is kept to a minimum . You ’ ll feel the road ’ s small imperfections through those taut 41mm front forks , but 130mm of progressive travel allow larger bumps to be a little more forgiving . The mono-shock rear suspension follows much the same trend , offering taut but compliant performance . The brakes are miles better than any I ’ ve experienced before . Clamping down on the levers hard gives a strange , ‘ washy ’ feeling – like I ’ d partly locked the wheels up – but stopping power was never an issue , that stopping performance provided largely by the substantial disc up front . Dual channel ABS is standard ( as with all bikes imported now ), but I didn ’ t manage to activate it ( or maybe didn ’ t notice it ) to properly test it .
WHO ’ S IT FOR ? I can ’ t help but think the CB300R seems a little lost in terms of what it wants to be . Honda calls it a Neo-Sports Cafe motorcycle . I don ’ t really know what that is . I do know that it ’ s not as comfortable or convenient as some other bikes I ’ ve ridden as city commuters , and where it feels at home most , on tight backcountry roads , I feel my own money might be better spent on more powerful machinery . That said , if you ’ re a little uncomfortable with the idea of a bigger bike while getting to grips with motorcycling , or want a light and nimble machine that barely sips the gas , and still want more grunt and style than the average humdrum LAMS machine , the CB300R is definitely worthy of a test ride .
32 KIWI RIDER