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This Valentine, my Honda Activa was bought on Feb 14th 2003. I've covered about 10300 kms on it. All the free services were done at the dealership. Being a DIY I've been tinkering on this scooter ever since. But other than routine maintenance like changing the engine and gear oils and cleaning the air filter/ carburettor/ spark plug no other problem has fortunately cropped up till now.
The engine is a gem and is so smooth and silent that when new, I had a tough time sometimes guessing whether it is on or off. of course now the engine sound is prominent and my ears are tuned to know its moods.
The choke is funnily located and concealed from the rider's view. So in some cases one may engage the choke and it remains engaged till one sees it or hears abnormal strokes from the engine.
Though the whole body of this scooter lifts up to open and facilitate repairs accessing the spark plug is problematic. The older scooters were much better for DIY guys like me. I had the whale of a time doing the jobs on Bajaj and Lambretta scooters. Also accessing the carburettor in the Activa for getting it opened is a problem. These take unwanted, extra time and could have been better located. The air filter, oil change (both gear and engine) ports are well located.
The tuff -up tube is much hyped about. This scooter had two major punctures on the rear wheel about six months after it was bought. Roadside puncture wallahs treat these tubes, the same way as any other. But luckily apart from the solution draining out fully from it, the tube is perfect till this date.
Touchwood! no more punctures after that.And the inner wheel rim- the rear wheel rim when opened during July-Sept 2003( after one monsoon and 5-7 mths of use) showed rust on the metallic silver paint. I have a garage and do not live in a coastal area. Thats deplorable. Luckily, I did'nt have to get it opened later. By now, it may be more rusted all over the inside.Even the silencer gets rusted within a month of use. I have tried to save the rusting on it by applying coats and coats of paint every few months but to no avail.
The new battery (Exide)conked off in 2005. For a few days, I was kick-starting and using the scooter. But at traffic junctions if the idling engine switches off, try the impossible. Kick-starting it with the rider seated and the centre stand taken off. That's impossible. Even kick-starting the scooter otherwise is a turn off. The kick-starter is very funnily located. As is evident in the picture below the disengaged centre stand will never allow the rider to use the kick-starter- how about my friends who could not get the battery replace or friends whose scooters have fault in the self starter mechanism? In traffic signals if the engine stalls then its very tough.Drag the scooter to the corner and then get down and kick-start the scooter.
The plastics are of a very poor quality. The mirrors casings as OE get whitish grey in no time and even after trying to keep these looking slick (car dashboard polishes) nothing works. The plastics on the obverse of the footboard too become whitish grey. The front axle has plastic covers as seen in the picture. these are akin in quality to some children's games bought from the roadside. We buy Honda and we want Honda quality- what if the costs are more by another few hundred rupees?
The omnipresent warning in all new vehicles- "Objects in the mirror are closer than they actually appear" is not viewed seriously by many.
The scooter is otherwise very,very dependable, sturdy and easy to use handle in any kind of city traffic. Its fuel consumption is about 41-45 kmpl depending upon the riding style.The variator does'nt allow fuel economy but Honda can seriously think of bettering it. Because the 2 stroke Kinetic Honda with a 100cc engine consumed the same amount of petrol. A 4 stroke engine must be leaner.
Sometimes I prefer it over any four wheeler in crowded places where parking is a nightmare. But again another woe- HMSIL can't do anything about it! when parked very close to bikes (in cities this can't be avoided) and other two wheelers, the sides of the Activa which have a gleaming paintwork get badly mauled and scratched. the silencers and foot pegs of bikes get close to the Activa's rear left and right sides.
The engine is a gem and is so smooth and silent that when new, I had a tough time sometimes guessing whether it is on or off. of course now the engine sound is prominent and my ears are tuned to know its moods.
The choke is funnily located and concealed from the rider's view. So in some cases one may engage the choke and it remains engaged till one sees it or hears abnormal strokes from the engine.
Though the whole body of this scooter lifts up to open and facilitate repairs accessing the spark plug is problematic. The older scooters were much better for DIY guys like me. I had the whale of a time doing the jobs on Bajaj and Lambretta scooters. Also accessing the carburettor in the Activa for getting it opened is a problem. These take unwanted, extra time and could have been better located. The air filter, oil change (both gear and engine) ports are well located.
The tuff -up tube is much hyped about. This scooter had two major punctures on the rear wheel about six months after it was bought. Roadside puncture wallahs treat these tubes, the same way as any other. But luckily apart from the solution draining out fully from it, the tube is perfect till this date.
Touchwood! no more punctures after that.And the inner wheel rim- the rear wheel rim when opened during July-Sept 2003( after one monsoon and 5-7 mths of use) showed rust on the metallic silver paint. I have a garage and do not live in a coastal area. Thats deplorable. Luckily, I did'nt have to get it opened later. By now, it may be more rusted all over the inside.Even the silencer gets rusted within a month of use. I have tried to save the rusting on it by applying coats and coats of paint every few months but to no avail.
The new battery (Exide)conked off in 2005. For a few days, I was kick-starting and using the scooter. But at traffic junctions if the idling engine switches off, try the impossible. Kick-starting it with the rider seated and the centre stand taken off. That's impossible. Even kick-starting the scooter otherwise is a turn off. The kick-starter is very funnily located. As is evident in the picture below the disengaged centre stand will never allow the rider to use the kick-starter- how about my friends who could not get the battery replace or friends whose scooters have fault in the self starter mechanism? In traffic signals if the engine stalls then its very tough.Drag the scooter to the corner and then get down and kick-start the scooter.
The plastics are of a very poor quality. The mirrors casings as OE get whitish grey in no time and even after trying to keep these looking slick (car dashboard polishes) nothing works. The plastics on the obverse of the footboard too become whitish grey. The front axle has plastic covers as seen in the picture. these are akin in quality to some children's games bought from the roadside. We buy Honda and we want Honda quality- what if the costs are more by another few hundred rupees?
The omnipresent warning in all new vehicles- "Objects in the mirror are closer than they actually appear" is not viewed seriously by many.
The scooter is otherwise very,very dependable, sturdy and easy to use handle in any kind of city traffic. Its fuel consumption is about 41-45 kmpl depending upon the riding style.The variator does'nt allow fuel economy but Honda can seriously think of bettering it. Because the 2 stroke Kinetic Honda with a 100cc engine consumed the same amount of petrol. A 4 stroke engine must be leaner.
Sometimes I prefer it over any four wheeler in crowded places where parking is a nightmare. But again another woe- HMSIL can't do anything about it! when parked very close to bikes (in cities this can't be avoided) and other two wheelers, the sides of the Activa which have a gleaming paintwork get badly mauled and scratched. the silencers and foot pegs of bikes get close to the Activa's rear left and right sides.
Last edited by anjan on 29th November 2008, 8:50 pm; edited 1 time in total
