Back on it! After heading to Wheels & Waves with Honda (what a trip!), I took the chance to revisit the GB350S for a fresh perspective – and it reminded me why I love it.
If you’re looking at the GB350S as a first ‘bigger’ bike after your CBT, a retro daily, or just want a fun second, cheap bike… watch this vlog.
Simple, charming, affordable, and actually fun? Let’s ride.
🎬 Shot during my trip to Wheels & Waves 2025
🏍️ Bike: Honda GB350S
📍 Location: Biarritz, France
Usernamekate 🏁
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Right, guys and girls. It’s your name Kate here and welcome back to the channel. Today I am in sunny South of France on Honda’s GB 350S and I’m going to be doing a 90 kilometer loop riding this bike around. I know you guys seemingly loved it on the channel previously, so I figured I’ll do a video of the ride whilst I’m over here for wheels and waves. So, if you’re interested to come along with me on this ride where I refresh my thoughts about Honda’s GB 350S, then keep watching. [Music] So, let’s refresh the memory about the old GB 350. Now, if you want to see my full in-depth review that I filmed when I first got access to this bike from Honda, I’ll pin a link just above here somewhere and you can watch that. But this video is just going to be a bit of a refresher video. It’s a bit of an overcast day today. Hopefully that’s not going to impact the video too much. Might make it a bit dark in places. I do apologize. So, what do we know about the GB 350S? Well, it’s a single cylinder, a little put pup putter, an air cooled one at that. It produces 20 brake horsepower and 29 new m of torque. So, it’s not going to it’s not going to win any any sprints off the line unless it’s against a Royal Enfield HNTR perhaps. And even then, they’re similarly matched. So, it depends on the rider. I’ll try not to go too sat heavy in this video because as I mentioned in the link above that’ll have all the Starts Till Your Hearts content. So, first thing that I remember after hopping on this bike is just how light and agile it is. Oh. Oh gosh, look at the hydrangeas. Wow. I’ve never seen that many together. Sorry. So, that’s one thing I keep doing. I have something called chronic indicator cancelling syndrome. It’s not a thing officially, but I know so many sufferers worldwide. And I think it’s just this weird tick or like OCD feeling. I don’t have OCD or or ticks in real life. Like, I can’t relate to that. But what I can relate to is constantly going to press my indicator to make sure it’s cancelled. It’s an actual problem. It’s not a problem until the horn is in the place where the indicator usually is. Then it’s a problem because you just find yourself constantly beeping. And I am being outed for my syndrome. Oh no. First of all, problems drawing attention to yourself, isn’t it? Especially when you’re on a bike. Can’t really be a bad thing. But yeah, it’s light, it’s agile, and the throttle is really nice and free revving. [Music] Oh, would you look at this? Got some nice flowy bends for the really stable GB 350 to tackle. I love how planted this bike feels. I definitely remember that. So, it’s quite strange because I’ve hopped on this bike and it’s instantly lower feeling than I remember it. It does have a seat height of 800 mil. And the one in the UK that I rode, I sat on it and you know the suspension, I don’t know whether the preload of of the rear shocks was set quite firm, but it felt really kind of scandalously tall for for what the bike is. But I’ve hopped on this and this bike has been used, you know, all throughout wheels and waves for other groups from other countries to come and ride the Honda GB 350. And I don’t know whether they’ve softened the preloadord on the rear, but it it definitely doesn’t feel as tall as I remember, which is quite strange because I just thought, oh, this, you know, might not be a great bike for people that are a bit on the shorter side. And now, you know, if the suspension has been adjusted, it’s uh it’s got me questioning my own validity of that comment. [Music] But that’s good because it it makes it so much more accessible. Bumpy bumpy. But, you know, that’s one of the things that I really did like about Honda suspension. When I first got on it, yeah, it felt a bit taller, but the suspension is so compliant for this kind of bike. Like, when I was riding the Royal Enfield HNTR, I would go over bumps and I I feel like the front end would get a little bit bent out of shape. you know, shake its head a bit in disagreement with how I was riding it over the bumps. And when I got on the GB 350, it was just way firmer and it just took the bumps so much better and so much more stable. So, if the one that I am riding now does have a substantially softer back end because of course we have no adjustability on the front, then that would explain why I can get my feet down a lot easier. I mean, it does feel like it is riding a bit softer over the bumps than the one that I rode in the UK. So yeah, it wouldn’t surprise me. But then again, these bikes I’m riding with in this group, there’s quite a few of us out. They’re all like slightly different in customization. Yeah, I told a bit of a lie this morning when I did my little piece to camera. I said were on bone stalkers and they are in the sense that they’re production bikes but they are fitted with varying degrees of Honda genuine accessories. So still what we’re riding you know is everything