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-   -   My Honda CB350 RS Review | With aesthetic & functional mods (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorbikes/273956-my-honda-cb350-rs-review-aesthetic-functional-mods.html)

A Little About Me:

I've been an avid follower of this forum for quite a few years, and I'm excited to finally contribute my part.

Right from childhood I was really into cars and didn't really like motorcycles much. I thought they were too risky and didn't understand why people were obsessed with them. Plus, my family wasn't keen on me riding bikes either, so that didn't help.

Then, when I moved to Munnar for college, things changed. The place is so beautiful with stunning roads and amazing views everywhere. One day, I borrowed a friend's bike for a short ride, and it completely changed my mind about motorcycles. It's not about having a super-fast bike; it's about feeling totally immersed in the journey. I loved the thrill and feeling it brought while exploring new places. I realized I'd be missing out if I didn't give it a chance, so now I'm all about getting my own motorcycle.


The Companion Search:

I didn't want a bike over 500cc because I preferred a safer, more manageable ride for my riding skills. Safety matters when you want to enjoy the experience, right? Having said that big shoutout to the RE 650 Twins, Kawasaki Z900 RS Café, Honda CB400SF and The Suzuki Katana. These bike are drop-dead gorgeous and I would love to own these someday.

I'm not into aggressively styled naked bikes that scream for attention. I prefer clean, classic designs that age well and might even become a collectible in an EV dominated future($$$). My ideal bike would've been something like the MT-15 with a round headlamp—peppy, light, fuel-efficient (I'm a broke college student)—but sadly, the XSR155 isn't available in India.

Initially, I considered getting a used Royal Enfield Conti GT535 and restoring it, but living in a hill station surrounded by forests made reliability a top priority. That ruled out bikes like Jawa and Yezdi, although they look amazing. The Royal Enfield Classic felt a bit too mature in style and heavy for my taste. Plus, they're so popular that the exclusivity factor is missing. The Hunter seemed a size small so that got ruled out too.


Then I read about the CB350RS online. It seemed like a good fit—retro style, manageable 180kg weight, and Honda's known reliability quality. So, I decided to give it a shot and signed up for a test drive.


First Impressions:

1)Trust me on this, the bike looks good in pictures and GREAT in person. The photos do no justice to the stance and presence the bike has out on the road.
2)The bike manages its weight very well and offers a neutral and predictable handling.
3)The engine is rev friendly for a long stroke. The tall gearing gives it a unique character compared to the competition. Was grinning under my helmet during the entire test drive and was pretty much convinced that this is the one. :Cheering:

I'll list out the pros and cons of this bike as per my experience.

The Good:

1) Aesthetically Pleasing: Honda has done a great job combining a retro silhouette with modern design elements. The RS, with its stubby tail and fat rear tire has a visual appeal very distinct compared to that of the H'ness, RE Classic and other neo-retro bikes in this segment. A few tasteful tweaks would make it look even better ;)

2)Torquey Engine: The midrange is very strong and offers ample acceleration. While the engine's smoothness and eagerness to rev are atypical for a long-stroke engine, after 11,000 kilometers of riding in city and hilly sections, the tall gearing leaves me with mixed feelings. More on this later.

3)Balanced Riding Posture: The riding posture is a sweet spot between neutral and committed, making it perfect for spirited runs as well as mile munching. The large rider seat also adds to the comfort factor.

4)Excellent Weight Management: At 179kg, it isn't exactly a lightweight bike. However, the chassis does a brilliant job of masking this weight, ensuring it never feels top heavy. Once the bike starts moving, you wont be bothered by the curb weight at all. This nimbleness helps when filtering through heavy traffic or leaning into corners.

5)Minimal Vibrations: The bike isn't exactly vibe free to be honest, but it minimal and hardly intrusive. Only when revved hard does a little vibration creep into the handlebar.

6)Quality Components and Construction: The materials used throughout look and feel well made. Despite being aware of rusting and quality issues reported by other CB owners, my personal experience has been relatively trouble-free.

7)Exhaust Note: While the engine itself runs quietly, the exhaust note at the right RPMs, especially when heard through a helmet, just sounds maad. It's bassy at idle and gets raspy as the revs climb. It pops and bangs too occasionally, which makes it sound so much cooler!

