The 2015 Honda LIVO is the new 110cc motorcycle offered by Honda in the most sales volume holding commuter bike segment, a category which is mainly known for ‘mileage’ in our country. The Honda LIVO is basically a replacement version of the Honda CB Twister which was introduced in India in 2009. The CB Twister was mainly targeted towards the youngsters of our country. Honda has been introducing new commuter bikes in this 110cc segment to keep up with Hero MotoCorp after Honda and Hero split up from each other. Currently Honda has Dream Series in the 100 and 110cc segment and now they have come up with a 110cc LIVO, a new version of Honda CB Twister with improved styling, ergonomics and a few other cosmetic updates.
Price of 2015 Honda LIVO – Rs. 55,489 (Ex-Showroom, Delhi)
Its Styling: As you will take a look at the LIVO, you will notice that this motorcycle completely stands out from those other on-selling 110cc bikes. The bike on the front gets a very well designed trapezoidal headlamp with refreshing scoops on its either sides. The fuel tank of this bike is well designed and gets shrouds on its both the sides which looks more appealing and muscular. These shrouds/bikini fairings get the Honda’s 3D wing logo on it. On the sides you won’t find any graphics as there aren’t any of them. On the rear it gets a taillamp which is quite similar to its predecessor. Overall the bike looks decent and muscular. This is one of the best looking mid-range motorcycles to come out of Honda’s stable so far.
Its Switchgears and Instrument Cluster: The LIVO gets an easy-to-read complete analogue instrument cluster and misses out on a digital instrument cluster. Never the less the analogue cluster looks descent and is hexagonal in shape. The left hexagon holds the speedometer and houses the odometer in it. The right hexagon holds only the fuel gauge meter with LIVO written below it. There are neutral, indicator and high beam’s lights between these two hexagons. The switchgear is carried from the CB Twister and sits on a black coloured handlebar, but now the plastic material of the switches are improved and the switches function more quickly than before and their fit and finish is also good. The placement of the switches still remains to be the same. The indicator switch, horn switch, light’s switch and pass light’s switch are all on the left side and on the right side only the starter button is there. According to an 110cc motorcycle these many switches are more than enough and all are usable.
Its Ergonomics: As said before, LIVO is the replacement version of the CB Twister. But, in terms of ergonomics the LIVO’s ergonomics are completely different than the CB Twister. The CB Twister was kind of a sporty commuter motorcycle which was focused onto the youngsters while the LIVO is focused onto people of all age groups. The LIVO gets a complete flat and soft cushioned seat. The LIVO sits the rider and pillion more comfortably than the CB Twister did. The ergonomics are well maintained as it gets an upright seating position and the handlebar’s size isn’t too wide. The tank size is normal and the shrouds positioning gives a good thigh support to every human being who rides it. The ergonomics of this bike are on more comfortable side.
Its Engine and Performance: The Honda LIVO is powered by a 109.19cc single cylinder four stroke HET engine. This engine is carried from the CB Twister but is now more tuned well for better performance. The heart on LIVO now produces 8.25 BHP of power at 7500 rpm and 8.63 Nm of torque at 5500 rpm.
The bike settles down to idling quickly and its exhaust note is on lower side. The gearbox is butter smooth and gear shifts happen very smoothly. The gear shift pattern has now been configured to all-four-up from one-down-three-up configuration of CB Twister. Knocking was felt when it was shifted to higher gear but the engine performs well when proper and smooth shifts are done. The bike returned us a mileage between 65-70 kmpl. On the performance side, the LIVO performs very well.
Its Riding Dynamics: The LIVO weights only 111 kgs. Its lighter weight helps it cruise through the traffic with an ease. The bikes lighter weight does not help it on the highways as when a big vehicle passes by it, the bike wobbles a bit. The suspensions are on higher side but they soak up bumps very well. At low and high speeds, the suspensions worked well and we were very much impressed by them. The 18-inch alloys get CEAT’s same sized tubeless tyres at both front and rear which are very thin. The tyres provided good grip on every kind of road we rode it through. Cornering on LIVO also proved out to be an easy task, but you have to be very confident and determined to do so. The lack of ride quality is thus felt because of its small tiny tyres.
The brakes are carried from CB Twister again, but they are just outstanding on this machine. They stop the bike very quickly. You can even learn stunt riding on this motorcycle. Riding it single and double seat on the same roads got to know us that this motorcycle is more comfortable than it’s any other alternative motorcycle.
Its Verdict/Conclusion: The 2015 Honda LIVO is a decent looking motorcycle. It’s elegant. It’s attractive. It’s refreshing. It’s practical. It’s agile. It’s fuel-efficient. It’s Honda. But, it’s not cheap. Its tiny 109.19cc motor performs pretty well and the thing that we liked the most on this motorcycle is its brakes. The bike’s ride quality is not up to the mark but it is not bad too. It is a better performing and a better looking commuter motorcycle in its segment. Finally, with the LIVO, we think Honda has a winner.
2015 Honda LIVO Technical Data:
* Engine: 109.19cc, single-cylinder, air-cooled, HET
* Power: 8.25 BHP at 7500 RPM
* Torque: 8.63 Nm at 5500 RPM
* Transmission: 4-speed (all-four-up)
* Fuel Consumption: 65-70 kmpl
* Fuel Type: Petrol
* Frame: Diamond Frame
* Suspensions: Telescopic Forks (Front), Single-sided unit swing (Rear)
* Tyres: 80/100/18 (Front and Rear)
* Brakes: 240mm Disc (Front)/130 mm Drum (Front), 130 mm Drum (Rear)
2015 Honda LIVO Dimensions:
* Length: 2020 mm
* Width: 746mm
* Height: 1099 mm
* Wheelbase: 1285 mm
* Ground Clearance: 180 mm
* Fuel Tank Capacity: 8.5 litres
* Kerb weight: 111 kgs
