Honda CB Twister - Wake up to a dream

Honda CB Twister has become 'the talk of the town' bike, more so after it won the Bike of the year award at the recently concluded CNBC TV18 Overdrive awards.

Coming from the makers of India's largest two-wheeler maker-seller Honda India, the CB Twister bike has been rave reviewed so far. Previously, expected to be exposed in the auto expo show of 2010, the CB Twister has been one of the most sought after bikes for its competitive pricing and bombastic features.



So, we shall quickly delve into the features and the specifications the pros and the cons of the Honda CB Twister.

Styling, design and looks of the CB Twister
Firstly, the design of the bike is quite aggressive. The front view of the Twister gives the best impression of the bike, the screenless front cowl takes styling to another level, and the muscular beasty looks of fuel tank are enticing. When viewed from the sides, it doesn't appear as much solid but in fact looks sleek and light. The trendy sharp rear and short muffler adds to the style quotient of the Twister.

The fuel tank of the bike has been reasonably tweaked, not to mention the excellent paint finish on the fuel tank and the front fairing. The fuel tank also looks like a tweaked Stunner and on the better side.



If the floating side cowls squirt the adrenalin rush, the thin and plastic panels on the sides are a sore sight and one would not appreciate the black plastic grab rail at the rear (My God! Almost mimics a chrome alloy one there!). Come summer, and it's gonna show its true colors.

The twin red shock absorbers are also brought from the Stunner and don't seem to be great value adds to the bike, in fact they are 2 ugly spots again.

The headlight gives the Twister aggressive look and the matte visor adds to the stance, and these sync well with the air scoops.

As Honda promised, features including six-spoke mag alloy wheels, stylish exhaust design, front disc brake, open chain, split grab rails and good mileage are all packaged in the CB Twister. All these features are something you could see on the high-end bikes and not the 110cc ones.

Power and performance
The CB Twister is empowered by a 110cc 4 cylinder air cooled all new engine that generates maximum power of 9 BHP @ 8000 rpm and the peak torque of 9 Nm @ 6000 rpm beats all competition in the segment. The engine is mated to a 4-speed gearbox (1 up and 3 down format). The shift ratio suits perfect to the city drive conditions and the bike clocks 6.7 seconds to reach 60kmph acceleration.

The curvy muscular tank with trendy alloy wheels coupled with 240 mm front disc brake with tubeless tires in the rear and the front - offer excellent performance for the enthusiastic riders.

The 109cc Honda engine with the light clutch operation takes the vehicle smoothly. Apart from sporting a multi reflector tail lamp, the bike also features short muffler and half chain case. Added to all this is the instrumental panel - expect the best of the both worlds with the Twister.

Twister also comes with a free maintenance battery that erases worries of leaks and top ups. The advanced viscous air filter is a technology that automatically traps the dirt and dust and needs little maintenance. Ask about braking, Twister doesn't come with the best disc brakes around; honestly if you compare drum brake variant it outperforms the disc brake variant.

Tagged with the 'environment-friendly bike' of India, and build with the latest technology, the Honda CB Twister bike is definitely a style icon for the two-wheeler customers. No wonder, this bike is definitely the best ride of the year! And, as pointed out in the presentation by N. K. Rattan of the Sales and Marketing, Honda CB Twister will be able to nab in 2.20 lakh units in the year 2010-2011. And we believe they have clearly surpassed the numbers.

Performance wise, the Honda CB Twister can be taken as one of the best in its segment. Come to this, the Honda CB Twister gives an astonishing mileage of around 70 Km/Liter?

Colors, variants and price
The bike comes in five vibrant colors of Pearl Night Black, Pearl Fuji Blue, Candy Sonic Green, Pearl Amber yellow and Pearl Siena Red. The bike comes in 3 variants:
Kick-start, drum brakes, alloy: Rs. 41,850 (Ex-showroom Delhi) Rs. 43,953(On-road Delhi)
Self-start, drum brakes, alloy: Rs. 44,850 (Ex-showroom Delhi) Rs. 47,045(On-road Delhi)
Self start, disk brakes in the front, alloy wheels: Rs. 47,850 (Ex-showroom Delhi) Rs. 50,137(On-road Delhi).

Final verdict
Why buy the Honda Twister? Looks of a high-end bike, smooth engine, neat clutching and gear shifting, very good seat-foot peg- handle bar format and decent handling. The let downs are: Heavy plastic all around, overpriced and over styled. All said the 'Wake up to a dream' Honda CB Twister truly lives up to its tagline.