Performance
0-60kmph:	14.1s
Quarter mile:	27.1s@71.8kmph
30-70 3rd:	15.9s
30-70 4th:	14.4s
60-0kmph:	25.5m@3.2s
Max speed:	84.7kmph
On the Road:	Rs. 39,372
Dry weight :	114kgs
max power:	7.3bhp@8000rpm
Engine:
Chassis:
Brakes:
Appeal:
ECONOMY
Best:	80kmpl
Worst:	65kmpl
Range:	761.25km
ENGINE
Type: Single cylinder four stroke air cooled
Displacement:	97.2cc
Max Power:	7.3bhp@8000rpm
Max Torque:	7.75Nm@5000rpm
Bore x Stroke:	50.0x49.5mm
Compression Ratio:	8.8:1
Power to Weight Ratio:	64.04bhp/ton
Idle Speed:	1400+-100rpm
Carburettor:	Keihin PB & FB side draft
Air filter:	Oil bath type
Oil Filter:	Wire mesh centifugal filter
Ignition:	CDI
Starting:	Kick
TRANSMISSION
Gearbox:	Four speed
Primary Reduction:	3.722
Final Reduction:	3.00
DIMENSIONS
Kerb Weight:	114kgs.
Max Payload	130kgs
Wheelbase:	1230mm
Length:	1980mm
Width:	720mm
Height:	1040mm
Ground Clearance:	159mm
Fuel Capacity:	10.5litres
ELECTRICALS
Battery:	12V 2.5Ah
Headlamp:	12V 35/35W
CHASSIS
Type:	Tubular double cradle
SUSPENSION
Front:	Telescopic hydraulic fork
Rear:	Spring loaded double acting
	hydraulic shock absorber
TYRES
Front:	2.75 x 18 - 4PR
Rear:	3.00 x 18 - 6PR
BRAKES
Front:	130mm drums
Rear:	110mm drums
PRICE
OTR Pune	Rs 39,372

Now that is truly a tongue-in-cheek assessment if ever there was one because to hype up their non-Performance or non-presence in the lowest of low bike segments, the Dharuhera-based bike maker had tried to drum up some Joy for potential (and existing diehard CD100 and CD100SS) owners last year. Sadly this Joy was not shared (read that as bought) and that is when those bean counters in the company (same fellas I mentioned in the beginning of the feature) started asserting their claim to a monthly wage.

On a truly honest dawn-to-earth note, (oops, there I go slippin' and slidin' again), Hero Honda realised that the pricing and the lack of frills were bringing it no Joy whatsoever. The basic cred of the CD100 which they intended to fill with the Joy wasn't finding any takers, not when Hero Honda faithfuls wanted nothing less than Splendors and Passions. And to cop it all, these two best-sellers were now coming under threat from those clever fleet-footed artists based in Hosur who had devised some Victor(y) gizmo or some such.

So it was back in time to recreate the classic CD100 and in the process erase all sad memories of the lacklustre Joy. HHML took the easy way out once again (and I think that is why they hit rock bottom) and came up with the same CD100 engine in a Splendor(ous) frame while trying to give some unheard of value by way of rubber gaiters on the front fork legs and yes of course, a 130mm dia drum brake up front. Why, those great guys also wanted to announce to the world that they had come up with a south paw cruncher which would get them off to a new era of their own making (oh, how dawn-to-earth can one get!) On a dawn-to-business note, they also utilised this opportunity to acknowledge that they had slipped out of the ring and were wanting to come back once again, even if they had to pay the price (read that as a slashing of the sticker tag) for the sacrilege!

Oh, the more things change, the more they remain the same, seems to hold true in the case of Hero Honda's Dawn, which is or isn't a bad thing, depends on how you perceive it!

TESTER'S NOTES: HERO HONDA DAWN
The fact of the matter is that the Dawn is the perfect excuse for Hero Honda to have got the opportunity to get them back into a segment which they neglected. Of course their thrust was lacking with the Joy and so they rehashed things by dipping into their parts bin and came up with the Dawn which, whatever way you look at it, is an attempt to play the price game with arch rival Bajaj Auto.

But purely from the Performance point of view, the Dawn is all the original CD100 was but the goal posts have moved mightily away and that Hero Honda might need to refocus its bifocals to get back into the swing of things. Not difficult but the match will be worth watching.

The move to the Splendor's chassis is a step in the right direction because Indian motorcycling has moved on from just econo-bikes. Even if they are econo-misers, they have to give some pleasure to ride and for a long time that essence was lacking in the CD100 and the CD100SS and of course the short-lived Joy. The pleasure to ride aspect has also been bolstered to a certain extent in the Dawn by revamped damper units at the rear, a larger section tyre at the rear and a 130mm dia drum brake up front. Everything else remains the same apart from the new name and the graphics.

I do not much fancy the petrol tank and the side panels but the Honda badge does make me look at it rather more reverently. The gem of an engine which Soichiro Honda perfected in the late 1950s and which the eponymous company has kept faith with even to this day amazes me. Thanks to certain mods for meeting tail pipe emissions finding their way in the inlet and exhaust tracts, the horizontally laid down ohc single cylinder remains a paragon of virtue as long as you are not seeking too much from it but just Fuel Efficiency.

The Dawn which we tested was a fully registered example and was well run in. It seems to be happiest running around the 65-70kmph zone and anything more, though possible, was a laborious affair. Even then with a good wringing I managed to get it to touch a top speed of 84.7kmph which was what the original CD100 also capable of. But the days of the 80kmpl 'fill it, shut it, forget it' era aren't over as yet. Just that there has been a rationalisation of what is possible on a particular day given traffic conditions, ambient temperatures and the mood of the man twirling the throttle. We got a best of just about 80kmpl and a worst of 64kmpl which is not bad by any count. Shame the competition has caught up and begun delivering a bit better!

Aspi Bhathena