[anjan_c2007]

The side stand of my Activa had a rubber guard (aftermarket fitting by me) which helped me in not ever hearing the metallic sound (partly destructive, it was I believe) whenever it was disengaged. This one encircled the entire side stand, lowest part and hit the lower body when disengaged, with its cushion.
It gave me about 8 years of service. Very recently, it got torn apart and had to be discarded. This picture shows the rubber, when the going was good!



Now I was in a fix as to what should be done to replace it? Then I saw the balance rod bush on my Scorpio and thought this one will be surely act as the new rubber saviour for me. It was available for Rs 61=00 (Mahindra spares don't cost a bomb) and I just got one.
The problem was that this would not encircle the lowest part of the side stand wholly, but only partly.
The fitting was done using a discarded Hawkins 2.5 litre pressure cooker gasket and Oh yeah ! Now its doing its duty very well.









The gap (rubber balance rod bush) has been left at the lower portion of the side stand ,as the upper portion hits scooter's underbody.





Pictures of the balance rod bush and the gasket and how these have been fitted.
The manufacturers rarely bother about such nitty-gritty problems faced by users and only volumes and money matter to them.

[anjan_c2007]

My Valentine Activa (bought on Valentine's Day of 2003) has completed 15 years of tireless service on 14.02.2018. This is a first generation Honda Activa and I can't believe 15 years have passed so fast in its loving company. It has got new rear tyres - MRF original and MRF again now. The scooter is sparingly used and has done about 22,500 kms till now. It has been doing its duties tirelessly, whenever called for.

It is particularly used whenever I have to go to places, where maneuvering or parking a car is an uphill task.

Its mandatory fitness test with the local RTO office was done on 26/02/2018 and the scooter has got a new lease of life till 25/02/2023. Green Tax due was Rs 2000=00 that has been paid wef 15.02.2018 till 14.02.2023.

[anjan_c2007]

My Valentine is now 15 plus years old. When I had bought it in 2003, I was contemplating changing my scooter every 5-6 years. But not anymore ! The Activa is rendering me flawless service ( Touchwood !) for moving to nearby, crowded areas. I always prefer it over a four wheeler and also over a bike. The bikes have little storage space and while in the market, should you suddenly decide to buy something, the scooter stands out.

Here is my Valentine, now with road fitness till 2023, after a good DIY, clean-up job very recently.

[Sebring]

I see this battery placement as a design flaw since every Activa parked in my apartment has acid marks on the front fender. The battery needs to be elsewhere or the outlet pipe needs to be redesigned. Isn't this a customer feedback Honda needs to take seriously? I'm not seeing this in Jupiter or NTORQ, though.

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

The front mudguard of my Activa was under acid attack since the past many months.

[lazybird]

Nice and crisp review, thanks.

We had one in the near family which was bought used. It had close 37k when it was bought, and we used it for another 10k before selling.

It was lying un-used coz the actual owner had moved to US, and had some starter related issues which could cost 3k to repair per one quote, but I was surprised to know later that it was bought by someone for 10k in same condition.

[anjan_c2007]

It has turned 16 years of age on Valentine's Day 2019 and the apt song for for the lady would be - (you are sixteen going on seventeen... from The Sound of Music (1965)).

It had a recent clean-up job done to appear neat on it's birthday. It continues to do its job almost flawlessly, running errands for me to crowded places in the city.

Now looks confident and fit to run till 2023, with its fitness test done last year !

[anjan_c2007]

The lockdown saw shops closed. I chanced upon dissecting the secondary air filter of my now 17 year old Activa. The primary air filter gets all the priority usually and we check it once every six months at least. The secondary air filter was cleaned by me around 2006 or so. Since then, it was just left like that on its own fate.

In mid April 2020, I opened it, found no gear oil trace needed to make it effective and after touching, the filter element made of foam crumpled into tiny pieces. Now what? Can't just leave it like that! Shops closed, face masked! So I took a foam piece from home and cut it to the desired size. This took me just 10 minutes. Got it fitted with some squeezes here and there, so that the plastic enclosure could be bolted. And after fitting the Activa started and moved like before. No niggles, no complaints from my Sweet 17,Valentine (yes it arrived on Valentines Day in 2003).

When the shops reopened about two weeks ago, I got a new filter element, a new spark plug and a new turn indicator blinker. These were to be changed over. And the spares have been fitted. Applied SAE 90 gear oil as recommended on the filter element.



The Jugaad filter element



The real filter element cometh. Also clicked are the new spark plug and blinker

[anjan_c2007]

My Activa is completing 20 years this coming Valentine's Day on 14.02.2023. Lately, the niggles were grounding the machine for days at a stretch sometimes. The workshop nearer home was just doing some screw driver/ spanner/cutting plier jobs and keeping the machine running. The workshop people lastly had said that the coil plate was faulty and after my handing over the scooter for two days a coil in the coil plate he said was repaired. A new coil plate costs around Rs 1200 and I would have preferred a brand new replacement.

More than a week ago, the Activa refused to start completely and I found some petrol spilled on the garage floor. It was like a trickle with drops pouring out intermittently. I decided enough is enough. A good doctor was needed and I was searching for a three wheeler to transport the Activa to a workshop about five plus kms away from home. A known autorickshaw driver brought an aged person with a cycle rickshaw (three wheeler) with a cart to carry goods. I handed over the scooter that was tied securely (he was an aged person with experience in this field). The scooter reached the workshop M/s Vasant Auto Centre after about an hour and the owner phoned me that it has arrived indeed. This was on 09/01/2023. The Activa was thoroughly checked for all possible defects by the workshop owner and his men. The leaking petrol was traced to the damaged petrol feeder pipe very near the petrol tank. All fuel pipes were replaced. Electrical checks were done and the indicator switch was changed. The side stand was also changed. A new foot mat was placed over the existing factory fitted foot mat. Activas have foot mats in "n" number of designs made by "n" number of companies. The scooter was washed, polished and handed over after all the jobs were completed yesterday. I collected the Activa last evening and it felt like new while driving. Lets hope it runs well now. The fitness test is due sometime next month.







