Honda H’ness CB350 - Royal Challenge

EXTERIOR

The motorcycle has a length of 2163mm, a width of 800mm and a height of 1107mm. It has a wheelbase of 1441mm and a ground clearance of 166mm. The bike has a kerb weight of 181kg and a seat height of 800mm.

The impression that I got when I had a first look at this Honda roadster was--”well this one is surely going to give the Royal Enfield 350 bikes a lot of tough competition”. This one has got a macho look, a great sound and some great features. The thumpy exhaust note does sound commanding. The sound incidentally comes out from the specially designed exhaust system that comes with a large tailpipe of 45mm. The exhaust pipes are double skinned to prevent heat discoloration.

The bike has a very classic old-world charm kind of look. This Pro model has a dual-tone fuel tank. The Pro has exclusive features like the dual tone, the chrome plated double horn units and HSVCS or Honda smartphone voice control system. We shall come to the latter feature later.

The good part of this motorcycle is that it is equipped with Y shaped alloy wheels. In front you have 100/90-19 tubeless tyre, while at the rear the bike comes with 130/70-18 tubeless tyre. It is equipped with dual channel ABS with a 310mm large disc brake in front and a 240mm disc brake in rear.

The bike has round shaped LED headlamp and taillamp with fire ring type LED winkers. It is a full LED setup in front & back.

The motorcycle gets a segment first engine start/stop switch and segment first hazard switch.  These are on the right side of the handlebar. Near the speedometer is the mobile charging slot which is type C.  On the left side of the handlebar you get buttons to change settings (settings can also be changed by pressing the top button on the side of the round dial). The other buttons on the handlebar include those for the high beam, low beam, horn and indicator. The pass lever switch is behind this cluster. 

The motorcycle is built on a half duplex cradle frame in steel pipe. The company says that the load allocated to the front is optimised by mounting the engine at low position to lower the centre of gravity, which immensely impacts the overall riding feel and maneuverability / handling of the motorcycle.

The side stand comes with an engine inhibitor. You really do not have to look down to see if the side stand is still engaged, you can simply glance at the meter. The side stand sign is quite clear. In case you try moving to the first gear, the engine will be cut off. That’s a good safety feature. The bike has a fuel tank capacity of 15 litres.

Now let’s come to the large classic round shaped speedometer. It is basically a Digital-Analogue Speedometer. The speed is conveyed through an analogue meter and within the round space you get a small yet bright TFT screen which gives you digital information on average mileage, real time mileage, battery voltage meter, gear position indicator, distance to empty, etc. Incidentally, if the fuel goes below a certain level, the low fuel indicator bulb starts blinking. At that time, you can also note the distance to empty. You have roughly around one litre of petrol left in the tank and it is advisable to fill up the tank immediately.

Outside the round dial, on the right of the instrument cluster, you get to see small tiny lights which indicate the Honda Selectable Torque Control or HSTC whether it is enabled or disabled. Other lights are for headlamp, side indicator whether on or off, Neutral position ‘N’ and ABS.  And if you are more of a non aggressive rider, you will get to see more of the ECO sign pop up as you ride along. This means you are riding efficiently, conserving fuel all along.

The CB 350 gets a Honda Smartphone Voice Control System (HSVCS). Now in order to get this going you need to download the Honda RoadSync app into your smartphone which will keep you connected to the HSVCS.

You need to simply keep the smartphone in your pocket and connect the wire to the type C slot in the motorcycle handlebar.  HSVCS offers riding interface installed on your smartphone which supports major features such as navigation, phone calls, incoming messages, music playback, weather information and volume adjustments. Riders can toggle through the information using buttons on the left side of the handlebar as per the feature accessed and the information will be communicated through the headset which is embedded in your helmet. Please remember, nothing is really displayed on the TFT screen, except for the Bluetooth sign if it is activated or if you in navigation mode, an arrow will be displayed etc. It is here that the Royal Enfield Meteor 350 scores where it has a dedicated navigation dial with constant arrow displays, navigating you to your destination. Here in order to make full use of the HSVCS features, you need a helmet with an inbuilt headphone and mic. Though this feature may sound very exciting, one must be careful that any distraction of such nature can have very dangerous consequences, leading to accidents. Use of mobile phones while riding is a safety risk. Visual displays are far better than audio interface. The dual seat comes with good cushioning.

RIDE AND PERFORMANCE

The 348.36cc, 4 stroke SI engine produces around 20.79 hp @ 5500rpm and a peak torque of 30Nm@3000rpm. The engine is mated to a five speed gearbox.  This motorcycle is ideal for both daily commute as well as long rides. An Enfield motorcycle could tire you a bit with its heavy weight, but the Honda CB 350 at 181 kg is a lot easy to maneuver even in crowded traffic situations.

Before I go any further, l have a question for Honda, why is the gear shifter so broad? This type of shifter with a toe and heel application needs to be short in length so that both your toe and heel can operate with ease while downshifting and upshifting. I found this a bit out of place.

Coming back to performance, the second and third gears in particular have long legs and you can really get a lot of juice here to move the bike well past the 70kmph speed. Peak torque too is attained at a relatively low rpm.

But on highways or uninterrupted traffic, this bike has the ability to cross the 100kmph mark very easily. The only thing that can stop you from revving up further is the wind blast that hits you at that speed, or unless you have a speed camera lurking in the vicinity. But since this bike is not a race bike but a roadster, meant for the hard tarmac, it’s a perfect vehicle

Also, learning from its off road experience, the company has safety features like the Honda selectable torque control or HSTC in the CB350. This is a segment first feature. The job of the HSTC system is to sense any imminent loss of rear wheel traction so as to reduce the torque to allow the rear tyre to grip. Honda’s off roading bike African Twin comes with an advanced Selectable Torque Control.

But if you want to deactivate this feature, all you have to do is to switch on the ignition and press the lower button on the side of the round dial. Next to the round dial on the right side you will see the sign of a T with a slash across it. This indicates that the HSTC system is disengaged. You can do this if you want some fun out of your bike while riding.

The HSTC system is always on when you switch on the ignition every time. When the ignition switch is turned on, the torque control setting always resets to the default value. This mode assures safe riding by suppressing rear wheel slip during acceleration, even on wet cobblestone streets or other slippery road surfaces.

The bike has a rather decent suspension, the front comprising telescopic while the rear having twin hydraulics. With dual channel ABS, braking is precise and confident. Dual channel ABS prevents wheels from locking when brakes are applied in emergency or when operated on slippery roads.

The motorcycle also comes with a slipper clutch which in essence reduces the effects of engine braking, preventing sudden forces to damage the transmission hence improving its longevity while downshifting.

VERDICT

All in all, the Honda H’ness CB 350 is one of the most refreshing motorcycles to hit the 350cc roadster motorcycle segment in India for a long, long time. By its looks and its performance, the Honda H’ness is definitely a Royal Challenger to its nearest competitor.