Honda Bikes

Honda CL300 will be fun to ride on the streets and also seems ready for some mild off-roadsNew Honda 300cc Scrambler – CL300After showcasing CL500 scrambler at 2022 EICMA, Honda has now unveiled its smaller sibling CL300. For now, CL300 is a China exclusive motorcycle, where it has made its global debut. New Honda 300cc scrambler will be launched in China first, later this year. It will be manufactured by Sundiro Honda.In the near future, CL300 could also be introduced in other international markets, including India. When launched in India, it could take on the likes of Royal Enfield Hunter 350, Yezdi Scrambler, etc. Honda has already trademarked CL300 in other countries such as Thailand, New Zealand and Australia. European markets could also get this bike at a later date.Honda CL300 stylingHonda CL300 has a bare bones design, with round headlamps and rear-view mirrors. Other key highlights include all-LED setup, fork gaiters, a circular fully digital instrument pod, sculpted fuel tank with grip pads and flat seat in quilted pattern. Most distinguishable feature is the high-mounted exhaust with perforated heat shield cover in metallic finish.Riding stance is fairly comfortable with centrally placed footpegs and pulled-back handlebar. The bike’s design supports riding standing-up, which comes handy in no-road environments. Even shorter riders shouldn’t have any issues with this bike, as it has a low seat height of 790 mm. Tackling mild off-roads would be fun with ample ground clearance of 165 mm. Another advantageous factor is a lightweight 172 kg body, which is around 19 kg less than Honda Rebel 300.New Honda 300cc Scrambler – CL300CL300 is being offered in two variants, a Standard and a Premium version. The latter gets some additional goodies, which will appeal to folks who want their rides to carry a lot more flair and attitude. Honda CL300 Premium variant gets features such as compact body-coloured windscreen, raised front beak, body-coloured knuckle guards, side mounted tracker number plate and tan leather seat.Colour options for Honda CL300 include black, white and light grey. In case of the Standard variant, differentiation is pretty basic with the respective shade applied only on the fuel tank. Rest of the bike has a largely blacked-out profile. Visible metallic finish is seen on the headlamp casing, front suspension and exhaust heat shield.Honda CL300 engine, specsHonda CL300 borrows the 286cc, single cylinder motor from Rebel 300. This unit is also in use with Honda CB300R. However, on-board CL300, power output is at 25.7 hp. That’s 5 hp less, as compared to CB300R. The engine is mated to a 6-speed gearbox.New Honda 300cc Scrambler – CL300CL300’s main chassis is the same as Rebel, but it gets a different rear subframe that is taller. This change was necessitated to accommodate CL300’s flat single-piece seat. Suspension duties onboard Honda CL300 are performed by telescopic forks at front and a monoshock unit at rear.The bike has single disc brakes at both ends, integrated with dual-channel ABS. As compared to Rebel that has 16-inch wheels, Honda CL300 has 19-inch front and 17-inch rear wheels. These are shod with dual-purpose tyres, with a fatter unit at rear for enhanced traction. More

There is a very high possibility that Honda 2W showcasing smart hybrid tech branded as H-Smart on January 23rdImage for illustration purpose.Honda 2W is currently the No 1 scooter manufacturer of India. Sales easily hover around 1.5 lakh units per month and peak at up to 2.5 lakh units per month during festive seasons. Honda markets Activa brand unlike anything else. We recently saw a glimpse of it in a billboard war between a few delivery apps.Honda 2W just dropped a new teaser on social media. According to this, Honda is planning to introduce a new tech on January 23rd, 2023. With words like H-Smart stealing the spotlight in the teaser, there is a lot to look forward to.Honda Activa Smart Hybrid Scooter?For years, Honda 2W used to come slapped with HET stickers on their scooters and motorcycles. It is abbreviated to Honda Eco Technology. This sticker used to be on almost every 2W that came out of the Honda factory in the BS4 era. Now, it is eSP. Honda says that eSP is a globally acclaimed technology to reduce friction and improve combustion.This eSP sticker is slapped on almost every Honda 2W post-BS6 transition. Based on Honda’s new teaser on social media, it seems like there is a new tech that the company is working on. This teaser clearly indicates a curated harmony between man and machine. In this case, a machine is not a literal machine. Instead, it is AI.New Honda Smart Hybrid Launch TeaserWe can also see a new term on top. It is H-Smart. The name indicates that