Honda Bikes

In February 2023, Honda two wheeler sales fell YoY both in domestic markets as well as where exports were concernedImage – Gyani EnoughHonda has reported a de-growth both in terms of domestic sales and exports in the past month.  Sales in February 2023 saw YoY de-growth in domestic markets to the extent of 20.52 percent to 2,27,084 units. This was against 2,85,706 units sold in Feb 2022 with volume de-growth at 58,622 units. Exports also remained in the red, down 25.36 percent to 20,111 units in Feb 2023. There had been 26,944 units exported in Feb 2022 relating to a volume de-growth of 6,833 units.Honda 2W Sales Breakup Feb 2023 – Activa Share At 77%In domestic markets, it was the Honda Activa that not only received the most attention, it was the only model in the company lineup to see positive sales growth. Sales stood at 1,74,503 units in Feb 2023, up 20.08 percent as against 1,45,317 units sold in Feb 2022. The Activa commands a 76.85 percent share in this list. It was the Activa that was also the best-selling scooter in the country in Feb 2023, with sales way above that of TVS Jupiter and Suzuki Access.Honda 2W Sales Breakup Feb 2023At No. 2 was the Honda CB Shine. Sales fell 56.43 percent YoY to 35,594 units in Feb 2023 from 81,700 units sold in Feb 2022. Sales de-growth was also reported for the Dio scooter by 6.44 percent to 14,489 units while sales of the Unicorn fell by 89.55 percent to 1,339 units in the past month.With only 471 units of the Honda Dream sold last month, it was a 96.96 percent YoY de-growth from 15,476 units sold in Feb 2022. Hness 350 sales also dipped 89.71 percent to 319 units last month from 3,009 units sold in Feb 2022 and Livo and Grazia sales fell by 97 percent and 95.26 percent to 222 units and 135 units respectively.Honda Sales Breakup % Share – Feb 2023Dismal performance was also seen in the case of Honda X-Blade and Hornet 2.0 with sales down 96 percent and 98.82 percent to just 6 and 5 units sold respectively in Feb 2023. Even as there was 1 unit of the Gold Wing sold last month, sales of the CB300R, CB200X, CBR650 and CB500 were down to 0 units.Honda Exports Feb 2023Honda Exports Feb 2023 – Navi, Dio, Unicorn most exportedHonda Navi scooter was most in demand in global markets. Sales stood at 8,783 units in Feb 2023, a YoY growth of 13.08 percent when compared to 7,767 units sold in Feb 2022. The Navi scooter commands a 43.67 percent share.  It was followed by the Dio scooter at No. 2 with a 36.68 percent YoY de-growth to 3,434 units in Feb 2023, down from 5,423 units sold in Feb 2022. This was a 1,989 unit volume dip in exports while the Dio commands a 17.08 percent share.Honda noted increased demand for the Unicorn 150 from export markets. Exports surged 1700 percent to 2,160 units in Feb 2023, up from just 120 units sold in Feb 2022. Honda CB Shine and X-Blade suffered YoY de-growth of 73.47 percent and 74.55 percent to 1,020 units and 796 units respectively in Feb 2023. However, it was the Grazia scooter that saw some increased demand by 112.50 percent to 680 units shipped in Feb 2023 from 320 units sold in Feb 2022.Honda Exports Breakup % Share – Feb 2023Hornet 160R and CB 350 also saw exports dip by 58 percent and 49.83 percent to 672 units and 602 units respectively in Feb 2023 while exports of the Activa scooter increased by 88.71 percent to 468 units. There had been 248 units sold in Feb 2022. Livo exports stood at 400 units while there were also 48 units of Hornet 2.0 exported in Feb 2023. Exports of the Honda Unicorn 160 and Aviator were down to 0 units. More