that you can get from a Honda dealership. So, for example, the one I’m on is there’s not kind of anything done to it, but I’ve seen some of the ones that the girls are riding, some of them have the headlight howl, some of them have crash bars, some of them have full glance, which look pretty cool to be honest. Some of them have a seat cover. Um, that just goes over the pillion seat, so it gives it more of a cowl look. dropped to second clutch. Super light. One of the highlights of this bike for me. I know it sounds silly, but a really heavy clutch gets so fatiguing, especially after a long day in the saddle, especially if you’re doing a lot of riding, if you get caught in rush hour and you’ve got a commute, so you got to slip that clutch. You know, it’s just so so light on the GV 350 and I love it. We got a nice 19-in front on this bad boy. And it doesn’t detract from the handling in the slightest. Like even though it’s not a little weasly 17in front, it still flies around the bends with ease. No drama lama there. [Music] Oh, it’s a lovely flowy road there. Absolutely beautiful. The handling characteristics of the GB 350S are just lovely. Honestly, point and shoot. Brakes are great. Heat. [Music] Heat. Yeah, I like it. I like it. High five. You like it? Yeah. They’re just so light and so fun. And I like the the throttle is nice and like free feeling just [Music] [Music] Okay. So, apparently we’re getting some cheeky little drone footage. Oh, yes. Little dingdong dolph. Slow it around. really really enjoy this bike so much. Even though it doesn’t have bags of power, I honestly don’t mind. I don’t care. Just take it for what it is. A bike that you can still have redonkulous amounts of fun on. All right, guys and girls. So, we’ve just had a little coffee stop and a bit of a wardrobe change because it started to rain. This was not forecasted. Can it not? Third gear there. put p. But honestly, if I was in the market for a smaller, lighter bike, I absolutely could see me owning one of these bikes. And in true wheels and waves style, what would I do to it? What would be my customization? Because I guess one of the criticisms that Honda faced with this bike, the GB 350, was the tank color options. They’re all very neutral looking and they’re all kind of very similar. Like there’s not much differentiation between their gray and their blue. And in fact, I’m pretty sure when I had one from Honda, I had the gray one and it looked almost blue on camera, but to the naked eye, it just still looked gray. So people were like, “Are you sure that’s not the blue one?” And I’m like, “I’m absolutely positive.” But they obviously weren’t seeing it through my own eyes, just on the camera. So, if I was to customize one of these, I feel like I’d go in one of two directions. I’d get a proper bright popping paint job on the tank just to make it really eye-catching and stand out. Or I might even go kind of do you remember Kira Nightly and the Jucati uh Sport Classic? I think it was for a perfume advert I want to say. Don’t quote me on that. Anyway, I’m thinking the GB 350 could have like a bit of an ivory tank, an ivory colored tank, nice and glossy, almost enamel looking with a nice tan brown bench seat. Maybe brat it out a little bit, you know, just tidy that whole back end up. I think that’d look pretty nice. How would you customize a GV 350? What would you do to it? Do you know one thing that is really really nice about this bike? It’s the sound. It’s the put the single cylinder thumper. Oh, it’s just great. Wow. Oh, these roads look nice and dry. Get in. [Music] The weight of this bike super light. 178 kg. Come on. So, so light. And the tank capacity, a 15 L tank from a 20 brake horsepower engine. And I reckon that’s some good miles to a tank. Oh, the way it just sweeps around, bends. Absolutely love it. It’s effortless. So, who do I think this bike is predominantly aimed at? Well, I think maybe people that are stepping up from the CVT. They want something with a little bit more poke, but maybe they quite like the pros that come with a 125, such as the lightness and just manageability. I think it could definitely appeal to that kind of rider. [Music] Oh, we can play catchup now. We can spread our wings a little bit. Get the ponies galloping all of them. Yeah, sorry. As I was saying, definitely reckon a rider stepping up from a 125. Maybe an older rider who doesn’t, you know, they they’ve got the ego stuff out the way. They’re they’re older and wiser. They’re mature. They just want something a bike that can make their life easy if they’re just nipping out. If they want a little blast on a Sunday or actually any day of the week cuz maybe they’re retired. Who knows? A lot of assumptions here, Kate. But yeah, I reckon it would suit, you know, maybe an older rider or maybe someone that just wants a relatively cheap, light, easygoing second bike. something that when they don’t want to take out the big fully loaded Africa twin of a weekend, they can just hop on this for some easy breezy beautiful riding, you know. [Music] But yeah, at just shy of £4,000 and I bet the finance if you were to go down that route is cheap as chips as well. I just think it’s a brilliant proposition and offering from Honda. I’m trying not to blow smoke up the bike’s exhaust given the fact that I am on a Honda event and I’m riding their bike. [Music] But if you’ve ridden this bike, you’ll understand what I mean. That is very