Brought home a Honda CB300F: 12 quick observations

Though I rode aggressively the instantaneous fuel economy has risen from 32 to 36.7 kmpl in a 26 km ride.

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Hello jaaz & all my other dear fellow TBHPians. At the outset let me apologize for the late post here. I took delivery of my MAT MARVEL BLUE METALLIC CB300F Pro model (with bluetooth) on Sunday, 01-Jan-2023. Yes, wanted the delivery to happen on the first day of the year & Honda BigWing (PCMC Central) obliged. Below are few pics of delivery and customary pooja. Will share more details in next message.

Delivery Experience:

This was pretty good. Everything was kept ready at the promised time of 2pm on Sunday, 01-Jan. First the sales exec showed me the documents.

• Insurance (5 years, first year zero dep & remaining 4 years 3rd party)

• Extended warranty for 3 years or 42K kms (whichever is earlier) @ Rs 3,499.00/- (included in the on-road price). So, the factory warranty of 3 years or 42K kms & a similar duration/mileage extended warranty makes it a 6 years or 84,000 km warranty, which is pretty huge.

• RSA for - Rs 1,999.00/- (included in the on-road price)

• Handling charges - Rs 1,000.00/- (included in the on-road price)

• AMC Sale - 2,199.00/- (included in the on-road price)

After handing over all the documents, the exec asked me to unveil the bike, which my son & I did happily. Then did the customary pooja, garlanded the bike and offered sweets to all present in the showroom. The sales exec explained all the features. One good point he mentioned was never start the bike when the side stand is applied. As the bike is inclined the lube oil accumulates at one side of the crank case & the other side may get starved. So, take off the side stand, bring the bike to straight position & only then push the starter.

The whole process was finished in an hour's time & I happily rode the bike back home.

Initial riding impressions:

• The bike pulls like a locomotive & you don't need to rev it to red line to upshift. 5-6K rpm is the sweet spot for upshifting. It is obvious as the max torque of 25.6 Nm is produced at 5500 rpm.

• The bike looks bulky but is very nimble on its feet & easy to handle.

• It is hoot to drive in traffic. Today I took it to office & thoroughly enjoyed the commute. Normally it takes me 30 mins by car to travel from my office Hinjewadi, Phase-2) to my home. But today on bike it took just 20 mins. Of course, I started early at 04:10pm & reached home by 04:30pm, before the peak traffic would start.

• Brakes are good and confidence inspiring.

• Small speed breakers seem non-existent on this bike. Only for the bigger ones need to slow down but it happily glides over those in 3rd gear.

• The turning radius seems to be on the higher side, need to get used to it.

• Also on uneven road surfaces, looks like the traction control comes into play. Need to be watchful about it.

• The headlight throw is good but currently the dipper is pointing too high & the upper beam is reaching the sky. Need to check how to adjust it or might have to visit the showroom.

• After taking delivery I did a tankful, it gulped 12.4 liters of petrol & I guess the showroom had delivered the bike with 1.7 liters of petrol. So, the tank capacity of 14.1 seems to be real.

• Though I rode aggressively today the instantaneous fuel economy has risen from 32 to 36.7 kmpl in today's 26 km ride.

• Need to observe where it stabilizes in the coming days, but from the initial impressions this is definitely not a fuel guzzler & should be quite pocket friendly (Note: I had filled higher octane IOC fuel as normal petrol was not available on the bunk)

• The torque & pick-up of this bike is quite addictive & you cannot ride it slow. Just 3.5 years short of hitting a half century in terms of age, I am already feeling like a college lad in his teens.

Looks like the last 4-5 years wait to get the right bike for me has been worth it & now I am looking forward to long distance riding in the Western Ghats to explore new roads and new places.

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