Honda is developing a new kind of hybrid system that is aimed at improving efficiency and lowering the carbon footprint and running costs for owners. On the surface, it can be speculated that Honda is developing a new smart-hybrid system that has a separate battery and is recharged with regenerative tech like found on an EV.The hand of a machine and AI words indicate that Honda is using self-learning AI algorithms to observe and record user riding patterns and deploy best possible methods to recharge batteries via regeneration. Stop/start feature can also be a part of upcoming H-Smart tech. Considering Activa is their best-selling scooter, it could be the launch of Honda Activa Hybrid on 23rd Jan 2023.What To Expect?Something similar is found on Yamaha Fascino and Ray ZR. Yamaha claims 60 km/l fuel efficiency on these and few users swear by it as well. All Honda motorcycles with this new tech will get H-Smart branding on them to signify it.There is a possibility of Honda showcasing a high-voltage strong hybrid architecture as well. With around 0.5 kWh of battery and a starter motor/generator, Honda can offer around 10 to 15 km of pure electric range at around 40 km/h speed. For longer commutes, ICE is always at the user’s disposal. This would be a halo tech that won’t probably make it to budget vehicles.Whatever it is, is likely to be offered with budget commuters and scooter lineups to increase fuel efficiency figures. There would be a price hike accompanied with this new tech as well. Before introducing EVs, Honda seems to be keen on bringing hybrid tech to their 2W lineup. More

Honda Activa is the highest selling scooter in India – And that too by a huge marginHonda Activa is no 1 selling scooter of IndiaBillboard wars are common sightings in most parts of the world. We have seen Ford and Chevy by General Motors often indulge in billboard wars. Other notable billboard wars are from Coca-Cola and Pepsi and so on. In India, outside a mall, there was a billboard war between delivery apps Zomato and Blinkit.A dialogue from a Bollywood movie was used as a template here. You must be wondering why we are writing about delivery app billboard tussles, right? That is because HMSI (Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India) swooped right in and used this theme to market its Activa lineup for good measure.Scooter Mangoge, Activa DengeZomato’s billboard read ‘kheer mangoge, kheer denge’, while Blinkit’s billboard read ‘doodh mangoge, doodh denge’. Netflix too joined, saying ‘Wednesday mangoge, Friday denge’. Honda saw a marketing opportunity here and got a billboard installed which read “Scooter mangoge, Activa denge”. This is a nod to how popular Activa has become in today’s date.Not just today’s date, Activa has been dominating the scooter market for years now. With sales easily hovering around 1.5 lakh units and peaking at around 2.5 lakh units during festive season, Activa is notoriously known to have decimated its rivals in terms of sales. In 2022, Honda sold a whopping 20,12,515 units of Activa.Honda joins viral ad of Zomato, BlinkitWhen opposed to 6,68,829 and 4,39,500 units of Jupiter and Access, Activa sales are far ahead. If top 10 scooters are concerned, Activa’s sales will be greater than the first 7 or 8 highest-selling scooter sales combined. If you take a look at the table below, it is evident that Activa sales are almost more than triple as opposed to the immediate next highest-selling scooter.Honda scooter sales in Jan – Nov 2022Very few scooters in the Indian market have achieved such legendary status. Some of the others include Chetak by Bajaj, a word synonymous with scooters in its glory days. Chetak is now resurrected in an EV form by Bajaj Auto.Activa is Scooter, Scooter is ActivaThe Activa name is so popular that even Honda chose to use just one of its brands to market their scooter supremacy. Other scooters in Honda’s arsenal include Dio and Grazia. There used to be Navi and Cliq in Honda India’s scooter portfolio, which have been axed for good reasons.With an upcoming electric scooter in the pipeline, it is highly likely that Honda will try to associate with Activa brand in some way to establish familiarity in its maiden EV venture. This upcoming EV by Honda is set to see the light of day by the end of this year. More

