Scooter – European bestseller update – Honda sharpens its spearhead

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European bestseller update

Scooter - European bestseller update - Honda sharpens its spearhead

Since their appearance in 2001, the Honda SH125 and 150 scooters have been at the top of sales in Europe. In France, the success of large-wheeled scooters remains limited compared to GT scooters. Will the new 2009 version be able to correct the situation? ? Test !

Honda sharpens its spearhead

Born in 1984, the Honda SH – "SH" for "Honda Scooter", you had to think about it – quickly became one, if not the benchmark for urban scooters. A status further reinforced in 2001 then in 2005, with the appearance of its electronically "injected" version.

In 2008, the SH125i was still at the top of the European sales podium, all engine sizes and models combined: "in 2008 Honda registered 26,858 SH125 units, 18,996 SH150 units and 21,159 SH300 units", specifies to Site the team of Honda France.

In our transalpine neighbors only, the SH150i – "because this displacement gives access to highways", explains a Honda manager from Italy – sold 18,356 units and at the same time achieved the best selling Italian in" 125 and + ".

And the "Italian" SH125i is not to be outdone, with 16,268 units sold. What to dream of the managers of the brand in France, who have identified "only" 1,140 registrations of SH125i in 2008, 1,204 in 2007 and 938 in 2006 (read our).

"At first glance, this winning formula didn’t seem like it needed improvement", remarks Honda which, nevertheless,"returns today with a deeply revised and modernized model". The opportunity perhaps for the SH125i to grab market share from small-wheeled GT scooters, which are still preferred by French users ?

This is what Honda offered us to verify by presenting this new 2009 product in Monaco, in order to take advantage of the roads, the sun and the mild temperatures of Nice: a real luxury in this month of February !

Technically, the SH125i does not evolve much compared to the previous model: "At the heart of the legendary reliability of the SH125i sits a robust 4-stroke single-cylinder with injection and liquid cooling associated with an equally robust automatic transmission by V-Matic belt", Honda reminds us.

The watermill develops a power of 13.7 horsepower at 9,000 rpm and a torque of 11.5 Nm at 7,250 rpm. Maximum values ​​which coincide with those of the French bestsellers named Xmax, Satelis, Burgman, S-Wing or even XEvo, and on which the HS has a "weight" advantage !

Full facts, the SH125i indeed weighs only 136 kg, that is to say a good twenty – even thirty – kilograms less compared to the GT scooters mentioned above. When stationary and at low speed, the SH handles like a 50 cc – not to say a Velib ‘! A good point which will not escape the female gente, in particular…

The accelerations and times of the SH125i make it possible to stay ahead of the flow of more opulent motorists and scooters in the city center and even to overtake on small roads: even in the coasts of the Monegasque hinterland, the SH hangs on 90 km / h. Driving is calm, thanks to the 16-inch wheels fitted with Dunlop D451.

Obviously, you have to anticipate any reminders coming out of pins – yes sorry, roundabouts and crossroads! – as well as overruns. But under all circumstances, the SH mono is both flexible and particularly docile. And we can attribute these same qualifiers to the whole transmission.

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