8)Reliable and Fuss Free: The RS has proven to be a reliable and hassle-free ride, never failing to start or leaving me stranded - a crucial factor when going for long/solo rides to remote locations.

9)Novelty: I'm not sure if this is a pro or con :coldsweat, but the bike isn't that common on the road compared to some of its competitors giving it an exclusivity factor.


The Bad:

1)Tall gearing: I feel Honda went with tall gearing to give it a unique riding character to that of the Enfield's, but considering the power and engine type(long stroke), I am not sure if this was the best decision. Sure when given an open stretch, the rev-happy engine and awesome exhaust note will make you grin when you ride it the way Honda intended you to. However, in city and hilly sections, constant gear shifts are needed to stay in the power band. While the clutch and gearbox are excellent, doing quick overtakes or riding in a relaxed manner becomes challenging due to the engine lugging from the tall gearing.

2)Poor Headlights: The LED headlights add aesthetic appeal to the bike but are plain b-a-d when it comes to actually lighting up the road ahead.

3)Useless Front Fender: Monsoons are a nightmare due to the good looking but small front fenders. Adding a fender extender wont work either as there have been multiple reports of the plastic fender breaking midway due to the extra weight.

4)Questionable Quality of Certain Parts: The brake pads were completely worn out at 7800kms, which is completely unacceptable from a legacy manufacturer like Honda. Furthermore at just 11,000 kilometers, the chain and sprockets are starting to show issues despite timely maintenance. Add to that all the reports online about chassis rusting, silencers rusting and even shock absorbers rusting in some cases, this is indeed very surprising and Un-Honda to be honest.

5)Front-End Feel: This is a personal opinion but I feel the weight of the bike is slightly rear biased. While a light steering is beneficial when commuting thru city and traffic, at higher speeds, especially in corners, a little more weighted feel from the handlebar would inspire extra confidence. This is definitely not a deal breaker, rather just a matter of personal preference. Simple fixes such as adding suitable handlebar weights or adjusting the position of the fork tubes in the tee should solve the problem.

6)Confused Identity: While the h'ness was made as a Roadster, with the RS Honda has attempted to blend elements of a roadster and a scrambler. The result is a mix of questionable design choices that don't fully support either identity. The block pattern tires compromise the bike's grip on tarmac, limiting its handling and cornering capabilities. Yet at the same time there's been no improvement in ground clearance to enhance off-road performance. The mix of cosmetic design elements from scrambler-inspired features to those derived from a roadster end up creating a visually confused appearance. However this too isn't a deal breaker as a few minor modifications is all it takes to make the bike suit your visual tastes and performance requirements.

Stock Mirror Replacement

The stock mirrors of the CB are well made but don't stretch out wide enough. Due to this the mirrors show more of your arms and shoulders than the road behind you.


The stock mirrors of the RE Hunter/Classic work as an easy fix. They have the same dimensions but differ in the materials used.

• Hunter - Plastic - Rs.600 a pair
• Classic - Metal - Rs.1000 a pair

Aesthetic Improvements

Many found the design of the h'ness to be too busy with its mix of gloss black, matte black, silver, chrome, and various finishes. The RS tones it down to a great extent by covering the engine and other components in matte black.

I wanted to take this a step further hence did a small mod to clean up the side panel.



I hated the silly looking silver ring on the headlight cowl since Day 1 of getting this bike. I have a few ideas for the headlight but for now I painted the entire headlight cowl gloss black to give it a cleaner look.

Congratulations and great work with the mods. Looks stunning!
Must say 350RS is one of the best looking modern retros around and its kind of weird how it looks small in pictures but very imposing in real life.

Congrats on the beautiful new bike!

I am curious if you considered other bikes in the segment (RE 350, Triumph 400, TVS Ronin etc).
I have been thinking of getting a small retro cafe styled bike, but have been pretty confused among these options.

May I know the fuel efficiency of this bike?
Being a 350cc I expect it to return around 30-35 kmpl :coldsweat

Congratulations on the bike! I too, fell in love with the feel of it during the test ride. However I had concerns about riding it in Bengaluru rains given its short mudguards/mudflaps both in the front and back. That fear made me drop this, and I went with the MT-15. How has riding the CB 350RS in the rain been for you?

