fastest two-wheeler branded in India

fastest two-wheeler branded in India

The Honda CBR 650F is definitely among the most highly anticipated motorcycles of 2015, which was launched at the mega RevFest event recently. We ride the highest displacement Honda motorcycle to be assembled in India to find out whether it lives up to the hype surrounding it...
Surprising, Honda, despite being the fastest two-wheeler brand in India (in terms of market share), wasn’t part of this lucrative CKD market yet. Finally, after much lingering Honda finally came in with blazing guns and started to assemble the inline four sports tourer - CBR 650F. Being a sports tourer, the CBR 650F gets draped with full faired bodywork, much to the liking of most performance bike buyers of India who have a fairing fixation. The headlamp integrated LED pilot lights and the raked large wind screen give the CBR 650F an aggressive face. The bulbous fuel tank, large seats and underbelly exhaust endow it the desirable big bike aura. The HRC inspired tri-colour graphics further enhances its appeal and it did turn many heads wherever we went. The LED tail lamp, chunky swingarm and fat rear tyre add a dose of muscle to the rear section. Overall the Honda CBR 650F is a good looking motorcycle with the exception of the uncannily large sari guard (a government requisite) that sticks out like a sore thumb.Swing a leg over the bike and one feels immediately at home with the riding dynamics of the Honda CBR 650F. The low seat height means that shorter riders wouldn’t feel out of place. The raised clip-on handle bars and rear-set foot pegs result in a sporty but comfortable riding posture. Another aspect that adds to the comfort factor is the generous saddle with spot-on cushioning and the Honda CBR 650F is extremely pillion friendly too. Being a sports tourer, there are hooks and slots for bungee cords or to mount saddle bag.The Honda CBR 650F is a much more impressive bike on the road, than what appears on the spec sheet. It has a refined and very forgiving powerplant, extremely comfortable riding dynamics, impressive handling and braking. Furthermore it gets a large and useable fuel tank, ABS, pillion friendly seats and striking styling that hikes its appeal. But at the end of the day one cannot ignore the price tag despite it being a CKD. At Rs 7.3 lakh (ex-showroom) there is more powerful options in the form of the Kawasaki Z800 or cheaper alternatives like the Kawasaki Ninja 650 and Benelli TNT 600GT. But if price isn’t a criterion and you’re in the hunt for a middleweight performance bike, well you can’t go wrong with the Honda CBR 650F.