[srikant]

Congratulations Rohan, I too am in a similar situation like yours. Never had a 2 wheeler at home since 2007, but now a days going to nearby places to buy grocery etc .. has been difficult due to parking woes and decided to buy an automatic scooter for family use. However my experience too was similar to yours at Planet Honda (Dasarahalli, Peenya), they gave me test drive on a new unregistered scooter as they did not have a TD vehicle, which i am not really happy with, as they could give TD on my new scooter too. But since thats the only place closer to me, i have booked my Activa (White Colour) on June 27th. Still awaiting delivery. I did hear about Activa i, but wanted to wait for market response and decide, but your review gets me thinking.

[samarth.bhatia]

Sensible choice. Honda = Reliability.

I was completely unaware of the launch of the Activa-i. And on reading your report, it seems strange why Honda has used the Activa name at all. Maybe just to piggy back a ride on the success wave of the Activa.

Some of the scooters have started coming with a 12v power socket in the underseat storage compartment. I feel that that would be of good use.

The combi-brake system on these Hondas has also seemed to be quite useful, atleast in principle. I assume it increases the convenience & safety aspects of the vehicle. Should be especially useful in the frequent Bangalore rains and/or panic braking situations.

Very well informed decision in the end, and I wish you a long time of stress free riding

Cheers and ride safe,
Sam

[rohan_iitr]

Originally Posted by pjbiju

I had almost zeroed in on the Yamaha Ray. But I think it does not sell that well, at least in Pune. The Honda two wheeler dealerships are not customer friendly at all. At least that was my experience. One of my friends who replaced his old activa with a new activa found the combi-brakes not so good. So your experience seems to be much better. Does the Activa-i weigh less than the Activa? May be lesser weight helps in better braking.

I am seeing a lot of Yamaha Ray scooters in Bangalore in the recent times. Yet to see a Ray-Z though.

I am riding my Activa-i only upto 50kmph since it is in the run in period. The brakes respond very well at this speed. Can't comment on the effectiveness of the brakes in stopping from higher speeds. I don't think its lesser weight makes that much of a difference. The weight of rider and pillion would matter more.

Rohan

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by Mik

A major feature we lost out on was the tubeless tyre and i myself don't understand why it can't be standard on all two-wheelers in India.
After buying the scooter we parked it in our society basement parking and for the first time checked out other scooters. All different shades of the Activa. Ah well..

You should be able to exchange the stock tire for a set of good quality tubeless at an outside tire dealer. Go for the Zappers as seen on the Vespa VX

[VaahanYogi]

Is Activa-i's footboard smaller than (regular) Activa? Isn't Honda affecting sales of Activa with the launch of Activa-i as price difference is hardly around 3k?

[rohan_iitr]

Originally Posted by VaahanYogi

Is Activa-i's footboard smaller than (regular) Activa? Isn't Honda affecting sales of Activa with the launch of Activa-i as price difference is hardly around 3k?

Yes, Activa-i's footboard is narrower than the regular Activa, perhaps by a couple of inches.

I don't think that Activa sales would be affected as it is mostly targeted towards the mature male riders. Activa-i is a unisex model pitted against Yamaha Ray, Hero Pleasure and TVS Wego.

Rohan

[Ramdas]

Congratulations for the scooter and the review was very informative. I have a 2012 Activa and it is performing very well. My daughter wants to buy a Dio but now after reading your review I am suggesting her the Activa-I.

Please let me know about the transmission of the Activa-I, whether it is variomatic as on the Activa or a CVT box.

Thanking you

Ramdas

[majumon]

Rohan congratulations on the new pick, we have also picked up the same activa i red color for my dad after replacing our old 2003 activa done about 46k primarily since dad wanted light scooter.
I too had a very bumpy ride ,then reduced some air from the front tyre and need to check the rear one too, but still feels quite bumpy at the back. The ride feels very smooth and nice. cheers maju

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

I don't think that Activa sales would be affected as it is mostly targeted towards the mature male riders.

