By now, the entire Indian motorcycling fraternity knows that Honda is going to unveil a premium motorcycle in India on 30th September. Honda is leaving no stones unturned in building the hype around it and it looks like their tactics are working. The prime reason behind this is because Honda has Royal Enfield in its crosshair. The Honda Highness cruiser, as it is being called, will probably be based on the Rebel 300.
What’s up with the Honda H’ness Cruiser?
Some more details have emerged regarding the upcoming Honda motorcycle. Honda reportedly filed two names for trademark but managed to get approval for only one of them. We got our hands on the trademark and there’s a possibility that it might retail in India by the name ‘H’ness’.
The company has been repeatedly using the ‘Highness’ term in all the teasers it has released regarding the new Honda motorcycle. While Honda did file an application to trademark the name ‘Highness’, it got declined. The reason why they might have come up with its short iteration ‘H’ness’. Honda has made it pretty evident in the past that it is planning to launch a motorcycle to take on Royal Enfield. It only makes sense that the only way they can pull it off is by launching a 300-350cc cruiser motorcycle and not a power cruiser. Given what it sounds like, we are almost certain to expect cruiser motorcycle styling from this upcoming Honda highness bike.
Has Honda developed an entirely new bike?
Chances are, Honda has specifically developed this motorcycle for our market and Honda’s upcoming cruiser might be based on the Rebel 300. It will be interesting to see the bike is based on an all-new platform or if it uses a modified version of the Rebel 300 it sells overseas. India is a price-sensitive market and if Honda India is really looking forward to making a dent in Royal Enfield’s unreal sales figures, it will have to launch something which isn’t too heavy on the pockets. Something which we can’t expect from the Rebel 500 and that’s where Rebel 300 makes its case even stronger. Then again, we aren’t sure that whether Honda will utilize the same platform to spawn a cruiser motorcycle or will launch a completely new bike.
Expected Honda H’ness Cruiser specs
If the Honda Highness Cruiser Motorcycle builds on the foundation laid by the Rebel 300, we can expect it to come with a 286cc, liquid-cooled, DOHC engine that produces 30.4 PS at 8000 RPM and 27.4 Nm of torque at 6500 RPM, mated to a 6-speed gearbox. A seat height of 690mm should be ideal for short riders. The transmission should also be assisted by a slipper clutch. The Rebel 300 ABS weighs 167 kg which will certainly give it the weight advantage over its prime rivals. We can expect the New Honda Royal Enfield Rival cruiser to weigh the same.
Also read: Honda Rolls Out Another Video Teaser For Its Upcoming Premium Motorcycle
Interestingly, Royal Enfield is also planning to launch the much-awaited Meteor 350 in India next month. While the industry was expecting the launch of this bike to happen this month, the company never announced anything officially. As per the latest reports, the company has now changed its plans and has postponed the launch of the 2020 Meteor 350 to next month. The actual reason behind the delay of the Royal Enfield Meteor 350’s launch date is still unknown. However, we believe it could be due to the arrival of Honda’s sub-500cc cruiser, to rival Royal Enfield and Jawa.