Honda CB300R: Everything You Need To Know

Update - Honda CB300R Launched In India

Looking to buy an entry-level performance street naked? The CB300R makes a strong case for itself and here’s everything you need to know about the latest offering from Honda.

Honda took us and many two-wheeler enthusiasts by surprise when it announced its plans to launch the CB300R in India. Additionally, Honda also mentioned that the new CB300R will take to CKD route to India and will be the exact same spec as the international version. Essentially, the bike will pack the same equipment and won’t do away with premium equipment to cut cost. And there’s a lot more to the bike than just its ‘Neo Sports Cafe’ design and an affordable price tag. No wonder we are excited. Here’s everything you need to know about the CB300R.

Design and Features:

The design approach for the CB300R is very different from the usual Hondas. While most of the bikes on sale in the country today look dreary and lack pizzaz, Honda’s ‘Neo Sports Cafe’ approach takes the word ‘drool worthy’ to a whole new level. First showcased and seen on the CB1000R, the new design approach garnered a lot of attention and rooted the bikemaker’s future focus. Since then, we’ve seen similar styling on the CB150R, CB300R and the CB650R. 

The overall design is very minimalistic yet modern with the tinge of retro elements. It gets a round LED headlight flanked by LED turn signals which sit on top along with an all-digital LCD instrument console. Furthermore, it also gets a tapered rubber-mounted handlebar with just the right amount of lean. Pan to the mid-section and you’d notice Honda’s emphasis on mass centralisation. There’s the muscular fuel tank with sharp tank extensions, similar to the ones seen on its elder sibling, the CB1000R. The bare minimum rear section comprises of the split seat and a cutaway LED tail light, while the bulky single can exhaust is a neat addition. 

The CB300R’s all-digital LCD instrument console reads out the speed, average, temperature and fuel gauge, trip meters, odometer, and time. At the top of it sits all the tell-tale lights. 

Engine:

The bike’s 286cc, DOHC, 4-valve, liquid-cooled single-cylinder mill produces 30.9PS of peak power at 5,500rpm and a maximum of 27Nm of torque at 7,500rpm. A 6-speed transmission transfers power to the rear wheel via chain drive. Honda says the engine has been built with minimum number of moving parts in order to reduce maintenance costs. The Japanese two-wheeler giant claims a mileage of 30kpl for the CB300R. A 10-litre fuel tank should be good enough for your daily commutes, however, the small capacity tank will have you visiting the fuel pump quite often and restrict your range while touring.

Underpinnings:

Under the skin lies a steel diamond frame with 41mm upside down forks and a monoshock at the rear with 7-step preload adjustability. Anchoring the bike are disc brakes at the front and rear measuring in at 296mm and 220mm respectively. The discs come paired with Nissin calipers. Moreover, the CB300R also features dual-channel ABS with IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) intervention. Its 17-inch alloys come wrapped in 110/70-section front and 150/60-section rear tyres. While the international-spec bike features Dunlop rubber, it may run on either Dunlop or Bridgestone tyres in India. The CB300R gets a relatively low seat height of 799mm which when paired with a kerb weight of just 143kg acts as a boon for short riders. 

Price and Competition:

Honda claims their latest entrant in the sub-400cc category, the CB300R, will be priced at around Rs 2.5 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). In terms of pricing, we expect the new Honda bike to be priced around Rs 2.3 lakh to Rs 2.4 lakh (ex-showroom and introductory). As for launch date, the month of February looks likely. At this price point, the bike will go head to head against the KTM 390 Duke, TVS Apache RR 310, Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 and the BMW G 310 R.