I owned TVS wego in Bangalore for 18 months(2011-2013). I have completed 1250 kms on my new Aviator deluxe, my review could be useful to at least few people who is considering to buy one between both of them.
Reason looking for a gear less:
Anyone can use it at home. Myself, wife, brother or any of my cousins who visit
luggage carrying capacity, buy local groceries keep it on foot board and under seat storage
I dont need to carry my laptop on back, just keep it on foot board
keep helmet and jacket under the seat and no need to carry around
wet roads wont spoil my shoes nor my pants
I always have a soft corner with TVS products as my first bike was a Victor GL 2003 model brought in Mumbai. Never ever she dissapointed me. I took her with me to Bangalore and did quite a few long drives to Trivandrum, Mangalore etc etc. I had to sell as no one was using it while I was away onsite and due to the registration issue(MH reg in Bangalore) no one was daring to drive it . Sold Victor in 2010. Completed 78000 kms.
Later when I came back to Bangalore in 2011 I again started looking for a two wheeler, this time as my marriage was fixed and moreover due to horrible traffic in Bangalore I thought will get a gearless.
Shortlisted quite a few ones which had telescopic front suspension.
Wego
Aviator
Access
Honda told me 6 months waiting, so Aviator was out of my list. Then it was pretty easy to decide between Access and Wego.
One of my colleague had Access and he had already shared me with his problem list like plenty of services during the initial years to keep the warranty, sourcing parts takes time and vibration issue at low speed.
I just compared the specs and was inclined with 12 inch tires on Wego. I have written my experience with Wego in another review in Mouthshut.com . Wont repeat it here once again. Eventually I had to sell in 2013 just before I left to US covering11000 kms .
In Dec 2013 I came back from US took transfer back to Mumbai. Initially I decided not to buy a two wheeler again and just use brothers Ritz Vxi lying here. He seldom uses it. I have written a review on this vehicle as well in Mouthshut.com . Taking car on my office route was a nightmare, after a month of use, I started to think of buying a two wheeler again. January last week, again shortlisted few gearless scooters. This time I decided to get a disc version only, which I really missed during the time spend with Wego in Bangalore.
Shortlisted vehicles with telescopic suspension and disc brake option:
Wego with Disc
Aviator with Disc
Activa 125 with Disc
Showroom and buying experience:
First went to TVS showroom, enquired for disc version, none of the Mumbai showrooms had it. Some showrooms in Thane had it. Only colour available was white. I came across Jupiter and really liked the looks. As no disc option was available, I decided not to buy it.Then called Honda showroom. They told me Aviator with disc only meroon colour is available, if I need other colour then will have to wait 45 days. For Activa 125, 6 months waiting for normal model, 9 months for disc. I was disappointed with Honda attitude. The honda guys started recommending me Honda Dio as my wife could easily keep both her legs on ground.But I was against the front suspension and decided not to buy it
I went back to TVS and paid Rs.1000 as booking amount for Wego Disc, on road price was Rs.62000 and I had to wait for 2 weeks.
After a week TVS fellow called and told me that they dont know when Wego with disc version will arrive as demand is very less in Mumbai for disc version. They didnt receive a single disc version in the lot that was supposed to reach that week. I became upset again as I urgently needed one for my office commute . I went to another honda dealer in Thane, they showed me Activa 125 without disc . I thought, leave disc brakes, will go with the latest scooter in market and just about to write my check, just for curiosity asked him which batch were these as none of the dealers had activa 125 in stock. To my suprise, they told me all the scooters with them are of nov/dec 2013 batch. I asked them for discount as they were selling 2013 model in feb 2014. Dealer said "No", discussed with my wife over it. We then decided to take a closer look at Jupiter. TVS had all colours available with them for wego and jupiter in their stock, except disc version of Wego.
The place I stay near Bhandup, we have Enfield, Mahindra, Tvs, Vespa and Honda two wheeler showrrom inside single building.As soon as we reached in front of TVS showroom, Honda guy remembered me and told they have a white Aviator deluxe version available in stock which is of Jan 2015 batch. Went with him to the stockyard and there she stands. The chrome front panel on white along with disk brakes made her look so premium . I handed over the check and other documents required for registration to him and then went to TVS showroom to cancel the booking . I was thinking they wont give back the initial money, but they were so polite and told me "No, problem Sir", handed over me Rs.1000 which I paid them as advance . Really recommend Innovative TVS Bhandup.
I had to wait for 2 weeks for my registration to get over, there was strike at RTO for the agent free issue. Finally I got call from Honda on 25th Feb evening that my registration is done . I went with my brother to pick vehicle. While taking delivery, saw a huge scratch mark above the headlamp . Told the dealer to repair and give, they did some rubbing compound work and make it seem invisible.
Anyways it was a long wait, 6 long weeks to finally ride my new two wheeler.
