Honda CB300R – What else can you buy?

Honda has launched its naked streetbike, the CB300R, at a price of Rs 2.41 lakhs (ex-showroom). The motorcycle carries Honda’s Neo Sports Café design and gets features such as LCD instrument cluster, LED lights and ABS with IMU (inertial measurement unit). Powering the streetbike is a 286cc, single-cylinder, liquid-cooled engine that is good for 30bhp and 27.5Nm. Considering all these factors and its pricing, the CB300R will have to compete against six other potent motorcycles in the Indian market. 

The closest rival of the Honda CB300R is the KTM 390 Duke. We did an on-paper comparison of the two and you can read it here. The KTM 390 Duke is powered by a manic 373cc, single-cylinder, liquid-cooled powerplant that churns out 43bhp of power and 37Nm of torque. It comes equipped with a range of features such as three-mode switchable ABS and TFT LCD instrument cluster. The pricing of the 390 Duke is quite similar to the CB300R at Rs 2.43 lakhs. Meanwhile, there’s another naked street bike which is on the more premium side - the BMW G 310 R which comes for Rs 2.99 lakhs. The smallest offering from the German brand gets a 313cc, single-cylinder, liquid-cooled engine that pumps out 33bhp and 28Nm of torque. 

Royal Enfield also has a pair of modern-classic motorcycles which fall in a similar price range, the Interceptor 650 and its café-racer version, the Continental GT 650. While the former starts at Rs 2.49 lakhs, the latter demands Rs 2.64 lakhs for its standard iteration. Both the bikes are powered by RE’s first 648cc, twin-cylinder motor that belts out 47bhp and 52Nm and is known for its vibration-free nature.

One can also consider the KTM RC390 and the TVS Apache RR310, both of which are sportsbikes. The KTM RC390 gets the same 43bhp/37Nm, 373cc, single-cylinder engine which does duty on the 390 Duke. However, being a track weapon, it gets the fully-faired sportsbike styling and committed riding posture. While this costs Rs 2.40 lakhs, the TVS Apache RR310 is more affordable at Rs 2.13 lakhs. This TVS utilises the BMW-sourced 312.2cc, liquid-cooled, single-cylinder motor that is good for 33bhp and 27.3Nm. It boasts of a sporty riding posture but is less committed than the RC390. 

(all prices are ex-showroom)