[USM_1]

I took delivery of Honda CB300F matt grey on April 26, and it has been 3 months and 3000 kms done with my bike. It feels like proper upgrade from my previous bike (150cc commuter) in all aspects. I have written up all my observations below.

Delivery & showroom exp:

I would like to start from showroom visits for test-ride, booking, right from the beginning the show room people are not quite enthusiastic, I have to do multiple follow ups for all activities be it Insurance purchase, Vehicle registration etc., I was not impressed with them. They delivered my bike on an agreed timing, that’s good about them. The showroom did not have a dedicated full-time sales person, store manager all were a shared resource, I came to know when I had an argument with the operations team person for my refund that I paid extra for Bike registration and insurance.

Service:

I visited the same Honda Big-wing showroom at Erode (TN) for my 1st free service, it was also a bit let down from them. I had already taken the appointment and visited on time, they promptly received the bike and asked if I have any issues and asked me to wait in lounge area. I have been waiting for some time and had a chat with a fellow CB350RS owner, after 1 hour they informed us that the bikes are taken to their normal Honda showroom for a bike wash since their compressor had some trouble, and again after an hour I asked where my bike they informed me that they are servicing my bike at the other service center. I was not happy with their behavior and asked their showroom Manager what’s happening and he tells me that the actual service guy has taken an emergency leave and we are servicing with ex-Big wing service person who is available at that service center. After all these ruckuses my bike arrived without doing water wash and they were trying to clean and lube the chain without putting the bike on paddock stand and again I got anger and stopped them as they were doing it by holding the bike on side stand and the service guy told me that Cb300F can not be mounted on paddock stand because he is not trained to mount a bike on paddock. I decided that I will never take my bike to this service center.

Engine and Transmission:

The bike comes with a great 300cc oil cooled engine and 6 speed gear box with slip and assist clutch which is very light to use even in tight traffic conditions and bike is very tractable. The gearbox doesn't require frequent gear shifts, you can easily negotiate speed breakers with 3rd gear and even for stop and go traffic, The bike doesn’t heat up a lot and it is quite manageable. All the torques comes at around 5500 rpm and that’s big advantage in traffic.

Ride comfort:

The bike is very light weight and nimble, one can easily ride is easily in congested roads and peak traffic. I am 6 feet tall and the riding triangle is also good it's neither too upright nor too committed.
As per Ride quality is concerned the rear suspension was a bit hard when I started initially and I got used to it. The pillion rider won't feel comfortable for long ride as the pillion seat is also not great.
The rider seat is comfortable and I have done multiple breakfast ride of around 200kms and even a long Highway ride for more than 400kms+ a day, it was not a tiresome ride for me .

Features:

I would like to highlight the Instrument console and Bluetooth features, bike connects to mobile seamlessly and the arrow button in the left switch gear enables the mobile hands free option for navigation, messages, calls and music I use the most and the Honda Road sync mobile application is also good, I never faced any glitch but there is small con will add in cons section below.
The bike comes with almost all the electronic safety aids in this segment such as dual ABS, traction control, side stand cut-off, all LED lights.

Mileage:

The bike returns a great average , it impressed me a lot in this aspect. I always fill tank full of petrol to check the mileage and reduce the frequent petrol pump visit. Every time I fill around 11-12 L, keeping about 2L in reserve i.e when fuel indicator last line blinks. I get around 400 to 420 kms range for 12L easily.

Highway mileage: It returns close to 37-39km/l and at times the number goes more than 40.

City / Traffic mileage: I am riding the bike mostly in Chennai City - Office hours and the bike manages to give me 32.5-34km/L.

Accessories:

I have already added a few basic accessories:

1- Zana crash guard
2- Zana radiator guard
3- Front mud guard extender
4- Universal rear tire hugger
5- Instrument cluster protection film
6- Tank cover
7- Bobo mobile holder with charger.
8- HJG Liu Mini driving Fog lights

Planned mods:
1- Zana top rack
2- Zana side stand foot extender
3- Front windshield / visor
4- lever protector / knuckle guards

Cons:

• Not so good pillion seat comfort
• Poor Headlight illumination.
• Built quality: Tank shrouds always wobbles, there are panel gaps
• No one touch self-start button
• No information about call / Navigation visible in instrument console.

Verdict:

Idk why this bike not so popular in this segment even after the price cut but I highly recommend this bike for a person who is looking for a 200-300 cc bike for city commutes and touring under 2.2Lakh rupees.

[Sudarshan42]

The CB300F is a good bike, and was on my list for the longest time before I finalized my Speed 400. The fundamentals of this bike are strong- nice torquey engine, looks better than the other 250s, decent specs, tyre sizes etc. But this was a victim of the absolute bumper years that were 2023 and 2024 for the Indian biking community- the needle has moved towards 400cc bikes, and products like the CB300F, which was already suffering from the initial pricing debacle by Honda, just got left behind.

