Honda Aviator: Ridden

To be honest, I didn't quite know what to make of the Honda Aviator. It was supposed to protect Honda's massive lead in the scooter segment, but with the Activa now looking its age (although still going quite nicely, thank you) and the Dio never really having taken off, you would think Honda would need something spectacularly good right?

Actually no, they would just something that would put the upstart Flyte and the dowdy-perky Access into their places. Is the Aviator that machine?

What is the Aviator, let us start from there. The Aviator is Honda's fourth scooter offering, and their third twist-go format product. Like the two that went before it, it is very much an Activa platform product, which means engine and chassis have come from the venerable, wildly successful scooter. There are minor changes. The engine was tweaked in the sense that the air cleaner and associated plumbing is slightly different. It evidently does not change peak power or torque, but gently boosts the low-end torque just the slightest little bit. Since the Aviator now sports a telescopic front fork and in the top model, a 12-inch alloy front wheel with a disc brake, there are minor changes in the headstock area, aimed at accommodating the stanchions.

Add in the body panels, and well, Bob's your uncle. The big change, styling, actually does have a purpose. Honda says the Activa is perfect compromise. It sits bang in the middle between male tastes and female and bisects traditional values and youthful looks as well. The Dio, is more male, more youthful. The Aviator, in that perspective is an all-male product, aimed at mature (30-ish) males who would like an upmarket looking scooter in their garage. In addition, we were told at the Auto Expo, to a Honda Civic. What, you think I'm making this up?

The telescopic forks and the brakes are actually a subject matter of mucho laughter on my part. You see, years ago, I had the privilege of attending the local launch (Mumbai) of the Activa where a certain Japanese gentleman dismissively told me that Honda knew better. That tele-forks and disc brakes on a 7 bhp scooter were overkill. On the same scale as using a Sidewinder or HellFire instead of the horn. That Honda would NEVER add either to anything this puny, by policy anything under 100 kph top speed did not merit either. On an Activa? Pah-san.

Well, it come full circle, innit? Mr Unnamed San? Yes, this 7 bhp Honda scooter, sports both. For a premium price tag, but it does have them.

Anyway, rant over and let us return to the Aviator. I'm not put off or impressed by the looks. I think the rear-end looks a bit hotch-potch, especially the flat part that sits right next to the curvy lights and panels. And I think the front looks, um, okay.

On the move, though, this is an impressive scooter. The tele-forks, praise the lord, make a huge, big, massive difference. Here, then, is a scooter that easily has the best ride quality on offer on any two-wheeler sporting sub-13-inch wheels. It does not thud through bumps like the Activa and is better than even the Flyte and Access, both of which also sport tele-forks. Braking, of course, is superb with the discs, although, as usual, I would have liked more bite. Then again, I always want more bite. In feel, the disc brake feels like an immensly powerful drum brake, which I suspect, is exactly what it's supposed to feel like.

The engine, of course, is butter smooth, almost transparent in use. The Aviator, despite giving away 1 bhp or more to the newly introduced competition, does not feel slow. I rode the Access right before I got on the Aviator and while the Suzuki is definitely the faster scoot of the two, the Aviator does not feel sluggish. In traffic, there would not be much in it.

As a male scooter, the Aviator does seat you taller and I quite like the new ergonomics.

Um, what else? Oh yeah, Honda said bigger underseat storage, but I forgot to look. They claim a full face helmet will now sit under the seat in comfort. Well, I haven't still tried that, but I'm not buying.

Finally, the base version of the Aviator (12-inch steel wheels with a drum brake) is Rs 47,200, which is Rs 5,900 more than the Activa in Mumbai. The full-options gets alloys and disc and costs a hefty Rs 4,000 more. As you can tell, that is a heck of a lot of money. The top-model, the one that does actually have useful extras, is almost as expensive as a top-line 125cc commuter.

And yet, like the 150cc-rivalling Blaze, I think the Aviator should do rather well in the market. I think the scooter market now has people who are, in fact, looking for a slightly larger, newer product with more features, and consequently (justifiably, even) have a larger price tag. Which, if you come to think of it, almost describes the Aviator. Almost? Yes, if it did actually sport a 9 bhp 125cc four-stroke engine, instead of 7 bhp 102cc job, I think it would have been perfect.

