Honda BeAT

Yes, the styling will appeal to high school and college students. But it will appeal to girls more than boys. It is small at 1864 (L) X 666 (W) X 1068 (H) mm. The seat is low at 742 mm. The wheelbase is equally short at 1256 mm. The ground clearance is high at 146 mm. And finally, the weight is only 94 kg. What does all this equate to? A scooter very well suited for youngsters. Almost too well suited. That seat is not meant for people with bellies. The short wheelbase and light weight allow the kind of agility that teenagers want. The high ground clearance allows them to not watch the road all the time for potholes and what not. The front fender rides high above the wheel allowing greater travel. The instrumentation uses a combination analog and digital display that is very fetching. There is some under seat storage yet not enough for a full face helmet. And finally, there are 14” wheels with 80/90 and 90/90 tubeless tires in the front and rear respectively.

The suspension is conventional with a telescopic front and a single side mounted shock absorber in the rear. The scooter is comfortable but more so because of its excellent build quality and lack of vibrations from the engine. The seating position is comfortable with enough room in the front footboard area to move about. Handling is agile as the Beat is small and light. Likewise, it is best suited for the city roads and pottering around the town.

The Honda Beat uses a 108.2 cc air-cooled engine that produces maximum power of 8.77 PS at 7500 rpm. The peak torque of 9.14 Nm is delivered at 6000 rpm. The engine uses Honda’s PGMFi fuel injection system. Thanks to this, the Beat was the first ever Malaysian vehicle to be given the status of Energy Efficient vehicle. It also has an eco-indicator on the instrument display that tells how to ride your scooter for optimum fuel efficiency. That figure happens to be 45-50 kmpl. This makes it a very good choice for youngsters that do not want to spend too much on fuel. The 4L fuel tank is tiny but should last long enough. That being said this scooter is not all about fuel economy either. It can reach speeds of 115 kmph. It may not be the fastest thing out there but it performs decently enough. The acceleration is ample for streaming through traffic. It also happens to be a very refined engine that does not transmit too many vibrations to the handlebars. The V-belt transmission works perfectly too.

There is no escaping from the fact that this scooter was built to a price. This often results in cutting costs in areas like safety. The Honda, however, again saves some face by providing the Beat with a single hydraulic disc brake on the front and the combi braking system. The combi braking system deploys both the front disc and the rear drum brake at the same time when the brake lever is pulled. This system then shortens the braking distance and gives more confidence. It also has a smart locking system that keeps the brakes locked for parking and to avoid accidentally accelerating into traffic.  The side stand itself also shuts down the engine when deployed.