Honda is reportedly planning to kick-off the local assembly of the CBR650F from July, at its Manesar facility in Haryana. Honda will initially start off by producing just two motorcycles a day with five per cent localisation, though we can expect both these numbers to gradually increase, depending upon the customers’ demand.
Hond, last week, announced its new business strategy for the current financial year, with the aim of selling 64 lakh two-wheelers by 2016. The Japanese manufacturer revealed that under this new ‘Retain, Expand, Create’ model, the new CBR650F will play an important role by creating a niche space in the market. To promote the CBR650F, Honda will set up a premium distribution format for the sales and service of the middleweight superbike, through a new Shop-In-Shop distribution format in 20 cities across India.
The CBR650F is a middleweight supersports motorcycle, which gets a full-fairing designed along the lines of the CBR600RR. It is built around a twin-Spar steel frame and employs a 649cc liquid-cooled inline four engine, which delivers 87bhp and a peak torque of 63Nm through a six speed transmission. It gets a four-into-two-into-one underbody exhaust system which gives the rear a clean look. Once launched here, the CBR650F will compete with other fully-faired middleweight motorcycles like the Kawasaki Ninja 650, Hyosung GT650R and the Benelli BN 600GT.
