Honda XR 300 Rally

The newly unveiled Honda XR 300 Rally is Honda's upcoming small-capacity adventure bike. It gets rally-inspired looks, a Honda CB300F-derived engine, and proper off-road hardware. It will be made in India, and it will cost around Rs 2 lakh (ex-showroom), with the launch expected in December this year. Ahead of its official launch, select BigWing dealerships have started accepting bookings for the motorcycle for an amount of Rs 5,000.

The XR 300 looks adventure-ready with its sleek bodywork, high-mounted fender, tall windscreen, and long travel suspension. It also gets a high-swept exhaust and a large front wheel, dual-purpose tyres at both ends, adding to its rugged look.

Safety features

The bike is equipped with dual-channel ABS as standard, with switchable rear ABS for better control while riding off-road. The bike will also get traction control for additional safety on loose terrain.

Convenience features

The XR 300 Rally gets a TFT console equipped with Honda RoadSync for Bluetooth, turn-by-turn navigation, and call and SMS alerts. The bike also comes with a windscreen and hand guards for additional touring comfort.

Rider comfort

The bike gets a large single-piece seat and an upright riding position, which should make it comfortable for city rides as well as highway stints. The footpeg position should also make it easy to saddle while going off-road.

Pillion comfort

The pillion should also be fairly comfortable on shorter rides. However, we'll only be able to comment on the comfort on longer duration rides when we get to test it ourselves.

City & highway performance

The bike will be powered by a Honda CB300F-derived 293cc air- and oil-cooled engine. In the CB300F, the engine makes 24.4 PS and 25.6 Nm. We expect the XR 300 Rally to have a different tuning, with more low-end grunt to suit its off-road-friendly nature.

Gearbox

The bike gets a 6-speed gearbox, and we expect it to be tuned with shorter gear ratios to help with better low-end torque.

Brakes

The bike gets petal disc brakes at both ends with dual-channel ABS as standard. It also gets switchable ABS to help you out in off-road conditions.

Handling and ride quality

The XR 300 Rally is equipped with a long-travel telescopic fork along with a linked monoshock. The front wheel appears to be a 21-inch, and the rear is likely to be an 18-inch unit. We expect it to have good ride quality over bad roads and trails. The wide handlebars should also provide better leverage while riding off-road, and we expect it to be light enough for easy maneuvering. It also appears to have a generous amount of ground clearance like the rivals in its segment.

The Honda XR 300 Rally will rival the likes of the Hero XPulse 200, XPulse 210, Kawasaki KLX 230, and the upcoming Bajaj adventure bike.