While the world has been going gaga over the big-ticket Harley-Davidson X440 and Triumph Speed 400 launches in the past week, Honda has tried to attract some attention of its own. This comes in the form of two teasers of an upcoming scooter.
From what is visible on the scooter, the headlamp and surrounding body panels look very similar to the current Honda Dio. However, Honda has recently launched the H-Smart version of the Dio, which means that this scooter is likely to be something else altogether.
With the success of sporty 125cc scooters like the TVS Ntorq 125 and the Suzuki Avenis (to a smaller extent), Honda may be looking to steal a bite of that market. The Dio has always been positioned as Honda’s fun and youthful product and it could do well as a 125 product as well – a combination Honda has not sold so far.
Honda currently has two 125cc scooters in the form of the Activa 125 and the Grazia. Both use the same 124cc engine that makes around 8.2hp and 10.4Nm. Those power figures are down on the TVS Ntorq, so it remains to be seen if Honda will squeeze more power out of this engine.
The second teaser released also includes a soundtrack where you can clearly hear a silent start system, followed by a deeper exhaust note than you would normally hear from a Honda scooter. The whine of a CVT transmission is also audible, confirming that the product Honda is teasing will indeed be an automatic scooter.
Ved Janve
Azaman Chothia
Dinshaw Magol
Vishal Venugopal
