Honda BeAT - Pros and cons

The 110 cc Honda BeAT is certainly one of the better of the current selection of commuter scooters available in the country. The smallest scooter in Honda’s product line is aimed at the youth with many vibrant color options, affordable price, and easy dynamics. First introduced in 2015 in carbureted form, it now comes with fuel injection only. Honda sells the bike in two different versions. There is the standard version and then the one equipped with CBS and ISS. Selling for Php 69900, the scooter competes against the Suzuki Address and the twin headed terror of the Yamaha Mio Sporty and the Mio i 125. Where does it stand against this fierce competition? Let’s find out.

Honda BeAT Pros

Modern styling

The BeAT is aimed at the youth. Nothing brings this home more than the seven color options – with names like Nitric Orange and Space Magenta Metallic - that this scooter comes with. Honda probably felt the scooter was still ugly and gave it a facelift in 2017 that included a semi-digital instrument display, new wheel and tire design, new headlight and indicator combination cluster and new taillight brake and indicator cluster. That headlight is now an angular multi-reflector unit that incorporates large indicators with a large automatic headlight. Overlapping panels seems to be the theme here with body color panels over black panels creating a striking contrast. Behind the front apron is a wide footboard.

The seat is almost flat with a sporty grab rail at the end. The taillight is also similar to the front end and ties together the modern look very well. The scooter is made perfect for urban conditions with compact dimensions. There are 14”, 5 twin spoke cast alloy wheels with 80/90 tires on the front and 90/90 tires on the rear. Under the seat is an 11.2 L storage space that however cannot store a full face helmet. The instrument display is a large conventional analog speedometer with a thin digital display lit with the orange backlight.

Extremely fuel efficient

Powering the 90 kg (dry) scooter is a 110 cc air-cooled and fuel injected SOHC engine. Power output is rated at 8.55 hp at 750 rpm while the torque figure comes to 9 Nm at 6000 rpm. While not exactly powerful, it has enough grunt to carry the rider and one passenger in a brisk fashion. Acceleration is also very usable in traffic stops. The engine is otherwise very quiet and refined. There are very few vibrations felt through the handlebars.

The transmission uses a CVT which also gives it the AT part in its name. The engine comes with both electric and kick starter for emergencies. But the best thing about this engine is the fuel consumption figure. The lightweight scooter can easily manage to travel more than 60 km per liter of fuel. This is in part also thanks to the Idle Stop-start system that switches off the engine after 3 seconds of idling. The system can also be turned off with a mere flick of a switch.

Decent braking

At this price point expecting things like dual disc brakes is impractical. Still, there is a hydraulic disc brake on the front and a drum brake on the rear. Thanks to Honda’s combi braking system though, it activates both the front and rear brakes when the left lever is pulled.

Honda BeAT Cons

Hard ride

The BeAT comes with conventional telescopic front forks in the front and unit swing in the rear that works well for the most part. But this lightweight and compact scooter is not meant for speed. The suspension does not allow you to travel too fast or on bad roads. The ride simply becomes too bumpy. The seat is also just as thin as it looks. It is also firm and might lead you to invest in some padding. Still, the ride, for the most part, is comfortable as long as ridden reasonably. The seating position is upright and relaxed thanks to the 740 mm seat height and high placed handlebars.

Expensive by comparison

The BeAT is a small scooter that ticks all the right boxes for youngsters. It is a modern, stylish, refined and fuel efficient scooter. But it is certainly not the cheapest. This 110 cc scooter costs Php 66900 for the standard version and if you want your scooter with idle stop-start and combi braking it will cost you Php 3000 more.

So, if you want to spend Php 66900, why not look at the Yamaha Mio Sporty? Or the much more practical and slightly more powerful Suzuki Address? And if you want to spend around Php 70000, the Yamaha Mio i 125, would like to have a word with you. It has nearly all the same features while being even more powerful.