HONDA BIKE
Honda’s dominance over the scooter market in India is almost unreal. Even the company admits that sustaining the near 60 per cent market share would be next to impossible. And yet, no new scooter from the competition in the near future seems capable of challenging the Activa’s stranglehold.It is in the motorcycles segment that Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI – wholly owned subsidiary) has a lot of catching up to do with its Joint Venture Company and current market leader – Hero Honda.Honda sorely misses having a 100cc mass-market motorcycle in its portfolio of bikes. But, over the last few years, it has been steadily adding bikes that offer a choice to buyers in the other segments. The Unicorn and the Shine have already given buyers a taste of Honda’s trademark traits of reliability and quality.
Bike strategy
Bikes as a category only constitute about 30 per cent of HMSI’s total sales. It is but natural that Honda would want to plug its areas of deficiency in order to garner a bigger slice of the motorcycle pie. And so, even as its 100cc contender undergoes testing and development for a possible launch by 2010, Honda is flanking its existing bikes with new, more focused offerings to attract new buyers.That is the strategy behind the recently launched CBF Stunner. The Shine was always meant to be a more reliable option for the conservative 125cc bike buyer or otherwise be an attractive, affordable option for buyers from the entry-level 100cc segment who are seeking a bit more power. With its simple lines, traditional design and focus on low running costs, the Shine is not a bike that tends to be the preferred choice amongst buyers who are 20 to 30 years old.The average young bike buyer of today looks for more modern styling, better power delivery and quicker pick-up, though reliability and fuel-efficiency continue to be important for him. It is this amalgam of expectations that Honda hopes to satiate with its new CBF Stunner. Drawing design inspiration from Honda’s CBR 1000 and CBF series bikes like the 600S, the new 125cc Stunner has a lot of attitude, a trait that will appeal to today’s young buyer. Honda has built a considerable number of segment-first features that further enhance the bike’s .The CBF Stunner is fitted with a new more powerful 125cc engine that goes with the overall character of the bike. This new 124.7cc four-stroke, air-cooled engine develops a peak power of 11 bhp at 8,000 rpm. Mapped for quicker acceleration and better high-speed cruising abilities, the new engine in the CBF Stunner delivers the goods for the target buyer.The bike is quick on the uptake and unlike a few of the competition’s motorcycles the Stunner doesn’t feel choked in the first few gears until the engine rpm goes all the way up to 8,000. In this regard, it is a moot point to mention here that Honda has slipped by not including a engine rpm-meter as part of the instrument cluster. The bike only sports a speedo, tripmeter, fuel gauge and indicators.The engine uses a multi-mapping CDI, modified intake valve and a constant vacuum carburettor for quicker response and higher power. In keeping with its commuter upgrade tenet, though the new engine’s peak torque of 11 Nm kicks at a relatively high 6,500 rpm, a considerable amount of that is made available even at low engine rpm speeds. This simply means that while in city traffic, the rider will not need to shift down that often.To offer the young rider in this segment more power and premiumness, Honda has also mated the new engine with a five-speed gearbox. We observed during our test ride on the Stunner that the shift quality of the gearbox and the progressive feel of the clutch were both very much on expected lines for a Honda. Overall refinement of the Stunner’s engine and gearbox will be segment-leading. Vibrations didn’t show up until the bike crossed the 80 kmph mark. Fuel-efficiency of the Stunner could range from 45 kmpl to 55 kmpl depending on riding style and road conditions. The bike’s finish quality is also predictably Honda-like.The Honda CBF Stunner is offered in three variants self-start and disc brakes, self-start and drum brakes and kick-start and drum brakes. Prices range from Rs 47,070 to Rs 51,655 (ex-showroom, Delhi).
S.MuralidharThe CBF Stunner seems to have been built on the same basic ‘Diamond frame’ chassis as the Shine, but the new bike is much more big-made overall. With a large fuel tank, burly side panels and steeply inclined seating the Stunner is possibly the chunkiest in the 125cc bike category. From the side, this bike sports some of the sharpest and most aerodynamic profiles.Dominating the front of the bike is the trapezoidal, clear-lens headlamp with tinted fairing. Together with the shapely, integrated front body cowl that have been slapped on to either side of the voluminous fuel tank, the Stunner’s front half grabs all the attention of onlookers. The design of the body cowl and the fuel tank has also been coordinated for achieving symmetry and give the Stunner a purposeful stance. Top-end variants of the Stunner get Honda logo-style graphics on the cowl and fuel tank, which go on to give the bike a feeling of movement even when standing still.The rear of the bike is relatively weak, but the sturdy alloy grab-rail and dual-layered rear side panels give it some balance. Some of the segment-first features that have also been designed to appeal to younger buyers include black alloy wheels (standard on all models), wider, tubeless tyres (100/ 90 at the rear), aero-type fuel tank cap, split seats separating rider and pillion, alloy sub-frames and foot pegs, under seat storage and foot pegs that have been positioned in order to offer the rider a sporty posture.A shorter, matt-finished handle bar that has been positioned at just the right angle also affords the rider a sporty, aggressive seating position, even as it doesn’t deviate too much from the upright. Advanced diamond-frame and box-section swing arm do a good job of offering straight-line and cornering stability that is more than adequate for riding styles of buyers in this segment.
