I bought my HH Passion Plus in October 2006 and today three services are done with odometer reading 6500.
Criteria’s I had to buy a bike were priority-wise- 1. Stability in handling 2. Price below 50k 3. Reliable engine 4. Decent mileage 5. Good torque. I must mention that with a budget of 50k I had limited expectations from the machine.
What I got:
Stability in handling: I feel its very well balanced bike. It grips the road even after crossing 75kmph. Cornering and braking can be done with sufficient confidence.
Reliable engine: I am talking about consistent performance from engine -when compared to ‘normal performance’ of the same engine. No comparing with other bikes here. Day by day performance decrease is very minimal i.e. every morning firing and pickup is normal however I ride earlier. But for a long drive(above 100km) or driving in summer when engine is over-heated performance drops noticeably.
Mileage: I am enjoying a consistent mileage of 55+ kmpl when I drive below 65kmph. Mileage drops when I ride above 70kmph.to around 50kmpl. But it doesn’t improve if I drive at 45-50kmph and that surprises me.
Torque/ pickup: it’s much much below one could expect from a 100cc bike. It gives a hard time when some instant pick up is required in traffic. I am not talking about burning rubber but a very routine level lift one could expect from a ‘bike’. With pillion things get worse and this machine simply fails to deliver. Both thumbs down and you can lend me yours for time being!
Price: when compared to other market alternatives I thought that this would be a good deal. But after purchase and experiencing this far I can say that HH is over-pricing their products. If they are charging then they should deliver that much of quality in bike. I bought bike at appx 48.5k on road in Mumbai and I feel its worth some 40-42k at max when compared to other manufacturers. Definitely not value for money.
Comfort: even tough structure and suspensions of bike is decent for the price tag, ride become uncomfortable due to poor pickup. I cannot expect this bike to take care of herself and me of course if not fully attended. I ride almost 60km+ daily and experience some back-pain when I ride above 100km in a day. My doctor advised me to go for a better model if possible with that much of kms per day.
To sum up: Not value for money, good enough but not as expected. I feel Honda Shine is much better than HH Passion for a little difference of price.
Words from me: If you can manage some extra cash then do go for a 150cc premium range bike. A compromise for 10-12K goes a long way!