Above photos at Vasant Auto Centre with its tribe





Above photos also at Vasant Auto Centre



The new mat covering the OE mat- a brand new design



At an office en route for work

[anjan_c2007]

Alas, the 20 year old got its fitness done for the period 2023-2028 on February 17, 2023. But it was not without giving me a shocker on 15/02, just a day after it had completed 20 years of service. A screw had screwed up the rear tyre as is seen in the top image. I got the rear wheel unbolted at home on 16/02 and transported to a repair shop where the puncture (first ever for this new tyre and tube) was repaired. The wheel was refitted. My Valentine was thoroughly cleaned again.

Come D-day 17/02, around noon I reached the RTO office. There were a very few two wheelers undergoing their fitness tests, some for the first time (15 years old ). My turn came and the Asst MVI checked it thoroughly. He was also checking the engine and chassis numbers and all lights/indicators. Everything was working and so he signed the papers okaying it's fitness till 2028. The AMVI appeared to be quite a sane person.



The crippling screw







Above three images shows my Activa facing some active and some inactive, grounded Boleros (a Scorpio and a pvt XUV 500 too). The govt ones ones would have helped RTO personnel collect fines and perhaps bribes too!

[shancz]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

My Valentine was thoroughly cleaned again.

That's an epitome of love for machines, an Activa going as new for 20 years

Given my experience with the scooters of today including the first gen Activa I admire your careful driving and maintenance to have achieved this feat. I wasn't much aware of the internals when we had our first gen Activa but with the general fuss free nature of our BS4 Access we are looking to retain it for 15 years and beyond. I initially thought it wasn't possible but you have shown that it very well is.
Thank You and Godspeed to you and your valentine

[2TR-FE]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

Alas, the 20 year old got its fitness done for the period 2023-2028 on February 17, 2023. But it was not without giving me a shocker on 15/02, just a day after it had completed 20 years of service.

Hello mate!

This thread is really inspiring for me. Proves time and again that maintenance goes a long way. Our Maestro has completed 75k kms in a span of 9 years and is still counting kms on the stock engine.

BTW, May I know your current odo reading?

[Drivaholic@2727]

Brings back memories. My Dad used to have one back when I was a toddler. I remember how it was compulsory for my dad to take me out on a ride before he went to his office. We used to have a blue colour one of the same kind I think. Anyways, wish you for many more miles to come along with your Activa.

[Ashtoncastelino]

Fantastic work anjan_c2007 !
Just two days back, I had done several work on my 2005 Activa. Due to my packed college schedule I hadn't gotten time to address few issues like Tappet leak, handle vibration at low speed, and carburretor cleaning which were annoying and long overdue. Luckily I managed to get 2 days holiday from college to do the work.

Since I have all the tools to do the work to my satisfaction, I managed to download the parts catalog and made a list of parts required. Sent the list to my Honda ASS and they had most of the stock with them but I good idea struck me, I noticed the Hero Pleasure old model had the exact same engine and thought why not get few parts which are available from them since they're relatively cheaper than Honda. Downloaded the pleasure parts catalog and again created a list, Got majority of the parts from them and started dismantling the scooter in the evening around 3pm. Parts that were changed were:

1. Clutch shoes
2. Kicker ratchet
3. Variator Rollers
4. kicker cover boot
5. Ignition coil
6. spark plug (Bosch)
7. tappet cover gaskets
8. tappet cover bolt gaskets
9. secondary air filter
10. front nose moldings
11. Helmet hooks in seat
12. Seat rubber bushes
    

Parts Cleaned and greased:

• Carbuerrator
• air filter and its box
• clutch assembly and its components
• variator
• Self bendix
• kicker

Things that might need replacement or inspection:

• MY BACK

Photos of the work in no particular order

Yes, I rode the scooter this way to the washing center to get a thorough wash.




Final look of the Scooter after all the work !

This is my daily workhorse and has never let me stranded anywhere. Have taken this on several long trips doing more than 300kms in a day without a hiccup. The FE I get is usually 45-49 in city and the highest achieved on the highway is 63kmpl with a pillion. I always ride in the economy zone hence the high Fuel efficiency. Current Odometer reading stands at 110495kms.

Regards
Ashton Castelino

[CarNerd]

Originally Posted by Ashtoncastelino

Just two days back, I had done several work on my 2005 Activa. Due to my packed college schedule I hadn't gotten time to address few issues like Tappet leak, handle vibration at low speed, and carburretor cleaning which were annoying and long overdue. Luckily I managed to get 2 days holiday from college to do

That's a great work! Any idea about the cost of restoration?

[thirdmainroad]

Originally Posted by Ashtoncastelino

Fantastic work anjan_c2007 !
Just two days back, I had done several work on my 2005 Activa.

Man, great post and really, really cool you did all this by yourself! You are certainly an inspiration for DIY on our own vehicles brother!

I do feel you haven’t done justice to yourself and post by not posting more pictures of the bike after you completed the work!

I hope your back isn’t giving you too much trouble!!