Honda India finally gets a 100-cc commuter in their lineup with the launch of the Shine 100. We spent some time with the motorcycle to bring you our insights.
Story: Azaman Chothia
Photography: Apurva Ambep
The Shine 125 has been a popular commuter motorcycle, so Honda is now offering the Shine 100, an even more accessible motorcycle for the masses. The design of the Shine 100 is similar to the 125 with just a few minor changes differentiating the two. The bike gets a halogen headlight at the front with a simple cowl surrounding it. It gets a slim 9-litre fuel tank which is 1.5-litres smaller than the Shine 125. Flowing towards the rear of the fuel tank is a long and flat single-piece seat. The dash is simple where we see an analogue speedometer and fuel gauge. In terms of features, the bike gets an engine side-stand cut-off feature. Honda are offering the Shine 100 in five dual-tone colour schemes; Black is the base colour with the option of red, green, gold, blue or grey graphic stickers.
The Shine 100 is a compact motorcycle and the seat is pretty comfortable once you get astride. The riding position keeps a rider upright with the footpegs placed forward. A seat height of 786 mm makes this an accessible motorcycle for most riders and a ground clearance of 168 mm allows it to pass through all kinds of terrain.
The Shine 100 uses a 98.98-cc, single-cylinder, air-cooled motor that develops 7.2 hp at 7500 rpm and a peak torque of 8.05 Nm at 5000 rpm. This engine is mated to a four-speed gearbox where the shift pattern is all up. As expected from Honda, this is a refined motor with good grunt in the mid-range rpms. The clutch action is light and the gear shifts are pretty slick. Only when it is revved to the redline, there are a few vibrations but nothing that will really affect the ride experience. There were even a few steep inclines on our route and the bike managed to chug along and climb easily at around 50 km/h. I was able to get to around 80 km/h on an open stretch and that is when the engine started to feel stressed. The USP for such a motorcycle is the fuel efficiency it offers, but Honda has not yet given us the claimed mileage figure.
The bike makes use of a new diamond frame which is one of the main contributing factors to the light 99 kg kerb weight. At the front, the Shine 100 gets telescopic forks while the rear gets twin shock absorbers. The suspension setup is on the softer side and manages to take on undulations efficiently. Even at a speed of around 35 km/h, the bike was able to wade through a section of bad roads without causing any discomfort. Considering that this is going to be used for rugged commutes in rural areas, it will surely do a good job. With the compact nature of the bike and the light kerb weight, the Shine 100 also has a small turning radius which makes quick U-turns really effortless. The bike tips into corners easily but the front end did tend to feel a little too light for my liking.
Stopping power comes from drum brakes at both ends with the assistance of CBS. While this setup works decently to get the bike to stop, I feel like Honda could have offered a variant with a disc brake at the front for riders that would prefer a slightly sharper setup. The bike rides on 17-inch alloy wheels which get tubeless MRF tyres that provide adequate grip.
Priced at Rs 64,900 (ex-showroom), this compact commuter becomes one of the cheapest motorcycles on sale in India. This attractive price is an introductory offer so we can expect to see a slight hike in the coming months. It will go up against the likes of the Hero Splendor + and the HF Deluxe. As far as first impressions go, the Shine 100 proves to be a very capable machine to take on the job of being a rugged workhorse in rural areas. With the price that it is being offered at and considering the reliability of the Honda brand, it is sure to give the competition a run for their money.
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