[ebonho]

I have read few reviews and posts on CBR650F. Some have praised it and the others have given negative comments. If you look at the forums, I see one point that is being raised - "What was Honda's thought in positioning CBR650F ?". Based on reading few of the posts, there seems to be some confusion around that point. I feel it will still be an attractive option (provided the pricing is decent) for the following reasons.

1. Being an Inline 4 - It is going to attract guys who say "An Inline-4 is an Inline-4".
2. It imitates a SS bike in terms of styling, seating ergonomics,.etc. . Though it is not a SS technically, it will be appealing for guys who look for a SS (or an SS like) on a budget.

People refer Ninja 650 as an all rounder. In my opinion, even CBR650F looks like an all rounder. It may not be as sporty as 600RR/ZX6R, but it tries to imitate them. It may not be as practical as SV650/Ninja 650, but it is definitely more comfortable than any of of the SS bikes. I have no doubt that 650F is going to have a market, but it all depends on the pricing.

There should be none of the above confusion thankfully for us in India, swimming as we are in a sea of motorcycles from every major manufacturer.

Simply put, this is going to be the only legal mid sized fully faired bike we will have at a reasonably sensible price within 10 lacs.

And yes, it will be the only Indian supersport under 10 lacs. I'm not going to quibble about a bike being a supersport or a sport tourer when its faired, 600 odd cc, and does 150 mph indicated.

Its a supersport for me. And will be seen as such by many across the country. With nothing else to confuse them.

Which equals to nothing else to confuse Honda wrt pricing either.

[Aditya]

The CBR 650F has started reaching dealerships. This one was spotted in Indore.

Link to Team-BHP News Article



Image: Motoroids

[mail4ajo]

Can experienced riders comment if this will be a good beginners bike? I have ridden and owned many bikes mostly in the 100-180cc category with some experience in the 350cc (RD & RE) class. Been riding since 1998.

I was considering the Ninja 300 as it seemed like a nice beginner bike which is claimed to be very forgiving for newbies. But heard that CBR is coming with ABS (sadly no sign of ABS on Ninja) and CBR will fall in my budget. Also I intend to be very mature and take my time to learn the machine well. Worried about Honda support though.

[Ricci]

Originally Posted by mail4ajo

Can experienced riders comment if this will be a good beginners bike? I have ridden and owned many bikes mostly in the 100-180cc category with some experience in the 350cc (RD & RE) class. Been riding since 1998.

I was considering the Ninja 300 as it seemed like a nice beginner bike which is claimed to be very forgiving for newbies. But heard that CBR is coming with ABS (sadly no sign of ABS on Ninja) and CBR will fall in my budget. Also I intend to be very mature and take my time to learn the machine well. Worried about Honda support though.

A beginner bike it isn't, but definitely among the better 500cc+ bikes to go to if you're relatively short on SBK experience. I went from 220cc to 675 and quite comfortable with the weight - just don't let it lean more than 10-15 degrees off the vertical at parking speeds ! The high CG will then likely catch you off guard. Being accustomed to 150kg bikes, 190kg isn't too much , the CBR650F is around 215-220kg , so a little more effort at parking speeds and pushing-pulling.

If you can budget for the Honda, go for it. The Ninja 300 is far from bad, but 39hp is only so much fun if as much fun is what you're looking for. Since you're up to handing the weight on a Bullet, this will be a bit heavier - if you're about 5 ft 5 or taller, it'll be manageable.

[Sojogator]

Originally Posted by mail4ajo

Can experienced riders comment if this will be a good beginners bike? I have ridden and owned many bikes mostly in the 100-180cc category with some experience in the 350cc (RD & RE) class. Been riding since 1998.

I was considering the Ninja 300 as it seemed like a nice beginner bike which is claimed to be very forgiving for newbies...

From the reports, the power is linear and manageable. I think, with the experience you have, this learning curve will not be very stiff for you and you would be able to have loads of fun on it. Also, I guess its better to get something of this stature than start looking for another upgrade a couple of years yet again.
Plus, the Honda bells and whistles in technology, as you say. A.S.S is pretty bad for most except for the Triumph maybe and Honda has a huge network to make use of.

