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Currently, Honda India is the second-highest selling two-wheeler brand in India as seen in our retail sales chart for the month of June 2022. Honda sold 2,85,691 units in June 2022 as opposed to 1,96,785 units in June 2021 with 45.18% YoY growth. The Japanese brand currently has a 25.53% market share in the month of June 2022.
Honda is set to launch a new vehicle in India on 8th of August 2022. In the teaser, Honda announced that the “Formidable” is arriving in India. The word formidable made us think that it will be the Forza maxi-scooter with either a 125cc, 150cc, or 350cc powertrain. We have covered Forza maxi-scooters in detail in a previous post.
Honda CRF300L Spotted In India
But Honda is making the news again as a CRF300L has been spotted in a showroom in India. Honda’s CRF range refers to the brand’s motocross and dual-sport motorcycles that are built for most trails or terrains mother Earth can throw at it. They are very popular among off-road enthusiasts worldwide.
We have heard about the CRF190L that is rumoured to launch in India competing against Hero XPulse 200 4V that recently got a new Rally Edition variant and a Rally Kit too. But the CRF300L being spotted at a Honda dealership in India certainly raises questions.
Honda did a similar thing back in 2020 when they displayed a Forza 300 maxi-scooter at a BigWing dealership in Gurgaon. Four units were also sold to the public too. Maybe this is a similar drill where they want to gain market opinion and feedback regarding a product or a product category.
Honda CRF300L is a handsome-looking machine for off-road purists and it gets a purposeful design too. It gets a motocross-style body along with a small squared-off headlight, up-swept exhaust, engine guard, and more. Honda CRF300L gets a 21″ spoked wheel at front and an 18″ spoked wheel at the rear like XPulse 200 4V and are shod with knobby tires.
Specs & Competition
It gets non-adjustable Showa long-travel 43 mm USD forks at front and prolink suspension at the rear carving out a massive 285 mm of ground clearance. Front disc brake is 256 mm and the rear disc is 220 mm in diameter. It gets regular halogen bulbs all around and a modern LCD dashboard for instrumentation. The engine displaces 286 cc and makes 27 bhp of power and 26.6 Nm of torque. It gets a slip assist clutch and a 6-speed gearbox too. Honda CRF300L weighs around 142 kg and has a tall seat height of 880 mm. Honda has even patented the motorcycle in India.
We are not sure what is the purpose of this CRF300L in India. But, if Honda ever launches it in India, it will be a strong opponent to the XPulse 200 4V Rally Edition for extreme off-roading. Because lightness is the key factor in off-roading rather than outright speed and power. In this regard, CRF300L is more powerful and at the same time, is also lighter than XPulse 200 4V Rally Edition. If we look at hardcore competitors, we have imports like Kawasaki KX and KLX series of motocross bikes with either 250 or 450 cc engines.
Other competitors for softcore trail riding and other terrains, it can be comparable to Royal Enfield Himalayan, Yezdi Adventure, and KTM 390 Adventure. We can see a steep price for CRF300L if it launches in India on August 8th instead of Forza maxi-scooter.
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