2022 Honda CB300R

Honda’s CB300R Neo Sports Café lightweight gains 41mm Showa ‘Separate Function front Fork Big Piston’ (SFF-BP) USD forks, plus an assist/slipper clutch and EURO5 compliance for its 286cc liquid-cooled engine. Specification includes radial-mount 4-piston front caliper, floating disc, IMU-controlled ABS and preload adjustable monoshock. Full LED lighting complements a smartly updated LCD display.

1. Introduction

Strip motorcycling down to its bare essentials and often less equals more. Honda has long understood this, and for 18YM created the CB300R. Part of the Neo Sports Café family – which includes the flagship CB1000R, A1 licence-friendly CB125R and recently updated CB650R four cylinder middleweight – it distils all of the excitement of two wheels into lightweight form.

Representing a major stepping-stone for any young or new rider, the CB300R is very much a first ‘big’ bike after a 125cc machine, offering as it does engaging response and sensations from both engine and chassis without the weight, cost and licence implications of a larger capacity motorcycle. It’s also a great introduction to Honda, with the brand’s engineering prowess, design philosophy, premium equipment and high build quality firmly on display. Conversely, the CB300R also offers an attractive proposition for experienced riders looking to downsize.

Fun to ride, easy and affordable to own, the CB300R receives some major upgrades for 22YM, including high-quality front suspension, assist/slipper clutch and EURO5 compliance for the engine. Just as before, it brings unique style to Europe’s city streets, with a bare-boned attitude that is guaranteed to turn heads.

2. Model Overview

Light weight – the CB300R tips the scales at a wet weight of just 144kg – gives Honda’s small-bore superstar an immediate performance advantage. Mix in a free-revving 286cc liquid-cooled single cylinder engine, with new assist/slipper clutch and EURO5 compliance for 22YM, plus the unique Neo Sports Café naked bike presence and the CB300R has the perfect formula to excite and inspire young riders.

The frame mixes pressed and tubular steel for a tuned rigidity balance that gives great feedback. For 22YM the CB300R now features, as standard equipment, 41mm Showa Separate Function front Fork Big Piston (SFF-BP) USD forks (the same high-quality specification as fitted to the CB650R, with spring rate and damping changes)  as well as a radial-mounted 4-piston caliper, hubless floating front disc, IMU-controlled ABS and radial tyres.

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A tapered steel handlebar, updated LCD instrument display and full LED lighting exude quality and add to pride of ownership.

The 22YM CB300R will be available in the following colour options:

Pearl Dusk Yellow ##NEW for 2022##

Mat Pearl Agile Blue ##NEW for 2022##

Mat Gunpowder Black Metallic

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Candy Chromosphere Red

3. Key Features

3.1 Chassis

• New 41mm Showa Separate Function Big Piston (SFF-BP) USD forks 
• Radial-mounted 4-piston caliper and hubless 296mm floating front disc
• ABS works through Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU)

Underpinning the CB300R’s minimalism is its tubular and pressed steel construction diamond-style frame. The swingarm is manufactured from steel plate, irregularly shaped in cross-section. Both are designed to achieve high longitudinal rigidity and control torsion from wheel deflection without excess rigidity or weight.

The chassis’ core strength is anchored by the pressed steel swingarm pivot plates and swingarm, allowing the frame to deliver agile handling with stability and feedback; rake and trail are set at 24.2°/90.2mm. 24.7° / 93mm

41mm Showa Separate Function Big Piston (SFF-BP) USD forks are a major new upgrade for 22YM. A pressure separation damper in one fork tube and spring mechanism in the other deliver high damper performance and lighter weight. Together with the use of a larger sized piston the result is increased feel, bump absorption and control. The rear shock offers 5-step spring preload adjustment.

A 49.6% front/50.4% rear weight bias provides a positive feel for front-end grip and easy steering which is also helped by the low, 144kg wet weight and compact 1,352mm wheelbase. Seat height is set at 799mm.

Braking is managed by a 296mm hubless floating front disc, worked by a radial-mounted Nissin 4-piston caliper, the rear 220mm disc via a single-piston caliper. Both are modulated by 2-channel ABS. The high specification system works through an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) to give precise front and rear distribution of ABS operation depending on the vehicle behaviour.

