55 kmpl on a brand new bike !!!
60 plus kmpl on the same bike after about 5 to 6 months of usage !!!
Absolutely no hassles !!!
Maintenance-free !!!
The engine deserves to replace one of the 7 wonders of the world !!!
Well, what more do you need out of a bike. This is what was told to me when I have enquired about a Hero Honda Passion Plus bike. Hmmm .... Impressed by this speach by the dealer, I dared to purchase the bike and then starts a plethora of problems. This is a tale of the story that it has been for the first 4 months -
First Week - I was confirmed the delivery date of 2nd of Jan, 2005 by the dealer and the dealer has asked me to pick the bike from his showroom. When I went to the showroom on the said date, he asks me to collect it from his godown (which a good 50 KM way, in Bhiwandi - a suburb of Mumbai).
Upon much of refusal from my side and a lot of thrashing, the dealer finally delivers it at home - Excellent, but not without the thrashing I had to dish out. But, hang-on, it was not a fairy tale. The dealer never bothered to register the bike - which he said he would while taking the payment.
Second Week - Bike not registered, and the Mumbai Traffic Inspectors would take their share of haftas if I take it out without registration !!!! What to do !!!
Third Week - And Finally, the bike is registered !!! Time for a party !!!
Second Month - First Service - An authorised service center in Borivali West was the chosen one - as I stay quite close to the service center and this is what happens after the first service:
1. Mileage dropped to 45 kmpl (Initially it was 50 kmpl)
2. The bike won’t start on the first kick on a summer morning - takes atleast 4 to 5 kicks (Guess what would happen in Winter). It would refuse to start when cold.
3. The service center recommended a special polish for the vehicle costing around 500 rupees for a year with 3 coatings per year - He was more interested in his own perpetual Dhanda !! Never mind, the coating was more worse than a polish done with Waxpol. 500 rupees down the drain.
As the first two causes were of a bigger concern, I went back to him and explained the story, the response came in a simple action of increasing the idle speed - forget any investigations as to why it is happening - So, unprofessional !! The manual clearly states not to increase the idle speed to compensate any fault in other systems - a perfect opposite of the action taken by the supervisor. This prompted me for a change in the service center itself.
At the other service center, when I have explained the problem, the guy performs the same stupidity - though professionally - He tunes the carburattor with the help of a meter that checks the fuel and air ratio of the carburattor. Result - I continue to have the same horrible cold engine starts.
4 months now and already the thought of selling and disposing the bike is running in my mind.
Well, that was the tale that was at the Hero Honda service center. Wonder why people say that Hero Honda is the brand to go for absolute trouble free bikes and for bike services that are pleasure. If this is what pleasure is all about, I prefer sorrow !!
At this point of time, I have set out to do it myself and have learnt a lot about the art of servicing the vehicle - don’t they say - SELF SERVICE IS THE BEST SERVICE !!!
PS: LESSON LEARNT HERE IS THAT NEVER RELY ON THE BRAND. A GOOD MECHANIC CAN MAKE A PALE BRAND ALSO WORK LIKE A DREAM AND A HORRIBLE OR ORDINARY MECHANIC CAN DESTROY A EXCELLENT BRAND INTO SHREDS. AND THERE ARE LOTS OF THESE HORRIBLE CREATURES IN THE AUTHORISED SERVICE CENTERS.
Regards,
K Prasad