Highly doubt the authenticity of ridermagazine; official website says 6 models

Source - Honda Powersports - Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Watercraft

I guess 3 CBR500s + 3 CBR250R colors just a very wild guess (Though the CBR250R Colors are already out), could also be new variants of the 250 (x and naked )

This is all interesting news. Thanks for posting.

Now what I would really like to see in India would be a 400cc inline 4 but then thats just me.

make that two
But lets hope atleast one of these make it to India by early next year.

I am sure it will reach our shores ....... but when that is the question and a 500cc twin is enough power for the streets. But just love the howl of the inline 4's even the plain jane CBX series of honda seem more practical than most bikes for our roads.

or a modern version of this would be great.
Honda CB 400 FR DGR Racer - YouTube

well for me most bikes are more capable than myself and all this talk of hp and cc makes no sense. what gives me pleasure is what I like and if it is going to be my daily ride it needs to be comfortable but again thats just me.

You can clearly see there are atleast 3 cruisers in the lineup there..

Yes, Looking at the rear, the first one has to be a cruiser. Cannot say about the rest.

Can i be frank, I find no difference in all the five models put up there in the pic. All look like copy pasted from the first one and then have been scaled down with minor adjustments to look in a row. Just a personal suggestion.

Not much usefull talk - but 1st one is different(probably some cruiser), 2nd 3rd 4th are similar with little difference in the folds(can be photoshopped) it could be cbr 250,500 cb500(similar dimensions). and 5th, 6th are similar. Just wild guesses

I don't think that any of the bikes under the wraps are the real ones. Cause if they were, all of them seem to be cruisers. Look at the wheels, protruding so far ahead. Only the first one seems to somewhat(far from likely) resemble a supersport. Thats my guess.

The duke 375 has plans to launch its 45 bhp single cylinder at price range between 2 -2.5 lakhs than i think honda has to be very careful with the pricings as if anything higher than 3 lakhs, it will go for a toss as in our country majority of people go for looks combine with easy on pocket.

I know what you are trying to say. But then is this 500 series really worth? CBR250 produces 25bhp and CBR500 producing 40bhp...not worth according to me. Yeah, this can be a poser bike for people who want to own 1000RR but cannot. Futher, if KTM can tie up with Bajaj to bring in DUKE 200, 390 & 690, why cannot Honda manufacture 600RR here in India. It will bring the price way below in the affordable range and also the company will benefit by exporting it to other countries. Just my thought.

Some things you oughta see here.
1) The speculated power output for the 500R is 46 bhp(iirc).. and this is just that.. a speculation. So wait for Honda to make an announcement
2) With gas prices soaring by the day, it is difficult and illogical for any motorbike manufacturer to sustain performance bike manufacturing these days. Not only are the demands low, but do you really think there are as many buyers for the 600 supersports in this country who would keep their pockets ringing?
3) Let's face it, sooner or later all performance bikes will eventually come to compromise with fuel efficiency over say "topspeed"/"acceleration". Even the rich demand VFM these days which is why companies add minor changes to existing superbikes to eventually sell and clear what is left of their stock so they can move forward and create something efficient and pocket friendly.
4) Going by your own question, how many of us want to buy the N250? Im sure there are more people for it than the ones waiting for the 600class. But then shouldnt Kawasaki take the initiative of partnering with Bajaj to manufacture the Ninja entirely in India to reduce the cost so they can get better sales numbers? But Kawasaki didnt do it either.
Theyre playing safe by not risking the "Q" factor here.

PLus investing in a manufacturing plant for a dying class of bike(600cc SS) is a no brainer. IF they dont sell anywhere they wont sell in India either because the profit margin would be none to negligible. The 600RR's cost almost 75-80% as a litre class bike elsewhere.

^^I agree. The idea of such motorcycles (500s) is not just to provide economical rides to the customers but to also get more people into motorcycling, one of the primary reasons why Honda created NC700 series motorcycles. These are not poser motorcycles by any means, far from it. They achieve what they are meant to achieve with great aplomb and that is to be sporty fast commuters in their target market. We must also understand that motorcycles like these have wider target customers. These motorcycles attract experienced and amateurs alike. However, in India these 500s would be great for high speed and ultra long distance touring while being reasonably easy on maintenance in its class. Unlike the full blown 600s and liter bikes, the performance of these motorcycles can be easily exploited even on our best and fastest highways.

This is a dead segment for a long time now and is being revived. But like Nithesh has indicated, the state of economies in today's times doesn't make it feasible for manufacturers to invest money in research and development of inline 4s even in sub 600cc segment.

It's all about choice. Obviously, there will be supersports, superbikes and hypersports and high end cruisers and what not. Likewise, these 500s have great potential in most markets. These are necessary for a company's survival.

I think the parity between liter class and quarter liter as people have mentioned here is just pure economic reasons. Yes people still love 600s and liter classes, who doesn't, at least I personally do. But Honda and Bajaj are quick to learn to revert back to the smaller CC game, and catch up slowly with the growing demand, as these people bring affordable bikes to masses.

Having said that, disposable income being very high nowadays, at least especially in India, coupled with "You have it, I will get it" attitude, it's pretty much a good thing in biking, which fuels the ego of most bikers.

Only Yamaha and Suzuki are scratching their heads, they for sure know what's happening in the quarter liter segment here in India. Maybe as the adage goes, the tiger is hiding because it's ready to pounce. If Yamaha brings a 250, this is gonna significantly alter the ball game. Oh and don't forget the Inazuma.

But for now, as like everyone else, we must sit and watch what unfolds.

Cheers!
VJ