Suzuki Access: Riding Impression

So what is the Suzuki Access like, then?
It isn't much to look at, really. But, when you look close, the Access is a well-built, quality product... that's the inescapable conclusion.

Fit/finish-Build quality
Like the Zeus or the Heat, the one unquestionable quantity in the Access equation is the quality. It resembles the Activa in some ways, and the fit-finish, build quality are very much in that space. I can look at the Access and more or less assume that in three years time, with a little care and maintenance, not much will change. No rattles, no shakes and no worries.

Engine/performance
To be honest, the Access feels quicker than the Flyte or the Activa (which is now the slowest of the three). But not by as much as the 25 per cent extra displacement margin would suggest. The difference is, really, marginal. The Activa still 'feels' stronger off the bottom, but the Access will easily kill it. Again, it isn't a scooter I'd drag to a drag race. Refinenment is at or just above par and I wouldn't knock the powertrain... it feels fine. Not exceptional, but nothing you could shake a stick at either.

Ride quality/Handling
The handling is very much like the Activa. It favours stability over agility and it feels confident, but not exciting. It doesn't look exciting, it looks safe. And that, more or less, describes it's handling as well. It scooters had ages in human years, I'd say the Access was about 37-38, the Activa pushing 40 and the Kinetic Flyte would be about 24. Ride quality is pretty good, though and once again, the telescopic shocks make a massive difference to how hard you can brake when you need do.

What I don't like
I'm just wondering if Suzuki needed the Access to be so safe, so meek and so, um, un-stirring. What would have been the difference in sales in a year's time, if the Access had looked great? Or had more power?

Sum of all the words
Would I buy one? I'd have to say no. I might recommend it to an uncle in the building who was in the market for a new scooter to ride to the grocery store (or wherever else he liked). But if I were personally in the market for a scooter, I don't think I'm the right age yet.

Kinetic Flyte: Riding Impression

So what is the Kinetic Flyte like, then?
I know I haven't written a Sym impression so far. I'm remiss, but I had other things that kept me busy. So here goes.

Fit/finish-Build quality
I have to say that I'm seriously impressed. And if you don't believe me, park a new Nova 135, a new Blaze and a new Sym next to each other. If you aren't blind, you'll see that the Sym is far, far ahead of the other two in every quality related aspect. In fact, park the Sym next to the Honda Activa (an acknowledged quality great) or a Suzuki Access (surprisingly similar to the Activa on the quality front; riding impression pending) and you will notice that the Sym is equal or nearly equal to either. Which, for Kinetic, is a massive, massive improvement.

Now, I know there are people who wonder if this quality parity will last over a period of time, in the ownership cycle. Honest answer? I don't know. Best guesstimate? Nothing in the scooter's demeanor suggests that the Kinetic Sym product will rapidly deteriorate.

Engine/performance
It's a nice, likeable engine. It's pretty quiet engine at idle, but it does get throaty when you want nailed-to-the-stop acceleration. The transmission's pretty slick as well and frankly, this is probably Kinetic's slickest powertrain yet. I do think that the power output from the 125cc engine could have been more, er..., serious. That said, progress is adequately brisk. And that's just on its own. In traffic, the small size, agility and that slick powertrain feel really very good. I'm as surprised as I am happy to be surprised. A lot of people who've turned a blind eye to Kinetic need to open them peepers and take the Sym out for a spin. Seriously. You may not convert to the Kinetic camp, I admit, but you'll notice that the Flyte is pretty promising.

Ride quality/Handling
As I already mentioned, the Flyte is pretty agile. It turns quicker and harder than either the Honda or the Suzuki and that makes it a hoot to slice through traffic on. A good rider on a Flyte would be a pretty hard target to catch in traffic methinks. Ride quality is good too. The slightly plasticky thumping over the bumps (Access and Activa) is more subdued and the tele-forks up front really do the business. And you can brake as hard as you like too (No Activa can do that).