Honda reported YoY growth of 11.87 percent in Dec 2022 while MoM sales fell by as much as 32.97 percentHonda CB350Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) sales in December 2022 stood at 2,50,171 units relating to a growth of 11.87 percent. The company had sold 2,23,621 units in Dec 2021 with a 26,550 unit volume growth.Honda two wheeler sales in the past month reported growth both in terms of domestic sales and exports. Domestic sales were higher by 10.70 percent YoY to 2,33,151 units in Dec 2022 from 2,10,612 units sold in Dec 2021.Honda 2W Sales Dec 2022Domestic sales commanded a 93.20 percent share. Exports on the other hand improved by 30.83 percent YoY to 17,020 units up from 13,009 units sold in Dec 2021 with a 6.80 percent share. It was the likes of Activa, CB Shine, Dio, Grazia and CB350 which helped post sales growth in the domestic market.MoM sales on the other hand dipped 32.97 percent. De-growth was seen both in terms of domestic sales and exports which fell 34.05 percent and 13.52 percent respectively from 3,53,540 units and 19,681 units sold in Nov 2022.Honda Sales Dec 2022Honda 2W CY 2022 SalesTaking into account sales during the calendar year (Jan-Dec) 2022, Honda has noted an 11.94 percent growth. Sales in the first quarter were in the red with de-growth reported across Jan, Feb and Mar to end Q1 with 9,10,472 units, down 25.58 percent from 12,23,375 units sold in Q1 2021. Thereafter sales improved across each month. Q2 2022 ended with a 102.54 percent growth to 9,95,156 units from 4,91,331 units sold in Q2 2021 while H1 2022 sales were up 11.13 percent to 19,05,628 units from 17,14,707 units sold in H1 2021.Honda Sales 2022Q3 2022 sales saw a 9.07 percent increase to 13,14,894 units form 12,05,568 units sold in Q3 2021 and Q4 sales improved by 17.56 percent, thus ending H2 2022 with a 12.61 percent growth to 23,27,577 units from 20,66,973 units sold in H2 2021.Honda 2w In 2022During the course of 2022, Honda saw many achievements. The company announced the limited DIO sports edition and Honda Shine edition along with the 2022 Activa Premium Edition. It achieved 1 crore unit sales for the Shine 125cc and over 2 lakh sales for the Honda Grazia 125 in the eastern region.The past year also saw the launch of the new 2022 Africa Twin Adventure Sports in India while the company brought in the 2022 Gold Wing Tour to India via completely built-up (CBU) route from Japan. There was also the 2022 CB300R and CBR650R models launched in the country in two colour schemes of Grand Prix Red and Matte Gunpowder Black Metallic. BigWing dealerships made their way to 31 new cities in India. More

Honda Two wheeler exports fell 18 percent in December 2022; Domestic sales improved by 38 percentImage – Dev MTRAs a leading domestic manufacturer, Honda two-wheelers offers a range of vehicles. For the longest time, Honda has stood in growth territory, driven by the popularity of Activa. Honda has introduced new models in the mid-segment in recent years. In November 2022, domestic sales were reported at 3,53,553 units, up from 2,56,174 units. Volume gain was just shy of a lakh units at 38 percent growth.Activa remains the golden egg laying goose at 1,75,084 units. Volume growth stood at 51k units, up from 1,24,082 units at 41 percent growth. CB Shine sales crossed a lakh at 1,14,965 units, up from 83,622 units. Volume growth was at 31k units at 37.5 percent growth.Honda 2W Sales Breakup Nov 2022Unicorn sales almost doubled at 28,729 units, up from 15,555 units. Volume gain stood at 13,174 units at 84.69 percent. Dio sales too almost doubled up at 16,102 units from 8,522 units. Volume gain stood at 7,580 units at 88.95 percent growth.Livo sales fell from 7,416 units to 6,089 units. Volume decline stood at 17.89 percent at volume loss of 1,327 units. Dream units sales fell to 4,613 units from almost 8k units. Grazia sales fell to less than half down at 2,579 units from 5,448 units. Hness CB350 sales were at 2k units down from 2.3k units. Hornet 2.0 sales were reported at 1,655 units. CB300R sales were reported at 367 units. CB200X sales fell to 93 units. 11 units of CBR 650 were sold, and a single GoldWing.Honda 2W Domestic Sales Breakup Nov 2022While Honda is a major two-wheeler manufacturer in India, it’s significant business presence in the domestic market isn’t replicated in the export business. Over time, Honda has exported a wide range of two-wheelers from India to markets around the world, including motorcycles, and scooters. And the rather new Navi, a modern iteration of an advanced moped, which sadly only survived a few short years in India.Honda 2W Exports Breakup Nov 2022As a brand, Honda enjoys a strong global presence. And has built a reputation for producing high-quality, reliable vehicles. Exports from India aren’t high volume. Last month this number stood at below 20k units.Navi led from the front at 7,345 units at 5 percent decline. Dio exports fell by 20 percent, down to 3,655 units from 4,595 units. X-Blade numbers improved to 2,352 units, up from 2,080 units. CB Shine volumes fell by 1k units, down at 1,913 units from 2,960 units. Unicorn exports improved by more than half, up at 1,680 units from 1,104 units. Honda 2W Exports Breakup Nov 2022Livo exports were up at 1.4k units from 1.1k units. Hornet 160R volumes improved by 200 units, up at 924 units. Activa, which sells in lakhs in India, had 312 takes overseas. Dream exports fell significantly, down at 100 units from 1.3k units. Total exports for the month fell to 19,681 units, down from 24,211 units at 18.71 percent decline. Volume decline stood at 4,530 units. More

