Introduction to great four stroke generation. Review on Hero Honda CD 100 Deluxe

I'm again penning my views on an unforgetable n golden automobile product in indian sales charts of its time.`

Launched in 1985 this product had given the term fuel efficiency a new meaning.

The bikers who then were driving old two stroker with fuel efficiency of 40-45 km per litre sudden of all find a true companion of mobility.

Mobility that too with economy aspect, economy that too with advanced technology

Yes i m talking about the very first & truly "fill it.shut it, forget it" bike of india the hero honda cd100.

Launched in 1985 this bike had many firsts to its credit....like

-first four stroke 100 cc bike in india

-first bike which was having dc wiring in 100 cc category

-no frills of putting oil lubricant tank along with petrol(as it was 4 stroker)

-first bike with vertically asymytrical mounted engines(even its competitors like tvs, yamaha's had made a lot of cry over this in 80s but as age passed off they realised that this engine is performer too)

-first 100 cc bike with neutral gear indiacator and turn indicator on meter console.

-based on world famous honda cub series engine which had proved its versatility throughout continents bout its unmatched performance & fuel efficiency

-even it was a first of its kind joint -venture in which one company of the venture was having experience in motor bikes for couple of years(honda) while the other company of the venture was totally new on experience front of automobiles but was largest maker of bicycles in the world & was having an unique distribution network in india(hero). These r some of back ground stage when the cd100 make its arrival in indian shores..

Similarly see the pattern of market at the time of launch of cd 100 in india.

Tvs were running through advanced bookings for their 1984 launch ind-suzuki ax100 bike(first 100 cc bike in indian shores). The big daddy of indian bike makers was busy in supplying the largest selling bike of that time the humble utilitarian rajdoot 175 & making focus on the yamaha rd 350 indian version ie rajdoot 350...with no focus on 100 cc market thinking that 100 cc bikes will not be a success in india due to rugged road pattern of india.

Bajaj the great carrier of all time was focussed on its scooters thinking that its middle class driven india whic buys scooters not bike...then what the use of focussing on bikes...

So..this is the overall scenario at the time of alunch of cd100..

...

So none automobile manufacturer except hero honda motors ltd in india at that time had realised the potential of coming up with fuel efficient low maintenance bikes which are easy on pocket while convenient on mobility...

All these factors had led to the launch of cd100 in 1985...

And the rest is history....as

This so called high powered moped (as called by its competitors at its launch) soon became favourate of masses that within 2 years it broke 1 lakh sales chart.

Not only this

All other non serious competitors soon realized the importance of 100 cc market and in short span they all came up with following models/upgradation

Tvs ax 100 r(with dc wiring)

Yamaha rx 100

Kawasaki bajaj kb 100(with may firsts like tachometer in 100 cc bike, fuel gauge etc along with central locking)

But despite of all these products the leader of the show was cd 100 ...

Despite of not having faster acceleration like rx100 or kb 100 it was cd100 ability to deliver unmatched fuel efficiency along with reliable quality that it had withstood all competition. The cd 100 had provided indian bikers a cheap and easy to run bike for day to day operations. These bikes were so utilaterian for in city use that professionals and sales person brough record no of cd 100 in early 90s in india.

-----some flash back facts....

Initially honda had tried to put their jv in india with bajaj but after the bajaj refusal on the ground that india is primarrilly a scooter market they contacted hero cycles..

-cd100 had became a generic name for all 4 stroke bikes launched in india after cd100 like bajaj 4s champion et

-one of most stolen bike in 90s after rx 100

-the unforgetable tagline of cd 100 ie fill it.shut it, forget it had created the magic on peoples nerves and simply highlighted the virtue of its fuel efficiency

-fcb-ulka the ad agency which has created this advertisement since then is still tha official add agency of hero hond a motors limited

My experience....

I personally think cd 100 had contributed a lot in providing a middle class an affordable mean of day to day commuting..may be it was not having rev and pickups like rx100 but it was more popular on sales charts just coz of simple fact, fuel efficiency. This is testimonial of this bike that still people remember cd100 and compare current generation 4 stroker of 100 cc with cd 100.

What's more even to cash on popularity of cd series hero honda had came up wity 2 more cd variants ie cd dawn and cd deluxe. Although cd 100 had been stopped by company since 2004 yet it still had gr8 fan followings. My this review had become so long. So i'm not discussing the technical aspect because of 2 reasons

1.as this model in no more in production now

And

1. All 100 cc hero honda models had same engine even now...

In the end i hope u had liked my views. Feel free to comment & share ur experiance

-ravi