Looking for a hardy, low cost econo-bike which can also work day in and day out while not leading you to bankruptcy with operating costs? Yes, while the enthusiast is going ga-ga over the Pulsars, Eliminators and Royal Stars of this world, Adil Jal Darukhanawala, with help from Aspi Bhathena and Bertrand D'souza jerks you back to the real world of the 100cc four-stroke econo-bike.

What's that, you ask? Read on to discover the king of this burgeoning heap.

One fine day sometime early this financial year, someone in the planning and accounts departments of Hero Honda Motors Ltd stumbled on a major find. It seems they had forgotten the very essence of the bike which has taken them to where they find themselves today: at the top of the Indian biking perch.

The humble CD100 was forgotten, if one could call a bike which still sells to the tune of around 7000 to 10,000 units per month, because in the overall scheme of selling 1.4 million units in the last fiscal, the likes of the Splendor and the Passion had relegated the CD100's Joy (pun very definitely intended) to the bottom of the Hero Honda basement.

While Hero Honda was revelling (inform our secret snoopers who were monitoring the bean counters who stumbled on this earthshaking discovery of not keeping the faith) in the success of the Splendor and the Passion, a bruised and battered but still full-of-fight former numero uno was going about doing what Hero Honda earlier did best but with a new-found repertoire of tricks of its very own. Now this wily ol' numero uno, (it's Bajaj Auto of course), kept the secret so well under wraps that its take on the CD100 upstaged even the CD100 and went on to slug everyone out of sight in the entry level boxing ring. So much so that the army of Boxers the humble everyday folk buy for their biking protection, er transportation, has gone on to acquire dizzying stakes. Dizzy as in headache with the head being of the other bike makers!

And as if to catch on to the mighty fine thing its neighbour was up to, upstart moped turned scooter turned moped turned motorcycle maker turned... (oh never mind, it's Kinetic Engineering), decided to join in the fun and games by taking the challenge out of its CD100 cum Caliber cum Passion hotch potch to put forth its own claim to fame in the just-enough-bike-for-just-so-much-money segment.

Faced with a barrage of new entrants in this burgeoning segment where scooters earlier resided, and many more angels readying to rush in for the slaughter, the clairvoyants they were, Aspi and Bertrand cried for help. Largely though from an altruistic point of view because they couldn't wait to discover which was the best of the low dregs for them (says much for their competitive spirit that even here they had to seek out the toppers... well done guys!) and so they dragged me into fighting for their noble cause. A cause which is turning out to be a near 90,000 to 100,000 units a month slug fest.

Yeah, it is no laughing matter that over a million plus four-stroke entry level bikes will be sold in the price range of around Rs 34,000 per unit this year and it is understandable that all three bike makers are getting ready to spoil the party in which only the consumer benefits - isn't that great? Let's take a closer look at the trio of 100cc econo-clasts Aspi and Bertie have saddled me with, commencing with the originator of this breed.