Honda CB300F vs KTM 200 Duke: Image Comparison

Let’s find out how the two bikes stack up against each other through images

Honda has finally launched the much-anticipated in India, and its Rs 2,25,900 (ex-showroom Delhi) price tag is a shocker. So let’s see how the bike fares against a bike that not only costs less (Rs 34,027 less), but makes slightly more power and has more modern bits: the KTM 200 Duke. 

The CB300F features all LED lighting with an aggressive front, inspired by its older sibling, the CB500F. The 200 Duke now gets a halogen headlamp girded by fork-like LED DRLs, and a new LED tail lamp similar to the one seen on the KTM 250 Duke.

The Honda CB300F is powered by a 293cc air-oil-cooled, single cylinder engine producing 24.47PS and 25.6Nm and is mated to a 6-speed gearbox along with a slipper clutch. Where the Honda edges ahead of the KTM is with its Honda Selectable Torque Control, which is essentially a traction control system. At the heart of the baby duke is a 199cc, liquid-cooled, single-cylinder engine that's good for 25PS and 19.3Nm, with the motor being mated to a six-speed gearbox. It hence makes slightly more power, despite having a displacement handicap. The KTM’s heart comes without any electronic nannies.

Suspension duties on the Honda are handled by a golden-finished inverted fork along with a five-step preload adjustable monoshock absorber. The KTM 200 Duke gets a split trellis frame as seen on the 250 Duke and KTM 390 Duke. It uses a WP 43mm upside-down fork along with a 10-step preload-adjustable monoshock. 

The Honda CB300F is equipped with a brightness-adjustable LCD instrument cluster. The Deluxe Pro variant gets Honda RoadSync, which allows the rider to pair with their smartphone and attend phone calls, or seek voice navigation with the help of the switch cube on the left handle. You get a digital instrument console with readouts such as a gear position indicator, real-time fuel efficiency, average fuel efficiency, service indicator, distance-to-empty, time, and a side-stand warning light. Tell-tale lights sit above the speedometer along with a shift indicator placed in the middle. There’s no smartphone connectivity on offer here, even as an option.

You get a 276mm front disc along with a 220mm one at the rear, along with dual-channel ABS. The Honda comes shod with MRF tyres.

The 200 Duke is also anchored by the same single 300mm front and 230mm rear Bybre discs, along with the added safety aid of dual-channel ABS. Where the KTM 200 Duke has the upper hand is that you can switch to Supermoto mode which turns the ABS at the rear off. You get Metzeler tyres on the KTM 200 Duke.

With the base variant retailing for Rs 2,25,900 and the Deluxe Pro variant for Rs 2,28,900 (ex-showroom Delhi), we feel that the Honda CB300F is priced on the higher side, given the performance and kit on offer. At Rs 1,91,693 (ex-showroom Delhi), the KTM 200 Duke is a whole Rs 34,207 less expensive than the base variant of the Honda CB300F, while offering more power with a more modern liquid-cooled engine, making it a better value-for-money offering.