[Bismaya]

My dad owns a 1994 Hero Honda CD 100 Deluxe, black. Has about 84,504 kms of lifetime running and had been lying dormant in the garage since 2017.

Now, he used it quite a lot for the past 24 years or so before leaving it for dead. The bike was repainted back in 2004 (Black). It has all original parts (mudguards, saree guard, leg guard and mirrors) with zero scratches or bends. Such was the care taken of it. 2 years back he forgot to change the engine oil and the bike ran post 3000kms and was totaled in the middle of a highway. It was towed and then a popular mechanic did a rebore work of the old engine and changed the crank shaft. The bike was running again but had starting issues due to improper compression and the kick would rebound a lot of times before starting up. It was like wrestling up with it. Also, the spark plug would accumulate carbon & deposits, often and within a ride of 10-15kms (fixing the new guides, rockers and valves later in January sorted this issue for me).

Nevertheless, the bike was too short in height for me to ride as a result never touched it. I'm frequently used my bro's Unicorn or my roommate's Hornet depending on where I was during college days. Later I purchased a Splendor Pro 2015 for city commutes. Now, my dad uses my bike most of the time and I don't feel like taking Unicorn into bumper to bumper traffic due to the heavy weight. The riding position of Splendor turned out to be a worry due to my shoulder issues. The rider triangle on CD seems comfortable.

Took the plunge and finally started on the restoration project. This bike has been neglected a lot and took space in the garage. I decided it was enough and time had come to get this thing working.

28th November 2018:->
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The new keihin carb which was fit on the bike prior to the neglect was never properly adjusted. The bike wouldn't start and there were issues of misfires and the compression was like really hard.

Now, the tricky part was to set the AFR. The cylinder had had a lot of unburnt carbon which was a result of inproper AFR setting and has short-circuited about 3 to 4 spark plugs since the last time the vehicle was properly running. Cleaned the existing plug and adjusted the carb using DIY guides from YT until I was satisfied that the setting was correct.

2nd December 2018:->
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Opened the chain cover and cleaned it up. Lubed the chain and switch gear to make sure the chain wasn't going to be an issue. Purchased a small WD40 can and sprayed it on the necessary cables and switch gears. Opened up the rear brake drum and cleaned it. Had the side stand properly welded and brake rear lever set in correct position.

4th December 2018:->
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The misfiring issue still persisted and it was time to take the bike to a good mech. Fortunately, I was helped by a local member here to take my bike to a good mech. The bike usually run about 5 to 6kms before misfiring and the plug got deposited with carb, inspite on proper AFR tuning. Mustered up courage and cold started the bike and took it to the mech who was recommended. This was a 9km journey and the bike didn't give much trouble. The cylinder head was opened up and de-carbonized. AFR was set again, a new spark plug from Champion was installed. The previous NGK plug was short really bad. Had the bike checked up for any leaks in tyre and the bike was ready to run normally.

5th & 6th December:->
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The bike ran well and I covered over 30kms before one fateful evening on 6th Dec, the bike start broke off it's hinges off the crank and bent down. Had to push the bike 2kms to my home. The hard compression combined with 25 years of sustenance of the kick had really given out.

7th December 2018:->
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The mech was nice enough to come to my place and check my bike for any issues. He asked for a day's time and had me procure a new kick from Splendor Plus (OEM). It cost about Rs 340.

8th December 2018:->
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The new kick was fit and the hard compression was still a pain. I complained that I've seen people with really smooth kicks on their CD's. Owing to this, the mech opened up the head and checked for proper piston clearance. Thankfully it was well and I asked him to inspect the valves and cam for proper timing. It was nice idea to have it done as those had been the main culprits for compression issues. The old mech (whoever the dumbass was) had set it improperly and the new valves were deposited with unburnt carbon. Had those cleaned and put back in for the time being. Finally the tappet was adjusted as well. Over 4 hours of working, the bike fired up nicely. The fuel tank was cleaned to get rid of the age old fuel, rust and moisture. It was checked for any leaks or holes before being placed. I had a decent amount of fuel filled up and the bike was ready to be used.

15th January 2018:->
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Decided to get major overhaul done to the bike. Took it to another good mech who had a reputation of restoring bikes nicely. Had the cylinder head, bore and crankcase entirely opened and inspected. The bore seemed fine and all the parts inside crankcase were good for the time being. The bore was brand new and hadn't run for 500kms at most.

The head needed a lot of work. The valves were worn out. The rocker arms were damaged and the guides were out of place. Took it to a good lathe guy and had the new guides installed. Purchased new valves, rockers, a tappet adjustment kit, packings, a new spark plug and a bottle of Castrol Activ 4T 20w40 to be filled. The headlamp housing had cracked over the last decade. Bought a new one from Lumax. The throw isn't adequate. Still not satisfactory. I think the old technology is to blame. Might have to use a better coil for some satisfactory results.

This was the last overhaul I've had done. A month has passed and I've commuted over 500+kms on it (locally). I use my Unicorn for highway rides and my dad keeps the Splendor for his purpose.

