I had a bad buying experience with my Yamaha SZ. I ordered a certain color, but did not receive it and had to be forgiven by the dealer. The riding experience on the SZ R was ok on straight roads, but even worse on hilly roads. The initial pickup was good, but after that it felt like riding an old bull cart. Once we reached top gear 5th, it felt like a panther. In India, we cannot ride for more than 15 minutes in top gear unless we are travelling on a national highway. The looks of the bike were average, but the performance was good and the silencer had a great sound.
The mileage was terrible - 50 to drop off 25 kmpl in one year. The service from Yamaha was ok, but the parts were expensive and we had to argue a lot to get the warranty of one year. The pros of the bike were the low price, sporty look, and light weight. The cons were very bad mileage, less power, and higher maintenance.
The Honda H'ness CB350 is simply awesome! I have had two years and 20,000 kms of riding experience with this machine and all I have had to pay for apart from regular servicing is for break pads twice for the front and once for the rear, and chain sprockets after 19,500 kms. The maintenance costs for parts like break pads and chain sprockets are acceptable for the mileage that I have been getting, which is 41+ for at least the last 3,500 kms. The riding experience is 5 out of 5. The suspension is a bit harder than ordinary 150cc bikes but the traction control and slipper clutch are best in class and very useful while riding, especially in city traffic and on bad roads. Therefore, I can highly recommend this bike to anyone who wants to upgrade from the 150cc to the 350cc segment.