Honda Elite 110 : A pleasant little puddle jumper

I finally had my opportunity to ride a Honda Elite 110 today. Yesterday, while at Lancaster Honda, I noticed the new Elite sitting there, and Kevin, the Sales Manager, said I should come back today for a test ride, so I did.

The little Elite carried me over to Fruitville Pike and back again so I could pick up some prescriptions for my wife.


It seemed to fit in very well on the suburban roads I took it on and I found that I could easily get used to it's snappy handling.
My initial impressions of the Honda Elite 110 are as follows:

• Appearance: This is my biggest issue with the Elite 110. From the back, she's a prom queen. From the front, she's a drag queen. The front end looks ok from a distance, but when one draws closer, the horn vents look like a pair of cetacean nostrils (otherwise known as a whale's blow-hole). The back end is nicely done with a very streamlined tail light.
• Fit and Finish: The Elite seems very well put together, but there were a few places where the paint was scuffed. There was also an issue with the seat lock on the vehicle I tested.
• Noise polution, from the Elite 110 is minimal. This could be accounted for by the gigantic muffler, but there were no discernable extraneous engine or transmission noises
  
• Seat height is good. I was able to stand flat footed when stopped which is comforting. I don't really like the feeling of being on my toes while stopped at a light. It's just a bit unnerving.
• Footroom is fantastic and easily accommodated my huge feet. There are even secondary footpegs to either side of the seat, just in front of the pop-out passenger pegs, that could serve as an alternate foot rest. The footroom on this scoot is impressively huge.
  
• Mirrors are wide set and allowed a good view behind me, but the one on the left was a little loose on the scoot I tested. I was told that this was an error on the dealer's part and not an issue with Honda quality.
  
• Vibration is only noticeable at a stop, but it isn't bad.
• Instruments are easy to read, with bright turn signal and headlight indicators. The speedo is dead center which is a nice touch.
  
• No side-stand which could be difficult for more mature riders or those with difficulty lifting.
• The underseat storage for the new Elite is gigantic. It's large enough to carry a gallon of milk, and a modest amount of groceries, but, while Honda claims that it will hold a full face helmet, they fail to mention that the seat will not close on top of one. Just the same, the storage rivals that of a Silver-wing and is perfectly suited for basic errands in an urban or suburban setting

Now, on to the ride.

• The stability of the Elite 110 was surprising to me. The wheels are small (10 in rear, 12 in front), but the stability was quite good despite this. The scooter feels extremely well balanced.
  
• The Elite 110 handles very nicely. She corners well and counter-steers around bumps and obstacles without feeling too loose or too tight.
  
• I was completely taken aback by the suspension. This is a 110cc scooter, but the suspension felt better than its 150cc counterpart. I was so shocked (no pun intended), I even took her over a few manhole covers to reassure myself that I was not mistaken. Sure, you feel the bumps a little, but my experience with small wheeled scooters and even with my big-wheeler, is that even small bumps can be quite jarring. The Elite blew that particular perception away.
  
• The seat comfort is decent. It feels softer than other scooter seats I have rested my hindquarters on, and seems to have a little pocket that one settles one's tush into. It's certainly a different feel, and I wonder how it would feel over a longer ride.
  

The Elite 110's performance is good for its engine size.

• The fuel injected engine accelerates well, but does not seem particularly aggressive until it reaches about 20 mph (indicated). Between an indicated 20 and 40 mph, acceleration is much more peppy. Bearing in mind that this is a new engine that has not yet been broken in, the acceleration tendencies may change as the scooter is used.
  
• The scoot motored up to an indicated 53 or so on the straight stretch outside the Honda dealer. Knowing the tendency for scooter speedos to be optimistic, I'd guess she hit about 45, which, for a 110, particularly one that is brand new out of the box, is not too bad.
  
• Braking was competent. It was so competent that I failed to notice anything about it one way or another. I hadn't even realized that I had not thought about the brakes until I arrived back at the dealer. I believe that to be a good thing.

All in all, riding the new Elite was a conflicting experience. While I know the scooter is built in China, it has the solid feel of a well constructed machine.

It sounds beautiful, meaning that it hardly makes a sound at all. This is a scooter that you can stop on the side of the road to have a pleasant conversation with a friend, without shutting off the engine so you don't have to shout at each other.

I think Honda hit a home run with this machine, and with their current price incentives, the Elite's MSRP is $2,499, which makes it competitively priced (which is a shock coming from Honda).

Now if only they could do something about that front end...