I purchased this bike on 2010 christmas. Since I bought this bike, I started revving the engine heavily to extract the best out of it daily. Till now I have clocked 21000km on ODO, faced no major issues.
Best Service:-
I always service this bike in southern Auto, Nandanam, chennai. Mr. Dhakshnamoorthy (One of the Supervisor) is very kind and takes care of all the issues well. I am very much pleased with his treatment. If you are in chennai please try this showroom and build good rapport with them. They change parts only if it is necessary and provide excellant service.
Good Job sir.:>
Change Engine oil once in 2000Km.
Spark Plugs once in 11000km.
Engine Performance:-
97CC engine even though seems very small, it has decent pull especially between 60 - 70Kmph if tuned properly.
Dont try strong tuning from local mechanics. I have tried it but it will make your bike vibrate like hell and lose its
pleasing top end. Ask your service center guys to tune it very softly and smoothly. It will impress you with its
top end performance(60-70). I always shift gears at below speeds, trust me you will get the best out of it.
0 - 20 - First Gear
20 - 35 - Second Gear
35 - 50 - Third Gear
50 ++ Fourth Gear
Engine is decent enough to tackle city, surely not open highways :>
It vibrates a little, dont worry nothing much to spoil ride quality
Gear box & Clutch:-
Its becomes very smooth after first service, Clutch needs to adjusted well to get proper shifts.
Initially when the bike is new(till first 5000Km), you will feel the clutch is too sensitive, I had little discomfort
due to hyper sensitivity while handling in peak traffic. After 5000km it will become smooth so no worries. :) :)
Occasionally you will encounter false neutrals. Near Perfect gear box.
Braking and control:-
Its good enough to stop from 70kmph. But its not very sharp Like Yamaha Fzs front disc, so again you will have some problem while braking
in traffic. Try to use rear brake in traffic, while stopping from high speeds Use front 80% and rear 20%. Riding as single
is always pleasure, but with pillion it becomes painful due to raised handle bars, which destroys confidence in peak traffic.
Its not that you cant ride, but difficult. you wont be 100% confident, you will certainly have some amount of fear with
Fat pillion rider :)
I havent changed my brake pads yet, Its still good to give a decent stop, though not sharp as it used to be before.
Tyres:-
Mine came with Dunlop tyres. Front tyres sucks, It doesnt suit hard braking and causes bike to skid.
Stock Rear tyre gives decent grip. I changed front tyres alone to MRF ZAPPER FS. Its sticky compound.
Now it gives me full confidence even riding in heavy rains. Dont do any other modifications. Dont try bigger tyres.
MRF Zapper FS will make your bike extremely grippy. No worries at all, Only confidence.
Mileage:-
I always get 65+ to be honest.
Mirrors:-
Gives adequate view. Nothing to complain about.
I almost ride with pillion very hard pushing the bike to 70Kmph. Engine withstood all these torture
without giving up till now. Thanks to master piece engine by Hero Honda. Its really hard working.
Engine Overheating issue:-
My engine used to heat a lot till first 10000km only if ridden in peak traffic of chennai, After that it never used to
heat up much(Exactly after 6th service), It has become normal. So dont worry guys. It will be fine after sometime. :):)
Few tips:-
Change front tyre to MRF Zapper FS, Very essential if you want to push this bike hard.
Top Speed:-
I have seen many fake review stating top speed around 95 or 100.
To be frank it wont go beyond 88Kmph(Indicated) Unless it has serious Speedo error.
I tested this many days many times. 500 % sure
So we can assume the true top speed as 80Kmph.
But dont push this bike to this speed. Always maintain Speeds not greater than 70 for your and Engine's Safety.
After 70Kmph engine starts losing its smoothness. After 75 - 80 it really sounds Edgy.
Push the bike gradually otherwise engine will become rough. Give it sometime to build up speed.
It will surely impress you with its powerful performance from 60 - 70. Below 60 it feels sluggish
Sweetest Part -- 60 - 70
Head Light:-
Its very worst, just provided for name sake. We can use it only inside city only if roads are well lighted.
Riding on Windy roads:-
Its really tough to ride if cross winds are heavy. Try crouching to ride safely if you experience strong winds,
It works well. Otherwise bike will get drifted much. Please dont ride this bike on highways, Its very dangerous.
Pros:- Super Strong body and Hard working engine. Nothing can beat this engine :>
Cons:- Worst Head lamp.
Saree guard & left foot rest vibrates more during Hard riding causing discomfort for pillion rider.
Few have complained about this. Me too felt vibrations are more, when I was sitting back.
But bearable. Rider seat, foot pegs, Handle bar dont vibrate much so no worries. :>
This review is 500% true based on my long term ownership experience. You can blindly invest on this bike.
Cheers. Ride Safe.
