VOL. 55 ISSUE 31 AUGUST 7, 2018 P97
single cylinder motor, cool styling
and a great price—there's a reason the K.I.S
principle works for Honda's CB300R.
KEEPING IT
SIMPLE
BY RENNIE SCAYSBROOK / PHOTOGRAPHY BY DREW RUIZ
H
onda has a long history
of building simple and
effective motorcycles.
Bikes like the Cub—the motor-
cycle on which Honda builtt its
reputation, and the legendary
XR are examples of Honda
keeping it simple and producing
excellent products as a result.
The CB300R is no differ-
ent. When you strip back the
LED lighting, the funky style
and Showa suspension, the
CB300R is just a single-cylinder
engine wrapped in a tubular
steel chassis. Its aim is to pro-
vide cheap, easy transportation.
Like the Honda Cub all those
years ago.
One of the biggest issues
we as motorcycle riders face
in the present day is that there
are not enough of us com-
ing through. With less new
riders, the industry as a whole
suffers, so Honda is making a
concerted effort to get more
butts on seats by offering five
street bikes between 250-
500cc to entice new riders.
Since 2011, Honda has sold
over 50,000 sub-500cc
bikes, with 43-56 percent of
those going to new riders.
However, those machines
were part of the old world in
terms of Honda design. For
2019, the CB300R range falls
