[7000plusrpm]

Originally Posted by Deamon0508

Took her out for a good 100km circuit, to check for all seals and highway manners, wasn't disappointed at all. If I just get a good set of inconspicuous auxiliary lights, I think I'm gold for half a decade.

In addition to lights, think about crash protection. The Zana crash guard I use isn't great. And I would suggest you to look into frame sliders if possible.

Also, after riding for a while, better tires might be a good investment.

Congratulations, I hope you keep the CB for a long time and enjoy the ownership experience!

[chitranshu]

Originally Posted by Deamon0508

Hey, thanks for the inputs, I completely understood them, but I came across a pristine 2022 with a tempting price and I got a great offer for my current ride, and dove right into a CB300R ownership
I'll just have to wait and see if E20 would throw a spanner in my pool of zen. I'm hoping that with some mechanical empathy and a close watch on the mechanicals, I can vouch for Honda engineering to sail through ethanol blending.

Took her out for a good 100km circuit, to check for all seals and highway manners, wasn't disappointed at all. If I just get a good set of inconspicuous auxiliary lights, I think I'm gold for half a decade.

Congratulations !! This is an excellent choice. Apart from the aux lights, invest in a crash guard with frame slider. The one available from Zana is not tat good. Go for the the one available from MotoTorque. It has frame sliders too. Also if possible, get an rediator guard as well.
That should suffice the basic things apart from mobile charger.

Congratulations again ! Happy riding !!

[Cayman360]

Originally Posted by 7000plusrpm

Also, after riding for a while, better tires might be a good investment.

Has anyone tried Michelin Road 5s? I somehow dont get much cornering confidence on the stock ones.

[TheHelix0202]

Originally Posted by 7000plusrpm

In addition to lights, think about crash protection. The Zana crash guard I use isn't great. And I would suggest you to look into frame sliders if possible.

Originally Posted by chitranshu

invest in a crash guard with frame slider. The one available from Zana is not tat good. Go for the the one available from MotoTorque. It has frame sliders too.

Aftermarket crash “guards” or frame “sliders” are terrible options. The ones from Zana are the worst.

They do more harm than good. I suggest you stay away.

[Nayra]

Originally Posted by TheHelix0202

Aftermarket crash “guards” or frame “sliders” are terrible options. The ones from Zana are the worst.

They do more harm than good. I suggest you stay away.

Would not be too sure about that. Good quality frame sliders are a pretty great investment unless you take your bike out on track especially for a naked like the CB300 where your clutch case is exposed when the bike tumbles.

[7000plusrpm]

Originally Posted by Cayman360

Has anyone tried Michelin Road 5s? I somehow dont get much cornering confidence on the stock ones.

The stock MRF is one of the worst tires I have used. The front had bulges causing wobbling, rear skidding when cold to name a few of the issues I have faced with the stock.

Just installed the Apollo Alpha H1s today.

[Cayman360]

Originally Posted by 7000plusrpm

Just installed the Apollo Alpha H1s today.

Awesome, do report how they fare.

[Deamon0508]

Originally Posted by chitranshu

Apart from the aux lights, invest in a crash guard with frame slider. The one available from Zana is not tat good. Go for the the one available from MotoTorque. It has frame sliders too. Also if possible, get an rediator guard as well.
That should suffice the basic things apart from mobile charger.

Congratulations again ! Happy riding !!

A quick update on this front. After seeing a couple of other forums, I got the feedback that the headlamp might not be as bad as it's made out to be, and fiddled with the level adjustment, surprisingly, it did make a difference, although I still wouldn't call the illumination 'adequate'. But given my primarily city usage, I think I might just give a miss to aux lamps for now.
For the protection and framesliders, I went to couple of shops to see both, Zana as well as Mototorque accessories, while the peace of mind would be priceless, somehow I could get myself to disturb the clean lines on the machine . I think, if need be, I'll have to be the crash protection myself. How I wish Honda had given an option of at least a leg guard for protection against parking lot drops.

While everyone is loathing the stock MRF's, riding on seven-tenths, I found them perfectly adequate, adequate enough to not warrant a change before age or wear. When the time comes, I'll probably think of better tyres with less of a 'lip' on the cornering edge.

[t3rm1n80r]

Originally Posted by 7000plusrpm

Just installed the Apollo Alpha H1s today.

Awesome! How many Kms did the stock MRFs last?

I keep the cold morning tyre pressures to ~24.5/24.5 in warmer weather and ~26.5/26.5 in colder weather for a slightly softer ride quality. Added bonus of low cold pressures is that I dont have any complaints wrt grip levels, except while riding enthusiastically on open twisties where the rear tyre clearly lacks grip.

Originally Posted by Deamon0508

After seeing a couple of other forums, I got the feedback that the headlamp might not be as bad as it's made out to be,

I feel it isn't that bad and can be used within city limits. It's definitely better than that of my 2023 Hness for sure. How well lit the city streets are another factor to consider.

[Deamon0508]

Originally Posted by t3rm1n80r

I feel it isn't that bad and can be used within city limits. It's definitely better than that of my 2023 Hness for sure. How well lit the city streets are another factor to consider.

Hmmm
I was recently riding in a pair across the city with one of my friends on a CB350, I could swear that his low beam illuminated my path better than my (non-adjusted) headlamp. I can't say about the high beam, but the low beam definitely had decent spread, even if the intensity might not be among the best.
I think it might be worth a shot to check any adjustments to the leveling that you might do to make it better for your ride.

But then everything's relative, for a defensive and sedate riding that I usually do, I think my absolute illumination requirement might be different than somebody else's!

But all in all, I think Bajaj and TVS are currently the only mass market manufacturers with decent and usable LED headlamps, although even RE isn't too far behind from what I've seen

[Deamon0508]

Originally Posted by t3rm1n80r

While refueling, I was unable to judge the upper limit of the fuel tank and therefore overfilled it. It clicked to me when the fuel indicator light started blinking just after 300kms. As per the manual, the tank has about 2L of fuel when the light starts flashing. Knowing it can hold 11L+ fuel is a big relief for those bad-case scenarios.

Right, so about 3 weeks into the ownership and a few fuel stops to get me here, I can throw my two cents here. If you do not overfill the tank, and shut the fuel supply at the cut-off (like God intended :-D), you have about 9 litres of fuel in the machine until empty.
With a tank-to-tank consumption of 31-ish km/l, I get about 210-220 km before the fuel indicator starts blinking. The blinking lights mean I have about 2 litres in reserve. So the tank capacity is actually 9.x litres, without considering filling upto the brim.
But good to know that if I plan fuel stops for highway rides, I can actually get about 2 more litres beyond the cut-off for when the need arises.

Apologies, if I'm stating the obvious.

[7000plusrpm]

Originally Posted by t3rm1n80r

Awesome! How many Kms did the stock MRFs last?

I have completed about 17k km and the tyres would have lasted another 7-8 I think.
The front had a bulge causing wobbling. I could have claimed warranty. But the MRF warranty process would be time consuming and don't really want to use the same MRFs again.