Honda CB300R

What a Cracker of a Motorcycle! – I bought the CB300R as a second bike after reading every review I could find on this model and overthinking it of course. The most comprehensive review I read was by Mark Pullen in Britain and that sold me. My comments address some points raised in other reviews after taking delivery of my bike in June and putting 2000km's on it. For perspective I weigh 85kg and 5' 10" tall. Most of the riding I do on the CB is hilly tight cornering on poor road surfaces so handling comfort and suspension are big priorities for me. Those in Queensland familiar with the Mt Mee Road (my back yard) will be familiar with the road conditions - rough.. Seat comfort is fine - I fitted a sheepskin pad (as I do on all my bikes) and have never noticed any discomfort at all after over 2 hours in the saddle. When I rode the bike back from the dealer without sheepie (50 min ride) I did not notice the seat at all - a good sign. The suspension is a standout and when riding over poor road surfaces I can feel the quality of absorption and rebound which is excellent. Full marks to Honda using the Showa Upside-down big piston forks which are truly impressive. The rear suspension compliments the front and I have not altered the rear from stock. Handling is razor sharp with very quick steering and stable in wet and dry with the stock tyres. The gearbox action is one of the smoothest I have had on any bike (if not the smoothest) and selection of 1st (no clunk) and finding neutral faultless. The slipper clutch is super light. The gearbox ratios are very close with 1st being lower than I am used to. Found that you can be in 5th gear at 60kmh and 6th gear at 70kmh without stress then the bike will pull effortlessly to over 100kmh and hold that speed on hills without effort. I had thought that it could do with slightly taller gearing to make highway or open road running a little more relaxed, but have decided otherwise. A reviewer (Da Bin Che) in Asia did upgrade to a 15 tooth front sprocket for a long trip he was doing, and then swapped it back to the standard 14 tooth on his return as he felt that the 15 tooth messed with the power/torque characteristics of the engine on hilly roads meaning frequent gearchanging on hills. With only 286cc to play with I could see his logic and Honda have clearly put thought into the overall ratio's to suit the engine. If you were doing mainly of highway work then maybe the sprocket change would make sense, but otherwise leave it stock is my thought. You do have to get used to those short gearing ratios though. The engine itself is a peach - incredibly smooth at all revs and has torque and good engine braking in all the right places. A gearchange shift indicator light on the dash is fitted, which to me seems to be mainly for the amusement of reviewers or boy racers to look at when they rev the ring out of the engine. I find changing up at around 5000 rpm is absolutely fine and no need for the light which shows at 8000rpm. Showing my age maybe.. The CB300 will be fine for touring as long as you adjust your expectations with how much you carry and ideally not with an adult pillion as it is a short wheel base and things could be a bit cosy seating wise. As I mentioned, it will hold 100kmh plus easily and you will not have the anxiety of that falling back to 80kmh at the sight of a hill with traffic on your tail. I have fitted a Givi 30L top box which is perfect for general duties - there are a lot of luggage options available for the CB300R. Fuel Tank: There has been comment that the 10.1L fuel tank is too small and a limiting factor. Not so. I have regularly achieved a range of 250km from the tank showing 1 bar fuel remaining only to find on refilling that there was 2.84L left in the tank so effective range could be closer to 300km which is excellent. I use 95 RON Fuel and riding is a mixture of open road, hilly terrain and shorter trips. The tank filler set up is not ideal and comment has been made on this by others. There is a bar placed just beneath the filler neck which means you cannot insert the bowser nozzle much below the base of the filler opening. There are two large holes in the baseplate of the filler which helps relieve back pressure when you are refuelling and lets you see when the tank is full. But it means you have to refuel carefully to avoid fuel splashing depending on the characteristics of the bowser pump - not a show stopper but can be a nuisance. The instrument display is excellent day or night and the gearshift indicator a welcome update on the 2019 model. Comment has been made that the Select and set buttons on the left of the display are too stiff and cannot be easily pressed with gloves on. Yes, they are stiff, but I find no real difficulty resetting the trip meters with gloves on at the servo and at this bike's price range you cannot expect these controls mounted on the handlebar switch block as I have on my other VStrom XT. Do not recommend attempting to actuate the buttons when riding because of their location. The full LED lighting is superb and I can attest to night riding effectiveness as well. I have fitted R&G offset rear bobbin adaptors which enable use of my paddock stand for easier chain maintenance (no brackets are fitted by Honda for bobbins) and a Puig short screen to make the front look more "complete" I get do not get any dirty air or much of a wind sock effect at any speed to be fair with or without the screen. Servicing: Basic oil and filter changes are very simple and well within the scope of anyone who can differentiate between a spanner and a screwdriver, although the Owners Manual clearly would like you to go back to the dealer for all maintenance so is less informative than Honda Owners manuals used to be. A reviewer I read grumbled that you had to raise the tank to get to the (maintenance free) battery and yet access to the battery would only be required every 3 years or so, however the air cleaner is easily accessible under the front seat which you will need access to much more frequently.. Honda have also provided an easily accessible top up reservoir for the coolant complete with dip stick for coolant level - nice touch and shows how much thought Honda puts into the little things. Service Intervals: Honda claim a 12000km service intervals for the CB300 which I find baffling to put it politely on this engine. The oil Honda recommends is their standard mineral 10W-30 grade - nothing special and yet journo's extoll the virtues of this as a great cost saving measure. The sump holds only 1.5L oil and the genuine Honda oil filter costs less than $9.00. To my knowledge, there has not been a dramatic change in engine or oil design in recent times to feel comfortable about having extended 12,000 km service intervals, let alone using a mineral oil. My Suzuki VStrom XT has 6000km service intervals on full synthetic oil and I think this is more realistic. Honda is not the only bike manufacture to start specifying extended service intervals presumably to "save" the owner money in running costs - but I think is just false economy if you intend on keeping the bike past its warranty period and care about engine longevity. I will be doing 6000km or 6 month service intervals on my CB and have peace of mind. Conclusion: Apart from the fueling up issue and Honda's silly design of reversing the Horn and blinker switches to usual set up on the switchblock I think that this is a brilliant, well thought out bike and finish is typical Honda quality which shows throughout. It is a bike that really shows that you do not need big capacity to do the job well and I have no difficulty in keeping with my group riders unless the speeds get silly - just a terrific all rounder that will suit new and seasoned older riders very well indeed. Will put a smile on your dial with every ride. Highly recommended.