[TusharK]

Hero MotoCorp has launched the Xtreme 160R in India. The bike is available in two variants - Front Disc and Dual Disc. These are priced at Rs. 99,950 and Rs. 1,03,500 (ex-showroom, Delhi) respectively.



The Xtreme 160R was unveiled in February, this year. The bike features dual-tone bodywork with an aggressive looking LED headlamp. It has a digital instrument cluster, stepped seat, a single side-mounted exhaust and it rides on 17-inch alloy wheels. The bike also has a side-stand engine cut off feature.

The Xtreme 160R is powered by a BS6 compliant 160cc, air-cooled engine that has fuel injection. It produces 15 BHP @ 8,500 rpm. The bike is claimed to accelerate from 0-60 km/h in 4.7 seconds.



The Xtreme 160R comes with a 37 mm telescopic fork suspension at the front and a 7-step adjustable monoshock at the rear. It features a 276 mm disc brake at the front and a 220 mm petal type disc brake at the rear. It is equipped with single-channel ABS.

Link to Team-BHP News

[Nikhildrao]

I don't know but seems a little pricey for what it is and considering the rivals in form of pulsar ns160 and Apache or even FZ.. Seems a little overpriced

[darkLightning]

Have to say Hero could have done the pricing better. It maybe the most value for money 160cc bike, it may even be the sharpest 160cc to start from the block but at that price there simply is not enough juice, If I am paying 1.03L ex-showroom I will take this for longer tours and I don't want to feel that I am riding a smaller/lesser power bike there.
Plus Hero has XPulse and Xtreme200S also in it's stable which now for sure look even more VFM then they were before.

I was waiting for Xtreme 160R launch as a potential bike to buy for daily commute and weekend tours but now I am looking more towards Xtreme 200S launch for the same, If the difference is no more than 10k I will happily pick 200S over 160R

[Bismaya]

10 years ago or 5 even, it would have made more sense. Now, it's overpriced and looks like a rip-off of Honda Hornet and xBlade in every possible manner.

[2000rpm]

What a shame! Hero has brought the CBZ Legacy to this!

As the owner of two first gen CBZs, I can confidently say, that there was not better riding position for an Indian bike. Ever! (my views)

The first gen is a looker and I still have one in blue color which I will restore post covid and a little financial recovery.

[drt_rdr]

How is this overpriced? I can't see this as overpriced at all. It's pretty much on par with the competition.

The looks, the features, the specs, all considered this looks like a really nice bike for the price.

Meanwhile, ex showroom on the suzuki gixxer is 1,10,000 or something. Now THAT is overpriceed.

[darkLightning]

Strangely prices are not yet updated on Hero's website.

Originally Posted by drt_rdr

How is this overpriced? I can't see this as overpriced at all. It's pretty much on par with the competition.

I think part of it has to do with the perception or rather brand identity of Hero. We all know Hero as a manufacturer which will give no-nonsense bikes with best VFM factor in the market irrespective of the segment they aim.

They did it with their 100/110 cc fleet
They did it with XPulse
They did it with Xtreme 200S
They did it with their older bikes also

There have always been some bike here and there cheaper than their Hero counterpart (CT100, Radeon etc) but from overall product point of view Hero's biggest USP has been it's VFM factor.

With Xtreme 160R the expectation was ex-showroom price to fall around 90k ( this itself had a bit leeway that this is a very different bike from Hero so they can price it with more freedom) However it's current price puts as you rightly said "on par" with competition. Previously the only question a Hero owner would ever get asked is "Bajaj bikes are more sporty why don't you try it ?" no one would ever doubt why you are picking Hero but now with Xtreme 160 even you can imagine asking any prospective owner why he picked this one only out of the competition ?

Hero's competition has never been with other brands as far as pricing is considered it has always been with it's own image.

Here either

1. They have quietly decided to shift their strategy.
2. They simply thought to punch a bit above their usual pricing and exploit the void left by Hornet/X-Blade and eat up Plain Jane Unicorn and Stone age Pulsar's share as well.
3. They are boldly attempting to knock the premium 150-160cc's (Suzuki, Yamaha, Duke) off their perch - If they are aiming for this they better convey it clearly this bike is capable of it but needs to be projected correctly

[drt_rdr]

Originally Posted by darkLightning

Here either

1. They have quietly decided to shift their strategy.
2. They simply thought to punch a bit above their usual pricing and exploit the void left by Hornet/X-Blade and eat up Plain Jane Unicorn and Stone age Pulsar's share as well.
3. They are boldly attempting to knock the premium 150-160cc's (Suzuki, Yamaha, Duke) off their perch - If they are aiming for this they better convey it clearly this bike is capable of it but needs to be projected correctly

Seems to be a combination of all the above.

