[RiderZone]

If anyone asks you "How tall is the Xpulse with the Rally Kit?", tell them it's tall enough that birds think it's a tree and start giving birth on it



In other updates, finally figured out the rattling sound coming from the front is from the brake pads jiggling about. The clip to hold them in place within the caliper has fallen off. Doesn't look like I'll find a replacement anytime soon, because the cracked triple clamp is still there, no stock at Hero. I'm still riding it around though, great fun as always, some 1300kms done.

[navpreet318]

Originally Posted by RiderZone

................ because the cracked triple clamp is still there, no stock at Hero. I'm still riding it around though, great fun as always, some 1300kms done.

Please ask the Dealer to place a VOR order. And ask them for the SAP code of the VOR order. You should get it within a week.

[Abhishek3001]

Originally Posted by navpreet318

Please ask the Dealer to place a VOR order.

Hi,

What is a VOR order?
I have also been waiting for a replacement kill switch for months.

Thanks

[shajoshi]

Originally Posted by shajoshi

Got delivery of my Xpulse yesterday at Pune. Looking forward to riding in the hills around Pune with the superb suspension setup.

Update: Finished 650 km and the 1st service at Kundan Hero at Pune. The service advisor said that they just drain the oil and replace. I insisted on getting the clutch cover opened and the centrifugal oil filter and screen cleaned (The Hero First service coupon specifically mentions this - not sure why the SA is not aware, I showed the recommendation in writing to him).

Part availability is still a concern, my rear left turn indicator was not working, they could not get the part, so they fixed the bulb inside using Fevikwik (let us see how long that stays).

The bike was run below 60 kmph on highways around Pune for most of the 650 km to run-in the engine - and it has returned an astonishing 50 kmpl from the last tank full to full measurement.

The main stand I had ordered is still not available. I have escalated this issue to their customer care email address - awaiting their response.

[advtourer]

Originally Posted by DevOnWheels

A few photos of those little modifications of the centre stand would help a lot to us all.

Also wouldn't having stiffer suspension to get that much added ground clearance be preventing suspension sagging hamper the ride quality offered by the stock soft suspension. Remember the rally kit suspension although gives more ground clearance is a bit stiffer and hampers the slow speed ride quality. The larger stiffer shock would definitely help while riding fast on gravel roads or off road tracks, but what about low speed ride quality? Also wouldn't it be easier just to not have the centre stand than changing shocks and doing many other modifications just to compensate the loss of ground clearance achieved.

The Lambo's unladen clearance vis a vis Xpulse's laden clearance is not irrelevant because the Lambo being stiffly sprung despite having 10 times the weight of Xpulse, the suspension will squat next to nil and laden ground clearance will always be higher than 100mm whereas Xpulse being softly sprung will sag a lot on road undulations and the 85mm laden ground clearance will reduce even further.

Also as per IRC the standard height of speed breaker in India is 100mm, and everybody knows that nothing is as per standard here. So all spead breakers are even higher than 100mm. So how come a vehicle with 85mm(even lower on suspension swat) will be able to cross a 100mm+ high spead breaker.

Regards,
DevOnWheels

So I'll ignore most of your message and focus on the query as the rest is just your opinion. And I don't want to come off as confrontative.

So the how.

When you face a pot hole or a bumper there's always a lateral force pushing on the front forks (the front fork of all telescopic bikes suck).
This lifts up the vehicle at higher speeds by about 20mm give or take depending on the speed you're at and the kind of springs you have. So it is very easy to cross bumpers higher than 100mm with a 80mm clearance bike.

As for me specifically. I had the 200T model and the center stand did not scrape any bumper I ever went above when I was riding it. And I didn't change the shocks because of the center stand, rather I changed the center stand when I was using the Rapido RMS006 shock for the rear which was very very soft even at it's stiffer settings.

Disclaimer - I could have adjusted it further by making the compression harder but that just eats into the shock's travel and I didn't want to do that. Which is why I got the Benelli shock.
And its a dream come true for me.

As for low speed cornering - yes, taller bikes are a bit harder to corner at lower speeds but that's something that adds to the character of the bike.

I am actually wondering if I should get a custom built leading link fork built for the front instead of going for the rally kit forks which seem very basic.

As for pictures. They're coming. Don't worry.

[DevOnWheels]

Originally Posted by advtourer

So I'll ignore most of your message and focus on the query as the rest is just your opinion. And I don't want to come off as confrontative.

So the how.

When you face a pot hole or a bumper there's always a lateral force pushing on the front forks (the front fork of all telescopic bikes suck).
This lifts up the vehicle at higher speeds by about 20mm give or take depending on the speed you're at and the kind of springs you have. So it is very easy to cross bumpers higher than 100mm with a 80mm clearance bike.

