Honda CBR650 India Launch in 2015; Likely to Fall in Sub ₹10 Lakh [PHOTOS]

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI), the Indian two wheeler arm of Japanese automotive giant Honda is racing up to establish its footprints in the high-end sports bike segment in the country.

Spearheading the next phase of growth in the country, the company has confirmed that it will be bringing its new superbike CBR650 in the sub-continent market by the first half of 2015.

At present, Honda's high end bikes' market in India is limited as those heavy machines are brought to India as CBU (completely built up) and thus inviting heavy import duties. Now with the launch of CBR650, Honda will also be beginning to assemble the high bikes locally at the company's manufacturing facility in the country. As of now, Honda does not have any plan to manufacture the superbikes in India, however, the company does not rule out the possibility.

"We announce that (from) next year Honda will start making CBR-650 in India," Vice President Y. S. Guleria, HMSI told PTI.

Honda CBR6550 will reach the domestic market as CKD (completely knocked down) units with the local assembling set to begin next year at Honda's existing facilities in Haryana, Karnataka and Rajasthan.

When launched, CBR6550 is likely to get a price tag in the range of sub ₹10 lakh. Currently, Honda's superbikes portfolio for India consists of CB1000 R, CBR1000 RR, VFR1200F, VT1300 CX and Gold Wing 1800 and is priced in the range of ₹14 lakh - ₹31 lakh.

Talking about CBR650, the details are scant at this point of time, but the bike could get power from 649cc, four-cylinder double overhead camshaft (DOHC) engine with six-speed gearbox.