Honda Aviator 102 CC Ownership Review


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Having owned a Bajaj Pulsar 150 for around 3 years, I always loved to ride a two wheeler. It is so much easier than a car in Bangalore traffic.
Then had not been in India for 2.5 years and when I came back, it just seemed like a geared bike is not what I need.

Even when I had my Pulsar, it had such good pickup but the traffic was not supportive enough so I ended up having to break more frequently. This never gives a smooth ride feel.

This time around, not willing to go the same way, I thought of going for a gear less vehicle. I know once you get used to a bike, it does not matter what traffic conditions you are in, the gears get changed involuntarily. Our brain might not notice it but the legs and hands do and they start complaining soon. Hence a gear less was the way to go for me since it keeps these worries at rest.

Now, I had the following criteria to decide on a good gear less 2-wheeler:
  • Decent pickup.
  • Not too low in height.
  • Good A.S.S.
  • Quicker delivery of the vehicle (since I needed it at the earliest).
  • Competitively priced.

Had a look at the following:
  • Honda Activa.
  • Honda Aviator.
  • Suzuki Access.

Both Activa and Access had a waiting time of over 1 month. Also, I was not completely convinced about Suzuki Service as I heard some negative remarks about it.

That left with Aviator. But frankly, I liked Aviator more than the two others in the list and that was the reason for me to go for it.

First scooter to come with disc breaks and alloy wheels. It is sleek and in combination with the alloy wheels, feels lot lighter than Activa.
For this weight, the 102cc engine gives ample power and the ride is pretty smooth.

One more major factor was that the dealer (Saphire honda in J.P.Nagar 1st Phase) promised a delivery in 2 days.

Things just fell in place and I decided on Aviator.

Ever since I have been riding this, just love the ride.

Pros:
  1. Has descent pickup and you don't need to push the throttle too much to get to a good speed.
  2. FE is around 42-44 and this I get consistently. I can safely consider this descent though not great.
  3. It is lighter meaning easy to maneuver.
  4. Telescopic suspension makes it easy to take on humps and pot holes.
  5. Disc breaks enables late and effective breaking.
  6. Storage is pretty big (20L) and can fit in more things easily.

Cons:
  1. Does have a bit of starting trouble while cold engine starts. If the vehicle is kept cold over night, it might take 2-3 kicks with choke on and you get going. This is not bad considering this is a consistent behavior.
  2. Problem is when the vehicle is left unused for more than 3-4 days. It demands some 10-15 kicks and some effort to get it going. Solution: If possible start the engine at least once in a day.
  3. Height is a bit more compared to competitors though not too much. What it does not help is enable the rider to have a heavy foot on the ground. When the bike is at halt, the rider can stamp the ground lightly if the bike is kept straight. This might be a problem when we stop the bike at the edge of a road since we can easily slip. I am 5' 11'' and still face this problem often.
  4. A sudden increase in throttle actually reduces the power from the engine. This could be due to clogging at Air filter but this problem was seen even when it was new.

The last point can be neglected since sudden throttle is not the way to go for gear less vehicles. The fuel injection functions like capacitors. It takes a longer time to discharge than getting charged. Similarly, you give 100% throttle, the fuel injection goes high but does not reduce immediately when the throttle is got back to minimum. Instead it comes down gradually hence leaving a lot of fuel as a waste which is not combusted. This will obviously bring down FE.

If you can deal with the Cons, this bike is a joy to ride. I still prefer this bike over others for the points I have mentioned.

P.S: I will post the pics once my bike gets its right rear view mirror. It was stolen when I parked it in Cubbon park while I had been to watch the IPL match between Mumbai and Bangalore. [:(].
 
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Good reviw Jammy. Though most people buy Activa here, but even i like Aviator bit more.
Only thing, i am not sure why it takes 10-15 kicks for 3-4 days stop. May all scotter does.

And yes, even my rear view mirror of my bike is stolen last week ;-(.
 
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Good reviw Jammy. Though most people buy Activa here, but even i like Aviator bit more.
Only thing, i am not sure why it takes 10-15 kicks for 3-4 days stop. May all scotter does.

And yes, even my rear view mirror of my bike is stolen last week ;-(.
Not sure why it takes so many kicks but it sure is some effort to get it to start. Since I drive to office daily, get to use the bike only once or twice in the weekend and usually face this problem.

