File photo of CB350 at service. Image – Abhinav Bhatt.
The recall campaign will kick start on March 23 and the concerned customers will be notified by the company thorough telephone, SMS or email
The Honda CB350’s strong run has suffered a minor setback in the form of a voluntary recall. Honda Motorcycle Scooter India (HMSI) has announced a recall of CB350 units that were manufactured between 25th November and 12 December.
Honda CB350 recall
The company has not revealed how many units were affected by the recall but considering that the production was constrained during the early phases of the launch, we don’t expect the numbers to be very high. It has come to light that a wrong grade of material was used in on of the retro-classic roadster’s transmission components. To be precise, the 4th gear on the countershaft is the potentially problematic component.
While HMSI maintains that no failure or incidents related to the defect has been reported till date, the material mix up could lead to a bit of issues as the vehicle ages and the component undergoes more and more work cycles.
When does it start?
The recall campaign is set to commence on 23rd of March through Honda’s BigWing premium motorcycle dealerships across the country. The defective component in question will be replaced free of cost.
Honda CB350
The dealership should be contacting the concerned customers in the coming days. If you happen to own a Honda CB350, you can visit Hondabigwing.in website and check if your motorcycle is covered by the recall campaign or not by entering your VIN number in the dedicated section.
The recall does not affect the recently launched derivative, the Honda CB350RS. Despite retailing its 350 family of motorcycles only through limited number of outlets, Honda has managed to quickly dispatch 10,000 units in a short span of time. The company is sitting on a healthy number of orders as well.
Specs at a glance
The Honda CB350 is the Japanese brand’s answer to the immensely popular Royal Enfield 350 family. Designed and developed specifically for the Indian market, the retro-classic roadster is equipped with a 348 cc motor which is tuned to deliver 21 hp and 30 Nm of torque. The performance figures are in the ballpark of the touring segment. The engine is paired with a 5-speed gearbox.
Salient features include LED headlamp, assist and slipper clutch, digi-analog instrument cluster with smartphone enabled voice control system, dual-channel ABS, alloy wheels and so on.
While a recall this early in its market run could be seen as a chink in its armor, we don’t expect this issue to adversely affect the popularity of the motorcycle of its appeal. It will continue to rival the Royal Enfield Meteor 350 and Classic 350. Royal Enfield is also preparing a sporty roadster that could go by the name Hunter 350.
Source: Bike - rushlane.com