Bike strategy
Bikes as a category only constitute about 30 per cent of HMSI’s total sales. It is but natural that Honda would want to plug its areas of deficiency in order to garner a bigger slice of the motorcycle pie. And so, even as its 100cc contender undergoes testing and development for a possible launch by 2010, Honda is flanking its existing bikes with new, more focused offerings to attract new buyers.That is the strategy behind the recently launched CBF Stunner. The Shine was always meant to be a more reliable option for the conservative 125cc bike buyer or otherwise be an attractive, affordable option for buyers from the entry-level 100cc segment who are seeking a bit more power. With its simple lines, traditional design and focus on low running costs, the Shine is not a bike that tends to be the preferred choice amongst buyers who are 20 to 30 years old.The average young bike buyer of today looks for more modern styling, better power delivery and quicker pick-up, though reliability and fuel-efficiency continue to be important for him. It is this amalgam of expectations that Honda hopes to satiate with its new CBF Stunner. Drawing design inspiration from Honda’s CBR 1000 and CBF series bikes like the 600S, the new 125cc Stunner has a lot of attitude, a trait that will appeal to today’s young buyer. Honda has built a considerable number of segment-first features that further enhance the bike’s .The CBF Stunner is fitted with a new more powerful 125cc engine that goes with the overall character of the bike. This new 124.7cc four-stroke, air-cooled engine develops a peak power of 11 bhp at 8,000 rpm. Mapped for quicker acceleration and better high-speed cruising abilities, the new engine in the CBF Stunner delivers the goods for the target buyer.The bike is quick on the uptake and unlike a few of the competition’s motorcycles the Stunner doesn’t feel choked in the first few gears until the engine rpm goes all the way up to 8,000. In this regard, it is a moot point to mention here that Honda has slipped by not including a engine rpm-meter as part of the instrument cluster. The bike only sports a speedo, tripmeter, fuel gauge and indicators.The engine uses a multi-mapping CDI, modified intake valve and a constant vacuum carburettor for quicker response and higher power. In keeping with its commuter upgrade tenet, though the new engine’s peak torque of 11 Nm kicks at a relatively high 6,500 rpm, a considerable amount of that is made available even at low engine rpm speeds. This simply means that while in city traffic, the rider will not need to shift down that often.To offer the young rider in this segment more power and premiumness, Honda has also mated the new engine with a five-speed gearbox. We observed during our test ride on the Stunner that the shift quality of the gearbox and the progressive feel of the clutch were both very much on expected lines for a Honda. Overall refinement of the Stunner’s engine and gearbox will be segment-leading. Vibrations didn’t show up until the bike crossed the 80 kmph mark. Fuel-efficiency of the Stunner could range from 45 kmpl to 55 kmpl depending on riding style and road conditions. The bike’s finish quality is also predictably Honda-like.The Honda CBF Stunner is offered in three variants self-start and disc brakes, self-start and drum brakes and kick-start and drum brakes. Prices range from Rs 47,070 to Rs 51,655 (ex-showroom, Delhi).
S.MuralidharThe CBF Stunner seems to have been built on the same basic ‘Diamond frame’ chassis as the Shine, but the new bike is much more big-made overall. With a large fuel tank, burly side panels and steeply inclined seating the Stunner is possibly the chunkiest in the 125cc bike category. From the side, this bike sports some of the sharpest and most aerodynamic profiles.Dominating the front of the bike is the trapezoidal, clear-lens headlamp with tinted fairing. Together with the shapely, integrated front body cowl that have been slapped on to either side of the voluminous fuel tank, the Stunner’s front half grabs all the attention of onlookers. The design of the body cowl and the fuel tank has also been coordinated for achieving symmetry and give the Stunner a purposeful stance. Top-end variants of the Stunner get Honda logo-style graphics on the cowl and fuel tank, which go on to give the bike a feeling of movement even when standing still.The rear of the bike is relatively weak, but the sturdy alloy grab-rail and dual-layered rear side panels give it some balance. Some of the segment-first features that have also been designed to appeal to younger buyers include black alloy wheels (standard on all models), wider, tubeless tyres (100/ 90 at the rear), aero-type fuel tank cap, split seats separating rider and pillion, alloy sub-frames and foot pegs, under seat storage and foot pegs that have been positioned in order to offer the rider a sporty posture.A shorter, matt-finished handle bar that has been positioned at just the right angle also affords the rider a sporty, aggressive seating position, even as it doesn’t deviate too much from the upright. Advanced diamond-frame and box-section swing arm do a good job of offering straight-line and cornering stability that is more than adequate for riding styles of buyers in this segment.