What I don't like
It isn't the complete scooter package by any means, of course. I get nervous watching the rather sudden popping of the otherwise convenient fuel tank lid. I don't particularly like the bottom swivel mirrors and that full-face helmet under the seat isn't true at all. Try it. You'll scratch the lid on the way in and way out and won't be able to shut the seat anyway. That magnetic thing is pretty silly/interesting too. A metallic flap cover the keyhole when you use the rear end of the key to theft-proof the scooter. Which is interesting, but you just know our thieves will get around it in a flash too, right?

Overall
I was quite surprised at how well the Kinetic-Sym Flyte works. I think it is a pretty interesting scooter and if Kinetic can hold on to (or improve on) this kind of quality and product specification, I think they can do wonders for their bottom lines and their product range. Can't wait to see this kind of quality on an ex-Italjet Dragster for instance. Or an equally effortless and much faster Sym Fighter, for that matter.

Hero Honda Pleasure: Freshened up

Hero Honda announced that it managed to hold dropping sales to -8.4 per cent over the year. Selling 2.55 lakh bikes, India's biggest bike maker is still selling around a lakh more than Bajaj, and reported 50+ per cent market share as well. Hidden in the release though was the news of a re-freshed new Pleasure. Which means altered stickering, and whether you like it or not, Priyanka Chopra will not be attached at the hip to the scooter like in the pick. She is the new brand ambassador, though. I quite like Ms Chopra in the ad, I must admit.

For those who came in late, the Pleasure is the Honda Activa/Dio with slinkier new bodywork aimed solely at women riders. That usually won't stop the man of the house from taking it out for a spin, but that's the spiel. Hero Honda has also created some 'manned' by women showrooms for the ladies, including a pick-up service in the event of a breakdown and a lady-rider club of sorts as well.

Kinetic Flyte: First details

Sorry about not posting more content recently, but it's been a bit wild at the office. Here's the release on the new Kinetic Flyte, the first Sym scooter for India.

It gives us great pleasure to introduce the first two-wheeler from the Kinetic-Sym association – the Kinetic SYM Flyte. We believe that Flyte takes the scooter segment in India several steps forward in terms of technology, features, performance, quality and overall riding experience; and we are confident you will agree.

Flyte is based on the Sym X'Pro – Sym's current International bestseller across 62 countries. X'Pre was selected as the first product for launch from Sym's formidable range after exhaustive market research. It brings modern styling and globally up-to-date technology to the scooter/ette segment of India. Flyte has 15 per cent import content, and quality has been benchmarked against international standards with each part having been tested for maximumperformance.

Flyte will be targeted at the fastest growing two-wheeler profile – women, especially the younger women – students or executives. The positioning for the Flyte is 'Ride the Change' and the marketing communications would speak to the modern, confident and ambitious women. Leading actress Bipasha Basu has been selected as the brand ambassador for the Flyte. Flyte brings new technology and several breakthrough convenience features to this segment

• Globally contemporary design with sleek and smart style
• Zippy ride with a 125cc 8 bhp engine and a top speed of 80 kph
• Secondary air injection system for minimuzing polluting emissions
• Quick'n'easy front fueling system with popup lead (not underseat, so do not have to alight from scooter for fueling) [useful, but looks scary in operation. Think jack in the box]
• Large and brightly lit 2-level, 22-litre storage undersead
• 4-in-1 magnetic antitheft key that starts engine, operates fuel lock, handle lock and prevents theft
• Front telescopic suspension [current imported, made from aluminium alloy, more travel than competition and slightly thicker in dia as well]
• 9Ah efficient and maintenance-free battery for instant start [competition offers 5Ah, I'm told]
• 130 mm drums
• 3.5" tyres [Zapper pattern tyres]
• Mobile chargepoint
• Comprehensive 3-year warranty
• 1260mm wheelbase for extra stability
• Impact resistant mirrors

Flyte will be available in five striking colours: Black Mystique, Silver Flash, Lavender Groove, Red Oomph and Jade Charisma Flyte will be aggressively prices at Rs 36,999 (est. ex-showroom) [bang in between the TVS Scooty Pep+ and the Honda Activa/Dio]

Rearset's Annual Motorcycle Awards: List One

Design of the year
iPhone

One more year has passed, and nope, the design of the year award, once more, swings over the motorcycles' collective heads and lands squarely in Apple's lap. What a lovely, lovely, looking instrument.

