Honda CB300R test ride observations: Also considering Triumph Speed 400

The motorcycle will be mostly used for Sunday rides with probably some short city commutes.

BHPian yatesh.92 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

So I previously owned a Unicorn Dazzler from 2011 to 2019. The bike was serving me pretty well but since the usage had dropped significantly after adding a Maruti Ignis to my garage in 2018, I felt it was time to bid adieu to the bike.

However, of late, the itch to awaken the biker within me has started to bite again all thanks to my close friend who keeps nudging me every now and then. He has 2 REs here in Pune (Interceptor 650 and Classic 350) and 2-3 bikes in his hometown in Uttarakhand. He keeps telling me that he would love to have me as a riding buddy for his Sunday rides. Hence, test drove the CB300R yesterday and here are my observations after a relatively short test ride in the bylanes of Boat Club Road, Pune.

• Being 5'11 with a lean physique, I felt the bike complemented my personality. Found the seat height to be just perfect and the cushioning was comfortable as well. Even filtering through city traffic will be pretty easy.
• The smoothness of the engine was decent. Probably due for a service (~9.3k kms on odo of the test ride bike) but gear shifts were buttery smooth both up as well as down. After a long experience with the Unicorn, refinement was quite relatable.
• Power delivery was pretty linear. Couldn't rev above 5k rpm since I was riding in the bylanes.
• The instrument cluster has all the necessary information and the brightness was adequate even in the peak afternoon.
• Gear shift and clutch pedals need to be extended outside slightly as I found them too close to the engine block.
• The position of the indicator and horn switch has been swapped and may take some time to get used to.

Given that the bike will be mostly used for Sunday rides with probably some short city commutes, I'm in a slight dilemma as to whether I should go for this one or consider the Speed 400.

Although I'm in no hurry to get the bike, I'd love to hear your valuable suggestions. CB300R is costing ~2.93 lacs on road Pune as per quotation from dealer and delivery time as per sales guy is around 20 days post booking. Will definitely test ride the Speed 400 as well once the Triumph dealer in Viman Nagar is open as it's closer to my house.

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