annoying though. Very annoying having the horn where it feels natural for the indicator to be. I do very much feel that that is a Honda thing. And again, without sounding too biased, when I do ride certain Hondas, one of the things I struggle with with some of the models is um how snatchy I find the throttle twingo. On some of the models like the CV 1000 Hornet, like on that launch, I found the throttle quite snappy, quite snatchy, but you don’t get that on the GB 350. It’s just the loveliest throttle response. It’s just it’s just easy to use, controllable. You feel very connected to the road like got good front end feel. Suspensions mint certainly one of the firmer suspensions out of its competitors. Brakes are great. Can’t complain. They definitely stop you. got loads of little things on this like Honda selectable torque control or in real terms traction control which is quite funny on a little 125 but with that front wheel the 18 in the 19 in if you want to do a bit of scrambling just whiz that TC off. Having said that though, you can’t disengage the ABS. So maybe not a proper Scrambler. If they did a scrambler version of this bike with a maybe like a 21in front disengageable rear ABS, uh bit of a taller seat height for the clearance. Ooh, I reckon that could be a vibe. Well, I think how I should probably end this little refresher of Honda’s GB 350S block is with the fact that it’s just affordable fun with actual decent components that can put a shift in that don’t get bent out of shape that work really well and you know have the weight of the Honda brand behind it I guess. But yeah, I really enjoy this bike. What do you guys think of it? Are you in the camp where you’re like it’s not enough power or are you in the camp that’s like I understand it for what it is. It’s got its purpose. It’s got its place in the market and I quite like it. Let me know in the comments below. All right, guys. Well, yeah. I hope you’ve enjoyed it and I’ll catch you all on the next vlog. Bye.
28 Comments
this is why the new Yamaha indicator system is a deal breaker for many of us riders as we are all used to automatically muscle memory one button cancelling without taking eyes off the road, every time we see a potential danger in front of us . . .( cars at junctions, cars turning, ) I know you could eventually get used to the new Yamaha indicators . . . but why Wood-ja ?
I bought a new gb350s in March brilliant to own , I love it , cheap fun motorcycling , . I’ll be having a 500 too if one appears , if it’s a single , 90 odd mpg too , lovely sound too .
Hate Honda's horn button placement, I was never able to find it in time on my CB1000R. Love the look of this bike though.
This channel talk about bike but didn't done anything about the Government has launched a consultation on default access for motorcycles in bus lanes. MAG have been fighting for policy consistency on bus lane access for many years and urge all riders to respond to the consultation.
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Right time for a Sunday catch-up on YT with a coffee and a toasted Tea cake, Honda's competition for the Royal Enfield 350, Triumph 400 and the New BSA 350 Bantam. Think you need to get your hands on the new BSA's 350 and 650 Scrambler, Still can't work out why the 350 Bantam weights so much though 🤔 Yep totally agree would make a great little Scrambler 😁
I stand by my comment on your original video, it’s basically a modern take on the old CD175, the sort of cheap and cheerful bikes Honda used to excel at. Good in town with just enough power to cope on the open road, great on fuel and lightweight. I don’t think the price point is bad either for a new bike with a warranty. I love the blue / grey colour of the bike you are riding too, but would like to see at least one option with a 70’s throwback candy colour like red or blue.
A great little bike with Japanese build quality, a fun bike. My only criticism is it should have twin clocks, my own bike doesn't but it's not a modern retro and as such it should have a twin clocks setup.
Looks a great little bike.
I’d have bought one already had it come to the states; REALLY hoping we see the 500 SINGLE here soon (in some better color ways 😆 — I’d like to see it like the old 400/4; bright yellow, Honda red… and I think there was a blue? That, a slip on, maybe a fly screen and a seat cowl? Love it!)
I'm an older guy and this bike is of interest for sure. I pulled into the local Honda main dealer recently to see what I thought of it in the flesh, but they didn't have a single GB350 in the showroom (selling good?). What they did have was about a dozen Goldwings, I'm sure at 26-33k depending on trim they sell boatloads of those. I'm thinking it is probably more like pressure from the distributor. But yeah, from an old toolers perspective, cheap to own and run, good, 100mpg, not smothered in unnecessary tech, hopefully not directly plugging into the control grid, big H engineering and reliability, simple maintenance etc. Even better, they are basically shipping a platform, just kit it out how you want. There is a guy in Australia running dirt tyres on one, reckons it sits on 90kph on dirt roads no issues. If you want it more like the new BSA Bantam, Yoshi pipe, high flow air filter, drop a tooth on the front sprocket. You wake up one morning thinking, I want to ride to Kazakhstan, fit the pannier rack, screen, dual purpose tyres and back to standard gearing etc.
