Honda could launch the ADV350 or CRF300L next month, might venture into a new segment
Honda is gearing up to launch an all-new model on 8th August and it could be the ADV350. If that isn’t the case, the launch could either be the CRF300L or the Honda NT1100. The company is tight-lipped about what’s cooking in the background.
From the teaser, we can make out that the product is going to be sold through Honda’s BigWing showrooms and it will be a premium offering. The company has also indirectly said that the model will feature a new design, great advancements, and good performance.
Looking at Honda’s recent activity in India, the company has filed patents for 3 scooters – ADV350, Vario 160, and U-go. Among the 3, only the ADV350 looks fit for the BigWing showrooms and so it’s likely to be the 8th August’s launch.
The ADV is a huge maxi adventure scooter with long wheelbase, comfortable seats, full fairing, and adjustable windshield. For a sure-footed handling off-road, the scooter gets knobby tires and USDs upfront.
To further up its adventure characteristics, it features a comfortable flat handlebar with hand guards and optional rear top box. Power comes from a 330 cc SOHC liquid-cooled fuel-injected single cylinder engine that exerts 29 HP and 31.5 Nm mated to a CVT transmission.
These figures are neck-to-neck with that of the BMW G 310 GS and much higher than KTM 250 Adventure and Suzuki V-Strom 250SX. The adventure scooter tips the sale at 186 kg while seat height is quite low at 795 mm making it a perfect recipe for touring enthusiasts.
If the launch isn’t the ADV350, it could be the CRF300L as there are reports of the adventure bike spotted undisguised in the country of late. It makes sense for Honda to launch the bike here as it gets the same engine as the CB300R.
However, the engine has been detuned for more low-end and mid-range grunt. The adventure bike boasts of an impressive ground clearance of 284 mm while the suspension travel is a humongous 260 mm at both front and rear.
All this lead to an insane seat height of 881 mm. Like its naked sibling, the CRF300L has a very low kerb weight of 140 kg making it a fun machine to ride off the roads.
But, we might be entirely wrong as nearly nothing concrete could be made out from the teaser. Other potential launches could be the Forza 300, 350, or even the Honda NT1100 as the company has left some traces of these models here.
