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Honda has been in India since 1999 when they founded the Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (P) Ltd and began production in 2002 with the gearless Activa and the geared Eterno. The Manesar plant has since been supplemented by another larger production facility in Tapukara, Rajasthan and will soon commission a third production facility in Karnataka. They have moved up from 1,00,000 units produced annually a decade ago to some 25,00,000 units today. Equally stellar has been the widened spectrum of two-wheelers being produced – 3 different scooter models, 8 motorcycle models apart from 4 CBU’s.
They recently invited the media for the twin purposes of showing their newly upgraded and state-of-the-art technical center aka R&D Facility and the launch of the three gearless scooters with a new engine incorporating the Honda Eco Technology (HET), a newer iteration of the existing engines that give a substantially higher fuel efficiency and are more environmentally clean to boot. HET is primarily about extremely efficient fuel combustion, reducing internal friction and optimising power transmission. The HET engine has better flow dynamics that allows and improvement in its volumetric efficiency which when allied with a more efficient nickel alloy spark plug leads to better combustion. An offset crank, a newer low friction oil seal, thinner and narrower rings and substantially (about 8.8%) lighter reciprocating parts lead to better mechanical efficiency and less wasted power within the engine. The final drive variator's pulley converter ratios have also been reworked for better drive from standstill and a progressive change in gearing that brings out the best from the engine. The newer avatars of Activa, Aviator and Dio were unveiled to the press amidst smoke, laser lights and heavy music. During the introductory address and also later while interacting with the media, the HMSI officials hinted at releasing one new product into the Indian market every quarter without elaborating upon whether these would be scooters or motorcycles. Neither were they forthcoming on giving details about the expected engine capacities. Nevertheless, a consistent slew of new models does bring hope and should make things interesting.
(Center) Mr. Keita Muramatsu – President & CEO, HMSI; (left) Mr. Atsushi Amataka, President – Honda Research & Development India Pvt. Ltd. (HRID) who elaborated on the global significance of New Technical Center; and (right) Mr. Yadvinder S. Guleria – Vice President, Sales & Marketing, HMSI
The new Activa
The new Aviator
The new Dio
Below - Honda Motorcycle and Scooters India (P) Ltd R&D Center at their Manesar (Haryana) Plant
The other very interesting part of the media visit was showing them their state-of-the-art R&D facility. Though we were divested off all our photographic equipment and taking pictures or videos was strictly no-no, the tightly chaperoned tour of the facility was nevertheless a treat. Honda is one of the world leaders not just in production numbers and market volumes but is there at the very front with technology and it shows in the comprehensiveness of the equipment at the R&D and the systematic working of the staff. Meticulously clean, impeccably organized and well-equipped, the R&D facility with its allied test track doesn’t leave any leaf unturned towards their capability at developing and producing the kind of two wheelers they are known globally for.
State-of-the-art designing!
A slew of chassis dynamometers litter the facility and even though we were just shown the test rooms through the monitoring windows, the staff in-charge were pretty descriptive in their explanations. We were not allowed to take any pictures of the facility but were provided with some shots along with the press kit handed out there. Here’s one of the Chassis Dynamometer with a CBR250R under test. The hordes of parameters measured, recorded and analyzed make for fascinating viewing and give an insight into some aspects of a motorcycle that we don’t know about or measure despite owning and riding one for years. The spark plug tip temperature being about 287 oC is one example as is the real time oil temperature at 119 oC with the engine running at 5000 rpm!
