This is all I have to say about this bike after owning it for round 10 years and 1, 00, 000 Kms and selling it out last year in February 2011. It's more of a story than a review.
It was the starting of the year 2001 and I was searching for a suitable bike to travel a distance of 50 km daily(25+25) from my home in Karol bagh to my college in Tughlakabad, Delhi. At that time the most popular options available in the 100 cc segment were Bajaj Caliber, Hero Honda Splendor or Passion etc.
As Passion was new to the market and I was more concerned about mileage I went for Splendor(Thank God!)
It was a valuable possession and I took ultimate care of the bike with respect to timely servicing, I was the first one to knock the doors of the service center at around 7.30 am in the morning and was sitting there till I saw the service getting complete. I never gave the bike for servicing in my absence. The bike was taken care by the service center guys and I didn't put anything technical in it till the free services got over. I only put seat covers etc. on my own in the first year.
Problems faced/Parts changed:
Tyres(Front Once and Rear Two times)
Handles(Two times, due to rust)
Battery(Two locally made and one Amaron)
Chain set(Once)
Rims(Never)
Headlamps/Indicators(4-5 times, don’t remember exactly)
Backlight(never changed)
Front Visor(3-4 times, all locally made)
Sparkplugs(atleast 5 times, 2 times it was stolen)
Clutch plates(3-4 times)
Clutch cables(3 times, originals used)
Brake shoes(Rear – 4-5 times, Front 2-3 times)
Front suspension(Oil changed, just once)
Rear suspensions(never gave any problems)
Engine problems(Engine started taking more oil at around 50, 000 kms and I let it continue for 20-30, 000 kms as no smoke was visible from the exhaust and finally got the piston work done at around 75K mark)
Horn(Just Once)
Silencer(Original was still installed when I sold it), though the contact point from where the silencer connects to the engine was welded 3 times. It started leaking due to heat owing to my very fast riding for long durations, I maintained speeds of above 60-70 k/hr whenever I got the opportunity.
Rear View mirrors(many times)
The oil drain nut started leaking at around 60K mark, got it redrilled and a bigger nut was installed)
After around 60K mark whenever it rained and bike was parked in the open I prayed to God that it starts in a kick or two as water used to get in the sparkplug area or the sparkplug connecting wire and it gave starting problems for 5-10 mins. Once I got stuck as the rainwater got into the switch I was not aware that even that can happen!
In the initial years the bike used to give a mileage of around 60 km/l(at 50-60 km/hr speeds) and when I sold it, it was somewhere around 45-50k/l(at 60-70km/hr speeds) which was quite good for a 1 lakh km driven vehicle.
The ride quality was standard Hero Honda types, in all their economical vehicles the riding comfort is more or less the same.
At my speeds on sudden braking the bike would skid slightly so I got used to try avoid any situation where I would need to brake suddenly, also on my first tyre change I opted for a slightly wider MRF tyre in place of the TVS tyre it came with.
When I bought the vehicle Bajaj was selling equal number of Caliber to Hero Honda splendor, as time passed I could hardly see caliblers of my bikes age on the roads though I could easily spot my age/design splendours around.
I was so attached to the bike that I brought it to Hyderabad in 2010 when I got shifted here. Continued using it for around three four months but later the frequency decreased to once every month, that too to keep the battery running.
Finally decided to sell it, placed an ad on my company’s website and got a call the same day.
Buying Price – 44300/- On road Delhi(April 2001)
Selling Price – 12000/- Hyderabad(Feb 2011)
Bike is still going strong, Saw it at my company parking, it has covered some 10, 000 kms more last year.
It was a wonderful possession, while writing this review I could recollect the beautiful memories of my college life which are associated with this machine. When, where and how I got the things changed/replaced.
Once my right leg got fractured and I started living in the hostel for 2 months. I could not start the bike even with my left leg as it will strain my right leg(only kick start was present). I would ask any friend in college to just kick it, will roam around in the campus and come back without turning off the engine.
Motorcycling is a habit and you cant stay away from it for long. I started thinking about it after selling the bike off that what I am doing sitting on the driver’s seat in this traffic when I can easily slip though traffic on a bike.
After a drought of around six months I reinvented the biker in me this time with a Fazer 150(you can visit my review on the same).
There are three things which are to be taken care of while maintaining a bike yourself –
1)Engine oil
2)Air filter
3)Fuel(Petrol)
All other things the bike will ask from you to correct even if you neglect. Like chain slackness, rusting, bike getting jerks (due to carburetors or spark plug problems etc), improper handling due to air pressure or tyre rim problems etc etc…
But if you use poor fuel quality, lifeless engine oil or leaky/choked air filter. The damage will be going on and on and you would come to know only after it has got to its peak or you incidentally remember to correct it. Mind it, your vehicle can’t tell you until the damages have happened.
