Honda finally exports its little, entry-level Navi to our side of the pond for a net-new model in the U.S. market. Built mainly for new riders, the Navi brings its pit-bike panache and twist-and-go operation to the table along with a very agreeable price that puts it well within the realm of possibility for the young riders it so clearly targets.

2022 Honda Navi Design

You need to look no further than Honda's smoker miniMOTO, the Grom, to see from whence the designers took their inspiration. Every ounce a pit-bike, the Navi manages to borrow from the Grom without necessarily copying it to make it more like a cousin than a direct sibling.

The molded front fender comes with not two but four supports, no doubt as a stiffener, and a unique headlight housing all its own. Other than the splashes of color on the “sheet metal” areas, blackout paint was the order of the day, and the darkness spreads to every part untouched by the color package.

The flyline is very Grom-like in its layout with a seat that narrows toward the front and rests at 30.1 inches off the deck. This makes it short-inseam friendly, and since the drive unit makes the center-of-gravity so low, the Navi is easy to handle for parking-lot maneuvers when it's time to deploy them Lamborfeeties.

It's also a breeze to lift up if you drop it, and that's important since, if you are a new rider, it's a question of when not if you wind up horizontal. The 236-pound curb weight doesn't hurt in this respect, either.

A pillion pad and J.C. handle join flip-out footpegs handle join flip-out footpegs}} to accommodate a date or provide some open-air cargo capacity. There's more storage in the locking cubicle that rides where you'd expect to find the engine, and it's suitable for things you don't want to get wet.

Out back, the rest of the gear is fairly standard for a pit-bike, save for the obvious swing-mount drive unit that makes the Navi operate like a scooter.

2022 Honda Navi Chassis

The Navi chassis starts out bike-like enough with inverted front forks, a perimeter-style frame up top, and a downtube/cradle section down low that frames up the space for the locking storage pod where you would expect to find the engine were this more like a proper motorcycle. Here's where it gets scooter-like. The drive unit uses the engine and transmission both as stressed units in place of the swingarm.

Pressed-steel wheels round out the rolling chassis with surprisingly small proportions in a 12-inch diameter up front and a 10-inch hoop out back. Perhaps because of this small wheel size, the factory also made the unusual decision to run 130 mm, drum-style brakes, front and rear. Additionally, it rocks a stock parking brake for safe parking, even on a grade.

A pair of 26.8 mm tubes support the front end while a single, coil-over shock handles the rear, all non-adjustable. Suspension travel is reported at 3.9 inches of travel ahead of 2.8 inches of travel on the front and rear, respectively.

2022 Honda Navi Drivetrain

The scooter-tastic yummygoodness continues with the fan-cooled, single-cylinder engine on the Navi that works with Honda's V-Matic automatic tranny to deliver twist-and-go operation sans clutch or shifter actions clutch or shifter actions}}. Riders can take comfort that the electric starter is backed up by a stock kickstart lever on the left side of the drive unit, so you never need to fear that a battery issue could leave you stranded.

Nearly square in its internal layout, the thumper runs a 55 mm bore with a 55.6 mm stroke for a 109.2 cc total displacement and relatively mild, 9.5-to-1 compression ratio that should tolerate the stuff from the cheap pump. A 16 mm carburetor manages the induction to turn out an impressive, 110.3 mpg economy rating, though your results may vary depending on wind, grade, and how much you had for lunch.

Power is modest with 7.83 ponies on tap at 7 grand, backed up up by 6.6 pounds o' grunt at 5,500 rpm for a top speed of 50.3 mph (81 km/h) that will keep it off the interstate and faster state highways. This machine will be much more at home on the slower roads, to be sure, but is dead-simple to operate and should serve well as a first bike for riders who may ultimately go down the sportbike path after cutting their teeth.

2022 Honda Navi Price

The price is definitely right with this one. Honda debuts the Navi in the U.S. market with a low, $1,807 price tag that is bound to be accessible by even the tightest budgets. Color selection for 2022 comes down to a quartet of choices with Ranger Green, Nut Brown, Red, and Grasshopper Green on the palette.

2022 Honda Navi Competitors

This is a rather unique machine in that it straddles the divide between motorcycles and scooterdom. People familiar with the brand will know what I mean when I say that it looks like the love child of Honda's own Ruckus scooter and its Grom pit-bike model. Now there's a picture you'll never get out of your head. Too bad it's kind of on the slow side, but perhaps Honda will come out with a repowered version that can tackle the 55 mph roads in the foreseeable future (wink nudge).

Perhaps this is why Honda postponed the U.S. launch so long, simply because we don't have what you could call small displacement-tolerant infrastructure, or a large-scale scooter culture like the Asian market supports. No matter how you slice it, this is a rather niche machine machine}}, and it will be interesting to see how it fares in a faster region.

He Said

“Say what you will, but I kind of like it. Sure, arguments can be made against starting on a wimp-shift drivetrain (automatic, whatever), but most of these are moot if the rider in question never does anything other than putt around on public roads. In that context, the Navi lets the pilot get used to the “everything else” part of riding before complicating it with any sort of drivetrain management.”

She Said

My wife and fellow motorcycle writer, Allyn Hinton, says, “Okay, my first reaction was, 'what the heck?' but the more I look at it, the more I like it. I think, however, if we had a 70-mph top-speed version, it would be more useful and one I would even consider for myself. I know my husband looks at these as starter bikes, but honestly, as I get older with progressively worsening old-people ailments, twist-and-go operation on a ride with awesome fuel economy that doesn't look like a scooter is an attractive draw look like a scooter is an attractive draw}}. Besides, how can you not love something that comes in 'Grasshopper Green'?”

2022 Honda Navi Specifications

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