8.00. You can check on Walmart or Amazon US. If you apply dealer margin of 25% and then 28% GST + 20% customs duty, the minimum cost before shipping and dealer profit is about INR 800.

Yet, the filters are being sold in India for INR 600, which is below the global distributor price set by Hi Flo.

Hi Flo is well aware of this issue. The fake products have become such an epidemic that all dealers in South East Asia have stopped carrying Hi Flo for service.

If your Honda dealer has installed Hi Flo instead of Honda OEM filter, then that is actually a breach of contract, and Honda can / will void your warranty.

Honda manual clearly states to only use OEM oil filter.

Thanks for the clear info. Will stick to the OEM filters for now unless i can source HiFlo filters from outside India.

The dealer has installed OEM oil filter only. So nothing to worry. I got the HiFlo as a spare for the next oil change that ill do myself regardless of the second service schedule. Because the Honda throttle 10w30 always felt good for approx 3500kms in my CBR250R. So I usually change engine oil after ~3-4000kms as when i feel the engine gets gruff. Yet to experience whats the case with the CB650R.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by no_fear

HiFlo is a branded product of Bike Alert, an UK company which subcontracted the production to a supplier in Thailand.
Unfortunately, the Thai supplier's sub-contractors are Chinese, who copied the designs / schematics and started producing the fake filters in Thailand itself with the complete packaging.

All Hi Flo filters sold in India are fake as Hi Flo does not have any authorized distributor / dealer in India. I know the exact selling cost of the filters globally.

Genuine Hi Flo filters abroad cost about USD 8.00. You can check on Walmart or Amazon US. If you apply dealer margin of 25% and then 28% GST + 20% customs duty, the minimum cost before shipping and dealer profit is about INR 800.

Yet, the filters are being sold in India for INR 600, which is below the global distributor price set by Hi Flo

I always stick with OE parts and do recommend the same to everyone. Without knowing about this brand or the benefits of this over OEM, if the only reasons of your doubt are the lower prices for our market vs worldwide, I can safely say that should not be the only reason to label those as fakes.

It’s not uncommon for manufacturers to sell parts at different rates in different markets. We always get the parts from manufacturers in Germany and Japan at cheaper rates than what they sell in their domestic markets or EU or US. That doesn’t mean that parts are of lower quality or fake. It’s just the pricing strategy.

If that filter has any merits over OE, I will wait for the manufacturer to answer before labeling everything as fake.