As for me specifically. I had the 200T model and the center stand did not scrape any bumper I ever went above when I was riding it. And I didn't change the shocks because of the center stand, rather I changed the center stand when I was using the Rapido RMS006 shock for the rear which was very very soft even at it's stiffer settings.

Disclaimer - I could have adjusted it further by making the compression harder but that just eats into the shock's travel and I didn't want to do that. Which is why I got the Benelli shock.
And its a dream come true for me.

As for low speed cornering - yes, taller bikes are a bit harder to corner at lower speeds but that's something that adds to the character of the bike.

I am actually wondering if I should get a custom built leading link fork built for the front instead of going for the rally kit forks which seem very basic.

As for pictures. They're coming. Don't worry.

If you own Xpulse 200T then there's no point discussing further as the issue here is with Xpulse 200 center stand. Both the bikes have different suspension geometry with different travel and 200T having a stiffer suspension(as compared to 200) will have lesser suspension sag on loading. That's the reason you haven't faced any scrapping issue.
Also please remember the 200T comes with factory fitted center stand whereas the 200 doesn't for a reason.
The whole point of buying Xpulse 200 over 200T is riding off road. Now what's the point of buying it altogether if you reduce the ground clearance from 210mm to 85mm by adding an accessory just for your mental satisfaction that you have that center stand for that unforseen situation which might never happen.
It's something that you are adding to reduce the capabilities of your bike, which should be the other way around ideally.

Also regarding the front suspension lifting, you are forgetting that the rear suspension squats at the same time. Then once the front wheel crosses the spead breaker, the font end also squats. And the point where the centre stand scrapes is near the rear wheel, not the front.

Did anyone pointed about low speed cornering?

Photos will be hugely helpful. Thanks in advance

Regards,
DevOnWheels

[shajoshi]

DIY - Replaced Number Plate light with LED

Strangely the Xpulse comes with a front DRL Position Lamp LED (0.9W) and a Tail light LED (0.2 W) and a bulb for the number plate light (5W).

So in the Ignition on mode with engine off it consumes 0.9 + 0.2 + 5W = 6.1 W for the lights. The quiescent consumption in this state can be brought down drastically by replacing the parking lamp which is a T10 filament bulb consuming 5W with a T10 LED consuming 0.5 W. So the quiescent consumption becomes 0.9 + 0.2 + 0.5 = 1.6 W which is about 75% lower.



The number plate lamp is run with DRL all day so it also tends to heat up by emitting 5W all day, so the LED fixes that problem too.

Changing the number plate bulb is a matter of opening the 2 screws and pulling out the T10 bulb and replacing with the LED T10 bulb - 2 minute job.

Here is the Amazon link for the T10 LED

The LED number plate lamp looks quite sober and cool too!

[shajoshi]

Sourced the Xpulse main stand from a vendor I found from Youtube

youtube video

Name of vendor - Ajay Industries at Madurai (WhatsApp 8189999076). Quality is on par with OE, payment on Gpay and the stand arrived by courier within 3 days. The vendor is honest and even refunded the extra amount he had collected for courier charges as he shipped with a different courier.

Fitting on the bike was a 15 min DIY - plenty of you tube videos show how to do this.



Funnily Hero dealer responded to my Twitter complaint and called and let me know that the Main stand is not yet available in Pune - while I was fitting this stand (IRONY).

The rear swingarm does articulate (move up and down) a lot on the Xpulse, so visual GC is lower for the Main stand. I am going to ride single seat most of the time, so it should be OK.

[Mafia]

To all the owners, how is the Xpulse as a commuter?

And, is the seat large enough for 2-up riding if the rider and passenger are on the heavier side?

I have seen many ownership reviews. These points are not takled about in detail.

Thanks in advance!

[RiderZone]

Xpulse is not a good commuter in my opinion. Handlebars are too wide to filter easily. Wifey sat pillion a few days back, said the seat is small and uncomfortable. Would still be fun to hop over footpaths to get through traffic though.

[DevOnWheels]

Originally Posted by Mafia

To all the owners, how is the Xpulse as a commuter?

And, is the seat large enough for 2-up riding if the rider and passenger are on the heavier side?

I have seen many ownership reviews. These points are not takled about in detail.

Thanks in advance!

The Xpulse is capable as a commuter for 2-up riding for any average size adult. But since in your case both the rider and pillion are on the heavier side, it won't be comfortable as the seat is narrow and the seat cushioning is of higher density. Moreover as mentioned by RideZone because of the wide handlebar and wide turning radius, filtering through traffic won't be easy.

