[kurian_john]

I bought this bike in March 2023 at the discounted price of 2.05L onroad. Since then over 6 months I've driven more than 13800+ km. My experience with the bike has been very good for my daily commutes and for long tours. I regularly get a mileage of 36-39 kmpl. I've done 500+ kms in a day 6 times and multiple other trips in the 300-400 km range. 80-100 kmph is definitely the sweet spot for cruising on this bike. Above that there are quite a few vibrations. Seat isn't the best for long tours but you can easily get an air seat or add a proper cushion. Bigwing's service has also been good for the most part for me.

But the biggest issue has been the spares availability. On August 13, 2023, while coming back during heavy rain on the highway due to bad visibility I hit a pothole which destroyed the front rim completely and created a bend in my back rim. I decided not to go for insurance as I wanted the replacement process to happen quickly.

Only the front rim finally got replaced on 31st August. I live in Chennai but the rim had to come from Thrissur, Kerala. This delay is okay. I can kind of understand it though I was a little perplexed how Honda didn't keep stock in any major cities.

Now coming to the back rim, they absolutely don't have one in stock all over India. I've personally called and checked with service centers in Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kerala, Mysore, Lucknow, Puducherry, Mumbai and Delhi. They all said that the rim isn't in stock anywhere in India. That to me is unacceptable from a big company like Honda. And this is even though CB300F and CB300R share the same rims. When two of your motorcycles share the same rims, how can you not keep any in stock? My service advisor told me that for another customer the headlight frame took 4 months to arrive. My service center in Chennai has been very responsive and I can see that they are trying all they can. But without the rim stock available all over India, there's nothing much they can do. I've read Team-BHP threads and twitter threads where people have been waiting 3-4 months for the same rims in cities like Kolkata.

So finally I would say that the bike is pretty good till you actually face a situation where you require a replacement of parts, because Honda's spare parts management is absolutely PATHETIC. Please don't buy it unless you know a way to source spare parts yourself or Honda solves this issue. I'll keep you updated when I finally receive the back rim.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by kurian_john

I bought this bike in March 2023 at the discounted price of 2.05L onroad.

Thanks for sharing, kurian_john! Moving your post out to a new thread. A new thread means 100X the views & 100X the visibility in search engines, including Google. Will add to homepage later this week .

@ BHPians, if you should spot any good post in an existing thread that deserves its own new thread, please report the post and we'll move it out for greater visibility.

Thank you!

[shancz]

Very unfortunate to hear this especially since I considered the CB300F as a no-nonsense VFM do it all motorcycle, like the Unicorn.

What I fail to understand is for someone like Honda 2 Wheelers India with their extensive logistics chain, not use the same when it comes to BigWing or Topline which are supposed to deliver a more premium experience?

IMO taking it back to the standard Honda showroom, ASC and supply chain can actually do wonders for the motorcycle.

[antz.bin]

Truly pathetic situation. It's not as if this is a proprietary high-tech hardware and needs to be imported from a far-off country.

I had a question regarding this though. What is stopping us from cutting Honda out of this particular transaction altogether? Why not get the sturdier and lighter weight KTM rims instead? Not only the availability will be better, you will get better performance as well. It was quite commonplace for the CBR250R and its Disk pads where people used to use Pulsar 220 disk pads since the ones from Honda costed 10x more and had similar performance lasted roughly the same amount of time.

Anyways, with the official price cut now bringing the bike to the price you purchased it for, it is quite a VFM offering compared to the competition.

Hopefully these lower prices bring additional volumes which can then help alleviate the spares situation on this motorcycle.

[KSTejaswi]

Originally Posted by kurian_john

But the biggest issue has been the spares availability.

Hi kurian_john, I happen to know someone at Honda Parts. He is an old hand there, not sure of the seniority though. If you could PM me the part number and your request number as raised by your dealer, I can request him to see if there's something he can do.

I'm not very confident of results, but since there's likely to be no harm in trying, we could give it a shot if you're interested.

[kurian_john]

Originally Posted by antz.bin

Truly pathetic situation. It's not as if this is a proprietary high-tech hardware and needs to be imported from a far-off country.

