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S. Muralidhar

WHEN Hero Honda decides to put on the war paint, the battle tends to become one-sided. At least that is how it has been so far.

But after launching its CD-Dawn in the entry-level bike segment in 2002, the country's largest motorcycle manufacturer has not had a completely new bike in the extremely competitive 100-150 cc category. It is another matter that just bettering the finish and looks of the Splendor and the Passion, by launching their `plus' variants, was enough for Hero Honda to make further inroads into the market for bikes.

So, after a considerably long hiatus, in the midst of which its technological collaboration with the Japanese partner was renewed, Hero Honda has brought in a brand new 125cc bike. The Super Splendor will be its answer for the increasing number of bikes in the exec-commuter segment and it will take on the likes of the TVS Victor GLX 125, the Yamaha Fazer and the Bajaj Discover for a share of this growing market pie.

Hero Honda has a head-start over the others in the bike market. And together with the massive brand image of being a manufacturer of quality bikes that are class leading in the key reliability and cost of running parameters makes it a winning combination for the company. There is no other brand in the Indian bike market that epitomises these qualities as much as the Splendor. The lure of owning a reliable, maintenance-free bike that would also offer one of the best mileage averages in its class has been reason enough for scores of Indians to buy the Splendor.

Even after the Splendor+ upgrade, Hero Honda continues the same focus for the Splendor — a no-nonsense, frugal performer that just acquired a bit of modern looks, a trait that the company pithily captured in its Bharosa wohi, Andaz naya campaign slogan.

`Splendorous' flavour

Now, Hero Honda has gone ahead and retained the same flavour and focus for its new bike and shrewdly retained the hugely successful brand name too, in the Super Splendor. After seeing the experience of the other 125 cc bikes in the market, Hero Honda seems to have concluded that the average buyer in this segment wants a more powerful bike than his current 100 cc, but wants it also to be as fuel-efficient and is willing to overlook the carrying forward of the same `economy-class' styling cues from the original Splendor.

The new Super Splendor is to a fair degree in complete contrast with the existing 125cc bikes. So, while the Yamaha Fazer, the TVS Victor GLX 125 and the Bajaj Discover are all meant to be great lookers, the Super Splendor's design clearly has the underpinnings of its venerable, smaller cousin.

Again, in contrast to the exciting and offbeat design of the Fazer and the Discover, the Super Splendor's looks are unadventurous and border on being plain. But that seems to be part of the game plan for Hero Honda, so that the new bike's Splendor lineage is unmistakably reflected in its design.

At the front, the new Super Splendor sports a large, rectangular, crystal-lens-type headlamp that houses a 12V/35W halogen bulb. This new bike gets a larger, more steeply angled bikini fairing with a tinted, translucent visor that improves the lighting for the instrument cluster enabling clear visibility of the dials both day and night. The fuel tank has Splendor written all over it with its identical design. Body panels running on both the sides and going all the way to the rear are also close the original's design, only the Super Splendor's are chunkier and splashed over with decals.

At the rear, the semi-hexagonal tail lamp is again multi-reflector, clear-lens type and offers excellent stoplight visibility. The rear grab handle is not the now increasingly popular aluminium die-cast type. Instead, the Super Splendor comes with a chrome-plated, steel tube version.

Black, matt-finished silencer with chrome-plated heat shield adds a dash of style to the bike. The instrument cluster features a large speedo dial with a trip-meter positioned at the centre and the fuel gauge and neutral/high beam indicator combo set on either side.

The electrical switches are all neatly laid out and are extremely user-friendly. Finish quality of the switches is also good, with the most innovative bit being the push-type high/low beam switch's new position and easy access for the rider's left thumb. Push cancel indicator switch, pass light flasher and the horn switch are also well positioned.

The Super Splendor's tubular double cradle chassis is rigid and lends a reasonably flex-free performance for the bike. The bike's wheelbase at 1,265mm is about 35mm longer than that of the Splendor's and the Passion Plus'. However, though the riding position and the saddle height seem to be same as in the Splendor, the ground clearance is slightly shorter at 150mm.

Both the front and rear tyres are the same lean 2.75-inch type to improve fuel efficiency. Though the ride quality is a tad bit rough, the Super Splendor's thinner tyres doesn't seem to affect its cornering abilities that much.

Despite confident cornering and good straight-line stability, the ride comfort and refinement in the Super Splendor are not on a par with the Fazer's or even the TVS Victor GLX 125's. Further, braking efficiency is sufficient with the 130mm drum at both the front and rear, though we would still recommend choosing the version with the 215 mm disc brake option for its more confident braking performance.

Focus on frugality

The Hero Honda Super Splendor's new 124.7cc engine is a refined, frugal and consistent performer. Its virtues do not include a peppy performance and its numbers reflect this trait. This single-cylinder, single overhead camshaft, four-stroke engine generates a peak power of just 9 bhp at a high 7,000 rpm. This is about 1.5 bhp more than the Splendor+'s peak output.

In comparison, the TVS Victor manages about 10 bhp and the more power focused Yamaha Fazer and the Bajaj Discover both put out about 10.8 bhp of peak power. However, the Super Splendor beats the other bikes in the peak torque parameter managing to generate 10.35Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm. Only the Yamaha Fazer catches up with the new Hero Honda bike in this department.

The Super Splendor's engine is laid in the same horizontal configuration as the original and its refinement comes through with the relatively vibration-free performance. The engine's low noise, low vibration characteristic is also aided by the roller chain cam drive and by rubber separators for the engine's fins and the relatively vibration-free ride is achieved despite the absence of bar-end weights.

The suspension set-up in the Super Splendor includes a telescopic, hydraulic fork at the front and a rectangular section swing arm with hydraulic shock absorbers at the rear. The four-speed gearbox with all down shifting configuration and clutch are both excellent, in keeping with our expectations about every Hero Honda bike. Fuel efficiency offered by the Super Splendor will be 50-55 kmpl in city and 60 kmpl on the highway.

Economical performer

The Super Splendor is clearly not going to fully satisfy bike buyers in the 125cc segment who are looking for a bit of panache and loads of power in their bike. All the other three contenders in this engine size category will have to slug it out for wooing these buyers, though we still feel that in terms of looks and premium finish, the TVS Victor GLX 125 is ahead of the Yamaha Fazer and the Bajaj Discover.

To further the image of reliability and the promise of owning a maintenance-free bike, Hero Honda has given the Super Splendor a three-year, 40,000 km warranty, which is currently not available for any other bike. The Super Splendor is priced at about Rs 42,500 (ex-showroom) for the drum and kick start version (self-start and disc brake versions are also available). At this price, it is only a couple of thousands cheaper than the TVS and Bajaj 125ers.

If you are a slave for reliability, fuel economy and the Hero Honda badge, the Super Splendor is clearly your type. Thinking of power and looks, then you may have to look elsewhere.

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