Performance motorcycle of the year (tie)
Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi & ...

I whole-heartedly, totally without cheek confer this rather prestigious award on the Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi. I think the Pulsar 220 is a stormingly good motorcycle. From the Bajaj family, all told, I don't think there has been a single motorcycle that could be accused of being more at ease with itself, and of being more than the sum of its parts. Super job.

Now, why is this a tie? Because, I don't think the P220 has as much performance as it should have – both for the money, and for the displacement. It'd be easy to say 25 bhp is better than 20 bhp, but what I mean is that I would have been happier if the motorcycle felt more muscular on the power delivery front. Powerful enough to justify the Rs 15,000 over the P200.

You want muscular feel? My second pick for the award, and I'm sharing the goodies on this is the TVS Apache RTR 160, the first barely-legal motorcycle in the country. May there be more. A more aggressive motorcycle than the RTR we have not had in quite a while and that alone is deserving of an award. Hey... there's an idea.

Naked Aggression of the year
TVS Apache RTR 160

Well, I've already said most of the it. The TVS Apache is easily the most aggressive of all Indian motorcycles and you've got to love it for that. The engine's very-much race bred and feels it. The chassis is a rabbit being chased by a predator but with far more ability. Direction changes are lightning quick, almost borderline unstable when you string them together. But it looks great, goes really well and personally, I think it's the right size for a 150cc single. The competition's a bit large, no?

Deserving bike of the year
Suzuki Access 125

This is the scooter that should have stolen all the twist-go thunder. It had a nice engine, superb build quality and all of that. But that Activa-clone style...

Scooter of the year
Kinetic-Sym Flyte

I want Kinetic to drink more of whatever the chaps from Sym are drinking. After the promising, but ultimately flimsy Blaze, comes the normal, but for a Kinetic, stonkingly good scooter. Japanese build quality, a solid quality feel, superb handling and ride quality... I love that scooter. Wish it had 10 more bhp

Bike of the year
Bajaj Pulsar 200 DTSi

This is the sole serious award I hand out. And this year, my Bike Of The Year is the Bajaj Pulsar 200. In my book, this is easily the most sorted of all of the Pulsars, and feels absolutely great to ride at any pace you choose. Stunningly good looks – especially given the ultra-insistent family resemblance – complete a very muscular, modern, fresh looking package. And for the performance, the price is hard to argue against as well. More like this, please.

Read about last year's winners

Auto Expo 2008: Honda

The Japanese company showed off three significant products and bunch of promising CBUs. First, the Aviator. The Aviator is Honda's latest scooter, unfortunately, based squarely on the Activa platform, so no new powertrain to compete with all the 125s. Er... oops. Yes, the 102cc engine powers the neat looking Aviator, which claims, falsely, to have the first 12-inch wheels in the country. I think the Blaze already did that. Finally, Honda relent and add telescopic forks and offer an optional disc too. The Aviator still does not offer a front-fuelling option. I, for one, am neither amused, nor enthused.

Moving right along, the CBF race and sports concepts looked very nice. Based on the Unicorn, they were styling exercised aimed to see what you guys think of such styling and bits. I loved the braced swingarm, carbon body panels and stuff, but couldn't swallow the twin shocks. Technically, good suspension tuning is far more important that how the suspension is articulated. But Honda (re-)introduced the monoshock to our country, and seeing the next generation of sporty Unicorns with gas-charged twin shocks will not help Honda's cause. Of course, all of the Japanese companies have both mono- and twin-shock bikes in their worldwide ranges, but that isn't the point. You can't sell a bike for four years harping about the monoshock only to revert to twin shocks a few years later. Someone at Honda needs to realise that Unicorn sales are not a reflection of people liking/not liking the monoshock, its a failure on the value front. So the solution lies in a perceived value correction, not the spring.



