New Honda Dio : First Look

Honda Motorcycle Scooters in India suffered big losses due to the recent agitation of workers in their Gurgao plant. The good news is that after the mess, HMSI seems charged up and is raring to go. Recently Aviator was upgraded with the 109cc mill of the Activa and now comes the turn of probably the best looking (moto) scooter of the country: Honda Dio.

Honda has launched a new version of its scooter which is targeted majorly at the youth and the new scoot surely comes with a fresh appeal which is set to lure the urban crowd into buying one. Sad news for Dio followers is that the older 102cc engine has been retained. Why? we do not have an answer to it for you! Probably to prevent cannibalization of products, HMSI went (extra) cautious and did not touch the engine bit. This move might also be to prevent price increase (due to the new engine) and keep a potent product at the starting point of horizon.

However, what we do know are the following embellishments to the new model:

  • New Colors: The scooter sports newer and brighter colors.
  • New RVMs: The scooter also sports new Rear view mirrors which are slightly pointed and we expect them to be better functionally as well as the previous ones were more plastic than work!
  • Transparent Blinkers: The scooter also gets transparent side indicators in place of the conventional orange ones.
  • Vibration Dampers: Weight end handlebars are also plugged onto this machine to eat up those vibrations. (But when did this 102cc engine have vibrations?)
  • New Meter Assembly: The scooter also gets a new vivid console assembly with a speedo, odo and a fuel meter apart from the regular tell tale lights.
  • Viscous Air Filter: As has been made a mandate (well, almost), this scoot also gets the viscous air filter to save on the maintenance costs and better efficiency in catching dust particles.
  • Maintenance Free Battery: The scoot also gets a 12V 4Ah maintenance free battery which would save the user of any hassles related to the maintenance of the battery.
  • New Stickers: How can a new scooter get out of a Honda plant without going through a beauty parlor! The new Dio has been revamped with some spirited and lively stickerwork.
  • Dual Tone Seat: The scoot also sports dual tone seats and going by the looks, seat has been made a little narrower.
  • All Black Styling: From the motorcycles, black theme has now moved to the scooters. This scoot comes with black front and rear rims and a black coated engine and a slightly modified all-black silencer (and muffler)

What Remains:

  • Engine: Dio carries the same 102cc, 7 bhp engine in its latest avatar as well. Though there was nothing wrong with the older engine but it was slightly detuned (even as compared to the 102cc Activa). Hope Honda has taken care of that and we have a spirited tune in the new scoot.
  • MRF Nylogrip tyres: The scoot would retain the segment best MRF nylogrip zappers for a fantastic feel, lovely ride and awesome handling and cornering the scoots boasts off.
  • Conventional Shock Absorbers: Unfortunately, the scoot also retains the conventional hydraulic front shock absorbers which, according to us, should have made way to the much better telescopic shock ups.
  • Tuff up tubes: The scooter also retains the Honda trademark tuff up tubes which have proved to be quite helpful in circumstances leading to punctures.
  • Awkward seating pillion position: What is really bad on the part of HMSI is that they have ignored the singlemost pain point of Dio owners, the awkward placement of the rear footpegs and the new model has been carried with the same setup much to our displease!
  • Price: According to our reports, the best part is the fact that the scoot sports a similar price tag to its previous version despite an addition of the above mentioned goodies. The scoot would sell at an on road price of around 43-44k in Mumbai (around 40-41k in New Delhi OTR). With an onslaught from almost every interested player in the industry, the scooter market is blazing with a plethora of options for the customer and we have everything in this world to choose!




New Honda Dio Specifications:

Engine Type: 4 stroke, single cylinder, air cooled OHC
Displacement: 102cc
Max Power: 7bhp @ 7000rpm
Max Torque: 0.8kgm @ 5500rpm
Transmission: V-Matic
Ignition: Self and Kick
Battery: 12v 4Ah MF
Headlamp: 35/35W
Front tyre: 90/100×10
Rear tyre: 90/100×10
Brakes (front and rear): 130mm Drum
Ground Clearance: 145mm
Wheelbase: 138mm
Dimensions (l x b x h): 1757 x 712 x 1106