Affordable Honda CB350 Launched, To Rival Royal Enfield Bullet 350

As predicted earlier, Honda has launched its Royal Enfield Bullet 350 rival: the CB350. Much like the Bullet sharing virtually everything with the Classic 350 but arriving at an affordable price point, the CB350 too shares almost everything with the H’ness but is priced lower. The asking price set for the CB350 is Rs 1,99,900 (ex-showroom Delhi), making it a whole Rs 9,957 more affordable than the base version of the H’ness.

While the approach is like the Bullet, the styling cues are quite like the Classic. For starters, the mudguards get a mounting cage and are rounded. Even the shape of the tank is now more rounded and has a teardrop shape to it. There are tank grips now as well as fork sleeves.

And it is available in five colours, one for the DLX trim (Pearl Igneous Black) and four for the DLX Pro trim (Matte Crust Metallic, Matt Dune Brown, Matte Marshall Green Metallic and Precious Red Metallic). The split seats get white piping now with tan seats offered on the Pro trim.

The motor remains the same 348.36cc thumper that makes 20.78 bhp and 29.4 Nm. What’s new here is the peashooter type exhaust, a change from the conventional one of the H’ness. Honda claims the new end-can should deliver “a bold low-pitched sound.”

Honda is hoping to make its CB350 line-up more approachable price wise and it is sort of true. However, the asking price of the DLX trim is still quite a lot steeper than the corresponding trims of the Royal Enfield Bullet 350 and is almost on par with the mid-spec colours of the Classic 350. And with the likes of the Triumph Speed 400 and Harley-Davidson X440 offering better value and performance, Honda is likely to face a tough road ahead for the CB350.