Honda have just released the news that the mummy-bear CB is back, new and improved. Well one of the mummy-bear CBs, anyway. The Honda CB300R joins the CB125R, CB650R and CB1000R in the ‘Neo Sports Café’ family as the new model that Honda say is ‘a unique proposition for both young and more experienced riders.’ So what’s so unique about this particular proposition? Let us explore.
Engine-wise, you’ve got a fairly simple sounding, 286cc liquid-cooled, four-valve, single cylinder. It makes 31bhp and 28Nm of torque. It’s not going to pull your arms off, but that doesn’t necessarily make it unique. The slipper clutch is a nice touch, though.
Tipping the scales at a mere 144kg, it is a bit of a bantamweight. It might not be able to match the power figures of bikes like the Ninja 300 or the MT-03, but it’s quite a bit lighter than both. Or it is on paper anyway (Yamaha MT-03 – 41bhp and 168kg. Kawasaki Ninja 300 – 39bhp and 164kg).
Yep, it’s rather a lightweight, and that’s despite its steel frame. The steel frame, as it happens, has been ‘tuned for a rigidity balance that gives great feedback to the rider’, which is nice.
Boing
At the front, there’s a set of 41mm Showa SFF-BP fork, and at the back, probably a fairly bog-stock shocker; that’s an educated guess since there was no mention of rear suspension in Honda’s press pack about the new bike.
They did mention the radial mounted four-piston brake caliper though, and the floating disks. And there was mention of the IMU-controlled ABS system, too.
On the subject of electronics, Honda have given the new CB300R an updated LCD dash and LED lights all round.
As you’d expect from the CB’s ‘CB’ designation, the styling is full ‘Neo Sports Café’, as per the rest of the CB family; imagine a futuristic version of a café-racer of old, I think that’s what they’re trying to get at. If you ask me, the Neo Sports Café thing only really works in black. Honda though, obviously think it works in yellow, blue, red or black, because you can have any of those colours.
All you have to do is give Honda £4,899, and you can have one. But you might have to wait until May. Or June.
