Keita Muramatsu, the CEO and President of Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India confirmed to reporters during a press conference in Chennai that the much-anticipated Honda CBR650F will see a July 2015 launch in India. The bike was initially showcased at the Delhi Auto Expo in 2014 and will directly rival the Kawasaki Ninja 650R. Incidentally, the Kawasaki model is the only middle-weight tourer bike in the country at the moment. However, with the confirmation from Honda, it is soon to be over.
It was also revealed that this bike will be launched in a Complete Knock Down (CKD) format in India. The current localisation planned for the machine is just 5 per cent, which would grow with time. The bike during its launch is expected to be priced just around 8 lakhs INR (ex-showroom). Incidentally, the Ninja is priced at 5.35 lakhs INR only. Comparatively, the CBR650F produces approximately 16 bhp more than Ninja 650R.
The CBR650F, because of its high price, would be comparable with the likes of Kawasaki Z800, Triumph Street Triple and Hyosung GT650R. The new bike runs on a 649 cc liquid-cooled, inline-four cylinder mill, which produces 87 bhp of power and 62 Nm of torque. A six-speed transmission has been utilised to send power to the wheels.
