" Why Splendor ?????" Update 1. Review on Hero Honda Splendor Plus

I was just about to buy a splendor but suddenly I have noticed an odd difference.

HH are giving away Cd-dawn and Cd-deluxe for a lesser price then the splendor+. Looks to me Cd series are using the same chassis as their base. Cd-deluxe surely looks more appealing then splendor.

As per HH site Cd-deluxe offers a SELF START, A MUFFLER PROTECTOR, FAR BETTER LOOKS and cd series have more ground clearance, height then splendor.

Another feature is cd’s provide 97.2cc with 7.8 bhp when compared to splendors 97.2cc / 7.2bhp. I am not sure with these differences is they messing with the torque or something in both models MS VIEWERS PLEASE EXPLAIN.

The price of splendor with is Rs.47, 000/- on road approx+ accessories extra as of 6.8.10.(Tambaram sanatorium, HH dealer, Chennai, TN).

For that price HH can provide an decent self start option and muffler protector for splendor in contrast it provided them for another model cd-deluxe which is a 1500rs less and muffler protector for cd-dawn which is 5000rs less.

So the question is why can I go for an Cd-deluxe which has good looks, slightly cheap with added features and same performance instead of a splendor plus. Is SP has some godly qualities that I don’t know about?

I request MS users to write down your views and opinions about my query and please clear my doubt about that extra power and torque thing.

Splendor – 97.2cc / 7.4bhp @ 8000rpm / 5.5KW @ 8000rpm and Torque – 7.95 nm @ 5000rpm

Cd - 97.2cc / 7.8bhp @ 8000rpm / 5.74KW @ 7500rpm and Torque – 8.04 nm @ 4500rpm.

I hope this might help some people in choosing a right model.

Thankyou.

Update 1

Hi again….

As I spoke about splendor plus and cd series above till now I managed to get some information about the both. You see the major difference between splendor and cd-series is may be with the comfort. Splendor seems to be more comfortable for long rides. I saw a cd-deluxe at night. The rear light is so good and better then SP. I mistook it for a TVS victor. Its seats are narrow I am not sure is it suitable for big guys so it won’t be suitable for me. Another thing it has a low pickup when compared to a splendor as reported in many reviews. But anyway it’s a very good buy for lean and medium height persons who would not take long journeys with it. It costs 45k max while splendor costs 48-49k max.

Then as I am searching for the reason ‘why splendor’ another variant interested me. That’s splendor NXG. The NXG has same old 100cc engine with some good looks, self start, muffler protector, hopefully same comfort as splendor+. In addition the intensity of high light depends on the battery and not with the throttle. It has nice head light with more glow and rear light with reasonable brightness. Looks are good at least to the old splendor. The costs of Splendor NXG at M/s Ravi ram motors, near chengalpattu post office is NXG – 49166+ accessories extra. Splendor plus Alloy – 46302(spokes 45205)+ accessories extra. As of August 2010.

So we got about average of 2k extra price for NXG this may be justifiable when comparing to splendor plus. I may consider NXG is a better alternative to splendor plus. Now let’s see about passion pro.

Passion pro – 52714+ accessories extra.(@ Ravi ram motors). The maximum price will end up near 54000 for passion pro and 51- 52000 for NXG. So we have an odd price tag here which is difficult to choose from. The new passion pro design rocks and extremely impressive in conventional sense but an old under powered engine is very unimpressive. As my choice will be either for splendor NXG or passion pro but its most likely I will pay another 3k and go for passion pro.

Coming to the end I personally don’t like the costly NXG and particularly that darn Passion pro. I need some decent commuting pickup and speed acceleration which is absent in these old cd-100 engines. HH can better introduce some good features in splendor plus like led-rear lights, silencer protector, self start etc for the same price tag. Instead they introduce them in new variants and charging extra money for it. This extra money we pay for the product which has only cosmetic improvements and not in performance. HH must come up with a new engine design producing 9bhp and good pickup. I think they do not want to tamper with the old established 100cc engine and afraid introducing a new powerful design might add an X before the tag world’s largest selling model.

Yamaha crux, Alba, Ybr has a reasonable price tag matching splendor. They have good feautures, good comparable engine durability, good pickup. Even honda shine 125cc spock and kick start version costs 51609k onroad( endup till 55k) in Lodha honda, chengalpattu. One can even consider buying that superior machine rather then a passion pro.

@ Hero honda I request them to introduce some innovations in performance rather than just paint job. Can reduce the costs of products not the quality. I bet most people are going for HH because of the words " quality, reliability, resale value" that follow from the ancient times and passed on to generations to generations and many absolutely has no idea about what that means. They buy one without thinking about the facts and HH are exploiting them.

Finally even though I may seem like bad mouthing HH I don't want to take my chances with other company's products especially TVS and bajaj( no offense). I will join the crowd and choose any one of the machines offered by HH and be on the safer side because they work well atleast in theory.

These are my personal opinions so no hard feelings HH owners and HH supporters.

A reply might be delightful, Thanks