Honda must consider the CB300F for India

Come 2015, India will have plenty of performance motorcycles in the quarter litre segment. Starting from the Mahindra Mojo, to the KTM RC / Duke 390, Kawasaki Ninja 300 & Z250 and much more. Even Benelli will enter the market with the TNT 250 and TNT 302. What about Honda? Is the Japanese manufacturer not looking at anything beyond the CBR300R?

Honda must consider bringing the CB300F for India. The CB300F is a naked sibling of the CBR300R and shares all the mechanicals. The naked styling not only helps the CB300F shed a few kilos and jump off the line quicker, but will also result in a lower price tag.

The CB300F will be powered by a 286cc, single-cylinder, liquid cooled, 4-stroke motor producing 30.4 BHP of power and 27 Nm of torque. Engine will be mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox and fuel will be delivered via EFI. Honda will obviously have the optional ABS on offer, if they choose to bring the bike to India.

The CB300F is nearly identical to the CBR300R except for the fairing. It gets blacked out tank cowls on either side, which also neatly cover the radiator. The headlamp gets a small bikini fairing in body colour and black shade. The naked version would also get a conventional handlebar instead of a clip-on. Apart from this, everything else is reminiscent of the CBR300R.

KTM has taken the industry by a storm with the Duke 390 and its unbeatable VFM quotient. While most companies will find it tough to bring prices down to the KTM levels, manufacturers can surely keep the prices reasonable with good quality components, which the market would appreciate.

Do you think Honda must bring the CB300F to India?