[Samba]

Originally Posted by petrolhead_neel

My father and I are stuck in quite the dilemma right now.

No doubt Impulse was a great bike in it's time. The super smooth 150 cc was a delight to ride.

In today's date we still love cars like Esteem, 1st gen Honda City or 1st gen Baleno from the past. They are timeless beauties but to be honest the market has moved on. The modern cars are far more safer and advanced. So similarly to copeup with time, i will suggest you to look at the X-Pulse.

The person who already owns an Impulse is completely a different scenario. For him maintaining and keeping his bike makes sense. He knows his bike inside out and must have many emotional moments/memories attached with his bike.

But as you are looking for a new bike & more importantly budget is not a constraint for your dad, i will suggest you the more powerful X-Pulse.

Reasons-

More power

Latest offering

Getting spares and servicing wont be a problem as of now.

Bike is covered under warranty.

You do not have to spend much time at the garage after buying a 1L km done bike. Am sure it will come with it's own set of trouble. So rather you can enjoy that time riding the new bike!

40K for the Impulse, then buying new tyres is not looking VFM either!

As already the X-pulse is available, why you want to spend time on an Impulse and swap its engine with a ZMA engine! Whatever you do, the bike will lose it's reliability.

And lastly, you will be joining college soon, so you know what i mean!

[petrolhead_neel]

Thanks a lot for helping out, Samba Da!

Originally Posted by Samba

No doubt Impulse was a great bike in it's time. The super smooth 150 cc was a delight to ride.

So similarly to copeup with time, i will suggest you to look at the X-Pulse.

The person who already owns an Impulse is completely a different scenario. For him maintaining and keeping his bike makes sense. He knows his bike inside out and must have many emotional moments/memories attached with his bike.

You do not have to spend much time at the garage after buying a 1L km done bike. Am sure it will come with it's own set of trouble. So rather you can enjoy that time riding the new bike!

40K for the Impulse, then buying new tyres is not looking VFM either!

As already the X-pulse is available, why you want to spend time on an Impulse and swap its engine with a ZMA engine! Whatever you do, the bike will lose it's reliability.

I agree to your points. An XPulse does make way more sense than plonking a ZMA engine in an Impulse.

Used Impulse prices are crazy. I was hoping that the launch of the XPulse would drive it down, but that doesn't seem to be the case yet, as of now.

But as you are looking for a new bike & more importantly budget is not a constraint for your dad, i will suggest you the more powerful X-Pulse.

Budget is a constraint. If it's the Impulse, we will probably be able to get it up and running within a month or so.

If it's the XPulse, that can only happen at least mid-next year, probably after I get my license.

And lastly, you will be joining college soon, so you know what i mean!

Haha, I think I do. A proper dirt bike does have a certain appeal though.

Neel

[nasirkaka]

neel,
Save-up and get the Xpulse. Its only good if you also have your license by then. A lakh plus kms and two owners old impulse which is not even in production, does not sound like a good idea. The engine might have been rebuilt but its never the same as a factory stock. Also, sooner then later other cycle parts will start showing signs of aging. A Dual sport bike is thrown around off the road even by the most careful of owners. Thats what these bikes are built for. A lakh plus Kms of bashing the impulse around would have taken its own toll. Xpulse seems equally capable bike if not more, with modern tech like ABS, LED, BT connect, etc and most importantly with peace of mind.

[neil.jericho]

Hero seems to have stabilized production to some extent as the local showroom has multiple units of the Xpulse on display and I have been seeing quite a few of them on the roads. One guy I met has already done close to 4,500 kms on his bike and is quite happy with it. In comparison I am yet to see a single Xtreme S outside the showroom.

I hope the success of the Xpulse encourages Hero to give us a bigger capacity version.

[Urban_Nomad]

Cross posting from the off road thread - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motor...ps-advice.html (Offroad Riding - Tips & Advice)

Got an opportunity to ride the Xpulse on our local trails recently. It was a hoot and a half

Here's a quick video review of the same. Hope you like it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9I2fgE7LcJc&t=282s

[Romins]

I rented an Xpulse (carb version) from Royal Brothers last weekend and did 300+ km to Kanakapura-Anchetty-Denkanikottai-Thally route. I took it my friend's farm and a few trails to the nearby hills. Tried it on almost possible terrains... of course not on snow!

It was good overall, except minor issues.

- Ideal for Bangalore city office commute.
- It glides over pot-hole filled roads and you can easily jump over the speed breakers
- Brakes are adequate but not very sharp
- At this price point, it is well-built. Long term ownership reviews will tell us more

- Headlight is pathetic, my bicycle headlight is better !
- Seats are very soft, so it will start hurting 3-4hrs of saddle time. May not be ideal for a multi-day tour
- Foot peg position could have been a few inches behind the current position, it hits your shin while resting the feet on the ground
- Obviously, not designed for a corner junkie
- There is not enough low end torque

[giri1.8]

Guys, why is there very little number of these bikes on-road? Any particular reason for low sales number?

Given how much scooters these days cost, I found it to be VFM, but now I am skeptical about recommending them to anyone.

[hothatchaway]

Originally Posted by giri1.8

Guys, why is there very little number of these bikes on-road? Any particular reason for low sales number?

Given how much scooters these days cost, I found it to be VFM, but now I am skeptical about recommending them to anyone.

While I don't have the sales figures, if they are low it maybe because the target audience perhaps prefers something more aspirational. The xpulse is a purpose built bike to go offroading with but most Indian customers want a do it all machine. Now when they are spoilt for choice and finance easy and cheap, it's easy for a hero bike to get lost in the clutter.

