[bravo82in]

Dear BHPians

Greetings of the festive season!
This post is about my father who is in his late 70s. He is a retired gazetted officer and a sportsman for most part of his life. He is healthy, physically and mentally fit for his age, without any lifestyle disorders. My mom passed away in 2019. He stays alone in an historic town of western UP. Being a small city, with congested streets he prefers to ride a two wheeler for shot trips for grocery etc. He also owns a Nissan Micra for longer rides. His earlier ride was a Hero Honda Street. His reliable companion for 20 years.



He then shifted to Honda Activa. In the last one year he has met with 2 accidents. Once a speeding bike hit him from left side leaving him with multiple abrasions. Second time he lost balance over a pot hole, ending up with multiple rib fracture.



I tried my best to persuade him to shift to car for even short trips, but all my requests have fallen to deaf ears. His only outing/ social life is the daily visit to the vegetable markets and grocery shops, else it will be very depressing for him to stay all alone.
I recently moved to a neighboring city 70kms/1.5 hrs from him. I should be able to visit him once a fortnight.
My concern is that is there a two wheeler which is safer to ride than Activa?
I always found his beloved HH street to be inherently stable but there was no suitable alternative to it in the market then. The launch of Yamaha areox 155 with 14 inch wheels made me wonder if it can be safer alternative to Activa.



What are your thoughts and inputs? Budget is never a concern unless someone suggests me a Honda Gold wing Trike

Regards
Bravo

[condor]

Rather than safety of the vehicle, check which one he feels comfortable on. Height, weight, maneuverability as per his comfort. Rest is secondary, IMO.

[sanchari]

My father who is around similar age drives a TVS Scooty pep+. Its perfect for his height, light enough for him and is basically maintenance-free.

[2000rpm]

The scooty pep comes to mind, but no moped is safe from potholes and requires firm grip to keep it in control from potholes.

Why dont you try getting him his favourite Hero street (though old), get it completely renovated and he will be happy I think. His comfort with vehicle dynamics of that bike will be invaluable.

Basically - Last known good configuration (old techies will remember this hopefully)

[JayPrashanth]

Originally Posted by bravo82in

Dear BHPians


Regards
Bravo

TVS XL100. Lightest and probably the most fuel efficient, with the best bad road manners. Most affordable, too. You can't go wrong with this one.

Cheers,

Jay

[Raghu M]

The reasons you mentioned are not anyway related to Activa's safety. He could be injured by another vehicle if he is driving a two wheeler to begin with. No bike will give protection against potholes. Bikes have 2 wheels and once the balance is off, a person falls and gets injured. I don't think any bike in the world can offer protection of a car. Also, since the streets are very congested, I would suggest to have a friendly auto wala who can ply your dad to wherever he wants to and you pay him on a monthly or per trip basis (of course with a small premium). I have friends and relatives who have moved to this system during Covid and trust me, it's complete peace of mind. You don't need to worry about traffic or parking at all.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by bravo82in

What are your thoughts and inputs?

Sir, safety lies with the nut that connects handlebars & saddle; and in India, its everywhere because we've to ride not just for ourselves, but for others as well; somehow, I'm reminded of this game & I'm more than sure you've tried convincing even more than I did & some people are extremely adamant which I can understand as stubborn as my grandfather used to ride Rx100 at the age of 84/85



So, to recommend, I suggest accompanying your Father to TD & get him the scooter/motorcycle he appreciates.

[malgudi]

Dear Bravo,
Personally I would suggest none. In the age group your father is in, the recoveries from any accident are incomplete and often take longer.

My Father is also in similar age group, stays in Navi Mumbai, loved to be on his Activa. No amount of persuading helped to shift to swift standing at home. Couple of years back, he had an accident with best buses when there was road concretization work going on. Luckily for us this was closer to home and lot of people know him so few good Samaritans took him to hospital and also informed us.

Post that we sold of the Activa and gave him only the option of swift & if not autos. Today he is used to the autos and loves the same with his weakening Eyesite.

If you still want to go ahead, I believe going to Ola , Ather would be a good option and you may also be able to keep track of him using net.

[nairrk]

It is not that he met with an accident because he was driving on a Honda Activa. Even if we keep riding our vehicle with the utmost care, someone may hit on us. An accident can happen in any vehicle, but it all depends on the confidence of the user.

Ask your father about his preference and which vehicle he is comfortable to ride. And let him test drive few models and finalize one which he like.

In my opinion, a four wheeler may be more comfortable and safe for him considering his age.