Actually the Activa was introduced keeping in mind the female target audience but in due course of time it was the male population which started using it more often.

Since the Activa-i is more or less offered at the similar price range (3K difference in ex showroom cost) of the Activa, wonder what is Honda's strategy to have two models in the same range and almost similar names. The basic difference between the two is the GC (Activa-i: 153 mm, Activa-165 mm)

[ani_meher]

Congrats on the buy. The rear key hole is really low, one might confuse it for starting the engine

Nice to have an option in light scooters range. Activa may seem too 'non trendy' and this definitely bridges that gap.

Swish and access are too similar in size. It's good that this Activa-i is visually different and smaller than Activa. Gives a proper alternative in the same family.

[srikant]

Just got delivery of my 2013 Activa White colour yesterday. Just did 42 kms till now. The power feels good. I had kept an option on for the Activa i incase my Activa delivery was getting delayed, that not required now. However i see some interesting colours on Activa i.

[rohan_iitr]

Used the scooter again this weekend. Even after being left unused for 2-3 days, the scooter comes to life with a single kick.

Today I noticed a squeaking sound, probably coming from the front suspensions. Not expected in a brand new vehicle.

Is it something I should be worried about ? The first free service will happen after 2 weeks. I will bring it to their notice.

Originally Posted by Ramdas

My daughter wants to buy a Dio but now after reading your review I am suggesting her the Activa-I.

Please let me know about the transmission of the Activa-I, whether it is variomatic as on the Activa or a CVT box.

The engine and gearbox is identical to Activa. AFAIK, CVT is the generic term and V-matic is Honda's terminology.

The styling of Activa-i is very conservative. Teenagers may not like it. I would suggest that you let your daughter decide for herself. Also consider Yamaha Ray, especially if she would like a lower seat compared to Activa-i.

Originally Posted by majumon

Rohan congratulations on the new pick, we have also picked up the same activa i red color for my dad after replacing our old 2003 activa done about 46k primarily since dad wanted light scooter.

Congrats to you too. I have started spotting Activa-i's on Bangalore roads. Already saw 2 more, apart from mine.

Rohan

[raveesh_k]

Congrats on the buy Rohan. I have always wanted to buy an Activa but kept at a distance by my wife given the fact that I have no requirement for a two wheeler at the moment (at least thats what she thinks )

I read it somewhere that in Bangalore the waiting periods for Activa and Activa-i are scary, to an extent of around 3 months? Is that true? How much time did it take for you to drive your pair of wheels home after you booked?

Cheers.

[rohan_iitr]

Originally Posted by raveesh_k

Congrats on the buy Rohan. I have always wanted to buy an Activa but kept at a distance by my wife given the fact that I have no requirement for a two wheeler at the moment (at least thats what she thinks )

I read it somewhere that in Bangalore the waiting periods for Activa and Activa-i are scary, to an extent of around 3 months? Is that true? How much time did it take for you to drive your pair of wheels home after you booked?

Cheers.

Thanks. Activa waiting period in Bangalore is around 1.5-2 months. It keeps fluctuating based on demand and supply.

The good news is that Honda has started producing Activa's at the Narsapura factory. This will definitely bring down the waiting period.

I had booked my Activa-i completely blindfolded. I had never seen or touched Activa-i before I booked it. The dealerships had no idea about the cost and delivery times, but had started taking the bookings almost 1 week after the launch. So I decided to book it based on the information available on the Honda website and a few initial impressions videos from the launch day.

I got the delivery of my Activa-i almost 3 weeks after booking. But the delay was for different reasons. It took 2 weeks for the first batch of Activa-i's to reach the Honda dealer and it took almost a week for RTO's to start registering Activa-i, since it was a new model.

Rohan

[Ramdas]

Even my activa was making a squeaking noise from the front suspension, I infomed the dealer i.e.Saphire Honda about the noise during the first free service and they rectified it free of cost. After that there is no noise from the front suspension till date.(On August 2, 2013 my activa will be 1 year old). I think it is a minor problem due to lack of oil in the front shocks.