© 2024 New Atlas
Motorcycles

Honda’s new US$900, 110cc, 164mpg CB Twister

By New Atlas
December 14, 2009
Honda’s new US$900, 110cc, 164mpg CB Twister
The CB Twister
The CB Twister
View 3 Images
The CB Twister
1/3
The CB Twister
The Twister bears an uncanny resemblance to the company's flagship sports bike, the CBR1000RR
2/3
The Twister bears an uncanny resemblance to the company's flagship sports bike, the CBR1000RR
The CB Twister
3/3
The CB Twister
View gallery - 3 images

One of the most important motorcycle launches of the year happened on Friday though you’re unlikely to read about it in any of the testosterone-infused websites – it was the Indian unveiling of Honda’s new fuel-efficient and low maintenance 110cc motorcycle model, the CB Twister. Honda sells a million motorcycles a year in India, and next year expects to sell 220,000 Twisters, based on its similar looks to the company’s CBR1000RR flagship, its low maintenance and its outrageous fuel economy (164 U.S. mpg and 197 U.K. mpg) and a price of just US$900.

Targeting the younger generation, CB Twister features a design from the school of large-capacity European motorcycles. CB Twister is equipped with a low-friction, high mileage, highly efficient air-cooled 4-stroke single-cylinder 110cc engine, which complies with India's emissions standard (BS-III) that will take effect in April 2010.

India is the world's second largest motorcycle market (behind China) with sales this year expected to top 8.6 million units, of which the 110cc category accounts for half.

The bike is the product of Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. (HMSI), a wholly-owned Honda subsidiary in India, and not from Hero Honda, Honda’s local JV company, which owns the lion’s share of the Indian motorcycle marketplace.

The Twister is scheduled to go on sale in India at the end of February 2010 and will be seen for the first time in public at the Auto Expo 2010 to be held in New Delhi, India beginning January 5, 2010.

View gallery - 3 images

Tags

MotorcyclesHondaScooterHonda Motorcycles
15 comments
New Atlas
New Atlas has been celebrating innovation and human endeavor since our first website launched on March 1, 2002. Since then we’ve produced more than 50,000 articles covering advances in technology, science, transportation, architecture, design, and many other disciplines.

Most Viewed

Load More
15 comments
Gadgeteer
Darn it. Why can\'t we get stuff like this in the U.S.? I\'ve always wanted a small, light, fun motorcycle, rather than things like the 600cc crotch rockets the manufacturers love. Even 400cc models aren\'t available here. The only low triple-digit cc models available are motor scooters.
Arun Murali
Its more like a moped on overly heavy bike chassis. This is the mode of transport Indians prefer as its cheap as walking with far less effort. But you\'ll have to put with the frustration of Indian road sense and must have a strong will to take the vibrations or limit yourself to 40kmph.
And BTW MPG Figures posted by Indian bike manufacturers are outrageous. It would be difficult to get these numbers even if you cruize at straight line at 40kmph for 2 hrs. Companies like Bajaj quotes mileage figures like 101kmpl. While the real bike manages a 65 after a lot of compromise.
Michael Mantion
I want one
Siddhanta Saxena
Mr. Arun Murali. Its people like you who bring shame to our country. Its one thing to call a spade, a spade. I\'ll be the first one to back u if that was the case.
Indian bikes are pretty refined. FE figures are amongst the best in the world. And by the way, 65 kmpl is not bad at all. And anyhow, driving the bike which claimed a mileage of 101 in a city does give u abt 80-85. Personal experience. Which is not to say that i haven\'t driven higher capacity bikes. But even those made in India sport pretty good Fuel Economy figures.
40kmph? I suggest u drive a Honda Scooter named Aviator(as CB Twister is not yet available) which is just 100cc and even that will take u to 85 kmph. Smoothly. I agree that is not a very high figure, but as spirit of 76 said, sometimes fun is more important than jumping on a crotch rocket and zooming off. City traffic begs for a light, laid back bike.
Oh. We have the crotch rockets too in India. If u care to drive one. Tech is fast catching up but u see, manufacturers have to keep the market in mind. And there is a market for all types of bikes in India. From 110 cc to 1100 cc.
So i suggest u STFU!
gab16
I think Arun Murali has way over-stated the issues.
This sounds like a great product.
I have owned forty or fifty Hondas in this class of bikes. I have ridden them for 45 years. I rode a Honda 90 from Los Angeles almost to Canada, to northern ID, plus other long trips.
It is my impression that these small bikes do not have a heavy frame. I doubt that this one does.
I have never been bothered by vibration on these. On other bikes, yes... never these.
I know you CAN get incredible mileage with them without any special effort. A bike designed for it will probably do a much better job than the ones I have owned.
I can see a large sport bike rider would compare these to walking but in my opinion drag racing from signal to signal isn\'t transportation either. If you want commuter transportation I think you would be happy with one of these. But get a color you like because you\'ll have it for a while. These bikes last for years and years with proper maintenance.
I was chatting with a fellow riding an old Honda S90 (one of my favorites). He had 65,000 miles on it without opening the engine. I did lecture him on replacing the chain. I described graphically what would happen to his engine if the chain broke.
YukonJack
Spirit of 76 you may want to check out this little American made 110cc http://www.kikker5150.com/hardknock.html at $1499 it\'s a real kick for the money. I have no interest in this company other than I really like this little bike.
Stuart21
200 MP (imperial) G? I want to believe it.
Gizmag Team - how about checking with Honda Japan or US for confirmation of this performance - and when it might become available elsewhere -
Arun Murali
You are all getting me wrong. These bikes sell in Million and I have experiance owning some of them. The problem is they sound green and are not really green. The engine design strategies dates back to 80\'s and pollution standards for bikes in India are low.
As long as there are bikes like this which show so much poise for low price no one will buy bikes which can put out better technology. India is very technology agnostic cause manufacturer\'s always launch something cheap but good looking(add more plastic cladding).
And this bike shares the engine with a bike named \"Shine\" which has vibration issues over 40kmpl. So look before you post.
kz1000st
The problem with a bike like this is that will have a narow appeal. Scooters will suffice here in the states for the low horsepower crowd who have no shifting talent. People who can shift will buy Ninjas, Rebels or V-Stars. This is the land of 100kmph so a 50 or 150cc scooter will suffice for side roads. My wife outgrew her 150cc scooter in three short weeks and landed on a Rebel. I doubt this little beauty would have lasted much longer.
Will, the tink
Back in the late seventies I had a Honda 125 Trials bike that I modified to qualify for use on US roads. I don\'t know how light it was but it had a lot of aluminum components. When I road it off-road, it was light enough that if it got to a place that it could not carry me, I carried it! As a road machine, I used it all week on one skinny tank around town. Wish I still had it! I bet it got similar mileage to this bike or pretty close!
Load More