Regards,
DevOnWheels

[drt_rdr]

Originally Posted by Mafia

To all the owners, how is the Xpulse as a commuter?

And, is the seat large enough for 2-up riding if the rider and passenger are on the heavier side?

I have seen many ownership reviews. These points are not takled about in detail.

I've used the Impulse to commute daily 15-50 km distances for work in Bangalore on and off for many years. For me, personally, it turned commuting into something of an enjoyable experience, something I used to look forward to, my playtime after a hard day of work. I've ridden it through some of the worst road and weather conditions the city had to offer and I've had a much easier time than commuting on my roadbike. Many days, I've actually come back home grinning. The xpulse shouldn't be too different. These bikes are great for the city. It's a shame we don't have more options in the market.

Yeah, the handlebar width needs to be kept in mind. Turning and changing directions on these bikes aren't as sharp as a regular roadbike, weaving through traffic takes a bit more effort. The brakes are a bit dull as well. You also won't be winning many traffic signal launches with how slow the xpulse is.

But in my eyes, those are easy tradeoffs for what you gain in terms of comfort, the versatility of the routes you're able to take, and just crushing through kms of varying road conditions and reaching your intracity destination usually faster and perhaps in better shape than on a comparable roadbike.

I can't count the number of times I've been able to beat the traffic with unconventional routes: like the times I hopped off roads and onto the muddy, bumpy shoulders to move up ahead of jams, or the times I merrily sped over under-construction service roads while fellow commuters were sweating it out on the main road, or the times I easily made my way through waterlogged tunnels and mazes of pockmarked, cratered up residential roads to bypass peak hour traffic, or the times I used to hop over a gap in concrete roadblocks to access a blocked off road and save myself from kilometres in slow moving traffic, or....

It should go without saying though, you do need some time to get a hang of the dynamics of the bike before you'd be at home with it.

I can't speak for two up on the xpulse however.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by Mafia

To all the owners, how is the Xpulse as a commuter?

And, is the seat large enough for 2-up riding if the rider and passenger are on the heavier side?

I have seen many ownership reviews. These points are not takled about in detail.

Thanks in advance!

I would say look to the BMW310 GS if you are on the heavier side and need 2 up comfort along with commuting fun. Forget the seat, the engine will whine on longer stretches.

[nasirkaka]

Visiting this thread after long time and wow! there is so much discussions going on.
This 2nd wave and lock down has been tough on all of us. I Along with family had caught the virus and went though some difficult phase. Thanks to the Xpulse, Post recovery, been doing some small rides. Weekends were curfews so it was weekday early morning explorations mostly around town. Good getaway and distraction from the trauma the 2nd wave had caused.

coming back to some of the topics being discussed, Xpulse forms a good commuter for an 'enthusiast'. It may not appeal much to the millions who just use bikes to travel from point A to B. From their perspective, the bike is tall, looks weird, suspension is stiff, gearings are off, seat is narrow. A unicorn, or any other commuter will generally fare better in comparison and would be cost effective as well. BUT, to someone who is a bit more interested in bikes then a mere commuting tool, xpulse is a great bike. Like someone mentioned, this is a bike which can make commuting fun instead of mundane. Something, to look forward to everyday after a hard day at work. Fun would be the word.
Comfort: yes, seat is purpose made and not ideal for comfort, but one can always get it altered a bit. I have added some width to the seat, reduced the forward slope and make it almost horizontal to ground, and it works well, at-least for the rider.
I got the center stand installed and it does interfere with offroading. But Its not really bothered me much. Once in a while, it may get scrapped a bit, but as the parts are cheap, one hardly cares much. One point of bother is with pillion, the center stand scrapes the tall speed breakers in the city. It does make life easy to an extend, but could also be lived without. Choice is purely on individual and his approach. Cant go too wrong with or without it.

Recently, made minor cosmetic changes to the bike. I was not a big fan of the graphics on tank and side panels. Got the brush stroke type pattern removed from the tank. Also, peeled them off the silver side panels and got them covered in black vinyl. I like this simplified look.

Sharing some pics and also from some early morning lock-down rides.

[SoumenD]

Originally Posted by Mafia

I have seen many ownership reviews. These points are not takled about in detail.

My friend commutes with his better half once in a while and they don’t feel much of an issue within city. But then they are of slim build. The seat in itself is kinda narrow. Best way to find out is to take a test ride yourself to exactly find out how suitable it is for your needs.

I am eagerly waiting for news on Xpulse 300, if that doesn’t happen by next year mid will mostly pick this up as current bike would complete 15 years by then.

Btw what happened on the Adventure 250 topic? I remember we had some discussions when it was released but now that thread is all but dead