Go Urban Touring, Honda CB200x.

September 25, 2021 Admin 200cc, CB200X, EXPLORE, honda, honda 2 wheelers, india, Motorcycle, new, Review, Touring, URBAN

HMSI, the Japanese manufacturer Honda’s India wing, has launched the Honda CB200x, the Adv tourer inspired motorcycle powered by the same 184.4cc engine that powers the Hornet 2.0, tweaked and tuned of Urban Touring. It will be available in 3 different paint schemes, Red, Matte Silver and Pearl Black. No matter what colour you look at, you shall be stunned at the beauty of this motorcycle. The CB200x looks heavily inspired from the elder Honda siblings, the 500x and the Africa twins.

Here’s a our detailed road test review :

The CB200x basically is a soft roader to put it down in the words of a company official. So ladies & gentlemen, the CB200x is not an ADV motorcycle, not even close. So what is it? The preposition Honda wants to make with the Cb200x is – ‘ You want the look and feel of a cool looking ADV motorcycle that you can use for daily commute and weekend rides, which is accessible and easy on pocket.’ Not a ADV, but a Tourer with ADV looks. They are calling this the segment of Urban
Tourers, and they are the first ones to arrive in the 200cc segment in India getting the first mover advantage, which time only will tell us to what extent Honda benefits out of it.

New item by Motor World India / Google Photos

Lets dive into the motorcycle, shall we. So, the design inspiration, as I said has been the 500x and the Africa twin, but heavily from the 500x. It looks like the 500x went on keto diet for a couple of months, but yeah still looks handsome no doubts on that. The iginition switch sits on the tank panel, like most superbikes do, to add to that premium bike feel. The body styling, may it be the headlight design, front fairing design, tank design, side panel design or the tail section design, All has been inspired by the Cb500x. The front fairing also gets this Tall visor, which isn’t really tall. For a guy like me with a height of 5ft,10inches the visor passed most of the wind hitting me on my helmet directly. The tank gets this sporty livery and a Honda badge while the side panels carry the CB200x branding. It also gets an underbelly cowl to add to its adv look, but its just for looks, comes made in plastic, wont be useful more than stopping a few small stones from hitting that engine.

The headlight is a LED setup with twin DRL lamps, which are difficult to see in day light. Can’t say much about the night performance either, since we rode it only during day hours. Other than that, it gets the X-shaped LED taillight setup borrowed from the Hornet 1.0. Indicators are LED type and these look like they are borrowed from the Hornet 2.0 design. On the front end though, is a segment’s first. Honda has installed the front indicators on the Hand guards installed on the Handle bar, giving it a very special & different appeal. The handlebar too is special, Its bulkier in the center part and narrows down near the handlebar grips, giving it that extra strength where its required, the guys at Honda already thought of what might happen in case of falls. The upswept exhaust design is inspired from the elder cb500x which adds to the overall adv looks.

Speaking of the suspensions, the Cb200x gets 37mm USD forks, which are tuned to a bit on the stiffer side to give you that stability and confidence in corners and offroads. It has a travel of good 130mm. On the rear sits a 3 step adjustable Mono-shock absorber which gives great feedback & comfort with a travel of around 70mm, this too gets a stiffer state of tune to aid its tourer capabilities.

In terms of seating, it gets a stylish wide rider seat, while the rear seat sits a step up. The rider seat is plush and comfortable to ride continuously for hours. The seat height is at a good 810mm, which would make the cb200x accessible to a wide audience in India. This setup sits on a diamond type chassis design, inspired from the Hornet 2.0. The seating position is upright, and to aid this Honda has used a long deep handle bar to keep the handle in reach of the rider easily, which is quite effective even while saddling.

To add to its ADV looks and feel, Honda has developed these New Y spoked alloy wheels which are light weight but stronger than ever to take on those bumpy broken roads with ease. But mind you, the CB200x isn’t an off-roader, and one should always keep that in mind. In terms of Handling and control, the bike is extremely agile and nimble to handle, very easy to steer around in dense traffic, the suspension too do a good job of delivering a comfortable ride. The look and feel and the ride of this 200x is all good, until you take It off the roads.

Honda has equipped the Cb200x with tubeless MRF tyres, with a 110/70-17 section tyre on the front and a 140/70-17 section tyre on the rear. These are dual pattern tyres, though they provide excellent tarmac grip, they are equally bad in slush and offroads though. Another point that I would have Honda to have thought otherwise is the inclusion of an Dual Channel ABS. Right now, the CB200x is offered only in 1 variant, with single channel ABS on the front paired to a 276mm disk
brake. On the rear sits a 220mm disk brake, which does tend to lock up off the roads, on tarmac though, the MRF tyres provides great traction and confidence to brake hard without the worry of locking up, even at times when it does, it doesn’t fish-tail, its that beautifully balanced.

In terms of features, Honda has equipped the CB200x with a negative display LED instrument cluster, that gives you basic information like Speedometer, tachometer, trip meters, fuel gauge, clock, gear indicator and battery voltage indicator. This has 5 different backlight settings, to make it visible to rider even on the brightest of days. As I said, there’s only a Single channel ABS option, whats surprising for me is that Honda did not install a simple side stand immobilizer or equip this Urban Tourer with an USB charging port. We are speaking of a Premium Urban Touring motorcycle, and missing out on such details does question the fact if Honda has launched it in a hurry.

Coming to the heart of this motorcycle, its an 184cc mill paired to a slick 5 speed gearbox, as expected from a Honda, and it’s a tried & tested platform borrowed from the Hornet 2.0 . The engine produces 12.5Kw of power @8500rpms and 16.1Nm of Torque @6000rpms. This engine loves to be revved hard. The power delivery is linear, though there is immense torque once you cross 4k rpm mark. The engine runs refined and delivers a smooth riding experience, again on lines of a Honda. The bike can easily touch 120kmph on open highways when needed, for most of your other days, this cb200x can cruise around the city traffic on 3 gear with speeds as low as 25-30kmph with ease. In terms of mileage, the cb200x is expected to deliver figures in the range of 40-45kmpl inline with what the Hornet 2.0 does.

Overall, I loved the preposition Honda has made here. How about you guys? Priced with a tag of Rs.1,44,500 ex-showroom, the CB200x surely is offered at a competitive price, and I am sure it will eat up a lot of competitor market share for Honda. Its just 17k more costly than the Hornet 2.0, but the styling, looks and overall ride experience is worth a lot, lot more. I ll leave you with that, and would want each one of you to atleast test ride a Cb200x, and get back to us with your feedback and experiences.