Honda’s hot made-in-India retros are getting some small tweaks—but for reasons we’ve never seen explained, you still can’t buy one in North America.
What is an H’ness?
The Honda H’ness CB350 and CB350RS are both retro-styled motorcycles made for the booming market in India. The H’ness 350 is more of a leisurely ride, with 19-inch front and 18-inch rear. The RS version is more sporty, with 19-17 wheels. They can be ordered with factory accessory kits that turn them into a cafe racer, scrambler, and so on. You can see those customization kits in the video above, from the Indian market.
Both bikes use an air-cooled 350 single-cylinder engine that puts out less jam than you might hope; peak output is 21 hp, 22 lb-ft of torque.
In that respect, they are somewhat similar to Royal Enfield’s Classic 350, which also makes less muscle from its single-cylinder than you might expect. (pretty much on par with the Honda) The Hondas also come with retro chrometastic styling similar to the Royal Enfield Classic 350. But while Royal Enfield sells the Classic 350 all around the world, Honda seems less keen on taking the CB350 series global.
Honda has kicked around the idea of pushing for big exports from its Indian factory, mind you; we just haven’t seen any result of that in North America or Europe at this point.
Updates for 2023
So what’s new? It’s all small stuff; Honda now includes an OBDII plug on the CB350 series, as required by Indian law, making for quicker diagnostics. The CB350 also gets a split seat that looks straight from a 1970s commuter bike. The RS variant gets Bluetooth connectivity same as the standard H’ness CB350 model. Both bikes now also get an Emergency Stop Signal (ESS), which is also required by India’s traffic regulations—this is an automated system that makes all four signal lights blink rapidly when the brakes are applied suddenly, alerting nearby motorists. On India’s crowded roads, this could indeed be a lifesaver.
It’s also the kind of gadget that we might not see here in North America, if the bikes ever come here, as regulators won’t require it.