Here's a list of things I've had planned to properly restore the bike:

1. Get everything dismantled and have the flame, panels, tank and body parts painted. Gonna get a new chain cover, side stand and get the bolts nickeled.

2. Get a proper wiring harness. The current one is all messed up and the indicator rectifier seems blown. Turning indicators don't work.

3. New Fork pipes for front shocks. The old ones are leaking.

4. Front Wheel Drum plate. There's a crack on it as result the cable & pinion won't fit. It's a 110mm plate. Checked at every spares shop. Can't find it. Would appreciate some suggestion here. I've been asked time and again to go with the 130mm one from Splendor. It would require me changing the hub, the spokes etc.

5. Getting a new lockset. Minda set planned so far.

6. Fill fresh damping oil on both front and rear shocks.

7. New Brake Shoes on both wheels.

8. Attempt fitting the newer kind of switchgear from Splendor.

[ashwinprakas]

Some info that might be useful provided you choose to take an economic route.

1. Rear Suspension, don't bother with overhaul blindly replace it, the repercussions of an overhaul simply doesn't make it worth the effort.

A friend recently got his Kawasaki 4S Champion overhauled and went for Bajaj Platina Comfortecs suspensions, I've got the specs simply because I like knowing a bit more about spares;



Cost: Rs. 1490/- Per Pair.
Spec: Non Adjustable.
Length: 35cm Bolt to Bolt.

2. Carburetor, keep it stock, the newer models on the Splendor surprisingly have a TPS present, was quite surprised to see this when working on a friends motorcycles, the stock carburetor for the CT100/Platina/4S Champion is a Keihin PB16(Non TPS!) which might be the one that came with the CD100 as it was a commonly used carburetor at the time.



3. Front Forks, if the tubes are fine to be reused then all is well, though I doubt that would be the case, a fork assembly would set you back by around 1.5~2k per side if going for one from the Hero HF Dawn. If the forks are fine then replace both(dust and oil) seals along with the spring, they're dirt cheap so don't thing twice.

4. Commonsense dictates that you should strip the motorcycle and rebuild ground up, i.e repaint chassis if needed, replace cone-set, swing-arm bushes etc. considering the age of the motorcycles.

A friend of mine lost his opportunity to be in the military(lifelong ambition) after sustaining an injury riding a motorcycle that was cosmetically fine but had a weak chassis that snapped while riding, scary stuff.

5. Replace all consumables just for the heck of it, including handle-bar grips, goes a long way in improving feel of the motorcycle, even don't leave the handlebar cushions alone, replace if broken/worn. Same goes for the handlebar if it has sustained impact then replace!

6. Do a 'Cost to Paint' vs 'Cost to Replace' analysis, if the difference is negligible go for a replacement. As for spares, don't even consider spurious parts, better to use parts from alternate motorcycles than to go for spurious spares.

That's all that comes to mind at the moment, do keep us posted on your restoration.

Cheers,
A.P.

[Bismaya]

I never got to update this thread. I did an entire rebuild this year, mechanically for the most part. Wasn't a teardown and there was no cosmetic update. FC renewal was done upto 2026. Will think of doing a teardown rebuild in December.

I was even able to source the Mikuni Carb jets and rebuilt my carb. Getting a steady average of 70.3kmpl as well.

Have some structural improvements planned for next. Stay tuned.

[Sumedik]

I have a 1992 CD100 at my place, which also belonged to my dad. Thinking of letting a local mechanic take a look to see how easy/tough it is to start the bike again. I feel a full restoration would be daunting, however this thread has given me some motivation. Lets see...

[Bismaya]

Some shots from a recent trip I did to west Odisha on the CD100. All the abuses aside, the bike manages to do 60km/hr all day for over 250kms and still returns a steady economy of 68.3kmpl.

Apart from paintjob, here are some of the work done on the bike:

• Complete Front Fork Overhaul
• New Rear Gabriel Shock Springs (thicker with more travel)
• Head clean, new block, gearbox rebuild, new clutch, new connecting rod.
• 14/43T Chain Sprocket from Y2K Splendor
• Wiring Upgrade along with Magnet and Coil assembly from Hero Honda Dawn.
• 130mm front brake drum upgrade
• New 110mm rear drum brakes
• All transmission bearings replaced
• All rubber seals, gaskets replaced
• Round Headlight with HS1 Socket to replace the old one. Picture of the throw attached.
• New Battery
• Pulsar 220 Horn Setup

[joednazareth]

Greetings to all esteemed members.
It's been a while.
I too am in the process of restoring my HH CD 100 Deluxe 1998.
Would like to share a few pics on how to "extract" the front suspension of Showa OEM Front down tube oil seal.
Had been to several workshops but none were willing to help.
This is a DIY Information.
Will post details soon.

[Bismaya]

Originally Posted by joednazareth

I too am in the process of restoring my HH CD 100 Deluxe 1998.
Would like to share a few pics on how to "extract" the front suspension of Showa OEM Front down tube oil seal.

