Honda CB300R

The Honda CB300R is the Japanese manufacturer’s 300cc neo-retro roadster offering in India and has been around for some time now. But how does it fare against its rivals currently, now that the 300-400cc segment has become highly competitive?

The Honda CB300R gets Honda’s Neo Sports Cafe-inspired design and it looks like a scaled-down CB1000R, which makes it quite pleasing to look at. The combination of the sculpted tank, flat seat and the round headlight with LED lighting grabs attention . The large exhaust and LED turn indicators adds to the appeal. The overall build quality of the bike is quite good except for the rear-view mirrors which look pretty ordinary.

The Honda CB300R gets a pretty basic list of features consisting of an LCD instrument console that gives out speedometer, odometer, gear position indicator, tachometer and other regular readouts. It also gets all-LED lighting too. Other than that, though, there’s nothing much to talk about. The lack of Bluetooth connectivity is a big miss. Its rivals offer a far better package of modern features.

The suspension setup of the CB300R is on the firmer side but that doesn’t come in the way of a comfortable ride quality. The inverted fork and the monoshock do a good job of absorbing bumps and potholes. And the riding position adds to the comfortable riding experience.

The 800mm seat height along with the compact dimensions make the bike quite accessible and even shorter riders can comfortably put both their feet on the ground. The seat has a flat profile and the cushioning is quite comfortable as well. The handlebar is flat and wide but you won’t need to stretch your arms a lot to reach it. The slightly rear-set footpegs result in a sporty yet still upright riding posture, which in turn leads to a comfortable riding experience during those long hours on the saddle.

The 286cc, single-cylinder, liquid-cooled motor is quite torquey and has a linear power delivery. It has great bottom-end grunt and you can easily move at speeds of 50kmph in third gear in the city. The neo-retro roadster has great low to mid-range performance and on the highway, you can comfortably cruise at 100-120kmph at 6,000rpm in sixth gear. And the motor is quite frugal as well as the BS4 model delivered mileage figures of 39.8kmpl during our road tests.

The Honda CB300R gets impressive sporty riding dynamics. It feels quite sharp while tackling corners and the sharp rake, short trail and short wheelbase contributes towards that. The tyres offer good grip as well. The compact dynamics and the short turning radius also makes it effortless to manoeuvre in the city. The performance of the brakes could have been better. Although the progression is good, the initial bite is not that confidence inspiring.

The Honda CB300R offers decent performance with linear power delivery, good handling dynamics and a comfortable ride. But the overall design and the mechanics are in urgent need of a refresh as the same bike has been around for a long time now and its features list is something that’s easily found in a 150cc bike these days. And for a Rs 2,40,000 (ex-showroom Delhi) price tag, the Triumph Speed 400 offers a bigger engine and much better features.