CONSCIOUS DECISIONS

Is the new CB200X just a restyled Hornet 2.0? Or is there more to it?

- Janak Sorap

Everyone knows that the youngest sibling ends up wearing the elder one’s hand-me-downs. And it is only when the former outgrows them that they get their own clothes. Similarly, manufacturers have always used parts bins to put together new motorcycles, and nowadays the sharing has progressed to entire platforms to keep overall costs down and also to maintain a smaller inventory. While this strategy does work for brands and buyers alike, there is always the chance that it can backfire with cannibalisation of the less-appealing motorcycle in the family.

The newest example to follow this strategy is the Honda CB200X. While it bears the CB tag and the X suffix, both hinting towards adventure, off-roading and the like, the CB200X is actually quite the opposite; it is a motorcycle that is underpinned by the Hornet 2.0. Honda pegs the CB200X as an urban explorer designed mainly for the concrete jungle and some light off-roading whenever the occasion calls for it.