Jim Bull's - Outdoorz Magazine: Ride Review

Ride Review - The Honda 300’s

Courtesy of Velocity Cycles - Mechanicsburg, Pa

By Jim Bull

This month’s review was a treat for me. Earlier this year I spoke with Chris Cuomo, owner at Velocity Cycles in Mechanicsburg, Pa and we talked about doing a series of street bike reviews for Brapp Magazine. Yes, a little different content to what you are used to seeing in our pages, but still very much a part of what we all do.

After all as many of you youth racers get older you will most likely look to the street to expand your motorcycle riding experiences. As Chris and I spoke I had a few models in mind that I really wanted to experience myself. But in this our third segment of the journey, I told Chris - you pick the bike this time.

Just about a week before I thought to myself, why don’t you call him back and request a ride on one of Honda’s 300cc bikes. I had the Honda Rebel in mind but thought, anyone would do. But as it would work out, my schedule kept me busy and I never got to make the call.

As I arrived at the shop that day I was excited to see what I would be swinging a leg over. I walked into the shop and immediately ran into Brandon one of the sales consultants there and I asked him, “what you got for me today Brandon”, to my surprise he pointed to the Honda CB 300F or standard as I called it. Yes, another score.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m a big bore, high horsepower guy from the word go when it comes to a street riding machine. But there was something about this little Honda single that was calling out to me.

We rolled all three available models in the series out into the parking lot, the CB300F (standard), the CBR300R (sport) and of course the Honda Rebel 300 which is their (cruiser) style option.

The first two above share identical frame, brakes, engine and motor configurations with the only difference being the added sport fairings for looks and aerodynamics. The Rebel is almost a model of its own with a different frame, tire sizes, seat, etc to give it that cruiser or retro style while still sharing the same great Honda technology and power plant.

So after a few pictures I mounted up on the 300 F and headed towards the hills just north of Mechanicsburg. This bike works great as an entry level machine offering all the goodies a new rider would want. It has a low seat heat, a great center of gravity, awesome brakes, standard ABS, electric start, fuel injection and a boat load of torque for a small displacement bike. On the same token it offers the experienced rider all of the same. An old guy like me could really appreciate the way this bike handled, the ease of balance and weight, the ability to cruise the city streets or burn the back roads at a speed that is safe but yet fun. (disclaimer here: old guys that haven’t grown up, with big bore, high horsepower bikes usually end up with lots of speeding tickets, or buying lots of plastic), making this bike an excellent choice for all riding groups and styles. The best part, oh yeah the Honda 300 series has a starting price range of around $3999.00 and averages 78 MPG.

As I made my way back to the shop I just had a big smile on my face. Honda has hit yet another home run with this good looking, fun to ride and affordable machine.

If you live in Pa it’s even better because we certainly have the perfect roads for it and Velocity Cycles is easy to find only a few short miles off Interstate 81 near Mechanicsburg, Pa.