Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Pvt. Ltd has kept its promise of showcasing a new motorcycle for the Indian market before the end of the financial year. The Japanese two-wheeler giant unveiled the new X-Blade at the 2018 Auto Expo today. Honda will launch the new X-Blade in India by March and it will be priced between Rs 80,000 and Rs 85,000 (ex-showroom).
According to the bike maker, the X-Blade has been positioned in a way to attract youngsters and millennials, and for this purpose, it has adopted a very aggressive design language. The basic silhouette is reminiscent of the Honda CB Hornet 160R, but Honda designers have given it sharper panels to increase its visual appeal. One is welcomed by an edgy headlight which Honda has termed 'Robo-face' and the X-Blade is the first motorcycle in the segment to get an all-LED headlight.
The bike also features a taller flyscreen, an underbelly cowl, chunky grab rails and a redesigned LED tail-lamp. The overall styling of the Honda X-Blade is impressive, barring the twin-outlet muffler which doesn’t flow well with the design. The motorcycle also gets a full-digital console like the one found on the Hornet, but with the addition of a gear position indicator, service indicator, hazard lights and a white backlight.
Powering the Honda X-Blade is the same 162.7cc air-cooled motor from the CB Hornet 160R. However, on the X-Blade, the engine makes 13.9hp at 8,500rpm and 13.9Nm at 6,000rpm in comparison to the Hornet's 15hp and 14.76Nm of peak torque. The engine is mated to a five-speed gearbox. Honda engineers have equipped the X-Blade with marginally smaller tyres; it rides on 80/110 R17 and 130/70 R17 section tyres at the front and rear (the Hornet gets 100/80 R17 and 140/70 R17 tyres). Braking duties are carried out by a disc brake at front and a drum unit at the back. What's surprising is that rear disc brake isn’t even offered as an option.
The Honda X-Blade will be available in five colour options - Matte Marvel Blue Metallic, Pearl Igneous Black, Matte Frozen Silver, Pearl Spartan Red and Matte Marshal Green Metallic.
Azaman Chothia
Vishal Venugopal