A CBR250R under test
The Chassis Dynamometer with a CBR250R under test
The central inset LCD display equipped control panel up close
The wind tunnel was another big attraction and something not ordinarily seen and experienced. It is a full scale tunnel meaning the real or a full size model of the bike with a real rider is used for measuring its aerodynamic parameters all the while running it on a fully integrated chassis dynamometer. The wind tunnel at Honda here is capable of producing wind speeds up to 160 kmph and the air temperature can be varied anywhere between 20-40 oC. They had a CBR250R with a properly geared up rider all set to give the media a ‘live’ demonstration of the air-flow pattern around the bike at about 55 kmph. That the slim rider could tuck in well behind the wind-screen did help keep the airflow over and above the rider-bike combo pretty laminar and clean. I was wondering what havoc my large and heavy frame would wreck on the poor bike’s aerodynamics! The wind tunnel is a very important and vital tool for replicating and developing proper real-life aerodynamics for a bike, an aspect that not just directly and strongly affects its performance and fuel efficiency but also has a direct bearing on its high speed stability. Apart from that, it is the air flowing into and around the engine that carries away waste heat and being able to ‘see’ the air flowing past helps the designers make sure your legs, claves and feet are not toasted on that hot and fast summer ride.
The wind tunnel with another CBR250R with rider on top showing the airflow defined by the front fairing over and above the rider helmet and body
They even have Scanning Electron Fractography equipment in place. It is actually a scanning electron microscope equipped to ‘read’ metal failure, composition, surface finish etc, something that is vital for understanding metallurgically influenced behavior or different motorcycle components. For a demonstration, they had a fractured bolt mounted on the scanner and we were shown a 4000x magnification view of the failure area. In the case of such fasteners as the bolt in question, it is vital to check a failed bolt and find out whether the failure was a brittle fracture or a ductile fracture. The difference between the two for us normal humans is that a brittle fracture would be sudden and catastrophic – and in case a vital bolt say the front brake caliper mount suffers a brittle fracture, the caliper could swing into the wheel, jam it, break it and send you flying to a hospital bed! A ductile fracture would be gradual – like the stretching of a rubber-band to its extreme before it breaks and such a failure in the same caliper mount would give you some warning signs like your brake pads rubbing on the disc due to the resulting misalignment between the caliper and the disc. Forewarned is forearmed and on close checking you’ll probably get the ‘failing’ bolt changed before it actually breaks and takes you down. They also analyze the exact chemical composition of the metal of the component and can develop bolts behaving in a very predictable manner by varying the constituent elements making up the metal of the bolt.
A close look at such a facility in short strengthens one’s faith in a brand like Honda and helps gain a clear idea of how and why they have established themselves as global leaders in performance and reliability.
Official Press Release from Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (P) Ltd
Technical Center & New Technology to Spearhead Honda’s Global Innovation from India!
Manesar, January 17, 2013: Reinforcing its commitment of spearheading innovation in two-wheeler industry, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. (HMSI) - the only 2Wheeler company of Honda in India today announced its major forays in the field of cutting-edge R&D & technology for realizing the Dreams of Indian customers for mobility.
Present at the conference were Mr. Keita Muramatsu – President & CEO, HMSI who announced Honda’s strategy in 2013 of making fast strides towards Brand leadership; Mr. Atsushi Amataka, President – Honda Research & Development India Pvt. Ltd. (HRID) who elaborated on the global significance of New Technical Center; and Mr. Yadvinder S. Guleria – Vice President, Sales & Marketing, HMSI who briefed on the revolutionary Honda Eco Technology HET introduced in three automatic scooters (Activa and Aviator and Dio) which promises convenience of scooters with mileage of motorcycles.
The New Technical Center – A world first from Honda!
Traditionally, Honda R&D is operating as separate entity across all 2Wheeler, 4Wheeler & power product divisions globally. Undertaking a major paradigm shift, the New Technical Center is a first step by Honda towards a new form of global operations.
As a global leader in mobility, Honda has reinforced its commitment for India as a priority market for the world. In a first ever across all operations globally, new Technical Center combines integrated system of DEBQ (Design, Engineering, BOP/Purchasing and Quality) under one roof to create a globally optimal operating system that advances local development of higher quality product at low cost.
Spread over 10,000 square meters in HMSI Manesar facility, the New Technical Center engages 200 engineers from Honda Research & Development India (HRID) and HMSI associates.