Honda Vario is patented in India and is expected to launch soon – Ahead of that, it has now been launched in Malaysia2023 Honda Vario 125cc scooterWe have seen ADV popularity rising off the roof in recent markets. This has given rise to ADVs across multiple engine displacements and price points as well. Slowly, we have been witnessing this trend carry over to scooters as well. Honda has dived into this as well, with the latest entrant being Vario 125.Honda teased the launch a couple of days ago, and a full-fledged launch has happened now in Malaysia. As its name suggests, it is a 125 cc scooter, launched in Malaysia at RM 7,080, which roughly translates to Rs. 1.3 lakh in today’s currency exchange rates. Price might seem on the higher side, but this seems to be on-road pricing, including insurance.2023 Honda Vario 125cc scooter2023 Honda Vario 125cc Scooter – New Features, ColoursHonda Vario 125 looks like every other Vario scooter in its lineup. We’re talking about Vario 150 and Vario 160, both of which are not on sale in India. Vario 160 is the most expensive of this bunch priced at RM 9,998 (approx Rs. 1.83 lakh). Honda has discontinued the 150cc model, replaced the larger 160cc model, and is sold alongside the newly launched Vario 125.Design-wise, the new Honda Vario 125 gets a large face, which radiates a lot of aggression. It gets dual headlights with eyes-like design language present on its apron. These headlights are lit by LEDs and also contain sharp LED DRL elements along with turn indicators. Handlebar cowl is kept blank and below the headlight, there is a pronounced mudguard almost mimicking a beak of an ADV.2023 Honda Vario 125cc scooterAt the side, we have sporty body panels and complementing them is a large grab handle. Seat looks fairly comfortable offering a lot of support for the rider. Speaking of rider, they will enjoy an upright riding posture with comfortable ergonomics. Rounding off its looks, is a substantial-looking tail light section.Specs & FeaturesThe main highlight of 2023 Honda Vario 125 is that it rides on 14” alloy wheels, lending it a lot of road presence. This is likely to be its main USP as well, giving riders a commanding view of the road with its high seating position. Componentry includes 90/80-14 front and 100/80-14 rear tyres, telescopic front forks with rear monoshock, disc brakes at front with petal rotors and more.The swingarm-mounted 124.9 cc single-cylinder engine makes 11.5 bhp of power at 8,500 RPM and 11.74 Nm of torque at 5,000 RPM. Transmission is handled by a CVT unit. Features include an 18L under-seat storage, a fully-digital instrument cluster with negative backlighting, LED lighting, a USB charger in front storage pocket and an anti-theft key with an immobilizer as we have with Honda Activa in India.2023 Honda Vario 125cc scooterHMSI has not mentioned anything about launching the Honda Vario 125 in India. That said, given how it looks, we hope Honda considers bringing it to India along with Vario 160, which can be a tough competition to Yamaha Aerox 155. Also, Honda has already patented Vario in India too. More

Based on outgoing CB300F street naked motorcycle, Himalayan rivaling Honda ADV can soon become a realityImage for illustration purpose onlyEver since the Honda CB300F was launched in India, it has stirred quite a commotion in many. Sales figures reflect the same and almost begs the question, whether Honda should have launched this in the first place. It even got a discount of Rs. 50,000 at dealer level to clear off stock. It sits below Honda CB300R, a much more powerful and sporty offering.New reports suggest Honda might extract more from this platform. How? By making an ADV version of it, of course. We have seen this strategy by Honda with CB200X based on Hornet 2.0 and it hasn’t procured much success either. It is yet to be seen how Honda will execute this and it might be launched by the end of 2023.Honda CB300F Based ADV motorcycle launch plannedWith ADV popularity on the rise, manufacturers are lining up their rugged machines to cater to this highly competitive segment. Sometimes, we also witness pseudo ADVs like Honda’s CB200X with style of an ADV, without any substance of one. We’re talking about the lack of long travel suspensions, wire-spoke wheels, larger front wheel and the likes.Honda is considering taking a similar approach with its recently launched CB300F naked street bike. Going by past encounters with Honda ADVs, we would wager this will just be a styling exercise, rather than a trail and offroad-worthy machine. While at it, we hope Honda bases this upcoming motorcycle on CB300R, instead of CB300F. We say this because Honda CB300R is powered by a 286cc motor making 30.7 bhp at 9000 RPM and 27.5 Nm at 7500 RPM. While CB300F is powered by a 293.52cc motor developing 24.13 bhp at 7500 RPM and 25.6 Nm at 5500 RPM.Honda CB300FWith CB300R, Honda can pit its upcoming ADV against KTM 390 Adventure, BMW G 310 GS and the likes with comparable numbers. That said, the figures of CB300F will limit it to rival against Suzuki V-Strom SX and KTM 250 Adventure, which is not a very hot segment. Not only is the CB300R’s platform more exciting, but it is also lighter as well.Specs & FeaturesGoing by Honda’s previous strategies, we would say this new Honda ADV based on CB300F will be equipped with a handsome looking fairing with a revised seating position. This ensures an upright seating position as opposed to ergonomics on a street bike. It will get design inspiration from its elder sibling Honda CB500X and is highly likely to be named CB300X.It will be powered by the same engine and come equipped with identical componentry like USD front forks, rear monoshock, single disc setup at both ends, same headlight assembly housed in a different cowl, integrated into a bikini fairing is possible. That said, Honda can surprise us and actually offer longer travel suspension, larger front wheel and even wire-spoke rims.Also, we expect Honda to tune the CB300X to suit characters of an ADV, unlike a street bike that it is based on. With CB200X, Honda offered a handsome and upmarket product without offroad-worthy hardware and there is a price increment of around Rs. 12,000. With the larger CB300X, we expect it to be priced Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 25,000 higher than CB300F.Source More