Honda has chalked out aggressive plans for EV segment, with target to launch at least 10 new electric-two-wheelers by 2025Honda Electric Bike TeasersAs part of its program to achieve carbon neutrality, Honda will be stepping-up focus on introducing multiple electric two-wheelers as well as flex-fuel vehicles. Honda’s electric portfolio will include electric bikes, mopeds, commuters and more powerful, performance-oriented electric bikes.To expedite the process, Honda has teamed up with other companies such as Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha. The collaboration will entail development of standardized swappable battery architecture. Such collaborations will help reduce development and production cost, which will benefit all stakeholders and the entire electric two-wheeler ecosystem.Honda electric bike designBased on design sketch of Honda’s upcoming electric bike, it is evident that the brand’s signature styling will continue in electric segment. This is especially true for its performance-oriented electric bikes. The image of the bike was posted by the American division of Honda. Design language of the bike looks familiar to that of recently launched CB750 Hornet and CB300F.As compared to electric scooters that offer more freedom to experiment with the design, the choices are fairly limited in case of electric bikes. A major reason is placement of battery, which has to be centrally mounted. To ensure an optimal centre of gravity, the most suitable place is lower middle section. This is where ICE-based motorcycles have their engine. Most electric bikes follow the same approach and it continues with Honda’s upcoming electric bike.Honda Electric Motorcycle Design SketchWhile only the side view is visible in the sketch, the outline of a flat-type, aggressive front fascia can be seen. Other key features include low-set handlebar, USD front forks in golden finish, sculpted fuel tank, step-up seat, short tail section, alloy wheels, disc brakes at both ends and sporty graphics.Body panelling is closely knit and tightly packed, which helps ensure a compact look and feel for the bike. Covers for the battery and electric powertrain are done in metallic finish, which introduces another layer of aesthetic dynamism. As this is a design sketch, there are likely to be several iterations before the bike reaches production stage. Newer innovations in battery technology and linked hardware could also influence the final design of the bike.Honda electric two-wheeler for IndiaHonda’s Benly e: electric scooter has been spied on road tests multiple times. Either Benly e: could be launched in India or there could be an entirely new product. With Activa the current bestseller, Honda could introduce a similar product in electric format to target the mass market. In international markets, there are multiple versions of Benly e: electric scooter. The top-spec variant has a range of 87 km.Honda Electric Two Wheeler Launch PlanHonda electric scooter for India will have multiple challengers such as Ather 450X, TVS iQube, Ola S1 Pro and Bajaj Chetak. Ola especially is quite gung-ho, having announced its intention to beat Honda Activa sales by August 2023. Whether or not it materializes remains to be seen. More

As year-end arrives, Honda CB300F prices cut by Rs. 50,000 on its ex-sh price – This is likely to breathe new life into Honda’s 300cc lineupHonda CB300F Price Cut. Image – Auto Travel Tech.While the Indian automotive fraternity was expecting the launch of Forza 350 maxi scooter, we got the unexpected Honda CB300F. The motorcycle boasted a lightweight character which would result in peppy performance and a better power-to-weight ratio.Priced at Rs. 2.26 lakh for Deluxe variant and Rs. 2.29 lakh for Deluxe Pro variant, Honda CB300F prices seemed to be a downside for the motorcycle. Further hurting its image was the more powerful CB300R sold alongside it at Rs. 2.77 lakh (all prices ex-sh).Honda CB300F Price Cut By Rs 50KIt has come to light that dealers of the Japanese brand have slashed the ex-sh price of CB300F by Rs. 50,000 flat. As per dealer, this is part of Honda’s year-end offer for CB300F and takes the ex-sh price to around Rs. 1.75 lakh only. On-road price in Telangana state is around 2.10 lakh and in Karnataka state is around 