The Honda CBR150R was first launched in India in the year 2012. Since then, the motorcycle has received various updates and features, but due to rising costs and less demand from the market, the motorcycle had been discontinued in the country in 2017. However, we feel its time the 2020 Honda CBR150R should make a comeback to India.
There is a new version of the Honda CBR150R that has been launched in Indonesia. Powering this baby CBR is a 150cc single-cylinder engine that produces a healthy 17.1 PS power and 14.4Nm of torque, coupled to a 6-speed gearbox. In comparison, the bike's main rival in India, the R15 makes more power (18.6 PS) but at a slightly higher RPM (10000 vs 9000). The CBR150R hits back by offering 0.3 Nm of extra torque and most importantly, at 7000 RPM as compared to 8500 RPM on the R15. This factor should make the Honda offering far better for city runs. The 150R is also about 7 kilos lighter than its rival.
The new 2020 Honda CBR150R will feature an all-new design scheme, with updates to the bodywork, fairing, frame, and much more. Some new features include an all-new fairing with LED headlamps, a new digital instrument cluster that gets a better readout, gear position indicator, display for engine temperature, and fuel economy, hazard lights as standard that include a feature, where hazards come on under hard braking. This is to warn others about a possible crash, a feature we have only seen thus far in high-end cars.
The chassis underpinnings have also been revised. For example, the new 2020 Honda CBR150R now has a sportier seating position, as well as lower seat height, to keep in check for short riders. The motorcycle also gets a sharper rake, 25-degrees, and a trail of 91mm for better turning radius and quicker steering.
Coming to the suspension and the tires, this is the only bike in the segment that comes equipped with a preload-adjustable front suspension, along with a 5-step preload-adjustable rear suspension. The bike gets 17-inch alloys with 100/80-17 front and 130/70-17 rear tires. The bike also gets 276mm petal discs at the front and 220mm rear discs. Honda is currently offering this motorcycle with the option of a Dual-channel ABS version in Indonesia, along with a non-ABS variant.
Considering that Honda has done so much development, the Honda CBR150R needs to come to India. if this motorcycle comes to the country, we can expect the pricing to be around 1.4 lakh ex-showroom. For now, this segment of premium 150-cc bikes is dominated by the Yamaha R15 V3, which continues to be the king of 150-cc premium sports bikes in India
For now, Honda is selling the X-Blade, the CB-Unicorn 160 in the 150cc segment. along with these motorcycles, Honda has currently come up in India with their above 500cc motorcycles in India, exclusively available at Honda BigWing outlets. these include the CB650R, CBR650R, CB1000R, CBR-1000RR, the Africa Twin and the Goldwing.