Depends on how you ride.
Between 60-80, you mostly gets 40 kmpl, at times I have got 45 as well. However on highway, if you cruise at 100, it drops between 30 to 35 kmpl.

Thanks! We're just getting started with the mods, expect a lot more ahead.

I forgot to mention that I bought the bike on September 2022.

At that time the Triumph 400s weren't released and the TVS Ronin's side and back profile felt too quirky for me. Also according to most reviews the Ronin's great for city use but can feel underwhelming on the highway.

The Classic 350 is heavy and very popular. I wanted a comparatively sportier ride and also the CB isn't too common on our roads, adding some exclusivity ;)

In city riding I get around 30-35 km/l
Highways one can expect around 35-45 km/l

My personal best has been 48 km/l on a 600km ride from Bangalore to Kochi (Mostly consisted of 3-lane National Highways and very sedate riding)

Riding the CB in rain makes me love it a bit less :disappointed

I'm still searching for a solution to the front fender issue. Adding a plastic extender causes the entire front fender to break off from the middle over time due to the extra weight. The h'ness Anniversary Edition front fender can be used but it compromises on the looks. Searching for a better solution as of now. Open to inputs and suggestions from fellow TBHPians!

The rear fender issue can be solved by adding a tire hugger. I personally didn't do it as I didn't wanna ruin the rear profile by covering the beefy looking 150 section rear tire.

Nice to see your bike and would love to see in flesh (I am also right now in Bangalore)

FYI, Below are the Touring mods I have done for my RS.

1. Back rest with pannier support from bigwing (Works well to support my viaterra claw)
2. Duel horn like Highness (sourced from Highness)
3. Due to low through of headlight added MADDDOG Scout X
4. Added CB300R Rear view mirrors instead of the stock mirrors.
5. Previous owner changed the handlebar to Highness's. I tried with both and happy to be with Highness's for touring.
6. Added Highness C-Type USB charger from higness.

Like you said I have also changed the break pad and chain sprocket around 10.5k. Pathetic quality. Especially breaking is not progressive and inspiring (comparing FZ25 here)

Brake Pad Upgrades

Most media reviews say the CB twins offer very good breaking performance with good initial bite and a very progressive feel. Even owners would agree that during the initial phase of ownership at least, the brakes perform really well. However the decline in performance over time is very noticeable. By around 5,000 km the brakes just didn't feel as sharp as they used to. Initially I thought it was because of me getting used to the bike and the braking feel. But by around 7,000 km there were strange noises from the front brakes. Checked it out and found that the front brake pads had c-o-m-p-l-e-t-e-l-y worn out out.


I understand this photo might suggest I'm a negligent owner, allowing the problem to worsen to this extent. I too agree that timely inspection should have been done. However I never expected parts which usually have a life-span of 10-15k kms , that too from a Honda Bike, to fail so early.

According to my research, the stock brake pads are the organic type. Organic brake pads are made from organic materials, offer silent operation but tend to wear out faster. The short lifespan of these brake pads suggests they might not be well-suited for use on a heavy motorcycle. Decided to not cheap out on brake parts and Installed Vesrah Ceramic Brake Pads at both the front and rear.


Model No: SD-156/2
Price: Rs.1300 for each set, Labor Rs.300, Total Rs.2900
Workshop: LRL Motors, Kochi (Satisfactory Workmanship)


Changes Noticed:

• The Ceramic Pads definitely offer more breaking bite.
• The brake pad life and build quality is really good. I recently inspected the brake pads at 11k and it was all fine.
• The braking feel isn't progressive enough. It starts off a bit numb and then offers a strong bite.
• The brake pads perform better once they heat up.

Hey There! I'm not in Bangalore right now but we can certainly plan for a ride together :thumbs up

The dual horns are a mod I'm keen on doing. The stock horn of the RS sounds like a scooter. :Frustrati

Been using these for around 7000 kms on my H'Ness. Very satisfied with them. Thought they do require warming up for them to work effectively.

Replaced the OEM front brakepads at 7500 kms with the Vesrah ceramic ones. Replaced them with second set at 14500 kms. Meanwhile the rear ones are still stock with about 30% of life remaining in them.

On a slightly different note, BigWing PCMC Pune charged me just Rs 72 as labour for replacing the front brakepads.