Considering the xtreme 150 was dying anyway, and the xtreme 200\S has not seemed to have made much of an impact (and saleswise it's the xpulse that's really carrying the platform), the cheap\VFM strategy seems to have been a miss as far as the xtreme goes.

Personally, the old xtreme 150 always seemed like a bit of a tacky, directionless, low-effort product that didn't know who it's target customer was, even though the build was solid. It's good they rebooted the platform into something more focused looking. Compared to the xtreme 200 which was designed to be a compromise (which is unfortunate because it's a mostly great looking bike), this appears to be a rival product in looks, specs, and performance (on paper of course) to the ones doing big business.

Even so, the new xtreme IS on the cheaper side of the class. These are the approximate prices of other bikes in the 150-160 cc segment that are cheaper than the xtreme 160 right now:

unicorn - 95000
pulsar 150 - 97000
RTR 160 2 valve - 97000

For being nearly 2 decades old products, receiving bare minimum updates and hobbling along into 2020, they're priced within approx. 5000 rupees of the xtreme160R, a relatively new platform. There's the FZ too that is priced around 200 rupees below the xtreme160R. But that 200 rupees is not really a factor in making a purchase decision. And fat chance that Honda is going to price the hornet and xblade any lesser than 1L.

Anyway, this one and the FZ are the ones that would tug at me if I was in the market for a 160 cc bike. I've always been a suzuki fanboy but the pricing on the gixxer is atrocious. The new design is ugly too. I'd rather buy a used last gen carburetted model.

[zaphodb]

If somebody in Hero is reading this, you need a new team of designers. Why can't they just bring a modern looking CBZ or Hunk. If this bike is a naked bike, what's with the excessively large tank panel (?). It's difficult to recommend this bike to anyone over Apache 160 4V.

[darkLightning]

Originally Posted by drt_rdr

Anyway, this one and the FZ are the ones that would tug at me if I was in the market for a 160 cc bike.

Agreed with most of your points except that more than cheap/VFM strategy it was the atrocious delays between launch and delivery that hit Xtreme siblings hard.

Coming to 160R it's just that the presence of 200S (200R never got my interest) in the same showroom, within touching distance financially and at least on paper having bit more power as well is something I am not able to ignore.

If Hero raises price of 200S then it will lose to Gixxer SF and FZS, If Hero keeps it VFM then there is bound to be an overlap between 160R and 200S

This maybe a radical idea but if Hero decides to launch Xtreme 160S instead of BS6 200S then that I think can literally eat up all the competition, Angry sportster and Relaxed fully faired siblings is just what it should be.

[drt_rdr]

Originally Posted by darkLightning

Coming to 160R it's just that the presence of 200S (200R never got my interest) in the same showroom, within touching distance financially and at least on paper having bit more power as well is something I am not able to ignore.

I guess that depends on what you intend to use it for. I personally would prefer the xtreme 160r because it's probably going to be 10k rupees lesser, atleast 10 kgs lighter, would probably give me better mileage in the city if I ride carefully, 3 bhp less power wont make a big difference to me as long as it's a quick revving engine, and I don't mind doing highways at a pedestrian 70-80 kmph pace as compared to a power walker's pace of 80-90 kmph on the xtreme 200.

Actually, on that last point, if only manufacturers would put a 6th overdrive gear on their 160cc bikes so that the highway performance wouldn't feel so strained. Suzuki did that 11 years ago on the gs150r, and this bike is a pleasure. If only they would've done it again on the revised gixxer, I'd be ready to pay what they're asking.

This maybe a radical idea but if Hero decides to launch Xtreme 160S instead of BS6 200S then that I think can literally eat up all the competition, Angry sportster and Relaxed fully faired siblings is just what it should be.

There's signs that they're going to discontinue the 200R and keep the 160R in it's place. There's not a hint of the 200R on the official website, while the 200S is listed on the site and gets a page saying "BS6 model coming soon". I guess that would somewhat take care of concerns of the two products eating into each other's shares.

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by drt_rdr

Actually, on that last point, if only manufacturers would put a 6th overdrive gear on their 160cc bikes so that the highway performance wouldn't feel so strained. Suzuki did that 11 years ago on the gs150r, and this bike is a pleasure. If only they would've done it again on the revised gixxer, I'd be ready to pay what they're asking.

