Hero Honda, India's largest manufacturers of two wheelers today.An Indo-Japanese collaboration with world Number One two wheeler company, Honda Motors.The results, well people believed that after this collaboration, the two wheeler market would never remain the same.And they were right too;Because Hero Honda gave India, its first 4-stroke(environment friendly) 100 cc(actually 97.2 cc) bike in the form of the legendary CD100 Deluxe.The original Fill it, Shut it, Forget it concept bike.
India's first 4-Stroke bike is still India's foremost. And the reasons for its popularity are apparent. Economy. Reliability. And the capability to go on and on year after year.In the first para, I used the words environment friendly becoz it is'nt a 2-stroked pollutant.It utilizes optimal oil(50 ml for every 1000 kms.)It also has a separate oil circulation in the engine, instead of it being burnt with petrol.Hence, no carbon deposits on piston rings, spark plug and silencer to worry about.Therefore it is the only 100 cc bike which satisfies pollution limits and is well within the stipulated carbon monoxide(poisonous gas) emmission levels.
The CD100's 4-stroke engine is derived from Honda's tough Econo series range of engines, which have proved their mettle for the last 35 years, Worldwide.So moving further, towards the engine, which is 97.2 cc, manages to produce 7.2 BHP @ 8000 RP which is O.K. for such a bike.Becoz one cannot look for power in 100 cc bikes.Therefore the bike reaches a top notch of 80 km/hr only.But the speedo may read it 90 or even more which is an error as there is on every bike's speedo.In the sphere of performance too, the bike lacks speed as it reaches 0-60 in a long awaited 12 seconds.Pick-up is just average, still u can beat hoodibabas and victors by some carefull handling of the clutch and the accerlerator.
Suspension, front is a Telescopic hydraulic fork and rear, Spring loaded hydraulic type with both side action.But I do'nt find it comfortable.(this and more coming after a few paras).Transmission is via 4-speed gerabox.
Now something about mileage figures.The marvel of 4-stroke technology, ensures complete combustion of fuel thus giving an unbelievable mileage.The bike gives 60-70 km/l in
normal city riding conditions which may increase to 80 or even more as one crosses city limits.The petrol tank can hold about 10 litres of petrol which gives the bike a range of about 700 kms.This shortens one's petrol pump visits and also proves lighter on the wallet.
Now lets stop going ga ga over this bike and lemme narrate my personal experience with this bike as I am one of the proud owners of this legendary two wheeler.
I bought, or rather my family bought a CD100 nearly 2 and a half years ago, thanx to the above mentioned facts, in
the year 2001.During the first year, I never drove the bike becoz I loved scooters at that time(what a mad peron one must wonder) and only rode them.But after I saw my friend riding his new Splendor one day, I decided to try my CD100 out.And in a short period of time I became the master of this vechile.
But I very soon realised the cons of this bike which I am narrating below.
1.The reserve system of my bike is defective.The bike stops
if petrol runs out of main.About a litre of petrol
remains in the tank always and thus there's no way u can
use it due to the faulty reserve system.I have changed
the T a number of times but it proved worthless.I have
also talked to some mechanics and they say that this is a
company borne defect therefore the whole bike would have
to dismantled and then anything could be done and since
the warranty period of the bike is over, this process
would cost me about 5 to 10 thoudand rupees.
2.Due to the faulty reserve system I have been trapped in a
number of situations where I have run out of petrol, and
so I had to walk a few kilometers(a number of times) with
this bike which has been very time-wasting and
painful.There is also lack of fuel gauge.
3.The Hero Honda concept is Fill it, Shut it, Froget it!But
my CD100's concept is Fill it, Worry about it, and then Get
trapped!Hero Honda owners have a smiley type face becoz
of the phenomenal mileage which they get from their
bikes.But believe it or not, my bike only gives 40-50 km/l
both in the city and on the highways.I know that mileage
figures do depend a lot on the way one rides a bike but
for the reader's information, I would like to reveal that
I rode my uncle's Pulsar 150 for a week when he was out
of the city, and it gave mileage between 50-60 km/l in the
city and 65.7 km/l while riding on the Lucknow-Kanpur
highway.These are the best figures that Pulsar ever gave!
Therefore there is definitely something
wrong with the bike.I took it for servicing at the Hero
Honda Service Centre wher I complained about this.They
told me that they would certainly rectify it but it never
happened in reality.
4.The suspension of this bike is one of the worsts I have
ever encountered with.Even when I sit on my friend's
Chetak 2-stroke, I feel much comfortable than my CD100.If
I try to run over a speed braker(nearly half a feet high)
at a speed of 15 km/hr, the bike gives such a high jerk
that I automatically rise from my seat which is very
aching.
5.The tyres of the bike are of very bad quality.I have
escaped slipping a number of times on applying sudden
brakes due to the thin rear tyre(2.75'').The rear tyre
has punctured nearly half a dozen times, most of the
punctures occuring during some important time which is
very vexing.
6.The lock of both the side panels is very bad.It takes the
power of a he-man to open them and the mind of a
scientist to refit them and then lock them again.I
accidently broke one of them during an attempt to close
the panel.
7.The headlight of this bike holds a mere 25 Watt bulb
which is insufficient for night prowling.I inquired some
mechanics if I could fit a more powerfull bulb but they
said for that I need the coil of the bulb to be
lengthened which could only be done by some expert and
would cost around a thousand rupees.So I replaced it with
a 25 Watt Halogen.I think not only Eliminator but every
bike should have a 60 Watt Halogen bulb.All the cars have
it then why not bikes should have it?
8.The riding position of the bike is very paining.One
would'nt feel this during the normal way throughs but
during long drives I have experienced back ache and waist
pain.
9.As one moves at 40-50 kn/hr speeds the bike runs swiftly
but as soon as the needle crosses 50, the bike starts to
vibrate violenlty.The rider feels very insecure at such
high vibrations and thats the reason why I never cross 50
on this bike.
10.Last but not the least, the speedometer is full of
errors.I know every speedometer has it.But not this
much.When at 60 it shoes 40, at 80 it shoes 105, etc.
So here's the tale of a legend which is'nt a legend now.I
would'nt recommend Hero Honda CD100 to anyone.It is better to go for the Splendor or Passion.
CoMmEnTs AwAiTeD!
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