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BHPian abhisheksircar recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Year one saw continued Covid lock downs, the end of lock downs, things getting back to normal, offices resuming, floods in Bangalore making news and that one thing that kept me in the same relaxed temperament was this bike. Mission Accomplished !!
One year back when I got determined to get back to riding, I was thinking of various meditations online to stay calm and handle the changes one has to face in these recent years, every now and then. Nothing like being inside the helmet for hours listening to the sound of an in-line-4. 5200 kms and still enjoying every km on this.
The Honda CBR 650R is turning out to be a very good choice of bike as a middle weight even though it has a relatively steep price tag. I might have enjoyed the Ninja 1000 SX a well as the other choice. So what's it like after 1 year.
The Engine and handling surely tops the list. Extremely smooth. The braking is another thing that I love in this bike. Precise. I also love the way the power bands are distributed and how sane and composed this bike is, making you feel very confident and connected. Typical Japanese bike characteristics. The rider sitting stance is quite decent. Not too committed, nor upright for sure. I have just gone for one short tour of around 1200+ kms, to and fro and it's been quite okay. It's nowhere close to a Goldwing comfort level but it can match up to any good sports tourer. CB vs CBR, if upright stance is not a necessity, I would always recommend the CBR over the CB. It helps quite a bit in higher speeds. This is vouched by a CB owner too who rode my bike. The headlights are good, if not great. Some CBR owners rely on Aux light setups for long tours. Mileage, although not a topic of discussion, has been a surprising 22 km/ltr. Perfect for a weekend ride with a 15 ltr tank. Pillion comfort is quite good in this one if one can handle the posture. The seat is quite wide and comfortable.
It's been a year and about 5200 kms and I am still not very used to the switch controls. I struggle when I do not want to. At this price point, I still wish it had some good riding modes. Quick shifter and an Akra should have been a stock setup. No other issues worth mentioning out there.
The ones I recommend:
The ones which did not make any or much of a difference:
The "want" ones:
I always think, this is the last I am spending on the bike but I end up with something or the other. A good set of tyres is next on the line, when needed. I could go for some sticky ones as the mileage I clock in a year is not too much.
here is one service center in Bangalore that is authorized to service a 650R and that's about 52 kms away if I take the good roads around but nothing to complain here. I enjoy the ride to the location and I am happy that at least there is one service center in the city. Service experience has been quite seamless. The most complicated task has probably been cleaning the air filter in regular services and installing an Akra otherwise. The pricing has been quite reasonable. The cost of the Engine oil has gone up by few hundreds, else rest of it is more or less the same. I have completed the free services and it will be interesting to see how it goes from here on.
Before I end, a quick look at the BMC air filter after a year. Dirty and then washed off:
One year completion also calls for the renewal of Insurance and RSA (Road Side Handling)
When we buy this bike, the insurance available is 5 years Third Party and 1 year comprehensive. Hence, it's recommended to renew comprehensive every year. I had reached out to the Insurance agent linked to the dealer as their association helps but the agent was quite unavailable and what he quoted was an IDV which was a lakh lesser and priced at around 4k more than what ICICI Lombard personals from their call center provided. I still would have preferred the dealer associated one for ease of claims and all but he was just not available and my insurance expiry was fast approaching. So finally I ended up with an IDV of 8.47 Lakhs with a premium of 20,576 INR with ICICI Lombard employees directly. This includes Zero Dep, Return to Invoice and RSA.
Next is RSA from Honda. Road side assistance is another one of those things which you would wish you would not use, but it's good to have it. The revised RSA that includes something called Unlimited RSA is what I opted for which allows towing from anywhere in India, unlimited kms. This costed Rs. 7,999/-. Mentioned below is what you get for Unlimited RSA.
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