Hero MotoCorp, India’s largest two-wheeler maker unveiled what it called India’s first adventure bike in the 200cc class, the XPulse, as well as 125cc variants of its Maestro scooters.
The XPulse is Hero’s second offering in the premium motorcycle segment after the Xtreme 200R that was unveiled just a week ago.
The new scooter range – Maestro Edge 125 & Duet 125 – will be introduced in the market between April and June, while the “on/off road” bike XPulse will be launched before 2018 festival season in the second half of the year.
The prices of the new models have not been announced yet.
XPULSE
The new 200cc bike is being touted as a “dual-purpose” bike suitable for both on-road and off-road use and India’s first 200cc adventure bike.
“XPulse is targeted at young and thrill-seeking riding enthusiasts who seek a comfortable and capable riding companion for leisure as well as adventure excursions,” Hero MotoCorp said.
It comes with a new 200cc engine that delivers 18.4 PS Power and 17.1 Nm Torque, which suggests that it is the same engine as found in the XTreme launched last week.
“First-in- class ‘Turn-by-Turn Navigation’, Full-LED Headlamps, protective wind-shield, Luggage rack, Knuckle Guards, enable limitless journey, while ABS tuned for on/off road usage offers added control and safety in all conditions,” the company said.
The bike comes with a diamond-shaped frame, aluminium skid plate, 21″ front wheel and 18″ Rear wheel with dual purpose tyres.
The XPulse has 220 mm ground clearance and sports a mono shock-absorber with 10 Step adjustable Gas Charged rear Suspension that offers 170 mm wheel travel or cushion, as well as an up-swept exhaust for wading through water.
On the front, there is a 190 mm stroke front suspension.
MAESTRO SCOOTERS 125cc
The company also unveiled the 125cc variants of its Maestro branded scooters.
Consumers are increasingly preferring 125cc scooters over their 100cc counterparts.
The scooter’s engine delivers 8.7 bhp @ 6750 rpm and maximum torque of 10.2 Nm @5000 rpm. They also bring the company’s idle-stop-start system to the scooter segment for enhanced fuel efficiency.
All three products have been designed and developed by Hero MotoCorp’s in-house R&D team at its Centre of Innovation and Technology (CIT) in Jaipur.
“Our focus for this year is clearly the premium motorcycle and the scooter segment,” said Malo Le Masson – Head of Global Product Planning.
“There was a clear gap in the on-off category, the usage was there but no relevant offer. The XPulse will address the growing trend of adventure riding in India and in global markets. On the other side, our 125cc scooters will grasp the shift happening towards higher capacity segments in scooters, enabling us to cover 99% of the scooter segment.”
Hero MotoCorp has unveiled as many as seven new products in less than two months, starting with the launch of the new Passion PRO, Passion XPRO and Super Splendor on December 21 last year.
The Company has followed that up with the unveiling of the Xtreme 200R on January, before today’s launches.