Do have a look at gear ratios:

GS150R
1st - 3.00
2nd - 1.75
3rd - 1.30
4th - 1.09
5th - 0.96
6th - 0.83

Gixxer 155
1st - 2.75
2nd - 1.75
3rd - 1.3
4th - 1.05
5th - 0.88

As you can see, you get better leverage with a short ratio(More Gears) gearbox, but that doesn't definitely equate to better highway performance.

As for the motorcycles, the Hornet(Presuming same setup as X160R) and Xtreme(150/200) iterations until now were based on the later CRF150 engine which showed up on the Unicorn, they're sometimes the same with missing parts i.e counter balancer whereas sometimes they're stroked/bored versions of the same motor.

So comparing performance on paper is futile IMHO.

The best one can do is ride all of them(both, City and Highway) and settle with what feels best for his/her intended use, ideally more stroke for city(X160) and bigger bore(X200) for highways.

As for the X160R, from where I see things pricing is the only avenue Hero can explore with this variant in order to attract customers, a cheaper Hornet again presuming that it a fork of the same.

But then again, the Achiever was a photocopy of the Unicorn and we know how one became a legend simply because of the Honda label and how the other has been forgotten. Heck! I can bet you that most people would Google the Achiever or would confuse it with the Ambition.

All things said and done, the X150 is available on OLX for as low as 10~20k for good examples, one could simply pick one up and and call it a day. Old stock pieces are sold for about 35k(Courtesy Shashi for the Rates), so do think hard before putting your money down.

Cheers,
A.P.

[drt_rdr]

Not sure I get the point you're trying to make with the gear ratios. From the looks of it, I guess the 5th on the gixxer serves overdrive duties? But are you saying there's not much of a difference between the cruising rpm of the gixxer and the gs? I haven't particularly checked the gixxer but going by feel, you'd have to sit at higher revs to cruise at the same speeds as a gs150r. I know for sure the old CBZ, impulse, FZ, RTR, pulsar are not pleasant to ride for prolonged periods at over 70 kmph, whereas the gs150r can do 80-90 all day at relative ease. I know the impulse especially would benefit well from a 6th gear.

As for buying new vs used, I guess that also depends on what you want out of the bike. Yeah, the 160 engine would be just a reworked 150, with just 1 bhp of difference between the both. Of course, there's bound to be changes to the transmission. But, leaving enthusiasts aside, who really buys a bike just for the engine? It's the entire package that you'd be after. I mean why not just buy an old first gen FZ since the engine made a bit more power back then?

Leaving the engine aside, the xtreme160r looks like a different thing from the xtreme150. The frame, suspension and wheels look like they're from the xtreme 200. The instrumentation is digital and lights are LED, lower weight, nicer appearance, and of course, last but not least, the safety and convenience of hazard lights, ABS and FI.

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by drt_rdr

Not sure I get the point you're trying to make with the gear ratios. From the looks of it, I guess the 5th on the gixxer serves overdrive duties? But are you saying there's not much of a difference between the cruising rpm of the gixxer and the gs? I haven't particularly checked the gixxer but going by feel, you'd have to sit at higher revs to cruise at the same speeds as a gs150r. I know for sure the old CBZ, impulse, FZ, RTR, pulsar are not pleasant to ride for prolonged periods at over 70 kmph, whereas the gs150r can do 80-90 all day at relative ease. I know the impulse especially would benefit well from a 6th gear.

Sorry I presumed the data would make things obvious.

Anyhow to put as simply as possible, at 5000 RPM in final gear the GS150R and Gixxer does more or less the same speed i.e around 70 kmph.

So to again state the obvious, number of gears alone do not equate to better highway performance, in fact there are some 5 speed motorcycles that pull taller(final gear) ratios than 6 speed motorcycles even in India.

Hope that clarifies things.
A.P.

[darkLightning]

Originally Posted by drt_rdr

I personally would prefer the xtreme 160r because it's probably going to be 10k rupees lesser, atleast 10 kgs lighter, would probably give me better mileage in the city if I ride carefully, 3 bhp less power wont make a big difference to me as long as it's a quick revving engine, and I don't mind doing highways at a pedestrian 70-80 kmph pace as compared to a power walker's pace of 80-90 kmph on the xtreme 200.

Agreed with your point, and the vice versa is also true for example I would prefer that bit extra power of 200S when doing an incline with pillion on board. So yes it will really depend on the usage.
Having in-house competition will mean more moolah to Hero as well I also do not see any real competition at least on paper except for people who don't really like Hero products.

Originally Posted by zaphodb

If this bike is a naked bike, what's with the excessively large tank panel (?).

Hero has officially pitched it as a Streetfighter and not a naked bike. In fact Hero does not have any naked bike in it's portfolio currently. And as far as tank panel is considered even the Duke's have a bit of extra tank panel.