A 150/60R-17 radial rear tyre matches the 110/70R-17 radial front.

3.2 Styling & Equipment

• Unique Neo Sports Café style puts the hardware on display
• New seat material improves comfort
• Full LED lighting and LCD dash with updated gear position indicator

Styling is true to Honda’s Neo Sports Café naked bike design language, putting the CB300R’s blacked-out hardware on display. It’s also brutally neat; the cutaway tail unit is barely there, and supports separate rider and pillion seat. The seat features a new revised cover thickness for additional comfort and both rider and pillion footpeg hangers are aluminium.

A thin (23.5mm and weighing just 230g) full function LCD instrument display provides speed, engine rpm and fuel level, with gear position now highlighted in its own, negative form for 22YM. Warning lights are arranged across the top. Full LED lighting – including indicators – gives a premium feel and contributes to mass centralisation. The headlight uses a dual bar light signature, upper for low beam and lower for high beam and the taillight is extremely thin.

The 10L fuel tank is hidden underneath an angular cover and shrouds and houses an aircraft-style filler cap. With fuel economy of 30.2km/l (WMTC mode), the CB300R can cover over 320km from full.

Valerio Aiello, of Honda’s Rome R&D Department on the Neo Sports Café design aesthetic:  

“The entire current Neo Sport Café range from Honda is the result of the CB4 Concept model presented at EICMA in 2015. Our desire was to explore the world of the café racer and reinterpret it in a modern key.

All the models of this CB series are not simply retro-vintage motorcycles, but rather neo-classics – that is, modern motorbikes showcasing classic design styles combined with modern techniques.

We wanted to create a new stylistic dimension, different from the muscular streetfighters of the last few years, and at the same time, far from the simpler café-racer style. The end result is that none of the bikes from the competition resemble the Neo Sports Café range and, like them or not, they are easily recognisable as Hondas. The competitors have classic or very modern motorcycles in their ranges, but in my opinion, not something that goes in the wake of both styles. 

During development of the CB4 concept, I found inspiration from outside the world of motorcycles, in watches. I’ve always liked their technicality and one of the key concepts used during the Neo Sports Café design was ‘Mechanical Art’. 

‘Mechanical Art’ is the desire to show the beauty of the various mechanical elements to which Honda has always given great importance. Watches do this very well indeed, with their mechanics always creating a certain charm.”

3.3 Engine

• Responsive single-cylinder DOHC 4-valve engine
• 9kW peak power/27.5Nm peak torque with EURO5 compliance
• Redesigned underslung side-exit exhaust
• Assist/slipper clutch now managing 6-speed gearbox

The CB300R’s compact, 286cc DOHC 4-valve liquid-cooled single cylinder engine is a diminutive jewel that has won many fans for its free-revving and responsive nature. And while it may pump adrenaline as revs rise it’s also an engine that works well in real-world road riding conditions, around town or out on the highway. Peak power of 22.9kW arrives @ 9,000rpm, with peak torque of 27.5Nm delivered @ 7,750rpm.

New for 22YM, an assist/slipper clutch allows super-smooth shifts and manages rear wheel ‘hop’ on rapid downshifting and hard braking. The 6-speed gearbox offers an even spread of gears for strong acceleration and the gear change mechanism employs an adjustable rose joint linkage.

Bore and stroke is set at 76 x 63mm, with compression ratio of 10.7:1. PGM-FI fuel injection – with 38mm throttle bore and straight-shot intake path – delivers crisp throttle response across the rev range. For EURO5 compliance – alongside an OBD2-compatible crank sensor – the underslung exhaust mid-section has been redesigned and incorporates a new larger catalyser. The right-side exit muffler also features a new, simpler internal structure.

To reduce maintenance costs – an important factor for younger riders – the engine is also designed with the minimum number of moving parts. Details like the low-friction piston rings, high-density core radiator and iridium spark plug help increase fuel efficiency.

4. Technical Specifications

# Please note that the figures provided are results obtained by Honda under standardised testing conditions prescribed by WMTC. Tests are conducted on a rolling road using a standard version of the vehicle with only one rider and no additional optional equipment. Actual fuel consumption may vary depending on how you ride, how you maintain your vehicle, weather, road conditions, tire pressure, installation of accessories, cargo, rider and passenger weight, and other factors.