[audioholic]

Haha nice update. Mine crossed 6k kms this month and is awaiting a service. Had been to busy so couldnt give it TLC either. Also a neighbour crashed his bike head on with the dio which ended up in a cracked fender. Need to get it replaced too. All smiles with the dio but. Fantastic engine, decent FE and superb quality.

[audioholic]

Soo, finally replaced the Fender. Paid 750 odd for the part and replaced it myself

Dear HMSIL, Please learn a thing or two from Maruti when you think about After sales, since just like how MSIL is the market leader when it comes to cars, You are when it comes to scooters, and shortly bikes too.

In short, Honda After Sales is just HORRIBLE

The incident happened when a neighbour of mine rode his bike into the building at an insane speed, and while I was leaving the building, crashed into my vehicle. Instead of taking a right turn to enter the building, he came diagonally across the road and in the same speed tried to enter the building while I stood there helplessly watching him crash into the dio.

Lets forget the incident, and I am not at all willing to rant about his attitude, since they will pay up.

So I visited Sapphire Honda's newly opened ASC next to Brigade Palmsprings, JP Nagar since I had some work nearby. Went and enquired about the part and they did not have it in stock. They took my number and told that they would get it in a day and call me up once it arrives. Was impressed then but they didnt bother to call for two days. Went to Silicon Honda's ASC and the guys there were as useless as the Sapphire people. They wanted me to leave the vehicle with them, and once they got the part they would give it back. They gave a days estimate but werent sure.

After these two horrid responses, I went to Silicon Honda's HO on RV Road. Had to go in search of the SA, and when he came, I asked him if it were in stock. He took five minutes to call up the Spares section which was a floor above him. They gave a negative reply. So asked what can be done, and he just doesnt tell anything! The only answer he gives is its not in stock. Whatever I ask, he tells the same thing. I asked him if its available elsewhere, he replies he doesnt know. In fact, Silicon Honda is the spare parts distributor in Bangalore and I expected him to at least direct me there.

Finally I myself went to their spare parts shop, and the part was available in multiple numbers. I purchased it, brought it home and installed it myself, since it was pretty simple to install.

When my SX4 had a broken rear windshield, I took it to where we purchased the car from. It was a saturday afternoon. They didnt have the part in stock. They searched the online inventory, found one piece with another dealer, got the glass by evening. They installed the glass and left it overnight and returned the car Sunday afternoon, just because the glue had to cure. Thats how well the whole system is set up.

Everytime I try to improve my opinion about the ASC, they just ruin it further. Not sure if all two wheeler ASC is the same or it is the case only with Honda.

[ayush1434]

Originally Posted by audioholic

Everytime I try to improve my opinion about the ASC, they just ruin it further. Not sure if all two wheeler ASC is the same or it is the case only with Honda.

That was the same case with me. When I got my dio, the sales team took almost 4 hours just to fit the license plate. And that too, they did not do a proper job. Certain acts like this just ruin the entire buying experience.

[raycers_honda]

Guys I have got a slight problem. Since two days I've been getting a strong smell of fuel. When I checked there was a drop of fuel underneath on the floor. What could be the problem. I will be giving it for servicing in a day or two but wanted to get an idea of the problem. Any help would be appreciated.

[prokinetic]

Thanks Audioholic for such an informative thread on the dio. Had booked a yellow dio in october and after a long wait of seven months, got the delivery just a day ago. One question, do all the honda scooters require lots of kicks to start for the first time? I saw this with an activa along with my dio which needed quite a lot kicking at the time of first start.

First I assumed this yellow as a non metallic paint but later while in the sun its metallic pearls started glittering and it looked golden yellow. It sort of changes shades of yellows depending upon the light conditions. Looks a different shade in the garage and different on the roads under the sun.

Didn't surround the lovely scoot by steel bodyguards. Only accessories added are the side stand, ladies foot step and a rubber floor mat. Mounting the ladies foot step is a big exercise on the dio as the seat, petrol tank etc. many parts were needed to be removed and refitted for the fixing of just one foot rest. This reminded me of a mechanic who warned me against buying a dio for the hassles of opening too many things if it needs any work. For now, considering the summer, have bought a cushion padded fabric seat cover instead of what honda sells.

Got a liability only insurance policy from oriental for 580rs.

New vehicle is surely a refreshing change after living with the Ki-Ho for a decade. Ki-Ho is still there with the dio. Dio has only 5kms in its odo on the third day. Hope this too lasts for atleast a decade.

P.S.- Is there a way to delete attachments. Wrong photo been attached here. Sorry.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by prokinetic

Attachment 1236897

Posting with anticipated permission of the thread owner. Thanks Audioholic for such an informative thread on the dio. Had booked a yellow dio in october and after a long wait of seven months, got the delivery just a day ago. One question, do all the honda scooters require lots of kicks to start for the first time? I saw this with an activa along with my dio wich needed quite a lot kicking at the time of first start.

