New Honda CBR300R is most probably the bike that buyers will witness at Auto Expo 2018. A strong reasoning backs this claim and up to most extent, it feels true from all angles.
Honda CBR series saw a huge downfall in popularity with changing times but one thing that remained intact was built quality and reliability factor of those bikes. Even in the last days of Honda CBR150R and CBR250R’s availability, buyers looking for a long term commute partner went for these two without any doubt.
As Yamaha, Bajaj and Royal Enfield dominate INR 1-1.5 lakh segment, Honda CBR150R will get no space for itself. Placing the same under INR 1.2 lakh will be a challenge and Yamaha FZ25 further make things tough for other manufacturers. Even if someone is a die hard faired bike fan, going for Bajaj Pulsar RS200 sounds economical.
Upcoming Yamaha R15 V3 already has a huge fan following and that would leave 2018 CBR150R alone in this segment. 2018 Honda CBR300R seems perfect as this segment needs competition and Honda has lot more advantages to others. Guessing that Honda will again offer ABS as option, two variants can be imagined.
A non-ABS version at INR 1.80 lakh would challenge every possible product around this segment. It may be sold till April 2019. Placing the ABS equipped variant at INR 2.10 lakh will offer them a great advantage as buyers have more trust in Honda than KTM or TVS.
RC 390 heats a lot and that could backfire with the presence of CBR300R. TVS will take some time to make Apache RR 310 available all over but price of INR 2.15 lakh will make it feel expensive over the expected 2018 CBR300R. Honda CBR300R will use 286cc, single cylinder engine with 30.4 BHP of power and 27.1 Nm of torque output.