The CBUs included the CB600F Hornet, the CBR600RR and the Fireblade. The last one is simpler to deal with, so I'll take that on first. The Fireblade displaces more than 800cc so it could be a direct import. On the other hand, the other two will have to be assembled here, and CKDs look like a great idea on that front. Of the two, the CBR600RR has received some excellent, excellent reviews and I for one, can't wait to ride one. I asked one Honda official about the saree guard and the front number plate requirement. He said that the new rule – European homologation is accepted means that the big bikes won't need saree guards anymore. The front numberplate is an RTO requirement, but shouldn't be too hard to handle, since the Singapore market also requires a front plate and so solutions already exist, ready for transplant.




Related links:

• Auto Expo 2008: Bajaj Discover 150, Blade & XCD Sp...
• Auto Expo 2008: Bajaj-Kawasaki
• Auto Expo 2008: Bajaj-KTM
• Auto Expo 2008: Hero Honda
• Auto Expo 2008: Honda
• Auto Expo 2008: Kinetic
• Auto Expo 2008: Royal Enfield
• Auto Expo 2008: Suzuki
• Auto Expo 2008: TVS Concepts
• Auto Expo 2008: Yamaha YZF-R15 & FZ
• Auto Expo 2008: Electric bikes/Chinese Manufacture...
• Auto Expo 2008: Sparx, KBC Helmets
• Auto Expo 2008: Triumph
• Bajaj Discover 150, Blade and more

Launch prospects

Hey y'all. I thaught I'd put a list together about who all're planning to launch stuff for us motorcyclists, and when... so here it is

Bajaj
ET reported that Bajaj has put back the launches of the Blade and Kristal scooters to early 2007. The new Pulsars and the DTS-Fi are expected diwali-ish. If true, that means a broken promise. Bajaj were very proud that all the displays were for a calendar 2006 launch.

Hero Honda
Made a surprise announcement at their results announcements that they had eight launches up their sleeve. Including a fuel-injected Glamour next month. To be called the Glamour F1, the motorcycle is due in June. The rains is not a great time to be launching stuff, conventional wisdom says, but a higher price outlay may not allow the Glamour F1 very great sales in the first place. Could the Karizma replacement/upgrade be in there?

Honda
Should have something for launch around the festive season. I'm hoping it isn't another sticker change for all the bikes, but something more substantial. I'd be gutted if they just put in a electric starter in the Shine and said enough. But If my luck holds, we'll get a refined 100cc entry level bike. Hmph.

Suzuki
The Heat and Zeus might net electric starters by September or so. After that, I'm hoping for another launch, maybe a 1000cc volume player. Hopefully they'll get it more right than the 125s

LML
There's always hope, eh?

Kinetic
One motorcycle called the Stryker is supposedly ready. This will be based on the Velocity, so I have no hopes for it. On the other hand, there should be two scooter launches. The Euro, which will be a regular 135/150cc Nova/Activa competitor and another one. A Kinetic or a Sym? We'll see soon enough, right?

TVS
Are said to be working on a more powerful, more sporty 150cc version of the Apache, and a 180 as well. The former should be out just before Diwali, if all goes well for TVS, with meeting the production demand for the current Apache. 180 by March 2007?

Yamaha
Should be launching one more product before the year is out. Not counting the expected launches of the CBUs, that is. Yamaha seems bullish on the R1 and if they can figure out a way to quickly homologate the bikes, we could have the bike on sale by December. The other launch is likely to be a 125 or a 150, more likely to be the former, but serious about performance, rather than pleasing the largest cross-section of society

Royal Enfield
Have been quiet for a while, because they've been readying the unit gearbox motor. The integration of the gearbox will release more power and in the process more fuel economy. We're hoping the first of those types hit the road by December this year.

There could be more launches in the year. ET reported a possible 24 launches before the year is out. Amen to that. Just hope they're not all dollar signs masquerading as pedestrian motorcycles...

I'm sorry, I gotta run, so excuse any spelling/grammar mistakes. Will fix 'em tomorrow...

