The Activa is to Honda’s 2-wheeler counterpart what the City is to its 4-wheeler business. Yes, the Honda Activa is the most famous and trusted scooter in India and that’s mainly because it was among the first of its kind. People really swear by the Honda Activa even though it’s not the best scooter in its class. Honda has thus taken a lot of leeway to do what it wants with the Activa. While almost every scooter in the 110cc segment is coming with telescopic front forks, Honda continues to profit by offering age old basic suspension, simply because people just want an Activa.
When news of a new Activa hit the web, every one thought it would be a comprehensive update to the existing Activa but all it turned out to be was a fibre bodied Activa (Activa-i). Why on earth would Honda launch a cheaper Activa, dropping its weight and thereby claiming even better mileage than the regular metal bodied version? Simple, Indians love the word Activa so why not exploit it to sell more scooters. That’s the reason why Honda has retained the Activa name on its 125cc scooter, rather than calling it something different.
The Honda Activa 125 gets a lot of changes compared to the regular 110cc offering. The 124.9cc motor produces 8.6 BHP of power at 6500 RPM and 10.12 Nm of torque at 5500 RPM. This scooter comes with telescopic front forks and tubeless tyres (12-inch at the front and 10-inch at the rear). A 190 mm front disc brake is optional and there is the combi-braking system for safe stopping. The Activa 125 is bigger than the regular Activa, measuring 1814 mm in length, 704 mm in width, 1151 mm in height and having a wheelbase of 1260 mm.
While the scooter is unmistakably from the Activa family, a few design touches have been added for that premium feel, like the chrome between the front indicators which is similar to how the chrome sits on the front grille of the City. The Activa 125 also gets a digital readout on the instrument cluster for odometer, trip meter, time and other readings. The alloy wheels look cool and the overall design, although conventional, is quite appealing.
The current king of the 125cc segment is none other than the twins from Suzuki – Access and Swish. Suzuki has been successful in the scooter space thanks to its powerful scooters but with Honda entering the 125cc scooter space, Suzuki doesn’t have much to worry as the Japanese company has already revealed its new 110cc Let’s scooter, which will rival the regular Activa. The Swish isn’t as powerful as the Activa 125, producing 8.58 BHP and 9.8 Nm, but we expect Suzuki to update the Swish and Access in the near future as the Let’s scooter is more powerful (8.7 HP but 9 Nm).
Honda hasn’t disclosed on when the Activa 125 will go on sale but we expect the official launch to happen in the second half of the year. The scooter is aggressively localised and we expect the Activa 125 to be priced at Rs. 66,500/- (on-road, Mumbai). Finally a Honda Activa which deserves to sell on merit and not just on its brand name.
