Honda Wave RSX

There’s nothing much to talk about designs in an underbone bike, as they are always designed keeping function over form in the priority order. And while Honda has tried its best to make the Wave RSX look modern, the overall design still looks basic and built as a sample of cost-effective engineering.

At the front, the Honda Wave RSX has a compact fairing positioned between a simple-looking headlamp cowl and a high-mounted front fender. The headlamp cowl here has a trapezoidal halogen headlamp with rounded bottom, while the high-mounted front fender here has a pointy look and is finished in a theme of black. The sloping front apron too has a dual-tone treatment and gets sleek-looking L-shaped turn indicators on the sides.

The side profile of the Honda Wave RSX generates a mixed-bag kind of reaction. The sharp and vertically-laid side fairing panels, the partition in the middle and the sleek-looking side panels below the seat come adorned with a fresh-looking set of body decals. On the other hand, the overall design looks quite simple, which looks basic with the presence of spoke wheels. However, the overall side profile of the Honda Wave RSX, along with the long seat, makes it look decent.

The Honda Wave RSX has a compact tail section, with the rear profile having a high-mounted small tail lamp complemented with a long grab rail placed behind the pillion seat. This angularly placed tail lamp cluster comes with clear lens turn indicators placed within them. While the engine is finished in a theme of black, the side-mounted exhaust has a chrome shield over it.

The cockpit of the Honda Wave RSX looks quite basic, but at the same time, covers the essentials like a speedometer, odometer and fuel gauge. While there’s nothing to talk about the design of the Honda Wave RSX, Honda has not compromised with the quality levels, with the Wave RSX showcasing impressive fit and finish levels for a two-wheeler of its price.

Honda has kept things simple with the Wave RSX when it comes to mechanical setup under the skin. The bike comes equipped with hydraulic telescopic forks at the front and twin hydraulic coil springs at the back. Coupled with 70/90-17 front and 80/90-17 rear tyres, the Honda Wave RSX has a slim profile, and the low kerb weight of just 99 kg makes it an easy-to-ride machine for urban riding. The Honda Wave RSX comes equipped with a drum brake at the rear as standard in both variants, one with a drum brake at the front and the other with a front disc brake.

The Honda Wave RSX gets a tried-and-tested four-stroke, single-cylinder, air-cooled, 109cc engine, which has a bore length of 50mm and a stroke length of 55.6mm. Paired to a 4-speed rotary gearbox, the engine of the Honda Wave RSX produces 8.7 PS of maximum power and 8.7 Nm of maximum torque. Honda claims a maximum fuel efficiency of 67.8 kmpl, which makes it one of the most fuel-efficient bikes in the country right now.

Despite its entry-level positioning, the Honda Wave RSX features a key shutter mechanism for the ignition keyhole. This mechanism also comes integrated with a seat opener for the under-seat storage compartment, which is good enough for the storage of small items or a half-face helmet.

The Honda Wave RSX might look too basic and under-equipped, but for the price at which it is available, the bike offers Honda’s traditional virtues of reliability and fine engineering.