I had purchased Honda Shine on 7th Dec 2006. After a lot of research on net, I went for Shine. Earlier I was thinking of Splendor + or a Discover. Following are my observations after 2 months and 1400 km run and one service.
1.Height of the bike: It is too much for me as I m a short man 5’5” tall and thin also. With heavy pillion, it is difficult for me to balance and cornering as the pillion seat is again taller on a tall bike. I like the flat seat of splendor more. It was comfortable for me.
Engine & mileage: Engine is smooth working upto 45kmph but after that sometimes it sounds like going in 3rd gear. Many times I was confused and checked for 4th gear it was already in 4th. I never drive above 55 but at this speed the engine becomes very angry. Pickup is OK for me but I feel Discover pulls more load easily on the same road/ condition. Speed between 30to 38, it is giving an mileage of 54 but when we went 90km in stretch (When we went for 1st service), at speed betn 40 to 50, mileage was only 49. So there is decrease in long run on highway. I didn’t understand this. This mileage is with a thin rear tyre. If I put tyre 3x18 on rear, minimum 5kmpl will be lost from the above figure. All other 125cc are giving better mileage with a thick tyre. My friends 6 months old Discover DTSI give 61+ in the same conditions with a thick tyre. If a tyre 2.75x17 is put on his bike, what will be the figure? Just imagine.Gear shifting is also a bad experience compared to Splendor. I didn’t expect this on a Honda product. One thing is good that u can go in 4th gear at a speed of 20. Also headlight is very good.
Suspension: Rear is ok compared to the front. Bike jumps on small speed breakers also. It may be because of a shorter wheelbase.
Breaking: ok but not the best. There is sound in my disc at every cycle. I feel there is some play in the disc and the wheel is not rotating freely. While servicing, It was not attended by service centre . They told it sounds in all bikes, after some wear & tear it eill be ok. But now I feel that the sound is increasing day by day. My friends Pulsar was having same problem and the disc break got stuck and he faced a lot of problem. I fear that same will happen to me and I m 92 km away from so called Service Centre.
And what should I say about the service?, I will say it is the worst in the world. I had purchased this bike from Kavindra Motors, Pithoragarh (Uttaranchal). Cost= 45600+ 700/- Handling charges +1200/- Insurance + 700/- accessories + ((2000/- for permanant ragist + 500/- for temparory registraty(road tax + RTO etc)). Total cost= 50700/-. I paid total 50, 500/- for disc + self bike. I got this bike in December 06 after a long wait of 2 months from Diwali. I got temporary registration on 27th January 07 effective from 18th January 07alongwith the insurance papers effective from 12th Dec 06. Thank god I m living in a small town. Can u dare to drive vehicle for one and half month without any paper in city/town? So this is the service offered by the HONDA.
At last I will say that if u go to see a film of Amitabh, and u find Amitabh acting as Kumar Gaurav, what u will fill? So don’t expect more from this bike. Purchasing a ticket in black for a film on the first show and spending more money is ok if u see a film like Jurassic Park. Why to spend more money for a film like DAUD of Sanjay Dutt? I thing my expectation were much higher from HONDA. I was wrong.
I feel Eterno or Splendor + was a better option for me. Today if given a chance to me, I will choose one of these two products. This bike is ok for tall people driving in cities only on good roads and not expecting anything more or special from HONDA ( Amitabh Bachchan). I think it is a average bike.
Thanks