2014 Honda CBR 300R: First Look and Review

Honda is pulling up weapons in regular interval of times in all classes to show no backward to the competitive motorcycle market. Whether it's a commuter class, sportsbike class, or cruiser class, Honda has its presence there. And the CBR 300R is the latest machine to get launched in the line up. The bike is known as world model. That is the bike will be shipped across the world without any modifications. Honda's Thailand manufacturing plant will have the luck to manufacture the first units of the CBR 300R. The bike will be firstly appearing in America, Canada, and Japan. The Indian customers need to wait till the half of 2014. How unfortunate Indian fanatics are!



Looks
The CBR 300R is a copy cat of the CBR 500R. The dual headlight, side cowls, windscreen, rear view mirrors, split seat design, tail lamp and so on. At first sight it's the same CBR 500R. When we have a keen look on it, it looks like a mini CBR 500R on the track. Well, this is certainly better and way sportier than the CBR 250R, which had a V-shaped headlight, which wasn't accepted by many. Of course, the all new design is superb and has many stuffs installed to hold a motorcycle enthusiast keeping his/her eyes stared onto the machine for at least few minutes. Above all, it's a challenge to the Ninja 300, the dictator in the class till now.



Engine and Performance
The Honda motorcycle is powered by a 286cc, Single cylinder fuel injection engine, which is capable to bring out a peak power of 30.8 bhp at 8500 rpm and a peak torque of 26.5 NM at 7250 rpm, which is absolutely way better than the CBR 250R. However, this is not at all enough to pull down the much powerful Ninja 300, which is equipped with a 296cc, Four-stroke, liquid-cooled, DOHC, parallel twin engine, that produces a max power of 39 PS @ 11000 rpm and a max torque of 27.0 Nm @ 10000 rpm. On the other hand, there is the monstrous Duke 390, which spits out a top power of 43.5 Ps @ 9000 Rpm and a top torque of 35 Nm @ 7000 Rpm from a 373.2cc, Single-cylinder, 4-stroke, spark-ignition engine, liquid-cooled engine. Analyzing the paper, it's very clear that the CBR 300R is way behind its rivals.



Features
As of now features that can be seen in the CBR 300R are unknown. Still, we could hope a standard range of options which are normally installed in the sportsbike family of Honda. It might be included of CBS (Combo Braking System), and ABS (Anti Locking Brake).



Ergonomics and Riding Comfy
The machine almost looks like the same CBR 500R and so is the seating position and all. So, it's expected to be a great machine for riding. As the bike is not available for test drive, we are helpless to describe the exact feeling one should have while riding. Keep in touch, we will be posting its test drive report as soon as possible.



Pricing
It is for sure that the pricing of the CBR 300R will be much affordable and competitive. Unlike the other machines, Honda has priced the CBR 250R very cheaply. So we can expect a same story in the name of the CBR 300R. And the bike is likely to be priced around Rs. 3 lakh.



Verdict
A value for money motorcycle from Honda. Moulded out in great reputation. The riders know what is Honda and how will be the products the company make. Thus no need of much publicity and all. The CBR 300R stands somewhere between the CBR 250R and the Ninja 300. So if you want a better machine than the CBR 250R and if you don't enough money to spend on the Ninja 300, then the CBR 300R is the right choice for you.