It's hard to find the springs and piston for this model. Mine has done for 3L KMS. I would suggest that you replace these with CD100SS/Splendor front forks. I plan on doing the same. It's a more worthy upgrade. And 100% reliable/comfortable.

[Bismaya]

My CD100 in it's 2022 avatar. Notice the clearlens HF Dawn headlamp which replaced the previous Pulsar Classic setup. Also the complete front end is now from the HF Dawn (same forks as Splendor). Did a complete engine overhaul in 2021 December and I expect the engine to perform another 80-90K KMS without any issues. I have overhauled the factory carb using a repair kit and have been getting a steady average of 71kmpl. The lowest I've got is 64kmpl and the best being 79kmpl. Have been unable to get the motorcycle repainted owing to personal time constraints.

In an age of BSVI and Fi, the same fill it, shut it and forget formula of the CD100 still stands the test of time and has proven to be the most study motorcycle that Hero Honda ever built. A lot of part are still from factory, especially the mudguards which have been under constant care over the years.

Will be oping for a dual tone Horn fitment soon and there are plans on adding aux lights to help with the night commutes as well. The street lights are now LED or white lights here and that a screwed up on most of the visibility here.

[silverado]

Looking at your bike, i really regret selling my 26 year old Cd100 back in 2016.
It was in similarly good condition, but i was just lazy to bring it back to life.

It rear mudguard chrome stood the test of time and was shining even after 26 years! Such was the quality of parts used those days.

Keep it up and congratulations on maintaining it

[TurboLag200]

What a lovely little chap the CD100 is! I'm genuinely surprised it has done 300,000km. That's Japanese engineering at its finest. Seriously impressive! Cheers.

[Bismaya]

Originally Posted by silverado

Looking at your bike, i really regret selling my 26 year old Cd100 back in 2016.
It was in similarly good condition, but i was just lazy to bring it back to life.

It rear mudguard chrome stood the test of time and was shining even after 26 years! Such was the quality of parts used those days.

Keep it up and congratulations on maintaining it

Thank you for the compliment. This is definitely one of the best bikes HH had ever made. It's a shame that they never brought in the upgrades to this bike and instead put into a new bike, Splendor. CD100 could easily have been what Splendor is right now. I restored the bike to ue it for local runs and city commute and the budget was really in-expensive compared to the price of a new bike.

Honestly, apart from the new tech to keep the engine stringent to fuel norms, not much has changed apart from electricals and all. I figured I could do the least to keep the bike running for years to come.

Here are some pics from a small 40km ride I did 2 to 3 days back.

[Trueno]

Greetings sir!
I saw you are based in Odisha.Even we own a CD100 Deluxe silver in color. We did restore it a couple years ago but then dad got transferred and it was not used as much.
Now the bike has a rusted tank and is leaking oil but the paint is still in good condition. My dad doesn't want to let it go since this was his first bike. So I was curious as from where you got yours restored. Any recommendations would be helpful.
Cheers!

[Bismaya]

On November 1st, 1991, the 100000th Hero Honda vehicle rolled off the line at the plant in Haryana – a black 4-stroke CD 100SS.

There was a big ceremony, speeches. All big time government officials even showed up. A few years days later, another batch of bikes rolled off that same line/specs. No one gave two craps about them. But they should have, because this 1994 CD 100 would turn out to be the most important bike – no, the most important object – in pretty much the whole universe for a family of four.

It was first owned by an aspiring businessman. On weekends, he'd drive around helping the poor. After the businessman died, she ended up at JMG Motors, a used-bike lot in Odisha (1999), where a young doctor bought her on impulse, to replace his old 1986 CD 100. That is, after a little advice from a friend. I guess that's where this story begins.

From school rides to runs on weekends, it'd drive around on unpaved Odisha roads, doing the duties of an emiment doctor, serving the people, helping the less fortunate.

The CD 100, of course, has all the things other bikes have... and a few things they don't. But none of that stuff's important. This is the stuff that's important. The scratches and residue from tatoo's on the fuel tank – it's still there. The foot marks of a toddler ethced on leg guard – to this day, the sun shines, you can see those gleaming. These are the things that make the bike a part of the family – no, the bike is family. Even when the was rebuilt her from the ground up, all these little things stayed, 'cause it's the blemishes that make her beautiful. The people doesn't know or care what kind of bike passes by then onto the street.

In between tireless runs, sometimes get a day – sometimes a week, the bike would be used for recreational. It could go anywhere and do anything. Once driven 214kms for a Royal Stag concert show, two days for a Camping trip. And when it was clear, it'd parked in the middle of nowhere, admist the clearing to watch the stars... for hours... without saying a word. It never occurred to them to anyone, sure, maybe the bike even though it never really had a four wheels or four walls, it was more than an object or a possession.

Any chapped-ass monkey with a keyboard can poop out a beginning, but endings are impossible. You try to tie up every loose end, but you never can.

And since it's the ending, it's all supposed to add up to something. I'm telling you, it's not. And this is where it ends.

4,00,000kms