Unbiased review of CD 100-SS. Review on Hero Honda CD 100 SS

HH CD 100 & SS were the 100 CC bikes of 80s and 90s that moved somehow into an era Y2K because the vehicle owners loved it very much(My Dad has a HH CD SS 94 model, he brought new from showroom in Indore and rides only that nothing else).

Specifications:

ENGINE specification on latest models

Engine

4 Stroke, Single Cylinder, Air Cooled

Displacement 97.2 cc

Bore and Stroke 50 X 49.5

Compression Ratio 8.8:1

Max. Power 7.7 PS(5.67 KW) @ 7500rpm

Max. Torque 7.50 Nm @ 5000rpm

Transmission 4 Speed, constant mesh

Clutch Multiplate, Wet

Ignition CDI

Fuel Supply Carburettor Side draft, variable venturi type

CHASSIS

Chassis Type Tubular, Double Cradle

Suspension(Front) Telescopic Hydraulic Fork

Suspension(Rear) Swing arm with hydraulic shock absorbers

Brakes: Front - 130 mm Drum / Rear - 110 mm Drum

Tyres: Front - 2.75 X 18 / Rear - 2.75 X 18

ELECTRICALS

Battery: 12V 2.5Ah

Head Lamp:35/35W Halogen MFR

Tail / Stop Lamp:5/21W MFR

DIMENSIONS

Seat Height: 805 mm

Wheelbase: 1235 mm

Ground Clearance 165mm

Weight: 107 Kg

Fuel Tank Capacity:10.5 Litres

Colour(s) Black, Wine, Red, Silver, Green, Blue

The Initial engines were 92 CC engine giving below decent pick-up of 7.2 BHP and the only thing commendable was its  mileage which used to be 60-65 KMPL. Apart from this its a dead duck.

Due to competition, similar were the design of Kawasaki 4S, Bajaj Boxer and Bajaj BYK with 92CC engine and 7.1 BHP.

Even TVS-Suzuki aka TVS MAX 100 was re-tuned from 9.1 BHP to 7.7 BHP and so was the Suzuki Samurai, the second generation 2 stroke bikes from Suzuki. The first generation was 115 CC IND-Suzuki 9.1BHP vehicles released in 80s.

THRILL OF RIDE:

The vehicle was specifically built for Maximum mileage and minimum possible pick-up acceptable by general Public. So thrill is TABOO word here.Please accept it that way.

I myself had an HH CD 100 back in 97 which literally was a pain. Heavy engine TAP sound, you cant even force it to push faster because the vehicle will just not go. Once the problems start God save your Bank Balance from being empty. The vehicle will simply refuse to perform unless change of Bore being done. I found few buyers and so lost 4K depreciation in 11 months.

The rural areas of this country are so addicted to the vehicle along with general thrill less commuters of the city, that the sales of this model began to dip only in late 2000, after which it was re-modeled to HH Deluxe. Urban sales were also high due to mileage factor only.

HH has the similar engine run from CD 100 days in 1984 till now. Its the same design run on CD SS, Sleek, Splendor, Passion, now recent Passion-Classic, Dawn, Deluxe, JOY, Street and god knows if there was any model I missed. Some tweaks and turns have been done, that's it. So 92 CC is 97.2 CC and 7.2 is now 7.7 BHP.

Competition with modern technology - Today Bajaj has subsided Hero Honda vehicles in top mileage with their latest models Platina and Discover having better technology and better pick-up to mileage ratio. They give 70+ mileage in city and their price is also less than HH. Same is the case of TVS Star. It is also 70+ city mileage vehicle, . All these 3 have better looks, better sustainable, better overall features compared to HH models.

Today when BAJAJ has surpassed HH old technologies, the mileage achievable from CT 100 and Platina being 75+ and TVS Sport giving 80+ on road mileage, HH still leads in 4S Bike sales by a distance thanks to the never tiring sales of splendor and Passion.

Technological advancement at HERO motors

Latest to enter the scene is Hero I-Smart Splendor.

Looks like mileage expectancy should be around 62 KMPL(average) in city(as read through many reviews posted).

Gain: Improvement is 10-15% mileage.

The technology boasts of auto engine off during vehicle stoppage and auto engine on when started. Anyway, coming back to CD100 and CD 100 SS, these 2 models have been RIP since 2010 due to hugely dipped sales.

But they were the Grand Father of all 100 CC Segment 4 Strokes in India along with Bullet the 350 CC wale 4 stroke Grand Father in India.

Our youth and kids need to know that such a vehicle actually existed and give due respect that it commands.

Thanks