Hey congrats on the Dio. It looks cool without the guards Not sure why the long wait since its available readily here in Bangalore. In the mornings it takes a lifetime to start in case you kick it. However I use the choke and use the self start since I will be late to college every day. Usually starts at the second go. Pull the choke all the way out, give upto half throttle and the scoot will start without hassle. Without choke its very difficult.

First I assumed this yellow as a non metallic paint but later while in the sun its metallic pearls started glittering and it looked golden yellow. It sort of changes shades of yellows depending upon the light conditions. Looks a different shade in the garage and different on the roads under the sun.

Its a pearl metallic finish as far as I know. Even my Dio is having a metallic paint which glitters in the prescence of light. The activa OTOH has solid white and only a few colours are metallic.

Only accessories added are the side stand, ladies foot step and a rubber floor mat. Mounting the ladies foot step is a big exercise on the dio as the seat, petrol tank etc. many parts were needed to be removed and refitted for the fixing of just one foot rest. This reminded me of a mechanic who warned me against buying a dio for the hassles of opening too many things if it needs any work. For now, considering the summer, have bought a cushion padded fabric seat cover instead of what honda sells.

Yes the footrest mounting is a big problem. The footrest I had got was designed so badly that one couldnt access the air filter since it obstructed. Hence I wanted to trim the footrest of some extra bits so planned to remove it. In that process I couldnt access the mounting point even after removng the seat and rear grip handle. Hence I got the work done with the footrest on the scoot without removing it. It was a fright to get the work done with sparks from the tools flying all over the place. In the end, work was done to satisfaction. Now I can remove the air filter cover and the footrest looks sleeker

New vehicle is surely a refreshing change after living with the Ki-Ho for a decade. Ki-Ho is still there with the dio. Dio has only 5kms in its odo on the third day. Hope this too lasts for atleast a decade.

The dio is definitely a fantastic package. If you take good care of it the scooter will definitely be in top notch condition. Nevertheless the scoot also can bear lots of abuse, from what I see in my native place.

Got the regular service done at FNG and the scooter was not as smooth or responsive as before. After service and oil change its back to form. Total cost Rs.1000 including fully synthetic engine oil. Here is a snap of my 18 month old dio:

[raycers_honda]

This is the seat I put. It's just an add on. The existing seat is below this. The shop guy just stapled it on to the existing cushion. This is far better than the original one. As you can see the cushioning is almost two inches thick. All those small undulations on the road are non existent. It's also very comfy on long rides I normally do 40 kms everyday.
Just got done with my third servicing. Fixed the fuel leakage issue. It was just a cut in the fuel pipe probably done by a sharp stone. This is what the mechanic tells me.
Also got a 4 coat Teflon coating done. Don't know how much that will help though.

[audioholic]

So its exactly 18 months since I brought the scooter and this is the formal 18 month update:

• Total kms done: 6500
• Changed oil four times till date, that makes it an average of 2.5k between oil changes since the first one was too early and after switching to synthetic I have run it 2.5k each time.
• Total cost of maintenance including synthetic oil - 2700
• Lifetime fuel economy - 38.4kmpl

Problems first:

• Tyres lose grip if inflated a little higher.
• Still getting a growl once engine warms up. Either the mechanics dont get what the problem is, or they dont get to know why it happens so. When the engine is relatively cool, the scoot is very silent. However performance is not hampered, which indicates theres nothing serious.
• Would have wished that the transmission would have had a wider ratio. Given the superb power delivery, a taller high ratio would have made the top whack higher and lesser engine speed at higher speeds. But thats again no problem since the refinement level is just too good compared to other brands

.

Things that make me vouch for the scooter:

ENGINE:
Engine gets better and better every km. Fantastic power delivery in mid and top end. Bottom end sucks but since its a CVT when will it go there.
Transmission gets taller very quick which means the scoot touches 40-50 without notice and the engine doesnt revv too much till there. Hence its optimised to be ridden at that speed to give max FE. Also it accelarates effortlessly until nearing 70 after which progress is dampened. But in the city, this kind of accelaration is more than enough. Have rarely crossed 70.

Zero vibrations, and the engine doesnt scream loud as speeds increase conpared to the Access, etc. The wego engine feels like it will seize anytime if we cross 60. Less sound, more action is what the dio is about. Overtaking in city is a breeze and a little twistbof the throttle will give an immediate response. Till date I havent used more than 3/4th of the throttle and dont know what lies beyond that

2. Design: Call it owners pride, but for the younger generation, this is undoubtedly the most contemporary design, taking a step out of the usual scooter design. No more bland and flat panels, curvy edges etc. Its all sharp and cut finely. Only the Ray can come close, but since the overall size of the ray is toned down, presence is less.