I don't think the perceived low sales figures should bother you. The bike has tried and tested mechanicals with hero's wide service support.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Hero Xpulse 200 Rally Kit announced at EICMA 2019

The Rally Kit is ready-to-fit but has not been homologated for road use. The kit includes fully adjustable, taller suspension at either end, a flatter seat, extended gear lever, handlebar risers, and dirt tyres.

The engine remains unchanged and continues to be the 199.6cc, single-cylinder, air-cooled motor that produces 18.4hp and 17.1Nm of torque. However, the sprockets have been changed to a 12T front and a 40T rear.

Read the full article here - https://www.autocarindia.com/bike-ne...ma-2019-414781

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by giri1.8

Guys, why is there very little number of these bikes on-road? Any particular reason for low sales number?

Given how much scooters these days cost, I found it to be VFM, but now I am skeptical about recommending them to anyone.

At least here in Cochin, sales wise, the bike seems to be doing very well indeed. I frequently see new bikes on temporary plates all across town. And on paper, for the relatively low price, it does appear to be a very VFM product. That said there are some issues which I have heard of quite a bit that do warrant giving the current Xpulse a second thought before recommending them.

- Insufficient illumination by the LED headlights
This is something that Ive noticed not just in the Xpulse but in several other newer launches as well. The fact that they have LED lights doesn't guarantee sufficient and safe illumination on the roads. I saw one owner likening the output of the Xpulse's headlights to that of a candle.

- Improper build
I know of at least half a dozen instances of new Xpulse motorcycles having to be taken back to the service centers to fix mechanical issues arising from poor PDI on the factory floor. Yes, Hero has honored the warranty issues and taken care of all these problems, but the fact is that they shouldnt have happened in new bikes in the first place.

I do hope that Hero is listening to these complaints from owners and taking corrective action on the factory line. Though I wasnt bowled over by the Xpulse when I test rode it, I will admit that it is a very sensible motorcycle that fills a big void in our motorcycle world. So I do hope that Hero is able to tighten up the loose ends and give us the quality motorcycle that we hoped the Xpulse to be.

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

[b]The Rally Kit is ready-to-fit but has not been homologated for road use. The kit includes fully adjustable, taller suspension at either end, a flatter seat, extended gear lever, handlebar risers, and dirt tyres.

Add to that a sprocket kit, an after market exhaust (undecided as of yet), extended levers and 275mm ground clearance. All this for an expected price of Rs 50,000 only for the package, makes it look like a steal.

Now, a BS6 version with this kit slapped on for a price of around Rs 1.7 lakhs on road, appears to be very tempting indeed.

[ethanhunt123]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Add to that a sprocket kit, an after market exhaust (undecided as of yet), extended levers and 275mm ground clearance. All this for an expected price of Rs 50,000 only for the package, makes it look like a steal.

Now, a BS6 version with this kit slapped on for a price of around Rs 1.7 lakhs on road, appears to be very tempting indeed.

I thought the PD video made it clear that exhaust isnt part of the kit. Also - this would make the bike non-road legal and reduce the top speed further with sprocket. Better buy a V-Cross to carry the bike to the trails then.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by ethanhunt123

I thought the PD video made it clear that exhaust isnt part of the kit. Also - this would make the bike non-road legal and reduce the top speed further with sprocket. Better buy a V-Cross to carry the bike to the trails then.

They are apparently redesigning an exhaust to conform with road legal use or some such. We will know in a few months.

All said, this makes the bike a good trailie. Top speed isnt really a consideration point. Use cases will be ride 100 kms max and blast through a trail and return.

[Romins]

I went to a new showroom at Bangalore, they are yet to open completely with service facilities. They had XPulse 200T and Xtreme 200 and 200S. They were not keen on selling XPulse 200. The owner didn't even know that there is such a model !! Maybe because the owners and salesmen are not so much experienced with selling an off-beat motorcycle like XPulse, the customers don't get a feel-good factor at showrooms. Hero needs to do a bit more on marketing - making it available for test rides easily, to start with.

Another thought... I think there are my people like me who wait for a while to buy a new product. Having some work experience in the product manufacturing field, there was always a pressue to launch the product, with an upcoming show, EICMA or something or that sort. Though the product is tested for vibration, thermal, humidity etc. the actual use conditions vary a lot from these test scenarios. So I would rather wait and buy a one year old product. This is one motorcycle I was waiting for many years. Every morning I have an urge to go to the showroom and write a check. But I am waiting patiently at least until Jan 2020.

For the time being, I am renting it on the weekends and setting my expectations right. If someone is looking for a 3digit top speed, look elsewhere. You want to ride inside Bangalore without looking at the road, go ahead and buy this !




Did anyone try or see any kind of luggage specifically for XPulse? Saddlebags, tailbags?

[2000rpm]

Originally Posted by Romins

I think there are my people like me who wait for a while to buy a new product. Having some work experience in the product manufacturing field, there was always a pressue to launch the product, with an upcoming show, EICMA or something or that sort. Though the product is tested for vibration, thermal, humidity etc. the actual use conditions vary a lot from these test scenarios. So I would rather wait and buy a one year old product. This is one motorcycle I was waiting for many years. Every morning I have an urge to go to the showroom and write a check. But I am waiting patiently at least until Jan 2020.

For the time being, I am renting it on the weekends and setting my expectations right. If someone is looking for a 3digit top speed, look elsewhere.

Did anyone try any kind of luggage? Saddlebags, tailbags?

Thanks Romins,

Keep sharing with us your perception and experience as you gain more insights on the bike as you are actively reviewing it. A lot of us may benefit from the same.