2014-on HONDA CBR300R Buyers Guide | On paper it sounds worthy at best - in reality it’s a blast

Decent as an urban commuter. We've done 2 holidays down to Devon and my wife rode the little CBR300R and kept up with me no problem. We've done days out in the Cotswolds and all day comfort was never an issue. 2 hours of riding is fine when most people may stop for a coffee break. We've not used the bike for pillion rides. It's doable in town but not for the faster roads.

Decent enough power. Its nowhere near as fast as its rivals eg the RC390, Ninja 300/400 or the R3 but then again, it is sufficiently powerful enough to ride smoothly. The Duke/RC390 aren't as refined as the engine torque shakes those bikes (I've owned/ridden both as well as a Husky 401). Traffic light starts see you pull away from the traffic with ease.

Only the injector coil failed which was swiftly put right. No corrosion on the chassis. Nothing else has gone wrong...not even a bulb. I take care of the bike and clean it after rides, particularly after riding in wet weather. The stock IRC tyres are pretty naff but ok in the dry. We have since fitted Bridgestone S22's and that massively helped. I'm a sub 75kg rider and my wife is a sub 69 kg rider so we can both ride this bike pretty quick. It will do 90mph with ease, and I have nudged 100mph riding downhill with 500rpm available. However, those speeds are not part of the show and not the reason I bought it. All switchgear still works fine. It's clearly built to a budget but everything is decently screwed together.

Expect to pay a Honda dealer about £200 for an annual service. More for a service with valve clearance check. However, I service the bike myself. Linkage bolts are easy to clean and grease, oil and filters are easy and cheap. Air filters are very expensive but a quality aftermarket option can be had for almost the same money. Decent on fuel (60+mpg) though not as frugal as a CBR500R simply due to the fact, the single cylinder works harder at the higher speeds at the sacrifice of fuel economy.

Its very basic. Analogue revs, digital speedo, trip meter....er...wheels.... An aftermarket gear position indicator would suit the bike. Not essential but useful. 6th gear reads 6,000rpm at 60mph, 7,000rpm at 70mph etc. Change the IRC tyres when they wear out. Best feature has to be the low weight.

Perfect, no issues. I am used to sports bikes and cycling so bars are more than high enough (I am 59)

perfect. no vibration, linear & adequate power (I have had litre bikes all my life)

My first new motorcycle (age 55). I decided to spend £4k as my first foray into a new vehicle, rather than 16k for a bmw1000r & drop £4k in a year

do all myself, but 0nly 2000 miles in 3 yrs as I have many bikes.

there isnt any; just the basics. I like the digital speedometer but reads way out as most bikes do

Keeping in mind the engine size and configuration, I'm quite impressed. Wind-blast is kept manageable thanks to the small wind deflector. Vibrations are well dampened and only become more noticeable above 125kmh/8000rpm or so. Even so, they don't result in numbness like the previous models did (250cc). The seating position is very comfortable and so is the seat. I've toured on this model for up to 12 hours a day without issue. Brakes for this category are quite good and will stop you as fast as you need to. ABS is a nice extra for those emergency stops in less than ideal conditions.

I like the low-end torque in comparison to other models in the segment. Vibrations are felt, although not intolerable, above 8000rpm. I do wish it was an actual 300cc and had a bit more power to be better compete against the other bikes in the category. However, it will still hold speeds above 80mph all day every day without an issue, even uphill.

Since acquiring the motorcycle new, the bike has been completely bullet-proof! Taking a look at it, no parts seem out of place or poorly manufactured/assembled. Considering the price point, it meets and slightly exceeds the build quality I would expect for such a machine.

The bike's a small thumper with long service intervals. Fuel economy, service intervals and parts all amount to very low ownership costs.

I wish it had an updated dashboard to be more high-tech. Gear indicator, as well as other data, would be appreciated.

Main bearings fail, buyer beware !!!

Handles well and stops.

Need to buss it to get it really going, good for a single pot bike.

Economical and good through the twisties

To new to comment as melieage under the first service. Getting high 70's miles per gallon.

Handy to have abs although hope never have to use it.

brakes are fine - front brake is responsive and powerful enough - don't expect too much from the rear, but does its job. as it is so lightweight very easy to filter but a bit blowy on motorways - not an issue but it will feel very light - it will cruise along at 75 no problem at all though and pulls beyond that

Pretty torquey for a 300. Great that you will use the whole rev range - I like the needle tachometer - you will be seeing that needle get to the red line a lot as you use all the range most of the time. Bags of fun and good torque - you will use all of the rev range which is great fun. from 4,000 rpm gets going but at about 8,500 that's it. Redlines at 10,000 rpm. At 75 on motorway, I was really surprised - no vibration at all - I was really impressed.

Pretty bulletproof so far - lives up to the Honda brand

engine is very economical

Pretty basic - although great it comes with ABS as standard. I like the riding position - pretty upright but not too stiff. Love the look of the bike, fairing etc - it's really well put together and feels solid

The ABS brakes are great. The ride is a little stiff, but its a sportbike at the end of the day.

Surprisingly good pulling power from the little 286cc lump. I'm a lightweight rider and found this more fun than a previous 600 naked bike I've had.

It's Honda's trusted, reliable build quality.

Costs about £15 to fill up, £120 for a service & parts are available.

Fuel guage, 1 trip meter as standard

The bike is at its best on the open road/country lanes or in town, it doesn't matter where you ride it, i can get over 200 miles to a tank full, I do need to take a break at around 150 miles, may get a gel pad inserted in the seat.

Lovely spread of torque & the Akrapovi'c carbon race can has improved the power.

the engine is the best bit, involving is the best way to describe it, fueling is so crisp, makes the cbr500 twin feel dull.

Underpowered in the 300 class, but would probably kill most 250's