I've grown up hearing off older people with small Honda CB's like cb175 etc in their shed's they've had since they were younger, I want one to do the same while buying/using/selling the bigger bikes. I already live near a seaside so seems ideal/
Mike is a lucky bloke. Just needed to be said 🙂 Thanks so much for the content on this one! I don't think I can get it here in the states, but I'm gonna look into it! Blessings!
What would I do to customize one? Just with the Honda accessories? First, I would add those two fog lights on the side! They give off such a stylish vibe in my eyes. Then, from the 3 colors available (alas, no military greens and greys here) I would go all black. Then heated handle bars. And maybe engine/crash guards.
As for more power? More power for what exactly? The average city car in Europe has 150 HP or less per 1.5+ tons. That's less then 10 HP per Kg. And this bike falls exactly in that range with 9HP per kg wet. So….. power for what? Racing? Adrenaline rushes? Compensating for other aspects of my existence? Nah, it's just where it needs to for its intended use. Bike for beginners and casual riders. Excellent first bike as well. If you need to go touring you won't do it in a 350 anyway. If you race on the track, or heavens forbid in the city boulevard, you'll probably go the sport route. For everyday use though? Quite enough. I would even argue, it's not a second bike, but rather a first bike, for say going to work or school, with the 650 or 900+ intended for secondary use, like longer trips outside the city limits on motorways or highways.
Fantastic value and great bike to ride and you can see the quality. I test rode one yesterday and will be putting my order in. Loved it. Thanks Kate.
A wonderful little bike…very charming…I love its simplicity….a breath of fresh air in a complicated and busy world. Some of us only want to pootle about on the country roads and have an engine to tinker with when it's raining. 🙂
It’s exactly what you need from a basic motorcycle. Small, cheap, light, good on fuel. It won’t thrill you with a white knuckle ride but if you want to plod about from cafe to landmark then it’s perfect. Going toe to toe with the Chinese market as well. Smart move by Honda.
Many bikers are quick to dismiss 20bhp bikes. But I've got the Enfield Hunter 350 and it's great fun. I've covered over 12,000 miles in 16 months and I'm still loving it. It's faster than i thought it would be, it handles well, it keeps up with motorway traffic. I've seen 85mph on the speedo, that's probably a true speed of about 77mph. It's been totally reliable and does over 90mpg. What's not to like
Crike! The GB350 MSRP is higher than I just paid for my CFMOTO 800NK! Add in the dealer fees and I bet they were almost the same price OTD (my 800NK was under £4400 with dealer prep, freight, documentation, and registration). I just can't see paying the same price for 1/2 the bike!
Really excited to get one for myself, I see it has great potential as a daily commuter, a bit of long distance riding also groceries hauling, over here in South East Asia it’s pretty much the perfect all rounder bike, our roads are so small that even in cross state highways it’s usually 80-90kmh rarely I see speed limits of 100kmh and above.
So you can probably imagine how dense especially the cities can be. On average you only ever travel 40-60kmh. It’s also not just a speed limit thing but also safety, a lot of the riders and drivers here have horrible attitudes that you’re basically flirting with death if you don’t ride carefully… Side mirrors, signals, radar detection whatever it is should just be removed from vehicles here cause no one uses em 😂
I say if you do end up interested in keeping the GB350 long term it would be nice to see how creative you get with your own modifications. I love getting inspired by watching others modifying their own bikes
Also I can relate to the constant need to press the indicator button, I feel like I’ve prematurely worn it down now cause I keep pressing it for no reason
I like it when Kate does bike tests on bikes that most of us can afford to buy or prefer to own a motorcycle that does what it says on the tin.
I’m a new y rider about to take direct access course so forgive my confusion about power. If one wants to generally stick within the legal speed limits, and the Honda can happily do 70mph then what does a 40hp bike give you apart from acceleration? In my case I don’t mind a lazy motor with plenty of growl for smile-a-mile riding endorphins rather than adrenaline…am I missing something thou real riders?
shame Honda think they can have a fart for power on this no doubt influenced by Royal Enfield in cutting off another 10bhp Aprilia ate Honda v4 breakfast now BSA will eat there small single lunch boring corporate car men ruling at Honda these days
3:16 sooooo maybe just glance at the dash 😉
Surf green or sea foam green could be a pleasant colour for this bike like for a vintage Fender stratocaster. I love this bike and i would like to have one but, the gb500 s will be better ? I hope it will the same bike with just a little more power and not expensive for that…
I live in rural area and want one for next year. Only waiting in case a GB500 appears
cool bike 👍
I think I'll be looking at something like this when I retire. I reckon it would cope fine with some luggage or perhaps a tent to tour round with – I'll have to give it a try.