The Developments at Honda Thailand

For the possible future of Honda Thailand, we visited India. Hero Honda has developed a new 223cc motorcycle with fuel-injection, the development was a joint operation with Honda Thailand. To insiders Honda Thailand's contribution was mostly concentrated on the engine development, especially the fueling of the engine.

The engine used for the Indian motorcycle has the same combustion characteristics as the other 223cc Honda engines we can find in other regions in Asia. The engine is the first 223cc which is equipped with Honda's well know PGM-Fi (fuel-injection) unit and along with other minor changes, the maximum power output is 17.84 horsepower at a low 7,000rpm. The torque, stands at 18.35Nm.

The 223cc Honda bike engine has always been appreciated for its fuss-free nature as well as punchy midrange and equipped with Honda's latest fuel-injection system the punchy midrange only got better. The throttle response is very direct without being jerky and the engine feels eager to build up speed.

The Hero-Honda motorcycle has a power to weight ratio of 112.2PS/ton. It does 0-400 meters in 18.60 seconds while hitting 109.58km/h. The kerb weight of 223cc Honda bike is 159kg, the maximum speed out of the new 223cc Honda motorcycle is 126.67km/h. Honda tuned the 223cc clearly for fuel economics, you can get as high as 58km out of a liter.

The Thai Honda involvement in the development of the 223cc fuel-injection Honda engine is for some an indication that Honda Thailand is working hard on introducing an 223cc motorcycle on the Thai market.