BREAKING: Honda Rides In The Updated H’ness CB350 And CB350RS

Joining the OBD 2-compliant bikes’ list are Honda’s retro bikes, the H’ness CB350 and the CB350RS. Here’s everything they get:

What’s The Price? Who Are Its Rivals?

Honda has priced the H’ness CB350 from Rs 2,09,857, and it goes up against the Royal Enfield Classic 350 and the Jawa. The CB350RS retails from Rs 2,14,586 (both ex-showroom Delhi), which is quite a lot more expensive than its rivals: the Royal Enfield Hunter 350 and the TVS Ronin. What that means is both the bikes get an extremely chunky price hike, which you can check out below: 

The bikes are also available in a total of six different kits, through which you can customise them to be a roadster, cruiser or even a cafe racer. Check them all out here.

How Many Variants Are There?

The 2023 H’ness CB350 is on sale in three variants: DLX, DLX Pro and DLX Pro Scheme. Meanwhile, Honda has shuffled the CB350RS’ variant list to DLX, DLX Pro and DLX Pro Dual Tone. 

What’s New?

The newest part on both the bikes is obviously the OBD 2-compliant engine, meaning they’ll comply with the upcoming BS6.2 emission norms in real time. Both bikes’ 348.3cc single-cylinder still produce 21PS and 20Nm. 

On the DLX Pro trims of the CB350RS, Honda has thrown in its smartphone connectivity with voice control feature, something which was exclusive only to the top-spec H’ness. The H’ness too now comes with a split seat setup as standard. This bit of kit was initially offered on the previous Anniversary edition and now is common for all of its trims.

What’s Unchanged?

As we said, the CB350s’ engine figures have still been unchanged. Underpinnings too, have remained unchanged.

What Should Have Been Changed?

While these changes are appreciated, we would’ve liked Honda to make some changes to its engine, more so its gear ratios, to improve its tractability and ease of usage.

ZigSays

What’s the most surprising bit are the updated prices. In typical Honda fashion, all the trims of the bike have seen unreasonable hikes and the CB350s’ cases aren’t helped by the fact that their biggest rival, the Royal Enfield Classic 350’s prices start from Rs 1,90,092 (ex-showroom Delhi).  And the customisation kits pushes the asking price further north, making it hard for the bike to compete with its Royal Enfield counterparts in the sales charts.