Honda Shine 100 : It might be raining and the sun might not be shining right now but we have something else which is this is the Honda Shine 100cc Avatar of the 125cc motorcycle that you might be familiar with and it is sitting in a territory which is dominated by the Splendor for a very long time.
We don’t get a lot of entry-level commuter motorcycles these days so this is definitely exciting and the question about whether this can stand up to the giant that is the Splendor is also very exciting.
Today I will tell you what is good about this motorcycle what is not and most importantly also test the mileage of this very motorcycle so why the wait let’s begin the review.
Design and Visual Appeal of Honda Shine 100
Now let’s quickly talk about the design first because this is an entry level motorcycle you won’t get a very fancy look because it has the shine name you will see some similarity between the other shine and this motorcycle.
There are some bits that I do actually like for example this front fender which has a matte finish you get five different color options which do look nice but sadly we have the very simple looking gray one.
The tank also looks nice then you have a well-made seat with good red stitching on our unit you also get a shield on the exhaust which again enhances its look.
The headlamp setup anti-lamp setup is halogen and you get these halogen turn indicator as well which is expected in a segment like this.
But there are some places where Honda could have done better it’s not exactly bad but they could have done better and that is in terms of the spit and finish of the switch gear and the levers that you see here and also the side panel which is very flimsy plastic.
So that is one aspect where they could have improved it but it’s nothing that will hamper your everyday riding experience.
Wheels, Tyres and Practical Touches
You get 17 inch tube tires which are wrapped around these nice looking alloy wheels which have a clean but a neat design which I think looks really nice.
Over at the back you have a solid grab handle as well which the pillion can use they can hold on to it or you can add accessory to extend utility and put some small luggage on it.
Overall I would say it does look utilitarian but it gets the job done people aren’t exactly looking for stylish motorcycles in this price sensitive price bracket and in that respect I think this shine passes with good marks.
Features and Instrumentation
Now there isn’t much to talk about in terms of features you get a very basic instrument cluster it’s analog you get two dials one to show your speed and the other one shows you your fuel level which is very important.
You also get an odometer and four indicators one for high beam one for your turn indicators one engine check light and a neutral indicator as well.
So basic but it is functional it is all that you would require from a motorcycle in this category since there is only one where it you also get a power start feature and you also get a kick so starting this motorcycle is not a hassle at all.
Riding Position and Ergonomics
Now let’s come on to the other USB of this motorcycle which is the riding position and the ergonomics all the switches are easily Within Reach but you have a very neutral and comfortable riding position as you would want.
So you sit upright and like I said The Handlebar is within reach the seat has enough room for two people and even a tall person like me does not feel cramped on this small motor the cycle.
You have a very accessible 786 mm seat height and despite that you get 168 mm of ground clearance which means that radio over City potholes or speed Breakers is very easy.
You do not have to worry about the bike bottoming out since this tips the scales at just 99 kilograms it is also very easy to maneuver and handle.
You can make very tight turns and even when you have to maneuver the bike by pushing it then you can easily do that because it basically weighs nothing.
Minor Ergonomic Drawbacks
I did however find the rear view mirrors a little Annoying I feel that I had to adjust them a little bit while riding in case if I wanted to look on one side or the other.
So maybe a little more area on the mirrors or maybe if they were a little further out that would have made a bit more difference and made life a little more easy.
Another small thing that I had trouble with was the gear lever the gear shifts are fine which I’ll talk about later on but the gear lever has been positioned in such a way that you have to twist your heel a little to reach it.
Engine Performance and Gearbox
This here is the humble 100cc air cooled single cylinder engine that powers the Honda shine and it produces respectable power and torque figures which are in line with other competitors.
So you get about 7.3 horsepower and 8 Newton meters of torque with this motorcycle.
It’s paired to a four-speed gearbox which surprisingly works very well I’ve not had any complaints in terms of the actual gear shifts except for the positioning of the lever.
The engine itself well it has enough power to reach a top speed of 90 kilometers per hour this is obviously indicated by the speedometer on this motorcycle.
Even with two people you can do respectable speeds and the Highlight definitely has to be the refinement that it offers especially in the mid-range.
Ride Quality and Refinement
So if you are cruising around let’s say from 30 to about 60 kilometers an hour this engine feels very smooth and very unlike something that you would find in the 100 CC segment.
Lower down yes there are some vibrations and as you go higher up obviously there will be vibrations on the foot pegs and a little bit on the handlebar but again even they are not too bad.
Another thing that surprised me was even while going at about 50 or 60 kilometers an hour if I pulled the accelerator there was enough power in this to show good amount of acceleration.
Braking, Suspension and Tyres
Now if you’re riding at such high speeds you would also want good brakes and sadly the braking setup isn’t as good as I was hoping.
Yes you get very basic drum brake setup at the front and at the back you have Combi braking system but I felt that the bite from the brakes was a little too sharp for a motorcycle like this.
Even the suspension setup was slightly different from what I had anticipated now I was expecting a very soft a very bouncy suspension but there is some stiffness in there.
Yes you have very thin tires so I would not recommend cornering on this but they do provide decent amount of grip.
Real World Mileage Test
Now let’s talk about something that you might have been waiting for the real world mileage that we got of this motorcycle.
We filled up the fuel tank of the shine 100 completely when it was showing 1520 on the odometer and then rode the bike for about 105 kilometers.
At that point we refueled it again and found that it took 1.38 liters of petrol to fill it up.
Now dividing 105 by 1.38 gives you approximately 76 which means this bike gave us a mileage a real world mileage of 76 kilometers to a liter.
Final Verdict
Ally everything that we liked or did not like I think it’s very apparent that I can easily recommend this motorcycle to anyone going for a new 100cc bike.
It can easily rival the hero Splendor in fact it is more affordable than that motorcycle this one costs 64 900 x showroom and there is only one variance.
Yes there are some small legals here and there but I think the positives easily outweigh the negatives.
So if you are buying a new 100cc motorcycle do check this out for sure.