Honda unveils Africa Twin and NAVI motoscooter

Honda has unveiled the Africa Twin, a 1000cc, go-anywhere ADV bike, and on the other end of the spectrum, the NAVI motoscooter, a bike that’s a mix of a scooter and a motorcycle. At 39,500 rupees, the NAVI promises affordable fun, and seems quite versatile given the wide variety of luggage carrying and mounting options. The NAVI stands for , and is available in three variants – Street, Adventure and Off-road.

The Motoscooter weighs a light 101 kilograms, and has been completely developed in India, from concept to production. It uses a 110cc four stroke petrol engine that puts out 7.83 Bhp-8.96 Nm, and uses a V-Matic CVT automatic gearbox to transmit torque to the rear wheel. Talking wheels, the NAVI features 12 inchers at both ends, with drum brakes for stopping duties.

The Motoscooter gets a smallish 3.83 liter fuel tank, which means that it’ll be an out-and-out urban tool. Other dimensions of this unique offering from Honda include the 1,805 mm length, 748 mm width, 1,039 mm height, 1,286 mm wheelbase, 765 mm seat height and 156 mm ground clearance. It’ll be interesting to see how the market responds to the NAVI.

Coming to the Africa Twin, this motorcycle will take on the likes of the Triumph Tiger XC800 and the BMW R1200 GS. Price wise, it’s likely to be closer to the Tiger though, at about 12 lakh rupees. CKD assembly is likely, and the launch is expected to happen in the second half of this year. The Africa Twin features a 1000cc, liquid cooled parallel twin engine with 93 Bhp-98 Nm on tap.

6 speed manual and twin clutch automatic (first in segment) gearboxes are offered internationally. For India, expect Honda to go manual-only. The 230 kilogram heavy motorcycle gets ABS (switchable for the rear wheel) and multi-stage traction control as standard fare. A multiple Paris-Dakar rally winner, the Africa Twin comes with a rich motorsport heritage. A lot of ADV riders in India will be eager to get this motorcycle.