3. Huge headlamps which offer good light throw both in low and high beams. People think placement of headlights in the front cowl is a disadvantage. But it is not. There is greater space here, which means a bigger reflector can be accomodated, thus enabling better optics than the space strapped handle bar where small reflectors have to be stuffed in, else making it hideously big like the access.

4. Combi brakes still inspire confidence and with better tyres, they will definitely give a good bite.

Thats it for now. Vehicle still looks good as new due to TLC being given only by yours truly. The service guys dont even get to wash the scooter and the expression on their face when I ask them not to wash is priceless Also the amount of care this thing gets along with the cars has made girlfriend fume like anything. Need to treat her equally lol!

[audioholic]

Lately I got to use the dio for longer commute, on selective days to an assignment 25km from my house. I wanted to try out the dio because I was keen on knowing how it would feel on longer rides. However I am not disappointed with the suspension since I never felt any bumps hitting my hand or didnt suffer any pain anywhere. This even after passing through all kinds of roads from the elevated airport stretch to the city market roads.

The only thing I didnt like was that on continuous stretches, the vehicle is comfortable only below 50kmph and can cruise all day long between 40-50. A taller CVT reduction would have made it better, ie not top speed but the engine could have been at lower RPMs than what it is now. However there are no vibrations and apart from the exhaust note, the engine cannot be felt in any way. Never tested top speed since I am not interested in it anyway. Guess it can do 80+ easily given 50 is like the middle of the engine exhaust note and only 1/10th of the throttle is used to sustain 50.



By the way, there is some quirk idea running in my head, so do let me know what you feel after seeing this pic. Work is still in progress so I still dont know what the final result will be. Hence, if there can be any optimisations do let me know

Your suggestion



AS of now I am planning to make that side matte black and leave the other side white. If you feel I should rip it away, I am open to that also

[raycers_honda]

Once again my honda dio is damaged. Same problem as last the last time. I wish there was a decent looking guard for the body in the market. I think when Honda redesigns the next generation dio they should consider the protruding edges in the front should be looked into.
The main problem is that the dio body parts are not available. I checked at Vl motors in santacruz west where they said it's not available with them. It's been a month and yet no sign of those parts.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by raycers_honda

Once again my honda dio is damaged. Same problem as last the last time. I wish there was a decent looking guard for the body in the market. I think when Honda redesigns the next generation dio they should consider the protruding edges in the front should be looked into.
The main problem is that the dio body parts are not available. I checked at Vl motors in santacruz west where they said it's not available with them. It's been a month and yet no sign of those parts.

Try checking with the Spare parts distributor. I too didn't get the front mudguard at any ASC. However when I visited the spare parts dealer they had loads of it and they even let me choose the one I wanted. The service centre is to lazy to procure spare parts.

[audioholic]

Two years update:

The dio turns two this week. Havent used it much and it stands at 8700kms today.

Carried out oil change myself, air filter change and got spark plugs replaced at Bosch. Though part replacement was not needed, I voluntarily opted for it. No issues except that there is a grinding noise when engine is hot and idling. Took it to my mechanic who suspects is a lubrication issue with the clutch and will be getting it fixed this week. The guys at bosch ruined the tune for showing better FE which has made the engine not as smooth as before. No other issues to report as such.

Here is how my dio shines till today:






BTW, there was a freak incident when my dio rolled off a slope and brushed against an electric pole. However, the scoot did not fall. The damage was as follows:





Thank goodness I had the protection film installed. The film bore the brunt and the paint was unaffected Came home and ripped the film out. Now need to reinstall it.

[raycers_honda]

I've finished 11,000 kms and one year. The scooter is fine overall except for one peculiar issue that I face. While idling at a signal or when stationery , the engine goes off.
I raised the issue at the service centre but after that the issue still pursists albeit a little less frequent than before.
Also none of the honda service centres stock the front body cover. It's been more than two months since I've asked them.
The bike still feels smooth and has excellent pick up. I get around 200 kms on 4.80 litres of fuel. I just wished the front had a telescopic suspension setup. Then this scooter wood have been perfect.

[abhinav.s]

Originally Posted by audioholic

Two years update:

The dio turns two this week. Havent used it much and it stands at 8700kms today.

Congrats on hitting the 2nd milestone. The scoot looks better than showroom finish in the pics. And really glad the PPF took the brunt of the fall Good idea to have had it installed and at the right places that too!!

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

Congrats on hitting the 2nd milestone. The scoot looks better than showroom finish in the pics. And really glad the PPF took the brunt of the fall Good idea to have had it installed and at the right places that too!!

Thanks! Need to reapply the PPF but not getting the time to. This has been my most useful DIY since wherever I had applied, all those parts took quite a few hits and yet the paint wasnt damaged. Will apply it to the upper edge as well this time.