Honda Navi 110cc: Pocket bike Conquers an Offroad Expedition!

August 26, 2024 0 By The Editor

Honda Navi 110cc – Once Upon a time in India

Launched in 2016 the Honda Navi 110cc is one of a kind pocket bike. Sharing the same motor with the Activa, the Navi indeed was a wonderful little machine. Going beyond its short lived life, today we talk about this little wonder that conquered not 1 but 2 trails of the Pune offroad Expedition 2024.

Riding with as much as ease as the blue blood offroad machines this scooter successfully completed both trails. Interestingly this wasn’t the first Honda Navi 110cc to do so. However, as the story goes that rider as it turns is an expert level rider and adapt with the trails of POE. This time around, the it was the rider’s 1st attempt at the trail.

I am..

I’m Tehmina Chaudhuri, a Contemporary Artist according to my degree, and an amateur motorcyclist. Both fields allow me to explore my love for the outdoors, and the fascination I have with the natural world. When I’m not creating, I allow my journeys to inspire my practice.

I tour, do trails, track racing, and very recently started learning how to stunt. I’ve always seen biking as a multidisciplinary field, and that each field’s practice should inform the other. I hope to one day be able to teach road safety, drills and first aid to Indian bikers, and make it a norm in the community to have these skills.

My association with riding began when

In the 1920s and 30s, just as people started sticking motors into bicycles, the Scrambler style motorcycle was born in England. Because there was no infrastructure for racing at the time, motor enthusiasts would have races across the boggy marshlands and open fields of early London.

My grandfather was one such enthusiast- and he rode motorcycles from the age 11, all the way to 87. I dare say, it’s in my blood.

Between the incredible stories he would tell me of his biking days in London, Bangalore and Coonoor, and the fast-paced rides he would take me on, regardless how old he was, I knew from a pretty young age that I wanted to be the one behind the handlebars.

My father embodied that same spirit, but was terrified for my safely- so when he learnt that I picked up my own bike behind his back at the age of 22, rather than reprimanding me, he took me out to buy my first set of riding gear. It may have seemed like overkill for such a small bike at the time, but is the reason I take my safety gear so seriously.

My previous rides were – (two wheelers before the Honda Navi 110cc)

My previous two wheelers didn’t have engines- dad, my brother and I used to cycle across Bangalore city in my teen years…and I was pretty certain there was a more efficient way to explore the world. Nobody was willing to teach me how to drive, so towards the end of college, I took matters into my own hands.

I would use use a copy of dad’s licence to rent scooters- Activas and Dios- that were usually in deplorable condition, and would go for long rides into Avallahali forest after college everyday, allowing myself to get completely lost, and try to find my way back without Google maps- mostly because I hadn’t thought of the concept of a phone holder yet.

While doing this, I collected 60 thousand rupees from my monthly stipend with a vengeance, and checked OLX every day for months for THE BIKE.

And then she appeared. The ease and luck with which I was able to bring this bike home was testament to the fact that it was meant to be- she once belonged to a family that bought her on a whim, and then never rode the bike- she had done only 800 kilometres- this was a brand new Navi, two years after it’s production had stopped.

My options were ..other two wheelers you had short-listed apart from the Honda Navi 110cc

When looking at bikes, I wasn’t particularly concerned with going fast or far. Bangalore traffic had humbled me thoroughly with a couple of silly accidents on trashy bikes. I had no idea how to operate a geared vehicle, which limited my options severely, and I wasn’t keen on making a fool of myself trying to bring the vehicle home. Plus, I didn’t have a licence.

And then I spotted the Honda Navi 110cc. Inspite of the Honda Navi 110cc being no longer in production, I had seen a few zipping around the city, and was always fascinated by them. They looked and moved like motorcycles, but ran on a 100cc Activa engine. The Honda Navi 110cc weighed less than all the scooters I had ridden, and superior ergonomics to having one’s knees in front of them waiting to be smashed in by a collision. And, IT LOOKED SO COOL. The only monkey bike available in India…and I wanted the Honda Navi 110cc.

The number of kilometres clocked so far on the Honda Navi 110cc

21103 and counting

My most memorable rides on the Honda Navi 110cc

My first ever tour was on the Navi, from Pune to Mumbai. I hadn’t covered more than 50 kilometres in one go before that, so this was a big deal. Everyone advised against it, because the bike wasn’t a touring vehicle, and I would have to tackle the ghat section of Lonavla without engine braking (not that I even knew what it was at the time!), back in November of 2022.

Frankly, I was terrified too. Even I wasn’t sure if I would accidently overheat the engine, or mess up my suspension travelling consistently at higher than normal speeds on Indian roads, or what I would do if I had a puncture. But the idea of finally touring across the state had been nagging me at the back of my mind for months, and she was the only bike I had at the time.

I distinctly remember flying down the Old Mumbai Pune highway at an overwhelming 70 kmph, sticking my left hand out as if it were an aeroplane, and letting the wind blast travel up and down my palm in a wave like motion, as if riding the wind itself. That moment set in stone that I would be on the road, always, as much as possible.

The other incident wasn’t nearly as dreamy- I discovered a brand new trail about 20 kilometres from my house, while on an exploration ride. It was around August of last year, so Pune had seen the majority of its rainfall for the year, and dirt paths were at their most dangerous. I’m pretty sure it was hubris and a lack of care

But I found myself rocketing down this slushy path at the bike’s top speed, and then very quickly after, found myself mid air, watching the ground jump up at me in slow motion. I had hit a patch that the tiny tires of the Navi couldn’t compensate for, and it resulted in both me and the bike landing face first.

We were both damaged.

My elbows and thighs were bloodied (lack of gear, and sense), and the bike’s front suspension had bent and twisted on impact. We were I’m the middle of nowhere, and there wasn’t a soul around to witness my brilliance. And then to add insult to injury, bright sunny skies suddenly gave way to the biggest storm of the year.

I was panicking, but the Navi said, “don’t worry, I’ll get you home.” After scraping myself, the bike and my belongings out of the mud, the bike started without a single complaint. The ride was slow and wobbly, and painful for us both, but she didn’t dare give up on me…until I made it to my society gate.

This was the ride that taught me that it will never be the motorcycle that limits you- only your attitude towards it.

This bike took her companion status very seriously, and forgave me for mistreating her. In return, I made sure to give her a complete overhaul, and to never overestimate my own ability- for the sake of my own safety, and for the love of the vehicle that carries me.

I would recommend/ Not recommend that girls/ ladies consider the Honda Navi 110cc because

The Honda Navi 110cc is truly the perfect beginner bike. As I learnt over the years, Hondas do not die, and their engines are very forgiving towards jerky-learner-throttle-control. At 107kgs stock, if you end up in a tricky spot, the bike is ready to teach you how to get out of it. The bike wants to teach you how to be self sufficient. Being a short rider before you have skillsets to compensate for it is tough work, especially since bikes are built to the average height of the population. The Navi isn’t ashamed of being a tiny bike, it owns it.

Inspite of its strange shape and 9hp, the Honda Navi 110cc never tries to be something it isn’t-

it’ll do whatever it’s rider is capable of, no more, no less.

Now that I have a few years of experience and two more beautiful motorcycles under my belt, I have been revisiting riding the Honda Navi 110cc as a stunter, a track racer and trail bike. Yes, she has her limitations- 100ccs no longer cuts it for my cheap thrills on road. Also, her back tire is the smallest in the market at a 10 inch diameter. But if the rider wants to go somewhere, the Honda Navi 110cc take you there, no questions asked, no complaints, no breakdowns.