IAB Report - Honda CB650F showcased at Paris

To be assembled in India.

The Honda CB650F naked sportsbike has been showcased at the 2014 Paris Motor Show. The street fighter's faired sibling CBR650F made its Indian premiere at the 2014 Auto Expo in February.

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India has announced that the medium displacement CBR650F will be locally assembled for the domestic market next year. However, the company has not mentioned anything about the closely related CB650F street fighter.

The motorcycle gets power from an inline four-cylinder 16V DOHC engine which belts out 85.8 bhp at 11,000 rpm and 63 Nm of torque at 8,000 rpm. Mated to a 6-speed transmission, the CB650F is claimed to deliver a combined mileage of 21 km/l under the European driving cycle.

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The front and rear suspensions are of telescopic fork and monoshock respectively. Braking is courtesy of dual-discs with two piston calipers upfront and a single disc with single piston caliper at the rear.

Given that the sportsbike segment in India is showing positive signs, a locally made offering would enable Honda to arrive at an aggressive pricing. Given the the faired CBR650R will be locally assembled, it won't be difficult to adopt the same strategy for the naked CB650F if HMSI decides to bring it to our shores.

Competitors: Triumph Street Triple, Kawasaki Ninja 650
Expected Price: INR 6-7  lakhs, ex-showroom