Never imagined why would someone flick the mirrors. Later got to know that those buggers sell the iron in those mirror rods. I just wonder, why can't the manufacturers use fibre instead of iron for the mirrors. I know I won't get an answer to it.

The reason I have not replaced the mirror is not because I did not buy the replacement mirror but it is because Honda does not have a connecting adaptor nut!!. I had been to both the Honda showrooms in the vicinity of Jayanagar and both don't have it. No idea when one will be available.

this is the problem with all the gearless scooters from honda. my dio too has the problem.
But SriHarsha, surprisingly, I have not seen this issue with Activa. Hard to understand how two models from the same manufacturer differ in basic behaviour.
 
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Thread Starter #7
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great review! you have covered almost all the points, left me with nothing much to ask!
Really? I thought the write up was missing something or the other though I had no clue as to what that was. Thanks for clarifying that it was just a myth.[thumbsup]

Not Only Honda, I have seen this starting trouble in my wife's scooty pep+ also
But I hope she does not use the auto starter straight away. Using the button start on cold engine will destroy the starter motor. A bitter truth we have to live with. [sad]
 
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Hey good review JammyD! Though am not a big fan of scooters as am 6 feet 3 inches tall and its difficult for me to ride a scooter , so i prefer bikes even though its difficult riding in traffic! Too bad your mirrors got stolen!

Waiting for pictures!
 
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Hey good review JammyD! Though am not a big fan of scooters as am 6 feet 3 inches tall and its difficult for me to ride a scooter , so i prefer bikes even though its difficult riding in traffic! Too bad your mirrors got stolen!

Waiting for pictures!
Hmm, Can understand. Ya, I am waiting for my bike service which should be around the corner now. During the service, I am planning to hand over the mirror I have bought and ask them to fit it in. They don't seem to have the adapter nut and hence, very conviniently, they suggested to replace the Yoke (If I spelled it correctly).
 
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But I hope she does not use the auto starter straight away. Using the button start on cold engine will destroy the starter motor. A bitter truth we have to live with.
Thanks for the suggestion JammyD. Will take care of this in future. [:)]
Current scooty pep is totally ripped off (primary users of this being my wife and father). Can't Help !!!!
 
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Re: Honda Aviator 102 cc Ownership report

Jammy

My wife has been using Activa 110cc regular since 2014 (4 year old vehicle) and not a single day I or she or my dad has faced the problem you've mentioned with starting.

Very rarely did we even see it, but a second crank using the self would start the vehicle.

P.S: I and my wife are religiously used to kick start the first crank of the vehicle every morning to enhance battery life. Even cold start today morning, after 3 days of non usage of scooter was pretty cool, first crank started the engine with self it self.

Vehicle Model : 2014 August Activa regular (pre-3G version).


Not sure why it takes so many kicks but it sure is some effort to get it to start. Since I drive to office daily, get to use the bike only once or twice in the weekend and usually face this problem.

Never imagined why would someone flick the mirrors. Later got to know that those buggers sell the iron in those mirror rods. I just wonder, why can't the manufacturers use fibre instead of iron for the mirrors. I know I won't get an answer to it.

The reason I have not replaced the mirror is not because I did not buy the replacement mirror but it is because Honda does not have a connecting adaptor nut!!. I had been to both the Honda showrooms in the vicinity of Jayanagar and both don't have it. No idea when one will be available.



But SriHarsha, surprisingly, I have not seen this issue with Activa. Hard to understand how two models from the same manufacturer differ in basic behaviour.
 
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Re: Honda Aviator 102 cc Ownership report

Simple thing with HET engines, raise the choke lever, self start the vehicle , it will start in first or second crank itself (If vehicle has been used within 1-2 days and kept in cold overnight)

If 4-5 days no use , gently tilt the vehicle to one side (Like in Chetak etc) , kick start twice , raise the choke and kick start , it will start like the above method.
 
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I had also honda aviator 2011 model. I faced the same problem every day on morning starts. I need to kick ten to fifteen times. even on daily running of 20km average. Even honda shine im facing this issue on cold starts only. apart from this issue everything is good with Honda engines.
 
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Re: Honda Aviator 102 cc Ownership report

Simple thing with HET engines, raise the choke lever, self start the vehicle , it will start in first or second crank itself (If vehicle has been used within 1-2 days and kept in cold overnight)

If 4-5 days no use , gently tilt the vehicle to one side (Like in Chetak etc) , kick start twice , raise the choke and kick start , it will start like the above method.
Tilt - to the right side? or left...
 

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