In another first for the Indian 2Wheeler industry, Honda’s New Technical Center houses the advanced Wind Tunnel facility which simulates real world air flow situation to monitor aerodynamics and its effect on models to develop truly fuel efficient two-wheelers. The facility’s engineering and styling design also incorporates benchmark equipments like chassis dynamo, bench dynamo, layout machines, SEM microscope etc.
Honda’s Automatic scooters Now ‘Most Fuel Efficient’ in India
In keeping with its strategic approach of ‘Mileage Up’ for maximizing customer satisfaction, Honda today launched the all new Honda Eco technologyHET across Activa, Aviator & Dio, making them the Most Fuel Efficient Automatic Scooters in India!
Reduced frictionImproved combustionoptimizing Pulley converter ratio & driving force, the power has been maintained & mileage has been increased.
Excerpts from the Company:
Speaking on the way ahead Mr. Keita Muramatsu - President & CEO, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd - said “April to December 2012 was a year of rapid strides when Honda bucked the market sentiments to grow at phenomenal 37%. 2013 is a year when we Excite Customers with speed. As India becomes the Global Innovation hub for Honda, Customers can look forward to new products by Honda every quarter and also faster delivery of some of our higher demand models with the start of operations of 3rd facility at Karnataka soon! ”
Mr. Yadvinder S. Guleria, Vice President – Sales & Marketing, HMSI said, “From activating the automatic scooter segment with entry of Activa in 2001 to fortifying its market leadership for over a decade and giving Joy to 7 million plus families, Honda has yet again changed the rules of automatic scooter segment in India. The revolutionary Honda Eco Technology in Honda’s automatic scooters deliver a new benchmarked mileage of 60kmpl enhancing customer benefit.”
Speaking on the technical center Mr. Atsushi Amataka, President – Honda Research & Development India Pvt. Ltd. (HRID) said, “As the World’s No. 1 two-wheeler maker, Honda carries with it a legacy of cutting edge R&D resulting in customer oriented products. India is today the center of attention globally with the new Technical Center. We are committed to deliver the products of highest quality with affordable price at fast speed by enhancing our efficiency of having R&D, designing, engineering, purchasing and quality under one roof for the first time.”
They recently invited the media for the twin purposes of showing their newly upgraded and state-of-the-art technical center aka R&D Facility and the launch of the three gearless scooters with a new engine incorporating the Honda Eco Technology (HET), a newer iteration of the existing engines that give a substantially higher fuel efficiency and are more environmentally clean to boot. HET is primarily about extremely efficient fuel combustion, reducing internal friction and optimising power transmission. The HET engine has better flow dynamics that allows and improvement in its volumetric efficiency which when allied with a more efficient nickel alloy spark plug leads to better combustion. An offset crank, a newer low friction oil seal, thinner and narrower rings and substantially (about 8.8%) lighter reciprocating parts lead to better mechanical efficiency and less wasted power within the engine. The final drive variator's pulley converter ratios have also been reworked for better drive from standstill and a progressive change in gearing that brings out the best from the engine. The newer avatars of Activa, Aviator and Dio were unveiled to the press amidst smoke, laser lights and heavy music. During the introductory address and also later while interacting with the media, the HMSI officials hinted at releasing one new product into the Indian market every quarter without elaborating upon whether these would be scooters or motorcycles. Neither were they forthcoming on giving details about the expected engine capacities. Nevertheless, a consistent slew of new models does bring hope and should make things interesting.
(Center) Mr. Keita Muramatsu – President & CEO, HMSI; (left) Mr. Atsushi Amataka, President – Honda Research & Development India Pvt. Ltd. (HRID) who elaborated on the global significance of New Technical Center; and (right) Mr. Yadvinder S. Guleria – Vice President, Sales & Marketing, HMSI
The new Activa
The new Aviator
The new Dio
Below - Honda Motorcycle and Scooters India (P) Ltd R&D Center at their Manesar (Haryana) Plant
The other very interesting part of the media visit was showing them their state-of-the-art R&D facility. Though we were divested off all our photographic equipment and taking pictures or videos was strictly no-no, the tightly chaperoned tour of the facility was nevertheless a treat. Honda is one of the world leaders not just in production numbers and market volumes but is there at the very front with technology and it shows in the comprehensiveness of the equipment at the R&D and the systematic working of the staff. Meticulously clean, impeccably organized and well-equipped, the R&D facility with its allied test track doesn’t leave any leaf unturned towards their capability at developing and producing the kind of two wheelers they are known globally for.
