Blog: 5 Things I Liked About Honda CB350 In Arunachal Pradesh

After spending about a year in the confines of my home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I had the opportunity to beat the lockdown blues in March this year. Honda had invited a few journalists to scale the mystic land of Arunachal Pradesh on the Hness CB350. It was undoubtedly an unforgettable experience and you can read the entire tale of that exhilarating six-day ride here. 

But the Honda Sunchaser’s ride was not just about mountains and river crossings, it also gave me the chance to comprehensively test the Hness CB350. It was launched in India in October last year to take on the likes of the Royal Enfield Classic 350. As it turned out, Honda has armed the CB350 with more assets than just an old-school styling. To elaborate on that, here are the five things I liked about the Honda Hness CB350 in Arunachal Pradesh. 

Friendly Ergonomics

Initially, the CB350’s ergonomics felt just like a conventional modern-classic bike with an upright and neutral stance. But after clocking a few kilometres, I realised that the seat cushioning was spot on and it never made my backside hurt. Even the position of the footpegs and the reach of the handlebar felt ideal for my almost 6-feet stature. Regardless of the number of kilometres we covered every day, I was never tired in the evening. 

Docile Controls

The clutch and gearbox of the CB350 are profoundly easy to operate, which is quite unusual amongst most of its rivals. Thanks to the presence of a slip and assist clutch, riding it on congested roads or back-to-back corners never got troublesome for my left wrist. Even the cogs shift without any fuss, with false neutral being a rare occurrence.

Smooth Engine

Well, Honda is known for making some of the most refined engines. But the CB350 feels way too smooth for a modern-classic. May it be trudging on it at lower revs in slow-moving traffic or maxing it out on wide-open highways, the vibrations are close to none. I also tried gunning it at its top speed in fourth gear and there was just minor buzzing in its mirrors. Pretty impressive, Honda!

Unfazed Around Corners

The CB350 is undoubtedly enjoyable on the highway. However, where it truly shook most of us during the ride was while carving tight and sweeping corners in the mountains. The motorcycle feels unfazed while leaning into corners, with its suspension handling mid-corner undulations efficiently and the rear not wriggling whatsoever. Every time I was grounding its pegs around twisties, I wished for more cornering clearance. 

Handy Features

When it comes to features, the Honda CB350 is a 21st-century bespectacled technology nerd in an old-school uncle’s guise. I say that because of its traction control, a feature that would be present only in bigger bikes in the olden days. And it worked absolutely fine every time I wrung the throttle hard on the slushy route to Namdapha National Park by preventing the rear wheel from sliding around. What’s more, its semi-digital instrument cluster is also loaded with useful data apart from being Bluetooth-enabled.

But …

Unfortunately, ruining the corner-carving in the hills to some extent was the lack of bottom end grunt and tall gearing of the Honda Hness CB350. Picture this. You approach a corner in second gear, you’re leaning mid-corner, and now you accelerate it hard for the needed drive. Here, it takes its own sweet time to reach the potent part of the rev band. And as soon as it reaches there, redline occurs, and you need to shift to third. The revs drop, so does the propelling force, and so does your enthusiasm.