Indeed. What is really infuriating is that Honda 2 wheelers customer care has been absolutely pathetic as well. I had sent them a mail and raised a complaint regarding the unavailability of spares after a couple of weeks. The first time they resolved the complaint after I got the front rim replaced. I reopened it again and just yesterday I again received a mail saying that the complaint has been resolved. I have reopened it again today. Each time I've just received an automated reply from Honda Customer care saying they are looking into the matter and nothing else.

Originally Posted by antz.bin

I had a question regarding this though. What is stopping us from cutting Honda out of this particular transaction altogether? Why not get the sturdier and lighter weight KTM rims instead? Not only the availability will be better, you will get better performance as well.

Thank you for the suggestion. I actually didn't think of this. I considered trying to get Honda CBR250R's rims from the aftermarket but then decided to hold on and wait since my bike is operational for now. The front rim was the one which was completely damaged and cracked. The back rim is still leaking air but it is leaking quite slowly. So now I just carry the Qubo Tyre Inflator with me wherever I go and usually top up once in 2 days. My daily commute comes to around 46 km.

I just checked and it looks like Duke390/ADV390's rims are the same size 431.8 mm. Could you guide me on what all parameters I would need to consider for a perfect fit before getting the ktm rim other than the size? Also would I have to go to KTM showroom and ask them directly or is there some website/portal from where I can buy the KTM spares?

Originally Posted by KSTejaswi

Hi kurian_john, I happen to know someone at Honda Parts. He is an old hand there, not sure of the seniority though. If you could PM me the part number and your request number as raised by your dealer, I can request him to see if there's something he can do.

I'm not very confident of results, but since there's likely to be no harm in trying, we could give it a shot if you're interested.

I'll check with my dealer and shoot you a PM (once I figure out how to do so) regarding this. Thank you very much

[shancz]

Dropping in uninvited but most likely you won't be able to get KTM spares as they don't do over the counter sales, even to KTM owners.

Just try rims from someone who does sell spares like Bajaj, RE, Hero, Suzuki etc.

[Samba]

A similar issue happened with Bhpian SouraC's Honda CB300F too. This is pathetic service from BigWing.

Here is the link-
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motor...e-40-days.html (Honda CB300F wheels bent | Replacement rims unavailable | Bike in service center since 40 days)

But the good news is, after being discontinued when the BS6.2 norm came in, it looks like the CB300F will be back in production. If that happens, I feel the support for it's spare parts should improve in the future.

https://www.zigwheels.com/news-featu...0934/#leadform

[Black_Star]

Originally Posted by shancz

Dropping in uninvited but most likely you won't be able to get KTM spares as they don't do over the counter sales, even to KTM owners.

Just try rims from someone who does sell spares like Bajaj, RE, Hero, Suzuki etc.

Even if you cant get it directly from KTM you can always try your local bike shops, or spare parts websites like eauto and mysparemarket

[kurian_john]

Originally Posted by Samba

A similar issue happened with Bhpian SouraC's Honda CB300F too. This is pathetic service from BigWing.

I read about this in June this year and have been following the thread since then. I remember being shocked and decided that I need to be very very careful with my rims. But little did I know that fate had other plans for me. Honestly his case is really really bad. I think he has been waiting almost 3-4 months for the spares and since he has opted to claim insurance, unfortunately his bike is stuck in service centre for that whole duration. Way to ruin the experience for a customer, Honda! I've seen his Twitter posts as well. Honda has only replied to them with an automated message. In fact when I had called up the Lucknow showroom and asked for spares, they told me that they have been waiting for rim in their city as well. It's not just two of us for sure. I found at least two more threads in Twitter with the same issue. With this issue happening so often, I'm just appalled that Honda still has no stock!

[Vignesh_N/A]

Originally Posted by shancz

Dropping in uninvited but most likely you won't be able to get KTM spares as they don't do over the counter sales, even to KTM owners.

Not true. I have bought a bunch of spares from KTM.

If they deny it, you can always get in touch with the regional manager and things will happen your way.

