[Sebring]

I was at Silicon Honda to check out CBR 300, overheard the sales lady saying 'discount of Rs 8000 on bikes like Hornet etc' (2019 model). Honda is struggling to sell anything other than Activa, in this tough market. I was stunned. This talk of discount from Honda is rare.

Originally Posted by audioholic

Quite fishy for a Honda bike to be lying in stock from the last eight months at least(considering the bike is Dec 18 make). I think there is some reason this bike was not sold. Better avoid it. 5k is nothing if you plan to keep it for a long time.

[fordday]

Originally Posted by fordday

Ha! Ha! So I am in good company.

If I use it everyday and if the weather is warm mine takes around 10-15 kicks in the mornings. If it is cold then 15-20 kicks. If not used for more than three days add 15 more kicks.

Compared to this, my wife's puny little Scooty Pep+ starts with one self push, no matter what the weather is. She reaches her office by the time my kicking ritual is over.

Quoting my self to keep the context. I have an update.

My Activa is 9 year old. In the first seven years, I don't remember using the kick starter. The problem came up in the last two years. Two causes I could identify.

Our office moved to far away place so I take the car. Scooter usage was mostly on weekends.
Second is I started servicing with an FNG who I am sure must have used unbranded engine oil.

A month back, I went looking for Motul engine oil but instead got a Honda branded 2 wheeler four stroke oil. Bought a tube of Castrol gear oil from a Castrol bike servicing centre.
Filled these two.

It has been a 25% improvement. After 4-5 'dead' kicks Scooter starts with the ignition on along with Choke in the next kick.
If I use it immediate next day, then it can be started with only the self start plus choke in 1-2 tries.

I will now look into fuel pump to see if it needs any attention.
Next will be removing the carb and cleaning all its components.

[TusharK]

Honda has launched the Activa 125 BS-VI in India. Honda's first BS-VI compliant scooter is available in three variants - Standard, Alloy and Deluxe priced at Rs. 67,490, Rs. 70,990 and Rs. 74,490 (ex-showroom, Delhi) respectively.



The Activa 125 comes with a new instrument cluster that has a digital readout. It displays information like distance to empty, average and real time fuel efficiency. The scooter has an external fuel filler, side stand indicator with engine inhibitor and LED headlamp with LED position lamp .

The Activa 125 is powered by a 124cc, single-cylinder engine with fuel-injection. It produces 8.18 BHP @ 6,500 rpm and 10.3 Nm @ 5,000 rpm. The scooter comes equipped with a 190 mm disc brake at the front and a 130 mm drum at the rear.

Link to Team-BHP News

[TorqueKnight]

We own both Activa - 5G and Activa - 125, the later's suspension is very good in negotiating speed breakers even with a pillion. Though it has new features, it is still lagging behind the TVS Ntorq in features.

But Honda is Honda, they stick to basics. And they missed a golden opportunity here.

[goswami.j]

At Rs. 74,490 (Ex Showroom), i.e nearly Rs. 1L on road seems a very expensive proposition for what is basically a 8 bhp run around scooter. I think Honda is getting greedy & trying to get as much profit as possible from the highest selling product portfolio range. I was looking to pick up a corner store errand run around scooter but will give this a miss & maybe wait for other BS VI, FI injected ones to be launched or better still the Ather range to be launched in my city.

[Sebring]

We will wait out for Activa 6G. It has no issues, better resale and spares are easily available. Fi will be standard across range from now on.

[RaghuVis]

I am in dire need of a scooter. Initially thought of waiting till April 2020 but the existing one is almost dead. Had been to Honda showroom and was gobsmacked by the prices. Existing BS IV Activa 124 is almost 84K on road. Almost 1L for BS VI scooter. NO wonder sales are going down.


Very confused to see the so called auto decline scenario in person. I was in the showroom with wife. We were ready to buy it that day itself. BUt shockingly there was no interest to sell any vehicle. They were so busy in their own world. The sales guy was not interested to explain anything in detail. He just quoted on road prices. Not even a penny of discount offered. Even after I had stated that I was ready to immediately with no finance option. When I mentioned that I want to have a look at prices for BS VI, he mentioned to me that the BS VI will be at least 10-11K more than existing price of 84K. When I asked about booking, he said he cannot take booking without it being announced which I thought was fair. While leaving he did not even ask for a contact number. When I asked for his contact, he gave me a card and told me to call after 2 days preferably in the afternoon session. Is this how sales guy behave when they are going through a crisis?

[Sebring]

Scooter has not reached dealerships in Bangalore. We can expect to see by end of the month, and TD will be in November - I was told. Sales guy was prodding me to book without seeing or test riding. Silly fellow. LOL. Meanwhile, TVS NTORQ has got some interesting updates, so looking at that as well.

