VOL. 51 ISSUE 34 AUGUST 26, 2014 P81
BY KIT PALMER
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KEVIN WING
H
onda upped the ante with its
CBR300R that takes over
for the outgoing CBR250R,
a machine aimed at first-time buy-
ers, beginners, or for those who
are just looking for an inexpensive
and practical, yet still sporty mode
of two-wheel transportation. And
for many, the CBR250R fit the bill,
but when the CBR's number-one
competitor, the Kawasaki Ninja
250R, recently made the leap from
250 to 300, Honda had no choice
but to follow suit. In doing so, Hon-
da used the opportunity to revamp
and refresh the entire motorcycle,
giving it an all-new look and many
updates to go along with the in-
creased displacement.
The meat and potatoes of the
CBR300R are pretty much the
same. It's still powered by a single-
cylinder, DOHC, four-valve, four-
stroke motor that is carried in the
same twin-spar steel chassis with
pretty much the same suspension
package, but there are plenty of dif-
ferences elsewhere, most obvious
being styling.
The CBR250R was modeled af-
ter the company's VFR1200F, while
the new CBR300R gets its inspi-
ration from Honda's CBR500R,
CBR600RR and CBR1000RR sport
bikes. There are three color schemes
to choose from: solid black, solid red,
matte black metallic with yellow strip-
ing, and HRC-inspired pearl white/
red/blue. All look good, but the black
and yellow model seems to get all of
the attention.
Is bigger better when
it comes to Honda's
littlest CBR?
BIG
Going
