Honda CB 300R BS6 Previewed at India Bike Week, to be launched in India in January 2022

In the wake of the arrival of new BS6 emission norms, the Honda CB 300R was one of the potent motorcycles which were forced to discontinue no immediate update at that time. However, Honda has announced that the new CB 300R is returning to the Indian market in January 2022. The motorcycle was displayed at the India Bike Week, and this time around, it is going to come with its engine updated to BS6 norms.

For those who don’t know, the Honda CB 300 R was introduced as the most affordable model from Honda’s Big Wing branch of premium high-end motorcycles. The motorcycle was launched in February 2019 for Rs 2.41 lakh (ex-showroom, India), and remained on sale only for a brief period of one year, as the deadline to upgrade to BS6 emission norms was set at March 31, 2019.

Unlike the previous model which was on sale as a CKD product, the new Honda CB 300R will be locally manufactured in India. However, the changes done to the engine to comply with BS6 emission norms are supposed to counter-balance the drop in prices due to the local manufacturing process. Expect a starting price of Rs 2.50-2.60 lakh, once it gets launched in India in January 2022.

The display model of the Honda CB 300R at India Bike Week showed that the motorcycle has remained more or less unchanged in its new BS6 avatar. However, in actuality, there are a couple of changes that are noticeably different from the previous BS4-spec motorcycle. This time around, the Honda CB 300R will come with a golden finish for the front forks. It also gets an assist and slipper clutch, thus adding to the riding convenience.

In its BS4 state of tune, the single-cylinder, liquid-cooled, four-valve, 286cc engine of the Honda CB 300R used to produce 30.4 bhp @ 8,000 rpm of maximum power and 27.4 Nm @ 6,500 rpm of maximum torque. However, expect to see a marginal change in the power and torque outputs in the new BS6 version of the same engine. Other mechanical components like a 6-speed gearbox, upside-down telescopic forks and 296mm disc brake at the front and adjustable mono-shock and 220mm disc at the back have been retained in the new model.

The new Honda CB 300R will continue to rival the KTM Duke 390 and BMW G 310 R, however, it is the latter that is going to be a more direct competitor to the CB 300R in terms of pricing and specifications.

With the arrival of the CB 300R, Honda will get another mass-market model to drive the volumes of its Big Wing premium dealerships of big capacity motorcycles. The current volume drivers of the Big Wing outlets are the Honda H’ness CB 350 and Honda CB 350 RS, which are essentially the same motorcycles with a few cosmetic differences. Currently, there are 88 touch points of Big Wing across the country, with 12 new outlets in the pipeline to establish before the end of FY 2021-22.

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