Honda Navi

Honda has launched the Navi with CBS (combined Braking System) at Rs 47,110 (ex-showroom Delhi). The Navi was discontinued in March 2017 following the government making it mandatory to switch to BS-IV norms. Along with a new BS-IV compliant motor, the Navi gets cosmetic updates like body coloured headlamp cover, mirrors, a rear grab rail and tubeless tyres. The single side mounted rear shock absorber is also painted red.  Another important update is the new instrument console that gets a fuel gauge. The Honda Navi has a unique design, which looks like a combination of a scooter and a motorcycle. With the tried and tested single cylinder, air-cooled, 109.2cc engine which has been powering the other 110cc Honda scooters, and that too in the same state of tune, the Navi is a conventional product under the skin. The rest of the mechanical setup is conventional as well, borrowing the wheels and brakes from the 110cc scooter lineup of Honda.

The Navi used to come with six different paint schemes, namely red, white, black, blue, yellow and orange. Apart from this, Honda now offers two new paint shades: brown and green. 

After so many years, Honda has finally come out with a product whose entire focus is on the aspect of design. But this is not an all-new concept for Honda, for the fact that the Navi, whose key aspect is that it looks like a combination of a motorcycle and a scooter, is based on the monkey-bike Grom, which is available in many parts of the world. The overall design looks a bit oddball at some places, yet is functional and doesn’t disappoint.

The one right word which is true for the overall styling of the Honda Navi is “subjective”. Some may like it, some may don’t – but one can’t ignore its quirky and funky stance. The bike has a short stance, with a small hexagonal headlamp at the front, which gets a nice brushed aluminum finish around it. The turn indicators borrowed from the other Honda motorcycles make the small face of Navi look a bit sizeable.

On moving sideways, the Navi looks lean, with the overall side profile of the bike carrying a ‘V-shape’ theme. The fuel tank extends from the top right corner of the side profile and goes all the way to the center of this V-shape side profile, which gets a unique round vertex at the mid-point, which gets the same aluminum finish as we get to see on the headlamp.

This V-shape side profile then extends towards the high mounted seat till rear, which ends up in a small tail lamp which is very similar to what we have seen earlier on the CBF Stunner. The seat can easily accommodate two adults. The tubular grab rail at the rear looks a bit plain as compared to the rest of the design, though. The rear profile of the Navi gets further complemented by the presence of a tiny fender, which houses both the number plate as well as turn indicators. To add freshness to the design, the bike gets body coloured headlamp cover, mirrors, grab rails and a red painter rear shock absorber. The instrument cluster is also new and now includes a fuel gauge. 

Honda hasn’t fiddled much on this aspect, and unlike on the design part, has played it safe here. The Navi comes fitted with the Activa's single cylinder, air cooled, 109.2cc engine, which pumps out a peak power output of 8.3PS and a torque output of 8.96Nm and comes paired with a V-matic transmission.

The engine doesn’t feel underpowered by any means, and thanks to Navi’s impressive power-to-weight ratio, the engine pulls off even more nicely as compared to other 110cc scooters. Honda claims a  mileage figure of 50kmpl. The only grouse, though, is the puny tank range, thanks to a very small 3.5 litre fuel tank.

The Navi uses a modified frame borrowed from the Honda Activa. It gets upside down front forks and a single side mounted shock absorber at the rear. The Navi gets a similar set of wheels as seen on the Activa 125, with a 10-inch wheel at the rear and a larger 12-inch wheel at the front, which complement the Navi's diminutive dimensions and make it agile. With 130mm drum brakes at both the ends aided by CBS (combined Braking System), the Navi comes to a halt with ease.