Honda H’ness CB350: Which Colour & Variant To Buy?

In which colour does the new Honda roadster look the most appealing?

Honda’s smashing H’ness CB350 roadster is here, starting at an attractive price tag of Rs 1.90 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The new CB350 carries forward the CB legacy with a new 348cc thumper engine capable of dishing out some tough competition to the likes of the Royal Enfield Classic 350, Jawa and Benelli Imperiale 400. And now, RE has to take heed of the CB350 before launching its new Meteor 350. 

There are a lot of interesting details of the bike (which you can read here) as it comes in two variants, DLX and DLX Pro, each one having three individual colour options. Which one should you go for? Read on:

DLX variant

Honda has refrained from calling this the standard variant, as it might have been a bit derogatory for the Highness. Still, you get virtually all the features on this variant such as LED lighting systems, alloy wheels, dual-channel ABS, semi-digital info cluster and Honda Selectable Torque Control (or simply put, traction control). It comes in the following three colours:

Precious Red Metallic

For those of you who are familiar with the Honda CB lineage, you would quite appreciate this red colour. To heighten its retro appeal, the colour scheme also gets a tan brown seat cover.

Pearl Night Star Black 

This is for the understated rider. The matte finish further subdues whatever little lines and shape the bike has, lending it a very subtle look.

Matte Marshall Green Metallic

Now this is a particular favourite of ours. It is awfully similar to the shade of green found on Triumph’s off-road-oriented bikes like the Street Scrambler and Tiger 900 Rally, these colours really celebrate the haydays of British motorcycling. Plus, there’s also the tan seat cover here.

DLX Pro variant

The only three features that are missing on the DLX, which you find on the Pro, are dual-tone colour schemes, smartphone connectivity and a twin-horn setup. The last bit is quite frivolous. And for the smartphone connectivity bit, to make sure that you can have the voice activated commands, you would need to purchase a separate Bluetooth communication unit from Honda. Nevertheless, here are the colours available on this trim:

Pearl Night Star Black with Spear Silver Metallic

Honda India took the dullest single-tone colour, added a gloss effect to it and gave it a white band on the tank. And voila, the bike looks so much more interesting now.

Matte Steel Black Metallic with Matte Massive Grey Metallic

Even in the dual-tone options, there is still one for those who like their ride to not stand out from the crowd. There is a dull grey band here with the primary black colour missing those sparkling elements.

Athletic Blue Metallic with Virtuous White

Picture this, you are out in the countryside, cruising around at a decent pace, surrounded by lush greenery with your bike bearing the same colour as the bright blue sky. That’s what makes this colour so very likeable. It is the brightest and most eye catching colour of them all. 

Our pick: We couldn’t settle on one!

You cannot go wrong with the red, the green or even the blue/white options. Our team was split in making this decision. While the last colour does tick a lot of boxes for most of us, it is the unknown added cost that hinders us from picking it as our definitive choice.

Irrespective of which colour you choose, Honda has got you covered with an interesting warranty package. For around Rs 2,500, buyers can avail of a 3+3 years warranty scheme. This covers an annual maintenance contract and an engine health assurance. Plus, there is also RSA for the bike included in the package, which if not bought with the scheme costs roughly Rs 1,500.