Honda’s H’ness has been appreciated in the Indian market for its smoothness and its bassy exhaust note. The H’ness CB350 is a classic motorcycle that gives a homage to retro Hondas. Honda is offering the H’ness in two variants. There is a DLX and DLX Pro. The DLX Pro gets a dual-tone paint job instead of a single-tone which is found on the DLX variant. You also get smartphone connectivity through Honda’s Smartphone Voice Control System. Through this, the rider can give voice commands for turn-by-turn navigation, notifications for calls and messages, music and even weather. However, these features do require a headset, which is sold separately. Also, because of this Honda has to offer navigation buttons on the left switchgear which you do not get on the DLX variant. Information like real-time fuel efficiency, distance to empty or range, gear position indicator, average fuel efficiency and battery voltage indicator is standard across both the variants. The DLX Pro also gets a dual-horn setup with chrome covers instead of a single horn which is given on the DLX. Due to this, the DLX Pro variant costs Rs. 5,000 more than the standard DLX variant. The Honda CB350 H’ness DLX is priced at Rs. 1.85 lakhs ex-showroom and the DLX Pro variant is priced at Rs. 1.90 lakhs ex-showroom.
Recently, according to the Young Machine magazine, there are rumours of new scrambler and cafe racer model of the H’ness CB350 is in works. It is not a surprise as Royal Enfield also had the Thunderbird, which was a cruiser version of the Classic 350. The same will happen with the new generation of Classic 350 which will be derived from the recently launched Meteor 350.
People love cafe racers, it is one of the reasons why the Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 is such a big hit in the international markets. However, not everyone can afford a Continental GT 650 due to which a lot of people convert their motorcycles into a cafe racer by removing the rear seat and opting for lower clip-on handlebars. Honda is also expected to launch a cafe racer version of the CB350 H’ness. It will definitely attract more attention on-road as it will be much cheaper than the GT 650 and there are not many cafe racers in India that come from the factory. So, people would not have to spend a lot on customizations and void their warranty. They could just buy the Honda CB350 H’ness Cafe Racer.
The second product to come from the CB350 line-up will be the scrambler version of the H’ness. Being an off-roader it should get knobby tyres for better grip on dirt and spoked wheels because alloys might break while off-roading. It should also get a more up-swept exhaust so that it does not scrape on large rocks. It will also get a bash plate to protect the engine’s bottom.
Both of the versions will get the same braking setup and engine configuration. The changes will only be cosmetic for both of them and there will be no mechanical changes. As it does not make sense for Honda to make such a motorcycle with less power because usually scramblers and cafe racers are powerful.
Source: Young Machine