Let's speculate: Yamaha YZF-R15

Three years on, Yamaha is finally readying what appears to be a significant upgrade to the YZF-R15. If you search for 'R15 spy pics' in google, you will be rewarded with a whole bunch of pictures of the blacked-out spy shots doing the rounds. Now, open another tab and look up the Yamaha YZF-R125 and you'll immediately see the similarities in design. And then you will note that the mechanical bits don't match.

First, the R125 will never officially come to India. It simply isn't going to happen. Two-stroke nuts and fellow optimists, give up. The logic is simple. It's a two-stroke. It won't ever meet our norms. And if it did, it. I am given to understand the motorcycle would be too expensive for Indian customers to digest. That's not counting the fact that if it were re-tuned to meet our emission and noise specification that it would turn out so weak and so expensive that of you lot, about two would be willing to buy one. It ain't gonna happen.

What is likely to happen, on the other hand, is that Yamaha will neatly transplant the R125's awesome looks on the new R15. Which, as far as I am concerned, is a good thing. The slim, fit rear-end of the European stroker will fix the weakest link in the R15 package - the rear end. It'll gain both a fat rear tyre and a sleek rear-end in one shot. Nicely done. The R15 looks like an older R1, the R125's package resembles the tightly packed GP bike with an almost vestigial rear, it's a forward move in styling, definitely.

But what is crucial is how the performance and price moves, right? Here's what I think is going to happen. There's only two options. The harder way is to boost the performance. The R15 engine has been a pretty well-used engine in the sense of offered performance and potential performance. You have to remember that Yamaha's option to extract all of the horsepower from this engine is restrained, even strangled , by our pollution and noise norms. Can they bump up the power further? I think they can. Say you add another cam shaft (raise the redline, but lose still more ability to operate effortlessly at street speeds), some clever engineering, bump up the compression (raises sensitivity to fuel quality so you have to be careful) and so forth, and you should be to get say, another 2 horsepower out of this. Is that enough? A 10 per cent rise in power is pretty damn good I have to say. Although if you look at it as the gain over three years of a product's life, it does look weak.

You could also switch to more exotic materials as an option or in addition and lose weight to gain more performance. But there's no getting away from the fact that this is the expensive option. Unless you're willing to up the displacement.

Which is another can of worms because now you have to change the name. A 223cc R15 cannot be called R15. R22 or R22.3 is just weird. If you do an R25, on the other hand, you have to assume that the extra power means more serious chassis upgrades as well - another cost. And what do you do with the R15? Use it as a base model? Kinda lame unless you drop the price. Which in turn impacts the margins - dammit.

And remember that the price and the performance of the CBR250R hangs like the sword of Damocles over all the products in this segment. Rs 1.5 lakh ex-showroom gets you a Honda-badged 250cc single making roughly 25PS of power.

This ain't easy.

The simpler option is actually, perhaps, the smarter one. Bump up the power by half a horsepower. Bring in the slinky new styling. Localise some of the still-imported components to drop costs. And smoothly move the price down to a more acceptable, more accessible level. Yelling boo? Think about it. You get the motorcycle that is almost the automatic choice of the enthusiast - either money-down or aspirational - with updated rubber, some more power and more modern styling at less money. It might sound like the option here with less flair, but it has merit.

It's less complicated. There's no serious technology upgrades to be worked out. Styling is plastic - relatively easily to handle. A lower price point brings you closer to the buyer and makes your nearest competition (P220, Karizma et al) sweat harder. And raises the distance between yourself and the CBR250R so that something else - FZ250? - can be slotted into that space. Heck, you could do a proper R25 later if you chose this method.

It'll bring volumes. Lower price means more buyers. And Yamaha need volumes - every thing they can get - to meet their own target of market share.

It frees up attention. Which you need to focus on other products. Like the scooters Yamaha is supposed to be working on. Taking on the Activa isn't child's play, you know.

Of course, this is all my guess work. And as I write this, it makes sense to me. It may not tomorrow. What I do know is that Yamaha needs new products and that an R15 upgrade is coming. Dates? Hopefully March, but this is unconfirmed.