Honda Hness CB350 review
Honda has revealed a list of official accessories as well as details about the extended warranty, free service and RSA. The Highness deliveries have already commenced and here’s the approximate waiting period across major cities in India. The H’ness CB350 was launched some time ago with the DLX and DLX Pro models priced at Rs 1.85 lakh and Rs 1.90 lakh respectively (both prices, ex-showroom Gurgaon). Dispatches to Honda Big Wing dealerships across India have commenced too. It gets a brand new 348cc single-cylinder thumper that dishes out 21PS and 30Nm.
Design
The H’ness CB350 follows in the same footsteps as the CB1100 EX and CB750, the small made-for-India roadster bearing the same CB silhouette. One can draw parallels to the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 as both are very representative of an early-1970s design. The large roundish tank is quite reminiscent of the CB1100. It also bears a bold Honda logo in the same yesteryears font. The round headlight, turn indicators and tail light bring out the retro flavour even further. And to add visual delight, certain colours of the bike also get brown leather seat covers. In total, there are six colours, three single tone schemes (Precious Red Metallic, Pearl Night Star Black and Matte Marshall Green Metallic) for the DLX model and three dual-tone options (Pearl Night Star Black with Spear Silver Metallic, Athletic Blue Metallic with Virtuous White and Matte Steel Black Metallic with Matte Massive Grey Metallic) for the DLX Pro trim.
Performance
Honda was going to offer a single-cylinder thumper engine. The powerplant displaces 348cc, is air-cooled, fuel-injected and has a counterbalancer to minimise harsh vibrations that one usually associates with such a motor. 21PS at 5500rpm might not sound all that impressive but where it matters, this new Honda thumper delivers well, i.e. the torque. With peak torque rated at 30Nm, the CB350 is the torquiest motorcycle in the class. You only get a five-speed gearbox and not a six-speeder unit that could have improved its highway cruising credentials. There still is a slip-and-assist clutch present, which Honda claims is a segment first feature. You also get traction control, the most affordable bike in the country to get the riding aid. It is a nice bit to brag about but on a bike of its capabilities, it seems a bit unnecessary. Honda India has specially developed a new chassis from the ground-up for the H’ness CB350. It is a half duplex cradle, a hybrid of sorts between a single-downtube and a dual-cradle frame. Suspension duties are handled by a chunky telescopic fork and twin shocks. Alloy wheels come as standard as the CB350 runs on a 19-/18-inch front/rear setup. These alloys come shod with tubeless tyres, something which would not have been possible with spoke rims. There’s a large 310mm rotor to be found at the front with a Nissin twin-piston caliper acting on it. Also, a 240mm disc and a single-piston caliper are present on the rear wheel. Dual-channel ABS comes standard.
Features
The Hness CB350 packs quite a lot of modern bits and bobs. For starters, all lighting systems are LEDs, no surprises there as Honda has been using this advanced lighting tech on almost all of its two-wheelers for quite some time now. Then there’s a semi-digital info cluster here as well. The digital inset is quite small but packs a lot of information such as two tripmeters, odometer, gear position indicator, fuel gauge, range indicator, average and real-time fuel efficiency indicator and clock. In case you opt for the DLX Pro model, you also unlock Bluetooth connectivity that enables turn-by-turn navigation, call/music control, etc. Another segment first feature is Honda Selectable Torque Control (Honda lingo for traction control).
Honda Hness CB350 Price: The new Honda Hness CB350 is expected to be priced between Rs 1,85,000- 1,90,000 lakh