State-of-the-art designing!
A slew of chassis dynamometers litter the facility and even though we were just shown the test rooms through the monitoring windows, the staff in-charge were pretty descriptive in their explanations. We were not allowed to take any pictures of the facility but were provided with some shots along with the press kit handed out there. Here’s one of the Chassis Dynamometer with a CBR250R under test. The hordes of parameters measured, recorded and analyzed make for fascinating viewing and give an insight into some aspects of a motorcycle that we don’t know about or measure despite owning and riding one for years. The spark plug tip temperature being about 287 oC is one example as is the real time oil temperature at 119 oC with the engine running at 5000 rpm!
A CBR250R under test
The Chassis Dynamometer with a CBR250R under test
The central inset LCD display equipped control panel up close
The wind tunnel was another big attraction and something not ordinarily seen and experienced. It is a full scale tunnel meaning the real or a full size model of the bike with a real rider is used for measuring its aerodynamic parameters all the while running it on a fully integrated chassis dynamometer. The wind tunnel at Honda here is capable of producing wind speeds up to 160 kmph and the air temperature can be varied anywhere between 20-40 oC. They had a CBR250R with a properly geared up rider all set to give the media a ‘live’ demonstration of the air-flow pattern around the bike at about 55 kmph. That the slim rider could tuck in well behind the wind-screen did help keep the airflow over and above the rider-bike combo pretty laminar and clean. I was wondering what havoc my large and heavy frame would wreck on the poor bike’s aerodynamics! The wind tunnel is a very important and vital tool for replicating and developing proper real-life aerodynamics for a bike, an aspect that not just directly and strongly affects its performance and fuel efficiency but also has a direct bearing on its high speed stability. Apart from that, it is the air flowing into and around the engine that carries away waste heat and being able to ‘see’ the air flowing past helps the designers make sure your legs, claves and feet are not toasted on that hot and fast summer ride.
The wind tunnel with another CBR250R with rider on top showing the airflow defined by the front fairing over and above the rider helmet and body
They even have Scanning Electron Fractography equipment in place. It is actually a scanning electron microscope equipped to ‘read’ metal failure, composition, surface finish etc, something that is vital for understanding metallurgically influenced behavior or different motorcycle components. For a demonstration, they had a fractured bolt mounted on the scanner and we were shown a 4000x magnification view of the failure area. In the case of such fasteners as the bolt in question, it is vital to check a failed bolt and find out whether the failure was a brittle fracture or a ductile fracture. The difference between the two for us normal humans is that a brittle fracture would be sudden and catastrophic – and in case a vital bolt say the front brake caliper mount suffers a brittle fracture, the caliper could swing into the wheel, jam it, break it and send you flying to a hospital bed! A ductile fracture would be gradual – like the stretching of a rubber-band to its extreme before it breaks and such a failure in the same caliper mount would give you some warning signs like your brake pads rubbing on the disc due to the resulting misalignment between the caliper and the disc. Forewarned is forearmed and on close checking you’ll probably get the ‘failing’ bolt changed before it actually breaks and takes you down. They also analyze the exact chemical composition of the metal of the component and can develop bolts behaving in a very predictable manner by varying the constituent elements making up the metal of the bolt.
A close look at such a facility in short strengthens one’s faith in a brand like Honda and helps gain a clear idea of how and why they have established themselves as global leaders in performance and reliability.
Official Press Release from Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (P) Ltd
Technical Center & New Technology to Spearhead Honda’s Global Innovation from India!
