If you are a regular visitor of BikeWale, you’d know that we reported about Honda recently conducting a customer clinic for its famous CRF range of motorcycles at BigRock Dirt Park in Bengaluru. This news spread like wildfire in a lot of WhatsApp groups of off-road enthusiasts. Does that mean the Japanese brand is launching these bikes in India? Well, read on!
In Europe and US and also in some parts of Asia, Honda is known for its special motorcycles like the GoldWing, the CBR and also the CRF range of off-road bikes. In India, though, we know the brand for the Activa. Even though the company tried a lot to shed that brand image, the strong brand recall of Activa made sure other brands of Honda didn’t really take the top spot. But with BigWing range of showrooms, the company has made efforts to build a bigger brand and in some ways it has succeeded. With the CRF range, Honda could possibly make a bigger impact in the Indian off-road segment.
We recently spoke with someone who was part of this clinic and who also rode all the three bikes – the CRF 300L, the 300 Rally and the Sahara. Interestingly, this clinic was conducted by Honda Japan and not the Indian arm. As a result of this, a lot of Japanese engineers and product planning people were present to take feedback and also understand the rider’s perspective from this ride. We were also told that the Indian as well as the Japanese counterparts know that the adventure and the off-road segment are bound to grow in the next few years. So it’s clear that Honda wants to participate in this growth. However, it is not uncertain about the products to be launched in India.
Currently, the company sells a total of six dual sport motorcycles between 150cc and 650. But for now, Honda believes that in terms of competition, product positioning and also aspiration of the Indian buyers, the 300cc segment is also the right one to be in. Plus, with one 300cc platform creating a total of three bikes makes it financial feasible for the company to launch these bikes through the completely-knocked-down(CKD) route. However, according to our sources, Honda is also considering manufacturing these three bikes in India, and export it to other markets, as Honda has a strong supply chain in the country already, plus, we meet the stringent BS6 emission norms.
For now, this off-rood customer clinic in Bengaluru has been wrapped up, and there’s a high chance this clinic will also go to few more cities. But one thing is clear, Honda will definitely launch these bikes in India, possibly in under two years. However, the pricing will completely depend on how the company makes these bikes – CKD or fully manufacture here. We would love to see the latter happen, because in that case, the pricing should be likely around Rs 4 lakh– Rs 4.5 lakh (ex-showroom) or even a lesser. But even with such pricing, these bikes will be the most expensive in the segment, but Honda always likes to charge premium for its bikes.
Image Source: Ganesh Nayak
