Honda Registers The Design Patent Of A New Naked Bike, To Rival TVS RTR 200 4V And Suzuki Gixxer 250?

Honda is clearly gearing up to launch a new bike in India, and while its specifics are still under wraps, the latest registered design patent reveals several crucial details. For starters, the bike looks a lot like the current-gen Honda CB300R, however, there are a few omissions here which should help price the bike competitively. So much so, that we anticipate that Honda’s upcoming naked bike will compete against sub-300 cc bikes, like the TVS Apache RTR 200 4V, Suzuki Gixxer 250, and the Bajaj Pulsar NS200 or Pulsar N250. 

THE KEY STANDOUTS

In a typical Honda fashion, the new patented bike looks muscular, modern, and comes across as quite the premium proposition. It gets a nice circular LED headlight, much like the CB300R, neatly nestled between the USD fork which in turn further gives it a nice bulky visual appeal. It rides on alloy wheels with petal disc brakes at both ends. The muscular design of the fuel tank and the exhaust also looks more or less similar to the Honda CB300R. 

THE KEY DIFFERENCES

The biggest difference between the Honda CB300R and the patented bike is in the engine department. The latter does not get a radiator for engine cooling, which can be taken as an indication of sorts that the bike will be powered by a smaller engine with air cooling. The fins on the engine body further reinstates this. Moreover, unlike the Honda CB300R, which is built around a trellis architecture, the patented image here suggests that the bike is built on a double-cradle frame. 

Even the simpler, single-piece seat design and the semi-digital instrument console that is reminiscent of the same unit that we have seen on the Honda H’ness CB350 – all indicate that this new bike will slot below the Honda CB300R. 

Conclusion

Given the kind of similarities and differences we have spotted here, we think Honda might launch a revised, next-gen iteration of the Hornet 2.0. This will help the Japanese to strengthen its position in the sub-300 cc segment, which has of late become quite popular with so many new entrants. Will Honda have the ultimate option in this segment? Will be confirmed in the following months.