Pragmatic Downscaling

Honda India finally add a 100-cc commuter to their motorcycle line-up with the launch of the Shine 100. We spent some time astride this motorcycle to gauge its potential

- Azaman Chothia

THE SHINE 125 HAS BEEN A POPULAR COMMUTER motorcycle and Honda now offer the Shine 100, a motorcycle even more easily accessible to the masses.

The design of the Shine 100 is similar to the 125 barring just a few minor changes that differentiate the two motorcycles. It gets a halogen headlight with a simple cowl surrounding it and a slim nine-litre fuel-tank, which is 1.5 litres smaller than that of 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 a fuel-gauge.

In terms of features, this bike gets an engine side-stand cut-off feature. Honda have introduced the Shine 100 in five dual-tone colour schemes; black being 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 the rider upright with the foot-pegs placed forward. A seat height of 786 millimetres makes this an accessible motorcycle for most riders and a ground clearance of 168 mm allows it to tackle variegated terrain.