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written by Vitor R on 18/04/2009

Good Points
I've had too scooters already (a 50 2stroke and a 4 stroke 125) both Yamaha's, but I immediately noticed Honda's refinement on this little wonder. It breathes quality. Everywhere you look on the bike, you see good construction overall.

It has an incredible acceleration off the lights until you reach 50mph (give or take) which is it's max. speed

Very cheap/ fuel economical; extreme underseat luggage for a bike that size (even has that hook for bags in the glove compartment's door; beautiful bike (in my opinion); an almost absence of engine noise and vibration.

The extra-hard suspension gives it a relative safe and predictable handling (in good pavement), although there are no miracles with wheels that size and you must always keep an eye in pavement ahead.

It's very large seat is very ergonomic and comfortable on long hauls even better compared to my previous 125 Yamaha Maxter

Like any small scooter, you feel relaxed at slow speeds because you're almost sitting on the floor so your legs

Bad Points
safety regarding the small wheels, in corners, wet and/or bumps/wet in corners.

suspension is tremendously hard and if you hit a speed bump without noticing it, it will lift both wheels off the floor and fracture your spinal cord at the same time.

If you're tall, you run the risk of putting your knees in the way of the steering which, together with small side-ramps at the front of the bike's floor (a detail meant to prevent your feet from slipping from the floor of the bike if you step on oily puddle at a pump station for example , which happens a lot (always make sure your feet are gripping the floor of any scooter after leaving a gas station or you'll be in harms way!! If they're slipping, just scratch the soles on the pavement. This can be done in motion), doesn't allow you to slide your feet off that position. What can happen is that, in a tight corner or roundabout, the steering will hit your knee, preventing you from steering any further, and as you try to remove your leg, your foot will be stuck in this side-ramp, so you'll either tip over, or manage to accelerate out of the corner to straighten the bike back up. This might not happen If you have a small stature.

General Comments


The other day I took my 08 fireblade to get a clutch replacement (factory recall), and chose to take the Lead 110 for a ride because I was considering replacing my 2001 Yamaha dt125re with it for short rides around the city and more.



My idea or prediction about this bike was that I was going to be surprised by a a phenomenal fuel economy and that also it would have a decent acceleration off the lights and would be a little harder on the bumps than the Dt125re (of course heheh). I was also eager to see it's luggage space as some people say you can't fit a medium size (M) full face helmet, which is simply not true.



My first surprise (bad one) leaving the dealership was the incredibly hard suspension on the little lead. You really have to watch out for the pot holes and speed bumps and other road irregularities because it's suspension does not forgive. It hurts you and it's hard to stand up through these pot-holes etc because the steering is low (almost at your knee level) and so you really can't completely stand up while the suspension hits you hard.



From there on, I immediately started to focus on the asphalt in front of me, scared of any big bump or pot hole that might come along (there are lots of them around here) It also occurred to me that any serious pot hole or small obstacle on the road, would probably mean a crash, and/or a damaged wheel (or some part of the bike (and also of myself) being left behind, but this is a security issue that concerns all small- wheel scooters (a serious one I think, which made me rethink about trading my dt125 in for one of these...). You have to have in mind that if you hit some kind of irregularity on the pavement while cornering, there's also big chance you'll eat the floor because of these small wheels, especially if it's wet out there.



This day was a little rainy, with some showers but that wasn't going to stop me from testing this bike because I had to deliver it when the fireblade was ready, so I kept riding in the wet. One thing I noticed was how good the tyres were (grip wise). At any point I felt the tyres sliding on the wet corners though I was very being very cautious and fearful and cornering smoothly (never mess around with thin, small tyres. The extra-hard suspension, although painful on the bumps, did a great job on good road surface at it's speed limit because it provided stability, so this suspension sacrifices comfort for stability at greater speed. It provides a predictable handling (within reason, and in good pavement)



Some people say this bike has a heavy steering, but because I'm used to the Fireblade and the DT125re, it seemed very light to me. I really didn't notice any weight here.



A complete surprise in this bike was it's amazing blast-offs leaving the lights. Any car wanting to overtake before I reached 50mph would really have to be trying and have some respectable horsepower (it actually only happened 3 times in my entire trip). Otherwise they would all be left behind getting smaller in the rear view mirror as the very silent, and smooth engine makes it's way to the next traffic light



I'm used to carry a back pack while riding because none of my bikes has luggage in any way. So I was very happy with the enormous amount of space underneath the seat, which is practically double the size of normal scooters this size and it conceals a mid size full face agv helmet, plus a bunch of other stuff, like a normal (not full) backpack while you're doing your choirs. The way you access this storage is very easy (just push the key in a determined position and it opens. It occurred to me the possibility of somehow putting the key inside this storage and accidentally forgetting it there while closing it. Not sure this accident can happen though.



So, comparing this little scooter to other little scooters that also have small wheels, it's only disadvantage (which is also an advantage) is it's very hard suspension. My rating on this bike is greatly affected by my experience with big-wheel bikes though, which are tremendously safer and, in my opinion, the only ones to ride on the road.