Honda CBR 650F expected to launch in July: Locally assembled CBR 650F to be priced in India at INR 8 lakhs

Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (HMSI) recently announced its decision to launch locally assembled CBR 650F Sports bikes in the country in July. This decision acts in favour to the ongoing ‘Make-In-India’ campaign and could help Honda to use competitive pricing strategy. But sadly that is not the case. According to reports Honda will be launching the CBR 650F in India for a premium price of INR 8 lakh (ex-showroom).

First introduced in 2014 Delhi Auto Expo, the CBR 650F Sports bike has been creating a lot of anticipation among the masses. After several speculated launch dates HMSI President and CEO, Keita Muramatsu finally confirmed that the 650F is going to be launched in India in July 2015. "We are planning to introduce CBR650F sometime in July. It will be completely assembled in our plant. It is part of the Make in India concept promoted by the government," he said in a statement.

Though the bikes will enter the Indian shores via CKD (completely knocked down) units, localisation levels on the motorcycle would only be around 5% initially, hence the premium price.

In terms of looks the 650F upholds those basic traits of the CBR family. Similar to its younger siblings the CBR 650F carries an aggressive stance. The overall design looks muscular and complete. The ergonomics of the upholstery looks perfect both for racing endeavours and touring.

Powering this beast is a 649cc liquid-cooled inline four-cylinder engine that produces 90 PS of peek power and 62 Nm of torque, while the transmission duties are taken care of by a six speed gearbox. It also gets a PGM-FI Programmed automatic enrichment circuit with 32mm throttle bodies, 41 mm fork front suspension, single shock rear suspension and a 17-litre fuel tank. Breaking duties are carried out by dual 320mm discs front brake and rear brakes with Single-caliper 240mm disc.