Here’s What To Expect From Honda’s Upcoming 200cc Bike

Honda sent out a teaser last week, hinting at the arrival of something sporty. We believe it could be the successor to the Honda CB Hornet 160R, albeit in a 200cc guise, called the Honda CB Hornet 200R. This would make it the first made-in-India 200cc bike from Honda and here’s what we can expect from this upcoming motorcycle.

All-new air-cooled engine:

The teaser shows a brief glimpse of the engine and it is evident that it is an air-cooled, fuel-injected unit. Honda offered the Unicorn and the X-Blade BS6 with a counterbalancer, so expect the Japanese brand to offer the same in this motorcycle too for optimum refinement. It could be derived from the Honda CBF190R sold in the international market. This motorcycle uses a 184cc single-cylinder air-cooled motor that churns out 15.09PS of power and 14.5Nm of torque. These figures are quite low given the current bikes in the 200cc space, so expect Honda to tweak the bike for better performance.

The engine is likely to produce power and torque figures that are comparable to the TVS Apache RTR 200 4V. To give you a perspective, the Apache RTR 200 4V makes 20.5PS and 16.8Nm, and the BS4-compliant Honda CB Hornet 160R made 15.09PS and 14.5Nm. Expect the CB Hornet 200R’s engine to employ a 6-speed transmission for better highway touring capability.

Premium underpinnings:

A closer look at the teaser reveals a gold finished inverted front fork in the motorcycle. This will be the first time Honda will offer an inverted fork on a made-in-India motorcycle. The frame appears to be the same diamond type unit as the BS4 Hornet (used in the CBF190R too) and will be linked to a rear monoshock. Like the 160cc Hornet, expect this motorcycle to have a meaty 100-section front and 140-section rear tubeless tyres (hopefully radial).

For optimum braking prowess, the bike employs petal discs that offer greater surface area than conventional discs. They are likely to come with a dual-channel ABS as standard.

Familiar design and features:

Going by the teaser video, it is evident that the bike’s design language is similar to the CB Hornet 160R, albeit with some tweaks all over. The fuel tank extensions look beefy and the masculine design is further accentuated by the inverted forks finished in gold. The motorcycle uses a full-LED headlamp and the tail lamp is likely to be LED too.

Interestingly, the key slot has been relocated to the tank instead of being near the handlebar clamp in the 160cc Hornet. The CB Hornet 200R uses an all-digital instrument cluster with a gear position indicator along with other run of the mill info. The ergonomics are likely to be upright, with a slight hint of sportiness thanks to the wide single-piece handlebar.

Pricing, launch date and rivals?

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The Honda CB Hornet 200R will be launched on August 27. It makes sense for Honda to explore bigger segments as the X-Blade BS6’s pricing itself is a bit too much for its class. Moreover, the Hornet was always meant to be positioned above the X-Blade, so it makes sense for the Hornet to move up a segment now. The Japanese bikemaker has the habit of pricing its bikes at a premium than its competitors, so expect the same with the 200cc Hornet too. It could be priced at Rs 1.40 lakh (ex-showroom).

When launched, it will rival the TVS Apache RTR 200 4V and the Bajaj Pulsar NS200.