Honda Livo: Longterm introduction & 1,000km report

With the Honda Unicorn 160 exiting the ZigWheels garage, we welcomed the new Honda Livo 110cc motorcycle. The Honda Livo has been marketed as a premium commuter motorcycle and it looks the part. The sporty bikini fairing, chiselled fuel tank with extensions and chrome tipped muffler endow it with an upmarket feel. I always had a soft spot for commuter motorcycle as these genres of two-wheeler are built for a task and that is to take the rider to his destination with the least effort and utmost comfort. The Honda Livo scores highly on this aspect. The riding posture is upright and comfortable with raised handle bar and centre-set foot pegs. Taking the comfort factor higher is its suspension setup. The telescopic front forks and twin shocks at the rear swallow bumps and undulations effortlessly and this proved really helpful during my office commute. Powering the bike is the same 110cc motor as seen on the Dream series and it performs without any complaint.

The powerplant has good mid-range and feels cheerful cruising at speeds around 60kmph. We would have liked few extra dollop of torque as while climbing bridges, the Honda Livo feels a bit out of breath. Among the bright aspects of the premium commuter motorcycle is its manoeuvrability. It has 45 degree steering angle which endows the Honda Livo with outstanding agility and this allows me to squeeze past the tightest of gaps in the hectic traffic of Mumbai. But high speed handling of the motorcycle is limited due to the skinny rear tyre. One has to be really careful while riding over metal plates or the gaps on the road as the rear has the tendency to slide away. Better mudguards would have been welcome as lots of water is directed towards the rider’s feet and trust me working with wet shows isn’t a pleasant experience. The Honda Livo returned us an overall mileage figure of 64kmpl which is good given the traffic conditions of Mumbai.

Date Acquired: July 2015

Total km: 1,084km 

Overall fuel efficiency: 64kmpl (As Tested)

Cheers: Comfortable riding posture, Manoeuvrability

Sneers: Skinny tyres, Excessive spray of water on rider’s feet