[nitro.1000bhp]

Originally Posted by Raghu M

The reasons you mentioned are not anyway related to Activa's safety. He could be injured by another vehicle if he is driving a two wheeler to begin with. No bike will give protection against potholes. Bikes have 2 wheels and once the balance is off, a person falls and gets injured. I don't think any bike in the world can offer protection of a car. Also, since the streets are very congested, I would suggest to have a friendly auto wala who can ply your dad to wherever he wants to and you pay him on a monthly or per trip basis (of course with a small premium). I have friends and relatives who have moved to this system during Covid and trust me, it's complete peace of mind. You don't need to worry about traffic or parking at all.

Sorry, but I don't agree with your post. Activas and the like with ancient linked suspension setup are inherently dangerous in my opinion. They have very little suspension travel and coupled with the tiny wheels transfers all the shock from hitting a pothole or speed bump directly to the rider's wrists which causes the rider to lose control. Motorcycles have longer suspension travel and can absorb shocks better , even scooters with telescopic suspension are slightly better than activas at absorbing shocks. Cars are obviously safer but the trade off is time taken while stuck in traffic and finding parking spaces in conjested markets and busy streets.

My suggestion for op is to get something with good suspension and wide tyres like the SXR 160 from Aprilia . Aeroxx may be too fast for him I believe but if he can handle the power then there shouldn't be a problem.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by bravo82in

...my father who is in his late 70s.
...he prefers to ride a two wheeler for shot trips for grocery etc.
...shifted to Honda Activa. In the last one year he has met with 2 accidents.
...stay all alone.

How about something like this? Ask him if he'd like to ride this.

[Vinod_nair]

Dear Bravo,

A thoughtful caring son, doing what his father would have done for his son in his teens etc.

I can understand your predicament, I'm 61, recovering from a Pacemaker implant, anyways let me think out-of-the-box here:

My garage consists of:
1. Jupiter 2015
2. Nano AMT 2016
3. Nexon AMT 2018

I ride and drive all 3 regularly, but I enjoy my Nano the most, it's nimble, requires just a 2 bike space for parking in our crowded bazaar's, and is a hoot to drive.

Get him one, for both of yours peace of mind.

Regards

[Vitruvius]

I agree that scooters like the Activa are inherently unstable. Motorcycles with their larger wheels, and better suspension are more stable on our unkempt roads.
But as we age, our reflexes get slower, and riding two-wheelers is a risky proposition. I agree with many here that you should try to persuade your father to dispose off his two wheeler. I understand though, that it's much easier said than done!!
As far as two wheelers are concerned, I'm not sure what would be better than the Activa for your dad. There are not many different types of two-wheelers to choose from in our market. I remember seeing an ad for the TVS Jibe, which is a clutch-less motorcycle, and is supposedly easier to operate in city traffic. But it's a full-sized bike, might be too high to get on/off easily.

[shancz]

I empathise with the gentleman and would pick the two wheeler anyday in small town traffic.

Your issue seems to be more of finding an alternative for the Street and sadly there isn't one. The XL 100 comes close with its larger wheels but it is also lighter and maybe he won't like the balance or power delivery.

Coming to what is currently available, I would recommend a TD of the Jupiter, that is better damped for solo riding than the Activa especially the front. But not sure if its convincing enough for a change from Activa.

Aerox or Aprilias with 14 inch wheels are more on the sportier side hence not very good at soaking bumps. But do take a TD since I haven't.

Another option is a light motorcycle with electric start like the Star City+/Sport, Raider, Super Splendor etc. basically anything around the 110-125cc and 110kgs.

Outside of these options I can't think of anything else, since he's already using the Activa a light motorcycle will be easier but that has to be his choice.

Good luck.

[condor]

Originally Posted by shancz

Aerox or Aprilias with 14 inch wheels are more on the sportier side hence not very good at soaking bumps. But do take a TD since I haven't..

I have briefly used the Aprillias, while my Activa was with my friend. My view:

It's meant for college kids and those just of college. The 14" wheels did not give any additional comfort. And I was eager for it to be taken back.

However, I do agree with you that there is no replacement for the Street. The Scooty makes sense, since it is light. On a related note, I can share about my college lecturer who is 70+ now, and uses his 20 yr old Hero Pleasure for his local running around in Bangalore. A light vehicle may be the way to go for the requirement being discussed in this thread.

I myself gave up my Activa for a 100 cc bike recently. Feel far more comfortable with the bike. Scooters not for folks as we gain in age.