The Honda Navi is a wonderful tool for getting around town. It’s compact, sublime and efficient. If you’re looking for affordable transportation, the fact that the Navi has a starting price of less than $2,000 is really good navigation, and a score of over a hundred miles per gallon also means saving a lot at the pump. Is it a scooter or a motorcycle and what is the difference between the two?
On Honda’s website, the Navi is indexed in the “miniMOTO” segment. But that doesn’t mean we make a big distinction. Other bikes in this segment include the Grom, the Monkey, the Trail 125 and the Super Cub. The Grom, Monkey, and Trail can be classified as mini motorcycles or small motorcycles, but the Cub looks much more like a scooter. So, what is the boundary between a motorcycle and a scooter?It’s not an undeniable metric, so here’s how the Navi compares.
Before we draw a strict line between what is and isn’t a motorcycle, let’s take a look at some of the Navi’s stats. It is powered by a 109 cm3 engine. It measures 71. 1 inches long and 28. 9 inches wide. It is small enough to be compatible in any parking area with a loose area. It’s not small enough to be a trunk bike like the Motocompo, however, the Navi is smooth enough at just 234 pounds, and according to Honda, that includes “all the equipment, necessary fluids, and a full tank of fuel. “
According to the owner’s manual, the maximum weight capacity of the Navi is 344 pounds, so if there is a pilot and a passenger, your aircraft will be kept to a minimum. The maximum situation is most likely for Navi owners to travel alone, potentially with a backpack or a few shopping bags at most.
Finally, while the Navi’s top speed isn’t very impressive, Honda estimates its fuel consumption at 110 mpg. The fuel tank capacity is less than a gallon (0. 92 gallons to be exact), so not most likely to carry the Navi long distances. All those stats seem to influence the resolution to place the Navi in the scooter category, but don’t be in too much of a hurry.
Some say that the line between motorcycle and scooter is drawn through the displacement of the engine. Anything over 250cc is a motorcycle and anything smaller is a scooter. Scooters like the Vespa GTS 300 and motorcycles like the CRF110F would be exceptions to those rules, though – just two of the many motorcycles that fall outside this arbitrary range, so let’s take a look at another route.
Some differentiate scooters from motorcycles by the transmission: an automatic transmission on two wheels means it’s a scooter. But many two-wheelers with automatic transmissions are motorcycles and offer a worthwhile driving experience. So it’s not the most productive thing to figure out either.
Last theory on the list: The way you sit on the motorcycle determines whether it’s a motorcycle or a scooter. Are your feet placed on opposite sides of the engine?Is there room for a passenger in the back?It’s a motorcycle. Flat ground that you can gently put your legs on when you get in – that’s a scooter. This is one of the most powerful arguments for why a Vespa is not a motorcycle, and it’s helping us get one step closer to the answer to the Navi. It might be small, cheap, efficient, and better suited for city riding, but you don’t ride it like a scooter, so this little Honda should be considered a motorcycle, even if it’s a mini.