2.2 lakh. In Chandigarh or Puducherry, on-road prices may be around Rs. 2 lakh.This seems to be a good deal for Honda fans looking to buy a 300cc motorcycle. With Rs. 50K slashed off its ex-sh price, Honda CB300F lends a whole new perspective towards it and sheds a different light on the product altogether.Honda CB300F Price CutAt first, an offer like this seemed too good to be true. Later, we confirmed the offer from multiple Honda Big Wing dealerships, including in cities like Hyderabad and Bengaluru. At this price point, CB300F competes with 250cc street motorcycles like Bajaj Dominar 250 and Suzuki Gixxer 250 which are priced at Rs. 1.75 lakh and Rs. 1.77 lakh respectively (ex-sh).Motorcycles like KTM Duke 200 are pricier than the Honda CB300F with this revised pricing due to year-end offer. For the price, Honda CB300F offers gold USD forks at front and a copper-colored engine head and clutch cover. These elements up the premium quotient which Honda generally aims for.Features include HSTC (Honda Selectable Torque Control) which is basically a traction control system, dual-channel ABS, fully digital instrument console with adjustable brightness, smartphone connectivity via Bluetooth, full LED lighting all around, and the company boasts 10 patented tech on CB300F.Specs & FeaturesHonda CB300F gets a new 293 cc single-cylinder engine which gets a DOHC setup and a 4V head. It makes 23.8 bhp of power at 7,500 RPM and 25.6 Nm of torque at a low 5,500 RPM. This engine is mated with a 6-speed gearbox and comes with oil cooling and a slipper clutch.The main highlight of this motorcycle was its low 153 kg kerb weight. In comparison, a KTM Duke 200 weighs 159 kg and Gixxer 250 weighs 156 kg despite only getting a lighter and less complex SOHC setup. Honda CB300F prices slashed with a year-end offer seems to be the right time to buy it as this offer might end in 2022. More

Mechanically, 2023 Honda CRF300L is kept identical to outgoing model with 27.3 bhp and 26.6 Nm2023 Honda CRF300LIndia is a very important market for Honda when its grand scheme of things is considered. HMSI has revealed that India will soon be a manufacturing and export hub for the brand. When it comes to ADVs, a segment that is currently hot, Honda is not very active. At lower end, we have a pseudo-ADV, CB200X and at higher end, we have CB500X and Africa Twin.In the 300cc to 450cc segment, Honda currently has zero ADVs. This is the segment where most of the action lies. KTM 390 Adventure, Royal Enfield Himalayan and BMW G 310 GS are currently partying in this segment. Will Honda CRF300L MY2023 make it to India? There is a probability as it is already patented in India. Let’s take a look.2023 Honda CRF300L RefreshedFor starters, there is speculation in place that suggests that Honda is toying with the idea of bringing CRF300L to India. Fueling that rumour, Honda showcased it in one of its showrooms in India. This might be to gain customer feedback regarding the motorcycle. It was interesting that Honda had showcased it in one of its regular dealerships instead of BigWing premium dealerships.Honda CRF300L is a true blue off-roader. This is a far cry from the CB200X that Honda currently sells. Design-wise, Honda CRF300L refreshed for MY2023 comes with new black hand guards, which are offered as standard fitment on Swift Grey paint scheme. This new shade was not on offer before and is exclusive to MY2023.2023 Honda CRF300LThis colourway gets side body panels and subframe finished in white, while orange bits adorn its fuel tank. Purposeful headlight assembly and front beak get the base grey finish. Honda’s classic Extreme Red colour scheme with white and blue splashes is also present and gets red hand guards.MechanicalsHonda has made zilch changes to its mechanicals. There was no need for changes to begin with, as CRF300L was very well kitted out as far as off-roaders are concerned. It gets USD front forks and a rear monoshock, both offer 259 mm of travel. Braking hardware includes 256 mm disc up front and 220 mm at the rear.Due to its massive 284 mm of ground clearance, seat height is pegged at 881 mm. It gets spoked wheels at both ends wrapped with 80/100-21 front tyre and 120/80-18 at the rear. 2023 Honda CRF300L continues to get a 296cc liquid-cooled engine that makes 27.3 bhp and 26.6 Nm.This is plenty of performance when its 140 kg kerb weight is brought into picture. For reference, Hero Xpulse 200 weighs 158 kgs and only makes 18.8 bhp and 17.35 Nm. If launched in India, it will compete against true blue off-roaders like the current Himalayan and Yezdi Adventure. Along with it, the upcoming Himalayan 450, 2023 KTM 390 Enduro, 390 Adventure, Xpulse 300+ and more. Pricing will be at premium end, though. More