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Why I bought a CB 350RS instead of the RE Scram 411: 1st 100 km review

21st September 2023, 17:58 by Rahul Nagaraj

Rode the bike so far in traffic, curvy, straight, broken patches and I think I made the right decision.

BHPian wangdu recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

The 1966 motorcycle slogan “You Meet The Nicest People On A Honda” is perhaps the most iconic & attention-grabbing ever created. Hoping to be embraced by this endangered elite clan by merely owning a machine, here I am with my CB350RS annihilating Monday blues with this blue of mine.

Some background:

So, I was searching for a ride that's comfortable, reliable, and can handle city MDR, SH roads/broken roads with ease and some NH runs. My search went around need and greed taking my thoughts and visits to dealers of MT15 to Interceptor 650

My requirements in order were - reliability, refinement, practicality, alloys, good GC, 19" front, clickable, acceleration, 6th gear, 3-5 Lakhs.

Basically, to add a good vibe variety machine in my routine life. (Well, this pang hits me often)

Ninja 400 went out because there was no connection when I sat on the bike. Then the riding position wasn't practical, 17" front, halogens and beyond budget price made me look elsewhere. If it was Z400, I'd have gone for it.
Interceptor 650 all-black would have been heavy, not good for the city and would have conflicted with Tiger when it'd be time to pick a steed for highway run.
MT15 was in contention for a less fun bike but multiple showroom visits with strong intent to buy same day were annulled by destiny as their stock was coming in next week.

Finally, zeroed down to Scram 411 & CB350RS with the possibility of Ninja400 or the upcoming 390 Duke. In the present, in Scram I'd have to let go of the 6th & alloys and in CB350 the 6th gear.

Thinking about the moments I had to push my punctured Electra, the visit to the RE showroom was a short one.

CB350 was still down the ranking until I chanced upon it during this past Sunday's Polo GT drive. In the flesh, it looked muscular and urbane - knobby kind of tires, DRL-indicators, polish exhaust sound, 19" front stood out. 6th gear missing reminded me of my priority list, but I picked up a conversation with the owner to figure out in fact how badly would someone need 6th or if it was just in my head from my T100 & RE experience. After all my expectations and requirements weren't for a super-fast or high-speed cruise with this new machine I was looking for. At the end of the talk, it turned out that the absence of the 6th won't be an issue till about 110 km/h. So, in a nutshell, if I just let go of this one requirement, this machine handsomely ticks off all others.

Off I went to the nearest dealer in South Delhi. Given the anxiety-driven, impromptu decision-maker I am, I forethought that the delivery would be the same day. After some discussion with the Sales guy and wrapping my head around trivial differences of various models, an on-display blue pulled me towards it, allured enough I asked & they agreed for delivery in next few hours. End of search.

I didn't take any test rides, as I rarely do. For mutual understanding, aligning with the character of the bike and any adjusting to it, there are limitless hours, just the connection, the “click” must be wonderful at the first encounter.

Got the insurance done from the Acko app then and there, 6k cheaper.

Accessories - Knuckle guards, windscreen, leg guard.
Handlebar gel grip covers from a local shop, Rs 50/-; perfect for bikes with thin dia handlebars, provides very useful comfort to palms, especially riding slightly leaned forward position bikes.

Not good for thicker ones like the Ninja 1000 or Tiger I have as the handlebar holding circumference increases a lot.

Riding done - 100 km so far

No heat felt while getting the bike home on a sunny day in dense Delhi traffic. Rode the bike so far in traffic, curvy, straight, broken patches and I think I made the right decision. Here are my thoughts on riding 100 km on the route I have taken with all the bikes I have had.

On patchy broken roads, standing up riding mimics adventure bike experience - due to 19" front, ground clearance
Usual sitting and riding give a sedate urban ride feeling with sports bike-like flick ability & traffic filtering
Fine angle leaning is done with aplomb thanks to the 150 mm width rear tyre and the overall geometry
Acceleration isn't its forte clearly, refinement and smoothness strongly are. The machine has a half to 1-second lag to respond to the jiffy accelerator pull that seems to have happened ages ago.
ECO mode lights up at 45kmph in 2nd gear, 65kmph in 3rd, 85kmph in 4th. This tells that there's a fair amount of room for the wrist to be twisted before the engine would really protest.
Riding non-stop for about 40kms I had to stop at a traffic light, the gear was shifted to 'N', another Honda steed stopped next to me, it "SHINEd". I was next to another "nice" human I thought, I smiled.

At the traffic signal, the new engine sound turned to a mild calming thump.

I had my ears zoomed in on this sound and was in the process of making myself familiar with it when I realized the traffic light countdown to green was much faster today than usual.

Another 45 kms to ride today for the way back home, I'll let my heart & head continue to note down these emotions and experiences then.

Before closing, credit where it’s due. The lady contributed a mandatory to-be-returned part payment largely because she likes to pillion on the bikes with flat seats like the Bonnie she was pillion on once or twice perhaps.

And if staying perpetually in the motorcycling world is a crime, here’s my partner in it for about 7 years egging me on in this bottomless world of automobiles (much to my pleasure though). Next year he would leave for college and that might bring me some dull prudence; something my wife is so longing for.