Heck even the much more capable CB300R is being overlooked nowadays. There seems to be no solution for Honda- it's a tough problem to crack beyond the price cuts, which have already happened. Do they then invest more money into the CB300s to spruce them up? That could be likely for the R, but not the F since the latter is already an outdated product for them globally.

[VStromer]

Originally Posted by USM_1

Accessories:[/b]

I have already added a few basic accessories:

1- Zana crash guard
2- Zana radiator guard
3- Front mud guard extender
4- Universal rear tire hugger
5- Instrument cluster protection film
6- Tank cover
7- Bobo mobile holder with charger.
8- HJG Liu Mini driving Fog lights

Planned mods:
1- Zana top rack
2- Zana side stand foot extender
3- Front windshield / visor
4- lever protector / knuckle guards

Hi Mate,

Why did you prefer the HJG Liu Mini lights. Are they better than Maddog ones.

I have heard a lot of bad reviews about HJG lights are they reliable.

Thanks and Cheers,
VStromer

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by USM_1

I took delivery of Honda CB300F matt grey on April 26, and it has been 3 months and 3000 kms done with my bike. It feels like proper upgrade from my previous bike (150cc commuter) in all aspects. I have written up all my observations below.

Congratulations USM_1, on getting your CB330F. Nicely summed up your initial experience of riding the bike for last 3 months. Please do keep updating here as you go on munching miles on your CB300F. Sad to know that your first service experience left a bad taste for you. Japanese are known for their excellent service. You should give this feedback to Honda and escalate it if required. Hope the bike gives you troublefree service and you enjoy every ride on it

[USM_1]

Originally Posted by VStromer

Hi Mate,

Why did you prefer the HJG Liu Mini lights. Are they better than Maddog ones.

I have heard a lot of bad reviews about HJG lights are they reliable.

Thanks and Cheers,
VStromer

Hi @Vstromer, even I was doubtful before installing HJG lights , as there are a lot of replica products available in the market but I ended up buying a genuine product at local dealership where some of friends used purchase motorcycle accessories now I am happy with my purchase. Maddog scout is the cheapest version that one can buy and along with that you need buy mounts, wiring harness, switch , filters at approx 6k but I completed my setup at a cost of approx 2.5k INR including installation.

[USM_1]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

Congratulations USM_1, on getting your CB330F. Nicely summed up your initial experience of riding the bike for last 3 months. Please do keep updating here as you go on munching miles on your CB300F. Sad to know that your first service experience left a bad taste for you. Japanese are known for their excellent service. You should give this feedback to Honda and escalate it if required. Hope the bike gives you troublefree service and you enjoy every ride on it

Thank you @AutoIndian, I will update my ownership experience, The service centre issue was due to poor staffing hope they improve it soon. I am currently residing at Chennai so will do periodic services in Chennai.

[VijayAnand1]

Congratulations on your new acquisition USM 1. The bike has its quirks and yet is the kid in the class who wanted his birthday to be celebrated by everyone, only to know his birthday falls in Feb 30th. A punchy little motorcycle with everything that's designed to do the job right. Ride safe and ride long.

Cheers!
VJ

[psb300r]

Originally Posted by USM_1

I took delivery of Honda CB300F matt grey on April 26, and it has been 3 months and 3000 kms done with my bike. It feels like proper upgrade from my previous bike (150cc commuter) in all aspects. I have written up all my observations below.

Hey @USM_1, Congrats on the CB300F and welcome to the CB300s community also thanks for your reply on my 300R post. It was sad to here about your service experience even though Honda is know for its better service and reliability hope you find a better service center. My service experience was better at Bigwing Salem central but they took a whole day to complete it. I am also looking to install Zana Accesories and did you installed them by yourself are did you find any other mechanic for it?

By the way enjoy your bike and have safe rides .

[USM_1]

Originally Posted by psb300r

By the way enjoy your bike and have safe rides .

Hi@psb300R Thank you, I ordered those accessories online and installed with a help of a mechanic.

[itisravi]

Congrats on your purchase USM_1! You should definitely try a different Big Wing service outlet. Perhaps you can get in touch with Bhpian @kurian_john who AFAIK is from Chennai and owns the same bike. Touch wood, my experience with Big Wing Bangalore has been good. Like you rightly noted, this is a fantastic upgrade for anyone coming from a commuter city bike. Regarding the paddock stand, it takes all of 10 seconds for me to put my CB300F on it.

[USM_1]

Originally Posted by itisravi

Perhaps you can get in touch with Bhpian @kurian_john who AFAIK is from Chennai and owns the same bike.

Thank you@itisravi. I have been in touch with BHPian @kurian_john even before buying my bike, he helped me a lot in my purchasing decision.

[TN31Rider]

I have booked the Flex Fuel variant and ordered crash guard.
Can you share the link for front mud guard extender I can't find a fitting one?

[USM_1]

Hi @TN31Rider , congrats for the new purchase, here is the link for universal front mud guard extender https://amzn.in/d/0a5Nqk8