Honda CB350 RS launched: QUICK DETAILS Here!

Honda CB350 RS: Quick Details By Syed Shiraz

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. (HMSI) has launched its latest motorcycle—the CB350RS. Yes, the new bike is NOT called the H’ness CB350 RS. The ex-showroom price, PAN India, of the Honda CB350 RS is INR 1,96,000. For reference, the H’ness CB350 DLX Pro model’s ex-showroom PAN India price is INR 1,92,500. So what do you get for the extra 3,500 rupees? Let’s take a look!

First of all, the new motorcycle is a sportier version of the standard CB350. It’s not a scrambler or a cafe racer, but there are a few design elements that should allow you to scramble on this a bit more than you would have managed on the standard CB. So there’s a bash plate below the cradle; the fenders are shorter and lighter; the fork gets rubber boots; and the wheels get new wide-block pattern tyres.

Also, the rear wheel size is now 17 inches (the standard CB’s is an 18 incher), which wears much wider rubber now (150/70 as opposed to 130/70 on the H’ness). The front wheel size and tyre width remain the same (100/90-19), but as mentioned earlier the tyre design is new.

The seat is new as well, and so is the tail light that sits below it. The muffler is blacked out, and it’s way more upswept now. The chrome accents on it are new as well. The footpegs are a bit rearset; the winkers are new (Honda says that they are “eye-shaped”), and there’s a new ring around the headlight too, Honda has also thoughtfully, and neatly, added grab-rails on the sides as the rear grab-rail of the standard bike wouldn’t have gone well with the overall design of the new bike.

Of course, the badging on the side panels is new as well, and the bikes you see in the pictures in this story are the only two colour options for the CB350 RS for now. Also, although Honda has not explicitly mentioned, but there seems to be just one model of the CB350 RS with two colour options, unlike the DLX and DLX Pro variants of the H’ness CB350.

However, Honda has retained all the important features and equipment such as traction control, slip-and-assist clutch, all instrument cluster features, etc. Yes, you do get a main stand on the new bike as well.

Honda has not shared or published the full list of technical specifications yet, but they have provided the power and torque figures. The CB350 RS produces 21 PS at 5,500 rpm and 30 Nm at 3,000 rpm. So the power and torque output figures are the same as the standard CB; however, the weight would have come down a bit, thanks to the lighter fenders.

That said, while it won’t really make much difference in performance, it will be interesting to see what the new bike’s gearing feels like as now the rear wheel is smaller. If Honda has not altered anything else (sprocket size, for example) to compensate for the change in wheel size, the new bike might be even quicker than the H’ness, which is already the quickest bike in its segment in the zero to sixty sprint. Check out the videos below to know the CB350’s acceleration, top speed, and also how it fares against its competition.