Manesar, January 17, 2013: Reinforcing its commitment of spearheading innovation in two-wheeler industry, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. (HMSI) - the only 2Wheeler company of Honda in India today announced its major forays in the field of cutting-edge R&D & technology for realizing the Dreams of Indian customers for mobility.
Present at the conference were Mr. Keita Muramatsu – President & CEO, HMSI who announced Honda’s strategy in 2013 of making fast strides towards Brand leadership; Mr. Atsushi Amataka, President – Honda Research & Development India Pvt. Ltd. (HRID) who elaborated on the global significance of New Technical Center; and Mr. Yadvinder S. Guleria – Vice President, Sales & Marketing, HMSI who briefed on the revolutionary Honda Eco Technology HET introduced in three automatic scooters (Activa and Aviator and Dio) which promises convenience of scooters with mileage of motorcycles.
The New Technical Center – A world first from Honda!
Traditionally, Honda R&D is operating as separate entity across all 2Wheeler, 4Wheeler & power product divisions globally. Undertaking a major paradigm shift, the New Technical Center is a first step by Honda towards a new form of global operations.
As a global leader in mobility, Honda has reinforced its commitment for India as a priority market for the world. In a first ever across all operations globally, new Technical Center combines integrated system of DEBQ (Design, Engineering, BOP/Purchasing and Quality) under one roof to create a globally optimal operating system that advances local development of higher quality product at low cost.
Spread over 10,000 square meters in HMSI Manesar facility, the New Technical Center engages 200 engineers from Honda Research & Development India (HRID) and HMSI associates.
In another first for the Indian 2Wheeler industry, Honda’s New Technical Center houses the advanced Wind Tunnel facility which simulates real world air flow situation to monitor aerodynamics and its effect on models to develop truly fuel efficient two-wheelers. The facility’s engineering and styling design also incorporates benchmark equipments like chassis dynamo, bench dynamo, layout machines, SEM microscope etc.
Honda’s Automatic scooters Now ‘Most Fuel Efficient’ in India
In keeping with its strategic approach of ‘Mileage Up’ for maximizing customer satisfaction, Honda today launched the all new Honda Eco technologyHET across Activa, Aviator & Dio, making them the Most Fuel Efficient Automatic Scooters in India!
Reduced frictionImproved combustionoptimizing Pulley converter ratio & driving force, the power has been maintained & mileage has been increased.
Excerpts from the Company:
Speaking on the way ahead Mr. Keita Muramatsu - President & CEO, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd - said “April to December 2012 was a year of rapid strides when Honda bucked the market sentiments to grow at phenomenal 37%. 2013 is a year when we Excite Customers with speed. As India becomes the Global Innovation hub for Honda, Customers can look forward to new products by Honda every quarter and also faster delivery of some of our higher demand models with the start of operations of 3rd facility at Karnataka soon! ”
Mr. Yadvinder S. Guleria, Vice President – Sales & Marketing, HMSI said, “From activating the automatic scooter segment with entry of Activa in 2001 to fortifying its market leadership for over a decade and giving Joy to 7 million plus families, Honda has yet again changed the rules of automatic scooter segment in India. The revolutionary Honda Eco Technology in Honda’s automatic scooters deliver a new benchmarked mileage of 60kmpl enhancing customer benefit.”
Speaking on the technical center Mr. Atsushi Amataka, President – Honda Research & Development India Pvt. Ltd. (HRID) said, “As the World’s No. 1 two-wheeler maker, Honda carries with it a legacy of cutting edge R&D resulting in customer oriented products. India is today the center of attention globally with the new Technical Center. We are committed to deliver the products of highest quality with affordable price at fast speed by enhancing our efficiency of having R&D, designing, engineering, purchasing and quality under one roof for the first time.”
. I sure would have loved to sit on that bike and see how the flow broke up into a mess around my shoulders and waist with almost twice the frontal area stopping it compared to the demo rider!!
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