[aargee]

Despite having a happy Activa for 15 years, I really wish Honda gets some serious competitors to knock their Activa from the top of the chart for their sheer arrogance attitude.

1. They want folks to book vehicle without even having one on display (they didn't do this even for CBR 250R back in 2011). They didn't give TD for C250R, yet they had one in display before accepting official booking
2. They would deduct Rs 100 for refund, which is damn ridiculous
3. Book a Fi model now & get it delivered after 2 months & they're behaving like this at this time of the year.

BTW, their stockyard is flooded with Dio like mad, seriously, like mad. we counted like some 50+ Dio parked right outside the small showroom & I'm sure their stockyard must have even more. So the Fi is like bonus or teaser sales & that's they're arrogant probably; and no sign of Aviator or Gracia

[mrwalker]

I had a look and test drive at Aman Honda in Pune around a week back, experience as below.

Background

Had bought the original Activa back in 2004 (I think!) and has been a hassle free experience, no maintenance needed on the autogear system or the engine. Maintenance quality is OK given the volumes they handle.

Primarily used as a local runabout and good for the job except for the fact it handles like a supertanker, hard ride, need to lift seat to fill petrol and keep getting stopped by the police so that I can prove I've paid local road tax (non MH registration).

The Mrs did a test drive of the Access 125 and Jupiter and wasn't happy with either so back to Activa. Was initially planning to wait for Activa basic 6G but given the delayed roll-out I decided to check out he Activa 126 BS6 - the main attraction being the external fuel tank (OMG)!

Showroom Experience

Walked in, registered interest at reception and was given a test ride all within 10 mins despite the large crowd, so no complaints at this stage. There were also a couple of vehicles in stock (base models) which we could look at.

Post the test ride we had to wait a bit but then were able to see all the colours available in flesh - they were stacked in a row for customer delivery. Grey and the muddy brown ones were available immediately, needed to wait for others - longest wait time was for blue I think.

A little surprised that no vehicles were available at dealers in other cities.

After deciding on the variant (middle one) and colour (blue), we ran into the classic salesman's dilemma (no not that one) the partial lack of knowledge about the product/ pricing.

Ended up leaving without booking the vehicle given the absence of answers to some basic questions. Had left our numbers for them to allegedly call back with answers to pending questions but that didnt happen. We called back after 5 days and were fobbed off with the usual dishonest "I'll call you back in 2 mins".

Guess they are too busy selling it to people who tell them to shut up, take the cash and book the vehicle, no questions asked.

Test Drive

Did two rounds, Mrs and Kid1, Me and Kid2 on the top end variant. Had taken helmets along so please don't worry.

Mrs came back happy, only comment was that its a bit low and handles easily (couldn't make out if these were complaints!).

My test drive was good. Startup was painless and noiseless - the new starter tech seems great, although I'm mindful of all the negative comments posted in this thread re 125 starter problems. Eyes on the road all the time so missed all the fantastic features offered on the display (real time distance to empty etc)

Drove slow and easy first time around, and happy with the handling, feels light and easy which is a sea change from the origin Activa. Ride over bumpy roads was shock absorbed but still get some movement which will take some getting used to over the hard and firm one on the original Activa.

Disc brakes were a bit more grippy than what I'm used to but I'm confused why the more powerful braking tech would not be placed on the back wheel which is more important for two wheeler braking - what do I know...

Stopped at a traffic stop and after a couple of seconds (please don't ask how many) the engine switched off. Turned on smoothly when I twisted the accelarator on the green light. This feature is only available in the top end (with disc brakes) but given problems reported on this thread with the starter tech on Activa 125 not keen on this feature - which drives the choice for the middle variant.

Drove a little harder on the way back which features an uphill section - performance was adequate to good, twist the accelerator and there is a slight initial lag after which it pulls cleanly and effortlessly.

At the end used the other feature to stop the engine - kick down the side stand and the engine cuts-off, also prevents engine start while the side stand is down. Super handy and available in top and mid variant.

Pricing

Ah yes, the pricing. Much has been said, but rest assured the on road price won't hit 6 figures

The pricing for the different variants is attached. MODS: Please help me get it inline properly.

• Insurance premium is for 5 years with first year comprehensive. Asked if the figure included VAT (he didn't know) and what it would be for 5 year comprehensive (obviously he didn't know). For ref ICICI Lombard gives ~ 8k with VAT
• Standard Fitting includes front and back number plates, side step and side stand. My question as to why I should pay for a side stand as it comes standard in the top two variants was met with certainty that it doesn't until I confirmed it with the folks assembling the delivery vehicles.
• I asked about the 3+3 Extended warranty advertised by Honda and again the salesman was clueless
• No details on pricing for other accessories such as a rubber mat - actually does this even come with the new Activas? There is a hard plastic floorboard

Conclusion

Expensive but worthy upgrade, take it if you can't wait for the plain Active 6G which should come sometime next year with most of the new features this one has (BS6 engine, external filling, telescopic shocks)

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by mrwalker

I'm mindful of all the negative comments posted in this thread re 125 starter problems.


but given problems reported on this thread with the starter tech on Activa 125 not keen on this feature - which drives the choice for the middle variant.

