Honda Sahara 300, also on pure alcohol

Information

Honda replaces the familiar XRE300 with the new Honda Sahara 300. As before, the single cylinder is more powerful if you are feeding it pure alcohol.

More power and alcohol – this is how the engine works in Brazil. Due to the wide availability of pure ethanol as fuel, i.e. E100, manufacturers in Brazil usually specify four performance values: torque and power, as well as gasoline and ethanol. Performance values ​​with ethanol are slightly higher than those with fossil fuels.

The new Honda Sahara succeeds the popular XRE300 and refers to Honda’s long history of light enduro in Brazil. The Sahara 350 was a huge success for Honda from 1989 to 1999 and was the most powerful road bike ever produced in Brazil, then as now. At the time, the 350 was good for 31.5 hp and 31 Nm. However, the new Honda Sahara 300 remains at a respectable distance with 24.8 hp (petrol) or 25.2 hp (ethanol) and less than 27 Nm of torque. Performance and power is provided by a new, air-cooled 293cc single cylinder with Honda’s usual Unicam design, i.e. a central camshaft and a rocker arm.

With the new Sahara 300, Honda has created a new design without denying the heritage of the XRE300. Apart from ABS as a safety feature, there is also a modern LCD display on the dashboard. We know this last one from the design of Honda’s old 500 and 750 models, although it has a limited number of functions.

The aluminum swingarm is new and replaces the old steel swingarm. And despite the lighter swingarm, the Sahara 300 remains just one kilogram off the XRE’s 148 curb weight. As an ABS version, one has to accelerate 149 kg. On the other hand, the seat height of 859 mm is impressive, which is partly due to the surprisingly long suspension travel of 245 mm in the front and 225 mm in the rear and the wheel diameter 21 inch front and 18 inch rear.

The new Sahara 300 will probably remain a South American affair. In Europe, Honda already has a comparable and more modern alternative in its range with the CRF300.