Rob's Review - GB350S

Honda GB350 – My first ride.
 

Please forgive me for not being too excited by the prospect of riding the GB350, but who knew this bike which only produces 21bhp would be so much fun to ride. Everyone here who’s ridden it (staff and customers alike) have returned with a “Cheshire cat grin” on their face.

The price deserves top billing, because at £3949 OTR it is extremely good value. At this price you might expect some cost cutting, but it is built in Japan to the highest quality and comes with a centre stand fitted as standard (no pun intended!).

If country lanes, B roads and town riding are your thing the GB350 will be in its element. Easy predictable handling and friendly power delivery combine to give the GB350 a very satisfying ride, although if you want to wind it up a bit more the standard fitment Metzelers are more than up to getting the pegs down through the twisties.

Honda have produced this engine to have character, a relatively heavy flywheel for low down torque combined with balancer shafts to minimise vibration at higher revs are key to how they’ve achieved this. As you would expect the fuel economy is excellent too at a claimed 94mpg.

The seat height at 800mm may cause issues for shorter riders, but by reupholstering the saddle it can be reduced by another 25mm and if that isn’t enough, we have a further solution albeit a bit more expensive to assist here. So don’t be put off if it’s a little too tall for you.

Honda produce a range of accessories to tailor the GB350 for your requirements. Take a look on the Honda UK Motorcycles website configurator to see what you might want to add.

If I’m being perfectly honest, whilst the colours are stylish and contemporary I would’ve preferred a classic burgundy red or a dual colour scheme. When supply catches up with demand we may do our own. Watch this Space!

We have a demo model here ready to try, if you’re after a lightweight fun bike, this could be the one for you.

For more information and specifications click here