The starting trouble which is faced by many is on the carburetted version of the Activa 125. What you get in the BS6 avatar is a fuel injected version which will not have this starting trouble since for cold starts, the fuel mixture and idling speed is adjusted by the ECU and you dont have to worry about kick starts, choke usage etc. Hence, that should not be of concern to you. Hence, if you arent buying the top end version just because of this, then you should not worry I feel. However, I am not sure if the start-stop tech would really aid in a lot of FE improvement, unless you spend a lot of time in heavy traffic. But the disc brakes would be good in the long run since from my experience, the drums need regular cleaning and maintenance and suffer from brake fade. These issues will be eliminated in the disc brake version, except that the braking habits should be changed promptly.
The other surprise to me was the dip in power output of the engine from the carburetor to FI change. I would have expected the same power output or slightly higher output. I am badly waiting for the BS6 Dio with this powertrain so that it will be a replacement to my existing dio. If they continue with the same 110cc engine on the Dio, then I would consider buying the Activa itself, seeing the list of equipment on offer.

[Sebring]

The fuel access lid (which is outside now) has a major design flaw, it flaps up only half way prompting one to squeeze your hand inside. Needs to be seen how the fuel pump attendant will treat this fragile piece. I don't know if this was the case with only the piece I inspected, because it is highly unlikely that Honda would do this gaffe. Left me wondering. The scooter did not start at first attempt, so has Fi sorted out the starting issue?

[mrwalker]

Originally Posted by audioholic

The starting trouble which is faced by many is on the carburetted version of the Activa 125. What you get in the BS6 avatar is a fuel injected version which will not have this starting trouble since for cold starts, the fuel mixture and idling speed is adjusted by the ECU and you dont have to worry about kick starts, choke usage etc. Hence, that should not be of concern to you. Hence, if you arent buying the top end version just because of this, then you should not worry I feel. However, I am not sure if the start-stop tech would really aid in a lot of FE improvement, unless you spend a lot of time in heavy traffic. But the disc brakes would be good in the long run since from my experience, the drums need regular cleaning and maintenance and suffer from brake fade. These issues will be eliminated in the disc brake version, except that the braking habits should be changed promptly.
The other surprise to me was the dip in power output of the engine from the carburetor to FI change. I would have expected the same power output or slightly higher output. I am badly waiting for the BS6 Dio with this powertrain so that it will be a replacement to my existing dio. If they continue with the same 110cc engine on the Dio, then I would consider buying the Activa itself, seeing the list of equipment on offer.

Re the autostop feature and the new starter tech, technically I'm sure you're right and I feel that once the long term reliability of this new system is proven, autostop would be a useful feature. But from the next comment it is clear that the new starter tech is not infallible. If my wife is driving and has this issue a couple of times rest assured I will get to hear about it!!

Disc brakes, yes agree just need to get used to it and is better braking tech but given it is only offered on the top variant with autostop I'm not going for it.

Originally Posted by Sebring

The fuel access lid (which is outside now) has a major design flaw, it flaps up only half way prompting one to squeeze your hand inside. Needs to be seen how the fuel pump attendant will treat this fragile piece. I don't know if this was the case with only the piece I inspected, because it is highly unlikely that Honda would do this gaffe. Left me wondering. The scooter did not start at first attempt, so has Fi sorted out the starting issue?

Yes! I thought the external fuel lid was quite flimsy and needs to be handled carefully, but I've never seen a fuel pump attendant open it and uncap the fuel cap on a 2 wheeler - usually needs to be done by the driver who should be motivated to handle it carefully.

I also have some concerns re the hard plastic switches near the front keyhole that open the fuel lid and the seat cover. They need to be pressed pretty hard to work and not sure about long term reliability.

Still no clarity on the 3+3 warranty being advertised, dealers have not received information on that from Honda. But the vehicle is selling well, already a 45 day waiting period here.

[IntoTheStorm]

Did a quick test drive of BS6 Honda Activa 125 on Saturday!
The best part about the vehicle are the butter smooth engine with good throttle response, that silent ACG starter & start stop system which worked really well.
Few areas such as plastic ( especially of the glove box) quality & overall handling needs improvement though
I have posted by views on my channel as well.. check it out! In the end I have mentioned my take on the same ( if you should be spending 94000 ( on-road Chennai)

https://youtu.be/r40uP3YhMSo

[Sebring]

Has any reviewer covered how tough it is to point the fuel gun in this gap without breaking the flimsy cover! Not expected from Honda design