[jkdas]

Seems Dhingra Honda is taking booking. 50k advance and only red color is available.
Expected price- 8Lac Ex-Sh New Delhi.

Can someone confirm this?

[GTO]

Mod Note: Team-BHP does NOT permit any discussion on illegally high speeds. Please respect our stand.

Thanks!

[Nithesh_M]

Spoke to my Manager at Mangalore's Honda ASC. He always let's me in on the behind the scenes. So he confirmed what i already knew.
Every state will get only 1 or 2 dealerships for the 650F. This is temporary as Honda will be adding 20 more dealerships in the next 2 years just like they have in Thailand for big bikes only. (BigWing Honda sells 250-1800cc motorcycles in Thailand)
For KA folks, Silicon Honda, Bangalore will be the sole dealership to buy in the state.
Manager says i will have to buy the bike through them only, pick it up and head back to Mangalore. The next part is what he told me and isn't official. I asked him what i would have to do for service. Do i ride to Bangalore for every interval?
He said there's no need. I have to book a service slot at my nearest Honda ASC and they will give me a date and time and Honda will send a technician to the city and get the bike serviced here. Note, this part isn't confirmed so take it for what its worth.

Price is rumored to be hovering around the 8 lakh mark unofficially, but the launch is tomorrow if i'm not mistaken? July 4th? or was it July 7th?

Bookings are open now. 50k is the amount in some areas.
Delivery begins in August.

[killjoy]

Originally Posted by Nithesh_M

He said there's no need. I have to book a service slot at my nearest Honda ASC and they will give me a date and time and Honda will send a technician to the city and get the bike serviced here. Note, this part isn't confirmed so take it for what its worth.
.

Honda is currently doing this for non-city based owners of Honda superbikes today. So they may extend this to the CBR650F also.

[Nithesh_M]

Yeah, it looks like they are clubbing the 650 with the 1000s in terms of maintenance. Hopefully service bills won't be similar too :P

[Nithesh_M]

A friend claims to have gotten a scoop via his inside sources, An Introductory Price of 8.18 lakhs ex-showroom. I really hope they are joking now, Introductory meaning it will go above 8.5 once the honeymoon phase is over :/
Let's see what surprise the Launch is going to get us. I still hope the sources are wrong.

[loki]

Originally Posted by Nithesh_M

A friend claims to have gotten a scoop via his inside sources, An Introductory Price of 8.18 lakhs ex-showroom. I really hope they are joking now, Introductory meaning it will go above 8.5 once the honeymoon phase is over :/

Oh Dear. That means 9+ OTR in Bangalore I really hope the quote is wrong!

But the converse can also happen. This is the pricing with the current 5% localization level. When they increase the localization level, price will drop right?

[Nithesh_M]

Yeah but for that they have to meet initial sales target and the country has to prove that there are enough buyers and not just people talking about it on the blogs. :/
If the initial sales isn't justifiable, they will roll back on production (presently only 2 units are assembled per day, making about 50 odd units a month, well on par with Ninja 650s initial sales figures) and keep the price as is forever.

I'd much rather Honda remove the ABS and HISS and offer it for 70k less.(Yeah the chip and wiring loom with sensors for ABS = 30k, HISS = 40k with ignition lock set) and offer a standard version for 7.5ish :/ like they did with the 250. But that would require redesigning the electricals and more work and at this stage i think its very unlikely.

Can somebody provide a breakdown for the taxes and other costs involved for KA folks that would add up on the ex showroom price for a 600 i-4? Benelli owners? Would the difference be about 50k or go upto 1 lakh? :/

[Sojogator]

8.18 means the OTR would be around 9.55 in Bangalore. Well played Honda !

[Shivanshu]

Has any information come out of Honda's stable or these are just the random websites on the internet. As when contacted Honda officially here they said the booking will start from August. And as per now Honda has not even had the Official Media Launch of the CBR650 which is important, and its not even showing in their official website. And I know rumors are on the top for this launch as per now.