With Honda ADV 160 Marvel Editions including Iron Man and Captain America versions, we expect a boost in sales given popularity of these charactersHonda ADV 160cc Scooter Captain America EditionIf you think of a superhero comic industry, we get DC which started it all with Superman and then there is Marvel, which is by far the most extensive and popular. When it comes to revenue generated by cinemas and TV series, Marvel is ahead of DC earning Billions of Dollars. Boosting those revenues is licensing their characters to automotive companies.We have seen this taking effect with TVS NTORQ 125 Super Squad Edition in India. This includes Spiderman, Thor, Iron Man and Captain America Editions. Now, Honda has taken a similar route and offered Iron Man and Captain America Editions with its popular ADV 160 scooter in Thailand for a limited run of just 3,000 units only. Let’s take a look.Honda ADV 160cc Scooter – Captain America and Iron Man EditionHonda ADV 160 Marvel EditionWith ADV segment on the rise, some of that hype has trickled down to scooters as well. We have seen this take shape into a regular scooter with larger wheels, block pattern tyres, upright seating and the likes. Honda ADV 160 Marvel Edition is one of them, with the twist coming in the form of Marvel character-inspired liveries.Iron Man Edition gets a red base coat, while playing with gold accents all around. At the front fascia, we now have Iron Man’s nuclear core design, which he creates in the second installment of the trilogy. This has an inverted triangular element and replaces the Honda logo at front. At the sides, we get Iron Man’s face as well.Honda ADV 160cc Scooter Captain America EditionCaptain America Edition comes finished in a blue base coat, and has red and white elements, mimicking his outfit. In place of the Honda logo at front, we now have a star, which is found on Captain America’s shield. Captain America’s shield livery is found in side panels too.Mechanical Changes, India Launch?Honda ADV 160cc scooter was recently updated for MY2023 and is kept unchanged mechanically. It is still offered with the same 157 cc single-cylinder 4V engine capable of developing 16 bhp of power and 14.7 Nm of torque.There is a single-disc setup at both front with 240mm front rotor and 220mm rear rotor. There is a large windshield at front too, which is transparent even with Iron Man and Captain America Editions.Honda ADV 160cc Scooter Iron Man EditionBefore you ask, Honda ADV 160 Marvel Edition is not planned for India. Honda has patented ADV 150 here in India, which is not likely to launch anytime soon as well. If either 150 or 160 is launched in India, it would go against Yamaha Aerox 155. More

There are two different systems as seen with Honda patented motorcycle airbags – One deploying from the front, and other from the backImage for illustration purpose
For a long time, airbags have been associated with vehicles with more than two wheels. They deploy during a crash and protect occupants from colliding with interiors. In case of an accident, the driver collides with the steering wheel, cracking his head or ribs.
For a long time, cars are considered safer than motorcycles as they are concealed and pose a structure around to isolate them from potential hazards from the outside. Motorcycles are not like that as the helmet is the rider’s only best friend where safety is concerned. Honda wants to change that by patenting airbags for scooters and motorcycles.
Honda is working on new airbag for motorcycles / scooters – that will deploy during crash, detach from the vehicle and stay with the rider.
Honda Working On Airbags For Motorcycles, Scooters
Is this the first time that airbags are part of motorcycles or scooters? No. We have seen airbags being offered as part of motorcycles before. Coincidentally, it was on a Honda Goldwing tourer. Honda offered airbags on Goldwing for as long as 2006. The associated costs around it and limited impact of it on rider’s safety must be reasons why it never came into mainstream 2W vehicles.
Honda’s recent patents show airbags offered with both motorcycles and scooters. With expertise to bank on, Honda seems to have come up with a new breakthrough. For starters, the new patents show detachable airbags that when deployed, cover not just the rider’s chest, but his back along with sides of their torso as well.
Honda Motorcycle Airbag – This patent shows the airbag getting deployed from in front of the rider’s legs and then goes on to wrap around the torso.
Airbags On 2W
Just like airbags on cars and trucks, this airbag system also requires a sensor to detect a crash, a detonator, and a bag where gases can expand. Reportedly, Honda’s new airbag system detaches from source after deployment and is sealed off using heat applications to retain expanded gases in the bag as is.
Honda Motorcycle Airbag Patent – Shows how the airbag will deploy
This means that the airbag ECU, module, sensor and actual bag are mounted on the vehicle. It will then detach once deployed, wrapping its rider. There seems to be a check valve too, which Honda is using to control the rate of inflation of gases. From the patents, we can see that there are two different designs Honda is working on right now.
One is demonstrated on a street-naked motorcycle where the airbag is mounted at the vehicle’s front. And the other is demonstrated on a scooter where an airbag is placed behind the rider and integrated into the seat. These look to be very rough around the edges as of now and are not likely to see the light of day anytime soon.
Honda Scooter Airbag – Deploys from behind the rider and surrounds the torso
Questions On Safety
On a tourer like Honda Goldwing, one would sit upright and an airbag for their torso and head is very logical. But as demonstrated by Honda in their patents, is it viable for a street bike? What if a rider is ducking to get a sportier position, will they survive a whiplash caused by an inflating airbag?
Honda Scooter Airbag deploying from behind the rider
Also, on a system demonstrated on a scooter behind the rider’s back, there are chances of airbag dislocating thighs from the pelvis of its pillion. If a rider is sitting behind a favourable spot, they can suffer injuries from a dislocated spine as well. There are jackets and helmets with gyro-sensors that detect a fall and deploy airbags. Those seem to be a better bet until new breakthroughs happen.
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