I'm an experienced rider. I presently own the FZ-07 and have owned a 2013 and a 2014 Ninja 300 among many other bikes. After the wet roads dried up, I took the CB300F for the first ride.
It's a great little bike. Sounds as good if not better than my FZ-07. It's louder for sure and louder than the Ninja 300 which sounds very much like the Ninja 250r. I probably will keep the Honda exhaust stock. I owned a Grom as well a couple of months ago and was expecting the CB300F to vibrate something like that, but it doesn't. In fact, it's almost as smooth as the in-line twin FZ-07. Vibration is slightly more than the Ninja 300 as you would expect with a thumper. Acceleration is hard to compare, but the Honda feels a little faster than the Kawi to me through the first 4-5 gears to about 60 mph. By that I mean it is easier to accelerate faster with the Honda without trying to drag race. Part of that is that 1st gear on the Ninja 300 is almost useless unless you are in bumper to bumper walking speed traffic, then it's good, but the Honda would be just as good. It's just that the Ninja 1st gear is really short. The very tall 6th gear makes up for that on the highway. It's like an overdrive.
Could be the Honda's lighter weight more than makes up for the smaller displacement comparing it to the acceleration of the Ninja 300. At interstate highway speeds, the Ninja 300 is the better of the two. I know top speed will be better on the Ninja. The Honda 300F doesn't hug the road quite as well (maybe the CB300R does though) and seems to be working a bit harder. It's still fine, but I have to give the edge to the Ninja 300 there as you would expect with a larger engine, fairings and a fly screen. In town, the edge goes to the Honda 300. I took the bike briefly up to 85 mph. At 70, rpms were 7200, and at 80 rpms were at 8200 rpms. Roll-on is so-so in 6th gear, again the Ninja 300 roll-on is better there. Certainly if you ride over 75 mph, you would probably do better with the Ninja than the CB300f. No windscreen might be part of that. The little fly screen on the Ninja 300 really works.
The 300F rear brake is so-so as was pointed out. Suspension feels pretty good. Clutch is smooth and quiet. I will need to adjust my kick stand. The bike is almost straight up with the kick stand down.
What I like most about this bike is how easy it is to move around inside the garage and when riding on curves. That 348 lbs. wet is HUGE! The 2014 Ninja 300 I had was 386 lbs with ABS. Without ABS it's 379 which is still 30 lbs. heavier than the CB300f. You don't notice that so much while riding, but you sure notice it moving bikes in and out of the garage.
The Honda CB300f is just a very good all-around bike, but excels in town and roads up to 65 mph or so. I don't do that much freeway riding, but I would not be afraid to ride the CB300f at 75 mph all day long. The engine would be working a little harder than the Ninja 300 at that speed is all. I will be interested to hear someone compare the Ninja 300 to the CB300r for higher speed riding.
I prefer the lighter Honda over the Ninja 300 since I do mostly in-town riding with maybe 10 miles of interstate a week, but I think if I mostly rode interstates, I would go with the Ninja 300. I can't comment on aggressive riding in the twisties yet. Both bikes are going to be very good there.
Seat ht., foot peg position, clutch pull, handlebar position are slightly different on the Ninja 300 and the CB300F, but they are so close that you don't really notice much difference after a couple of minutes in the seat.
All around, I think most people would prefer the Ninja 300 due to better performance at higher speeds and the race bike look. Just not as many people seem to prefer the naked bikes. Whether the Ninja is $1000 better is another question. I actually prefer naked bikes and really prefer light-weight bikes, so provided the Honda 300F was capable of 85 mph safely, accelerated at least as well as the Ninja (the one weakness of the Ninja), and didn't vibrate too much, I was going to be happy with the bike...and I am.
It's a great little bike. Sounds as good if not better than my FZ-07. It's louder for sure and louder than the Ninja 300 which sounds very much like the Ninja 250r. I probably will keep the Honda exhaust stock. I owned a Grom as well a couple of months ago and was expecting the CB300F to vibrate something like that, but it doesn't. In fact, it's almost as smooth as the in-line twin FZ-07. Vibration is slightly more than the Ninja 300 as you would expect with a thumper. Acceleration is hard to compare, but the Honda feels a little faster than the Kawi to me through the first 4-5 gears to about 60 mph. By that I mean it is easier to accelerate faster with the Honda without trying to drag race. Part of that is that 1st gear on the Ninja 300 is almost useless unless you are in bumper to bumper walking speed traffic, then it's good, but the Honda would be just as good. It's just that the Ninja 1st gear is really short. The very tall 6th gear makes up for that on the highway. It's like an overdrive.
Could be the Honda's lighter weight more than makes up for the smaller displacement comparing it to the acceleration of the Ninja 300. At interstate highway speeds, the Ninja 300 is the better of the two. I know top speed will be better on the Ninja. The Honda 300F doesn't hug the road quite as well (maybe the CB300R does though) and seems to be working a bit harder. It's still fine, but I have to give the edge to the Ninja 300 there as you would expect with a larger engine, fairings and a fly screen. In town, the edge goes to the Honda 300. I took the bike briefly up to 85 mph. At 70, rpms were 7200, and at 80 rpms were at 8200 rpms. Roll-on is so-so in 6th gear, again the Ninja 300 roll-on is better there. Certainly if you ride over 75 mph, you would probably do better with the Ninja than the CB300f. No windscreen might be part of that. The little fly screen on the Ninja 300 really works.
The 300F rear brake is so-so as was pointed out. Suspension feels pretty good. Clutch is smooth and quiet. I will need to adjust my kick stand. The bike is almost straight up with the kick stand down.
What I like most about this bike is how easy it is to move around inside the garage and when riding on curves. That 348 lbs. wet is HUGE! The 2014 Ninja 300 I had was 386 lbs with ABS. Without ABS it's 379 which is still 30 lbs. heavier than the CB300f. You don't notice that so much while riding, but you sure notice it moving bikes in and out of the garage.
The Honda CB300f is just a very good all-around bike, but excels in town and roads up to 65 mph or so. I don't do that much freeway riding, but I would not be afraid to ride the CB300f at 75 mph all day long. The engine would be working a little harder than the Ninja 300 at that speed is all. I will be interested to hear someone compare the Ninja 300 to the CB300r for higher speed riding.
I prefer the lighter Honda over the Ninja 300 since I do mostly in-town riding with maybe 10 miles of interstate a week, but I think if I mostly rode interstates, I would go with the Ninja 300. I can't comment on aggressive riding in the twisties yet. Both bikes are going to be very good there.
Seat ht., foot peg position, clutch pull, handlebar position are slightly different on the Ninja 300 and the CB300F, but they are so close that you don't really notice much difference after a couple of minutes in the seat.
All around, I think most people would prefer the Ninja 300 due to better performance at higher speeds and the race bike look. Just not as many people seem to prefer the naked bikes. Whether the Ninja is $1000 better is another question. I actually prefer naked bikes and really prefer light-weight bikes, so provided the Honda 300F was capable of 85 mph safely, accelerated at least as well as the Ninja (the one weakness of the Ninja), and didn't vibrate too much, I was going to be happy with the bike...and I am.
