Street cred

Honda’s newest streetfighter the CB300F joins the ranks alongside the CB300R, as a soul sibling to the CB500F on sale globally. We hop in the saddle and find out what this bike really has on offer

- Dipayan Dutta

The streetfighter is a dying breed. Their multipurpose nature and functional approach has been their undoing. Everybody now wants a motorcycle that’s purpose-built and suits their needs precisely. Honda though has gone against the trend, adding a second relatively less expensive 300cc to their portfolio. Where the R draws on the CB650R, the F draws on the CB500F’s sharp modern aesthetic. We headed over to the Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad to get our first taste of this new streetfighter to find out exactly what it offers.

This may be an unpopular opinion among my peers, but I honestly think that the CB300F is a really good-looking motorcycle. Its sharp yet minimal design draws on the CB500F for inspiration. Look closer and there are so many interesting details that catch the eye, the sharp sinewy indents on the tank, the short mudguard with neat aero-looking cutouts, the mesh side plate and even the stubby twin pipe end can on the exhaust all of them are -- at least to me-- very aesthetically pleasing. But as the internet has unashamedly pointed out, it looks too much like the CB Hornet 2.0, which it doesn’t, as not one single panel is shared. But from a distance, you’d think it was because they are both Honda streetfighters and there is going to be some design philosophy spillover. I think the bigger problem is that they share very similar paint and livery layouts, and that makes them look similar at first glance.

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Mid-range performance