Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (HMSI) has launched the Honda CB300F with Honda FLEX Tech at Rs. 1.70 lakh ex-showroom. Honda FLEX Tech is HMSI’s flex-fuel tech which makes their vehicles E85 fuel compliant. In simple words, these vehicles will be compatible with 85% blended ethanol.
Honda CB300F with FLEX Tech
The New Honda CB300F remains the same as the E20 compliant CB300F. There are no changes in body panels, dimensions and weight. The only difference is in the graphics – the flex variant gets a green-colored Flex Tech sticker. It is available in 2 colours – Sports Red and Mat Axis Grey Metallic.
In terms of the powertrain, it has the same 293.52 cc, 4-stroke engine that produces marginally more power and torque. The difference is very small to even notice it. It produces 24.5 PS of power and 25.9 Nm of torque. The engine is mated to a six-speed gearbox.
Features
The motorcycle gets all-LED lighting, a digital instrument console, ABS, Traction Control and all other features that are available with the non-flex motorcycle. It gets beefy USD forks in gold, rear mono-shock, and disc brakes on both wheels. The wheels are 17-inches and the rear gets a beefier 150/60 section tyre.
Introducing the new CB300F flex-fuel, Mr. Tsutsumu Otani, Managing Director, President & CEO, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, said, “At Honda, we aim to achieve carbon neutrality for all our products and corporate activities by 2050. As part of our commitment to sustainable product innovation, today we introduced the new flex-fuel version of the CB300F, marking a significant milestone in our journey towards reducing emissions and addressing India’s energy needs. With more than a decade’s expertise in flex-fuel technology globally, Honda has specially developed this motorcycle keeping the Indian customers in mind to make a seamless flex-fuel transition for the Indian two-wheeler market. The launch of the new CB300F flex-fuel reinforces our commitment to support the Government of India’s Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) program and to contribute towards a cleaner, greener future.”
Our Thoughts
It is commendable for HMSI to launch a E85 fuel compatible fuel in this segment. We are sure that other manufacturers too will follow their steps and update their own product line-up. The government of India has a plan to fully adopt E85 fuel by 2030 and these are the first steps towards the same. However, in the current scenario only E20 fuel is widely available and the actual cost benefit on E85 will be passed on only when the E85 fuel is widely available. Having said that, HMSI has priced the CB300F at the same price as the current motorcycle giving the customers an option to be future-ready for E85 norms.