Originally Posted by kurian_john

Could you guide me on what all parameters I would need to consider for a perfect fit before getting the ktm rim other than the size? Also would I have to go to KTM showroom and ask them directly or is there some website/portal from where I can buy the KTM spares?

A bunch of other parameters other than rim diameter

Rotor mounting position from vehicle centre axis
Axle diameter.
How the wheel is centered in axle shaft
rotor mounting holes pcd
abs ring mounting holes pcd

and there could be other parameters too.

For spares,

In chennai you can get in touch with Jai bajaj adyar service centre and khivaraj spares in thousand lights.

[shancz]

Originally Posted by Vignesh_N/A

Not true. I have bought a bunch of spares from KTM.

I had tried a few years ago for a friend's bike, they refused but wanted to install it and charge labour. My friend just goes to Bajaj and gets compatible spares. Anything major has to go to KTM anyway.

Hopefully they've changed since it was a sore point among owners and not just in my city.

Will keep your tip in mind going forward, thanks.

[2nd_gear_7krpm]

Originally Posted by antz.bin

Truly pathetic situation. It's not as if this is a proprietary high-tech hardware and needs to be imported from a far-off country.

I had a question regarding this though. What is stopping us from cutting Honda out of this particular transaction altogether?

Going by the Honda's attitude towards Indian market, I think we should cut them from the transaction of purchase of motorcycle itself. This way we can help beloved Honda to serve it's US and Europe market where first class citizens live.

[kurian_john]

Update from my side. Or to be more accurate the lack of one! Almost two months have passed since the incident and no update from Honda. My service center has been in touch with me quite often and it has become quite clear to me to that they honestly can do nothing except escalate the issue to Honda. The service manager himself said that he's quite fed up of Honda's response towards spare parts. He mentioned that there are 2 CB300Rs in the service center which have been waiting for rims for the past 3+ months and that he feels helpless. He also said that there was an instance earlier where a rim took 5 months to come.

I have raised several complaints to Honda customer care about the unavailability of spare parts. I even commented on their Instagram posts which showcase and advertise the CB300F. But I have only got the standard automated messages and no proper solution or communication from their side. Dealing with Honda's customer care has just been an absolutely pathetic experience.

As some of the BHPians had suggested, I did think of going for an alternate rim like those of the 390 Duke or other such motorcycles, but lot of people advised me that it would be very very difficult to get a perfect fit. I'm managing my daily commutes and trips with a qubo portable tyre inflator but it has gotten to the point where only 20-24 psi pressure is maintained in the tyre. So right now I guess my best solution is to either look to get the rim repaired or just wait till Honda finally decided to get their act together (If they ever do!!!) and get me my back rim.

Originally Posted by KSTejaswi

. If you could PM me the part number and your request number as raised by your dealer, I can request him to see if there's something he can do.

Seems like I don't have access to private messages on Team BHP. But the part number is as follows:

Part number - 42650-K2K-D00ZA - Rear wheel rim.

Please try what you can. Thank you very much

[tc89]

Originally Posted by kurian_john

I bought this bike in March 2023 at the discounted price of 2.05L onroad. Since then over 6 months I've driven more than 13800+ km. My experience with the bike has been very good for my daily commutes and for long tours. I regularly get a mileage of 36-39 kmpl. I've done 500+ kms in a day 6 times and multiple other trips in the 300-400 km range. 80-100 kmph is definitely the sweet spot for cruising on this bike. Above that there are quite a few vibrations. Seat isn't the best for long tours but you can easily get an air seat or add a proper cushion. Bigwing's service has also been good for the most part for me.

But the biggest issue has been the spares availability. On August 13, 2023, while coming back during heavy rain on the highway due to bad visibility I hit a pothole which destroyed the front rim completely and created a bend in my back rim. I decided not to go for insurance as I wanted the replacement process to happen quickly.

Hi, I'm sorry to hear about your situation and the pathetic response from Honda. Have you already considered repairing the rim damage, a reputed tyre shop should be able to help you in this regard. Bangalore has some good ones as many owners in the CB300R WhatsApp group keep discussing this.
I can give you the contact if you wish