Demand for Honda GB350 Grows in Local Markets
A new Honda GB350 looks set to arrive in Japan soon, but fans in other markets want a piece of the pie
Honda’s GB350 bike is ever growing in popularity and a lot of that is from motorcycle riders who are yet to even throw a leg over the machine. The H’Ness GB350, which first dropped in India, is available in three markets, and in all three has a slightly different name.
Keeping it simple to avoid confusion, the GB350 is called just that in Australia while Honda Japan called it the GB350S. But those are the only three markets (including India where it was first launched) that have a slice of the cake, but many more fans, including those particularly in Europe want in on the fun.
HMSI (Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India) first released the bike as a retro scrambler-inspired bike and the takeoff in popularity has grown ever since. Australia and Japan quickly latched onto the idea of taking the 350cc retro Honda bike. To do something different to HMSI, Honda Japan planned to offer different colourways for its GB350S - if you’re into the looks of a motorcycle like me, the more colourways the better - however, that was some nine months ago.
But fret no longer, as Honda Japan has teased the release of a new silver/grey GB350C set to arrive soon. But that hasn’t taken away from people in other markets hoping for the GB350 to arrive in their local dealerships. In fact, social media posts of the GB350 have regularly resulted in comments made from motorcycle riders demanding for the bike in their country.
But as of now, there is still no indication of the GB350 arriving in the UK, Europe or the United States. The 300cc range is quite niche and in some markets will boom a lot more than others. Honda has clearly been smart about that and where it releases the GB350. That said, the interest in this bike is clearly high and expanding it to different markets could be a gamble worth taking.
The GB350 is a bike that resembles Royal Enfield’s Classic 350 which is a manufacturer that’s made its mark in India with smaller-capacity motorcycles.
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