Using CD Dawn from 2008.

I am facing problem of my speedometer drive set (worm & gear both plastic ) get wear faster.

I saw some times in 500km , some times in 2000km. First one went till 12000K

I tried original/ duplicate with all brands. I feel issue is with alignment. I tried various washer combinations sometimes 2 some times 3 etc. Even get it fitted 4-5 times from mechanic.

can any one provide me correct solution ?

Yogesh

I want to disable the annoying turn indicator sound in my 2010 CD Deluxe. I am okay with hard cutting the wire if required as I’m not planning to enable it back. Anyone know what’s the easiest diy way?

Hello friends. We are living in an era of rebooting. Every successful movie franchise like Spiderman, superman, batman, etc. is being rebooted. I am writing this post as a reboot to this thread. This is a very special thread on xbhp. Hero Motocorp while still being the numero uno two wheeler manufacturer in the world in terms of volume is steadily losing interest the minds of youngsters in India. To a certain extent the online media is responsible for this. There are numerous auto-journo channels on youtube but nobody is interested in reviewing a commuter bike these days. Some channels are saying that Hero is focusing only in making plain commuters. I agree that Hero makes commuters but never has Hero made a ‘PLAIN’ commuter! I am a firm believer that whatever sells in India sells for a reason and not just by herd mentality. I am penning down my views on certain products and engines from HH/Hero that were/ were not a sales success but definitely special and had their own USP’s. FYI these words are coming from a once HH hater and the reasons for that is also specified long down in the post.


The CD100/CD100SS


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The first innings of Honda with Hero began in 1985 with the CD100. It was an instant hit among the masses. That exhaust note is still a joy to the ears. A simple bike which is Super smooth, light weight, retro looks and extremely frugal. Easily gives 70-80kmpl. Still today when I ask my father “which is the best bike pappa ? ”, He replies only one thing “ son, the anything from HEROHONDA made before 2000, especially the CD100 is the best bike ! “


The original / majestic / pre-y2k splendor


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The original splendor launched in 1994 was the golden goose for HH. It has an iconic and timeless design which resembles simplicity and ruggedness. It also had the simple Honda motor and a rumbling, engaging exhaust note which made it a very fun to ride machine. But the biggest change on the splendor was the frame. HH used a super-stiff double cradle frame instead of the backbone frame of the CD100. This double cradle frame is one of the reason for the success of splendor and models which followed. The bike feels super sturdy and agile. You can carry three persons and dive into a corner! Still the frame won’t flex. No other bike, I repeat NO OTHER BIKE in the same segment will feel as sturdy. In a recent survey conducted to find the reason for the dismal sales of Honda Dream series bikes, it was found that most customers rejected the bikes as they felt structurally WEAK and THIN ! Hero has since used the double cradle frame on all its 100cc bikes. And these bikes are a lot of fun in the corners, again something not associated with commuters.


The y2k splendor


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The y2k or Euro one splendor was launched along with the Passion and Joy. Due to the onslaught of pollution norms Hero had to tinker with the simple Honda motor. But the tinkering was minimal. The major change was the addition of SAI-secondary air injection. This version of splendor looked the same as the pre-y2k and it had a lot of STREET PRESENCE. Still there is a huge demand for these splendors in Kerala. The resale value of these is still higher than my 2010 passion pro ! Somehow I feel that the splendor plus and pro which followed don’t have the same presence as the y2k/pre-y2k.


The PRO BS3 series ( 2008-2014 )

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With the advent of the even stricter BS3 norms, hero decided to completely enhance the simple Honda motor. New bore, piston, valve system, more compression, new magneto, DC CDI, clutch, carburetor, shorter gearing, etc. The engine looked like the old engine from outside but its an almost new engine. Another major change was the addition of a cat-con. All these changes helped produce 8.04 NM of torque at just 4500 rpm. The exhaust note is bassy. The PRO thing about the engine = DECEPTIVE ACCELERATION. In the city, the short gear ratios and the torque available so early makes them deceptively fast. On the highway too, no need to down shift. Even in top gear, just ring the throttle and you can effortlessly overtake big trucks. Top end is strong, again something not associated with commuter bikes. 60-90 acceleration is pretty fast. The engine feels strong even at 95 kmph which is the top speed. Most commuter bikes from other manufacturers feel breathless post 70 kmph. The down side of all the fun = lower FE. The max you can Extract is 65 kmpl that too on strict economy riding. But the PRO series just doesn’t permit you to ride in economy speeds. The short gear ratios, thrust from the exhaust and ‘Revv me hard’ character of the engine wont let you ride slow and in no time you will be doing around 65-70 kmph which is the sweet spot of this engine.

The PRO BS4 series ( 2015-present day )

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Haven’t ridden one yet. Seems like Hero has found a way to ditch the SAI system. The BS4 engines produce more power and torque ( at slightly higher RPM’s ), run on compression ratio of 9.9 : 1, gearing is slightly different I guess and they have en even more bassier exhaust note. Hero has introduced the I3S idle start stop system on most of its 100cc bikes but now it seems to be the end of the road for the legendary cub engine in India. As hero has introduced its own 110 cc engine and the company is trying hard to make its 110 cc engine as smooth and as good sounding as the 100 cc cub engine. Hence it is highly unlikely that Hero would update the 100 cc engine to comply with the upcoming BS6 pollution norms.


