Flashback Friday - Honda Dio Showed Scooters Can Be Fun

Born sporty when scooters were boring and dutiful

The early 2000s were a pivotal time in India’s motoring history. It was a decade after India opened its economy to the world and the world was now finding a home in India. At such a time, Honda decided it was time that Indian families got a gearless scooter that would change mobility for the masses all together and it introduced the Activa. But with the Activa came another scooter that silently but surely changed our attitude towards scooters - the Dio, India’s first sporty scooter.

Unlike what it is today, which is a tired and partially ignored child of Honda, the Dio was once a classic and very sought after scooter. In fact, I had one. My two-wheeled journey began back in 2006 with a Dio’s front wheel hoisted up. That said, what made me wonder was how the Dio, a scooter that shared its DNA and almost everything underneath with the dutiful Activa, was so youthful and energetic. Some would argue it was mass - Activa gets a metal body and the Dio - all fibre. Some would say it's the stance. The Dio was more sculpted and sharp, but I feel it was its attitude.  

Over the years not much has changed. It went from having a simple 90cc engine to now a slightly more bored out 110cc engine. Power outputs have remained more or less the same too - roughly 7 or 8PS over the years. Barring some looks and minor hardware changes and keeping the engine up to date with changing emission norms, this sporty scooter’s current persona is of an aged star athlete, with its heyday firmly in the past.  

Back then, it felt cool to be on India’s first sporty scooter, because scooters weren’t in abundance either. Today, however, there are plenty of scooters to pick from, each one trying to be sportier than the last; and somehow, the Dio feels like it has lost relevance in a gathering of India’s sportiest scooters. I guess, some things in life evolve, some degrade and some stagnate.