Here Comes the Challenger, Here Comes the H’ness
Honda has teased the bike that will take on Royal Enfield, but now it has officially revealed the bike. Meet the H’ness CB350. the motorcycle harkens back to the Honda CB motorcycles of old, but with modern features and engine.
The bike that was teased previously was expected to be based on the newer Rebel, but this new CB350 is a special machine. The bike is destined for the Indian market, but I’d love to see it appear elsewhere. The bike has a weird name in the H’ness thing, but I suspect it will just be called the CB350 most often.
Anyway the bike gets a 348cc single-cylinder engine that’s mated to a five-speed gearbox. That combo is rated for 20 hp and 22 lb-ft of torque. It’s not earth-shaking, but it will do just fine for the segment. The bike also gets LED headlight, Bluetooth connectivity, a digital/analog instrument cluster, telescopic front fork, dual rear shocks, and traction control.
One place that Honda can’t beat Royal Enfield is the price. The Bullet 350 from Royal Enfield costs Rs 1.3 Lakh, or about $1,760. The new Honda costs Rs 1.9 Lakh, or about $2,575, according to RideApart. That’s quite the difference.