Aviator Review:
It took me 2-3 days to get used to the new riding position. the seat are pretty high and I was not at all feeling comfortable to ride.
Soon I got over the phobia and then once I completed 240 kms, went for my first full tank . Mileage was impressive for the first fill around 45 kms/ litre. I couldnt follow much of below 40 kms speed advice for the initial 500 kms as on Mumbai roads its very unsafe. I used to maintain 50-60 kms on highways . Straight line stability is really good, wonder how Honda engineers made a design with high centre of gravity that follow straight line without any glitches. Not much wobbles while overtaking buses.
Likes.
Straight line stability
Good mileage around 50 kms on latest fill.(1250 kms). It should be more than this as I keep my rear tire pressure lower than company recommended ones. Mumbai roads are very bumpy . Concrete roads make you feel that its smooth but they are very bumby and nightmare for scooters. I dont mind losing some mileage due to lower air pressure. Moreover I have never driven in the 30-50 range anytime for optimum fuel efficiency.
front suspensions are good
Engine doesnt lose steam till 70 kms . Good torque for 2 people in 40-70 kms speed band
Disc is good, not as punchy as it should be, may be due to safety reasons.
Six litre fuel tank is a plus, I can travell for 1 or 2 days more before visitng a bunker
Electric start works fine even after 2 days of idle, usually weekends I take my car out with family. Intially for first 2 weeks I had issue, later on as I started riding more, it went off.I think the Battery used by Honda is 3 Amp one which is not that adequate.
Dislikes.
Cornering not confident enough, may be due to rear 10 inch tires.
The OEM horn provided not at all good, feeble and sometimes make dual sound . Service people didnt rectify it in first service.
Didn’t find the rear view mirrors that helpful. Should have provided a better one
Fuel cap is a bit tight
Rear suspension not that effective
Honda servicing . During the first service, service people made a huge scratch on rear grab handle removing of the paint, had to fight with them to get it spray painted once again. I dont know if they really follow the service guidelines during services
Kick start leaver position, I didnt like it. Ladies might find it useful.
The keychain can easily stratch the body panel paint . They should have provided a projection for the key hole so that keychain wont hit the panels
Dont know if the fibre body panels start discoloring later on and how easy is it to source the panels
Between Wego and Aviator:
Wife finds getting in and out of rear seat a bit more comfortable than Wego
Wego front seats are a bit low compared to Aviator. I felt a tad more comfortable to drive in city traffic
Wego is very nimble and easier to handle in city traffic. I will rate 9/10 to Aviator 7/10
Wego external fueling was a boon at petrol bunks as we didnt have to open the seat and display everything
Cleaning Air filter and some DIY stuff could be done easily in Aviator, It was very difficult to remove the body cover in Wego and even replacing battery was an issue in 2012
Aviator body is fibre while Wego is metal
If I had done similar driving on Wego 2011 model, I would have got mileage around 40-43. may be the latest ones with improved combustion chamber sourced from Jupiter might provide higher mileage. I used to get 47-50 kms mileage while driving between 30-50 kms speed.
I felt slight loss in power in Wego once I crossed 10000 kms, cant comment on Honda as I’m yet to cover the distance
Underseat storage is bigger in Aviator compared to Wego.( 22 vs 18 lit)
Main centre stand are similar on both the vehicles, easy for ladies to use it.
The latest Wego has plenty of improvements, and has sourced many parts from Jupiter. So what ever problems I faced in my 2011 model Wego might not be present now. Started looking a bit aged from my view. But the nimbleness dethrones all other drabacks.
If TVS released Jupiter with Disc, I would have blindly opted for it.TVS has a premium of just Rs1500 for their Disc variants of Wego, while Honda charges Rs.6000 extra for their deluxe variants which includes disc, alloy wheels and painted handle bar. Aviator without disc cost Rs.60000, which does not include alloy wheels .
Honda charges a huge premium for their vehicles, Aviator with Disc cost me Rs66000 on road, then I included extended warranty, anti rust under body coating and number plates as accessories which cost me extra Rs.2000.
Rear suspension is hard as rock and not at all good. Will replace it with Wego suspensions if it fits . Will even try to source Wego 12 inch rear tyre set up if possible . The 12 inch front and 10 inch rear tyre combination is not helping with confident cornering
I will never recommend taking extended warranty of 5 years worth Rs 650 if your service centre is not a good one, as we will pay more for pathetic service rather than the quality, If we miss any service within the 5 yr period, our warranty is void. After my first service incident, I really cant think of giving to them for next one onwards, have started searching a good local mechanic . hopefully vehicle does not have any engine issues in the initial years.
If you are in Mumbai and confused with bike vs gearless., due to these concrete and wide roads, I will recommend only Bikes. If your use is less than 20 kms per day and not on highways, go for gear less. Do test drive both Wego and Honda Aviator before taking decision. Indian companies do make comparable vehicles and provide better servicing than Honda in my opinion