Honda’s announcement of producing the 4-cylinder 650cc CBR650F in India at the Auto Expo has literally caused a lot of flutter in the industry and biking aficionados alike! This has primarily two reasons – One that the bike will be a 4 cylinder motor and two, its production in India should mean sense-making price range.
A possibility of the CBR650F becoming the most affordable 4-cylinder bike in the country is very much ripe. Next, the attention turns towards its possible launch time frame. Various reports earlier has suggested that Honda will launch the CBR650F sometime towards the end of next year or it may also spill over to 2016. But but but….
A new report coming from Autocar India claims that Honda will launch the new CBR650F by March 2015 which is barely a wait of 4 months from now, much sooner than the earlier reports. If this gets true, this is a terrific update and your dream of a faired mid-range 4-cylinder sportsbike may just get fulfilled very soon.
The American version of the CBR 650F produces 87 bhp of maximum power at 11,000 rpm and 62.76 Nm of torque at 8,000 rpm. The good thing about this half-liter CBR is that it is not a thorough supersports which means, though the seating position will be aggressive but it will not be spine-breaking!
The fairing draws some serious inspiration from the CBR 600RR, but the bike appears less aggressive yet similarly sporty. Braking duties are overseen by twin discs at the front and the usual single at the rear. It will most probably be further assisted by the safety net of ABS.
The non-ABS version of CBR650F costs 8,499 dollars in the USA which equates to about Rs 5.24 lakhs. The report further claims that the bike will come via the CKD route and will not be manufactured here completely. Realistically, an ex-showroom price of anything between 6-7 lakhs is what we should be looking at. How many of you will grab this Honda at this price point..?
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