There were reports few weeks back that Honda was to assemble CBR650F locally in the country, based on the parts, which were to be imported from Thailand. India has been a great market for two-wheelers and Honda wanted to tap that opportunity by assembling the bike within the country so as to reduce the manufacturing price. However, there are some more reports that have hit the daylight. According to the recent revelations, the company is expecting to launch this middleweight sports superbike by March, 2015. The most interesting part is that Completely Knocked-Down (CKD) motorcycles fall within a much lower tax bracket when compared with Completely Built Units (CBUs). Going by this strategy, Honda CBR650F is showing signs of becoming the most affordable quad-cylinder motorcycle in the Indian two-wheeler market.
It was initially declared during the Delhi Auto Expo in 2014 that Honda was looking forward to launch the CBR650F in the country. It was not known at that time that the bike would be assembled locally. However, it was recently declared by Honda that the company was planning to assemble the parts imported from Thailand at Vithalpur in Maharashtra. Obviously, the local assembly meant that the bike would attract much lower excise duties as compared to otherwise importing built units. This would have meant that the price of the bike would be set quite aggressively. However, things changed when Honda decide to take part in the ‘Make in India’ campaign, which focuses to implement the country’s huge manpower to enhance the manufacturing process within the country, thus simultaneously making several products more affordable.
Mechanistically, the CBR650F is set to become a hot favourite in the two-wheeler market. It utilises a 650 cc engine, which produces 87 bhp and a maximum torque of 63 Nm. Also, it is set for tough competition from upcoming Benelli BN 600Tand Hyosung GT650R and Kawasaki Ninja 650R.