Honorable mentions

HH street

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It is an irony that the worlds most famous bike, the legendary Honda Supercub, the very bike whose engine is used on the very successful CD100 and splendor, failed in India ! The HH street was nothing but a Honda Supercub C100EX . It seems that us Indian had a very different taste and didn’t give much recognition to this brilliant piece of machinery.

HH CD Dawn

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This bike is the reason for me to be a HH hater initially. This is the bike on which I learnt riding. It was smooth but at the same time it was slow. Upto 60 kmph every thing was okay but there was no performance beyond that. It was the entry level economy bike and was seriously detuned by HH. Even though it weighed only 108 kg, it always felt considerably heavier than the splendor. My hate for this bike grew into utmost respect after many years. Once I went to my cousins house during the vacation. He also had the same model CD dawn as ours. We were going to take bath in the nearby river which is a few km away. There is a very steep incline to the main road from my cousin house. Normal cars find it hard to climb this incline and usually only 4 wheel drive jeeps climb easily ( a typical case in the hilly areas of Kerala ). Now the scene is like- me-50 kgs, my elder cousin- 75kg and my younger cousin who was a bit fat -90 kg. total – 215kgs! My elder cousin said us to hop on. I asked him whether it is a good idea to which he replied “ just see the power “. There we go, the CD Dawn with a total load of three people which is 215 kg climbed the super steep incline like it’s a walk in the park. I had just one word to describe it- INSANE ! This incident entirely changed my view about this bike. I even gave a nickname to it- TRACTOR. It likes pulling heavy loads. One thing I learned from this bike is-
THE STRENGHT OF THE HH DOUBLE CRADLE FRAME AND THE PULLING POWER OF THE 100CC CUB ENGINE IS SECOND TO NONE!

Recently got my passion pro after a bore -piston change. The ASC guys had screwed it but now it is running good. I thought of writing this post after i realised how 'imortant this little 100cc bike has become to me. And I can confidently say that the commuter bikes from Hero Motocorp sell in such huge numbers because they are not ' PLAIN ' commuters.

That's a nice post from you.

But well today these bikes are not liked by kids. Even you are scrouned upon for talking about splendor or its cousins. A new thing is in vogue now. The more you bash hero splendor nd its cousins the more biker you are.

Most think that they will get 80 kpl, 120 top speed, thicker tyres. And all.

Then it's a bike. Or else shit.

While this was built for one thing in mind. That was rough use and riding on no roads. Even going on running without any replacement for ages.

That's its strength and does so.

But well I have stopped talking of this bike as nobody is interested now a days

Moreover most people like bikes from other brands and don't like to talk of this bike.

So no use talking.

So enjoy while you ride it.

This bike will even run on nuclear fallout.

Here in kerala, there is still good demand for pre-y2k/y2k splendors.

Bro,
First ensure your speedometer cable and speedometer have no reust and cable is good. After that speedometer penion lock is installed correctly. Under the worm gear there is only 2 shim washers. clean the breakshoe plate thoroughly using petrol and install with apply with good grease . ensure the worm and penion rotating freely.

That is mostly due to the imported Japan engine hype, back in 2017 when I was hunting for a used speciment got quoted crazy high prices close to 30k for practically run down motorcycles.

Kerala market is known for baseless hypes, last week while on a ride spotted a few RX's for sale, quoted 1.2L per piece, a half century old Bullet would cost double or triple the cost, I've been told recently that a mechanic can build you a CI from scratch for 5L. :O

My take is to simply buy a new motorcycle cause you'd have to be crazy to believe a decade old motorcycle runs on factory internals, even if an unused specimen it would have to be rebuilt to be brought to top notch condition, metal may last, other consumables won't.

Cheers,
A.P.

The asking price for old hero honda bikes in kerala is outrageous.

But somehow I feel that the old pre-y2k splendor has got a raw mechanical feel to it. I have ridden one nonstop from Chalakudy to Pollachi via valparai, ( 130 km ). The engine doesn't heat-up at all. It can consistently cruise at 70-80 kmph, no vibrations and returns 70 plus mileage.

Meanwhile my passion pro gets all heated up, may be due to the catcon. Max mileage it give is 65kmpl that too on strict economy speeds. If i try 70-80 kmph the mileage drops to less than 55 kmpl.

Once I was taken away by surprise when I was doing a friendly race with my friends during my college days. The scenario is like we 6 people on three bikes- my '10 passion pro, a 06' bajaj platina and a '97 splendor. The splendor was carrying the heaviest load as the pillon was 110 kg.

We are at the front line of a traffic signal on the Kochi- Coimbatore highway. First one to reach the next signal ( roughly 2 km away ) would win.

3........2..........1 and the race starts. The Platina enthusiastically Jumps ahead with a wheelie. 0-60, platina wins hands down. Post 60, the passion pro shoots ahead of the platina and the splendor also cathes the platina.

Now I was nearing the finishing line. the passion pro is doing 90 kmph, wide open throttle. The platina was already out of the league and had vanished from my RVM.

I could see the splendor was going away in the RVM. But wait ! Instead of going away, it was chasing me down. My passion pro is pinned at 90, refusing to go any further.

And at about 300 m to the finish line, the splendor gives me a nice fly-by at 105 kmph

I was like....IMPOSSIBLE !

So it makes sense to buy and restore an old splendor as it will only cost half amount of buying a new commuter bike. And I dont find a single present generation 100-110 cc bike which can easily keep up with 150cc+ bikes on the highway and still return 70+ mileage and also has a lot of character.

And I dont find a single present generation 100-110 cc bike which can easily keep up with 150cc+ bikes on the highway and still return 70+ mileage and also has a lot of character.