[Aditya]

According to a media report, Hero MotoCorp is planning to develop a motorcycle in the middleweight segment.

At present Hero MotoCorp is the official distributor of Harley-Davidson bikes in India. The company is also developing premium bikes for the American bikemaker to sell in the country. According to the report, at least one mid-capacity bike from the products being developed will also be sold with a Hero MotoCorp badge.



The new bike is expected to have an engine capacity of around 350cc. This means it will compete with bikes from the Royal Enfield stable and the Honda H’ness CB350.

At present, Hero MotoCorp controls a share of more than 70% in the entry-level motorcycle segment with products like the Splendor and Passion Pro and HF Deluxe. However, this segment in not very profitable as the margins are small. The company hopes that the entry into the premium segment will help it increase its profit.

Neither Hero MotoCorp, nor Harley-Davidson has revealed a timeline for the launch of their new bikes.

Link to Team-BHP News Article


Source: Money Control

[landcruiser123]

Has the management at Hero finally woken up from their slumber? Considering Bajaj and RE have built big bike platforms + engines by leveraging partnerships or designing them in-house, Hero has been a laggard.

E-bikes and scooters are all the rage now

[warrioraks]

I think Hero’s strategy has been to play the volume game. They understand the Indian 2-wheeler mass market pretty well. Their recent foray into electric scooters (through Ather) and now this 350 cc bike means they expect the volumes to pick up significantly in these two segments.

[udaikalra01]

A 350cc from (arguably)the most reliable Indian manufacturer? Yes! But when? If they are "planning" to develop a 350cc, the launch is easily at least 3 years away. Isn't that too late?

They have talked so much about making bigger motorcycles in the past years, but sadly there have been no movements at all. Not to forget the concepts that they used to show at the Expo which didn't even have any working parts. Will believe it all only when I see something happening.

[Mafia]

Hero is a numbers player.

Consider what they are selling. What they plan to launch and what they launch are always different. 10 years after the split with Honda and nothing major has been launched.

I am looking at other manufacturers for my requirements.

[saitvsk23]

Originally Posted by Mafia

Hero is a numbers player.

Consider what they are selling. What they plan to launch and what they launch are always different. 10 years after the split with Honda and nothing major has been launched.

I am looking at other manufacturers for my requirements.

They could've done wonders with their (now shelved) HX250R. Back then only they could've entered the proper quarter-litre segment. As their bond with EBR had fell apart, they shelved it.

Looked gorgeous to me (could do with some meatier rubber up front).

I'm not gonna be surprised when they pull a H'ness. Neither when they take the engine from the upcoming harley 300cc naked streetfighter and plonk it into a re-enginered chassis.

[drt_rdr]

Originally Posted by Mafia

What they plan to launch and what they launch are always different. 10 years after the split with Honda and nothing major has been launched.

The Xpulse IS something major though. It may not be in terms of cubic capacity, but in terms of opening up a market segment and providing more choices for consumers, especially practical ones, it's done work. It may not have done big sales numbers, but it's been doing something novel for the market.

Until the xpulse, no other manufacturer dared put out a small capacity dual purpose bike. But now, it's got other manufacturers thinking and it wont be long before we see a 200-250 cc dual sport from Honda, one from yamaha, tvs etc.

And who knows, if it weren't for covid, we probably could have seen a couple launches by now.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by drt_rdr

The Xpulse IS something major though.

Yes, that's been a very refreshing entry into the Indian market. I just wish they had given it more juice. Hoping that's still a possibility. Come ON Hero, 200cc doesn't cut it anymore, think 350-400 cc XXXPulse!

And can understand the appeal in terms of volumes, but fed up all these RE competitors. No doubt they sell and RE could certainly use some competition, will make sure they don't take the India market for granted and improve their QC and service. But where are the exciting 400cc naked bikes?! Apart from the Duke and the Dominar, hoping for some good made-in-India/priced-for-India/easily-maintained-in-India models from many manufacturers soon!

[Mafia]

Originally Posted by drt_rdr

The Xpulse IS something major though. .

I agree. It is one bike I am considering buying too.

But it is just one bike! I hope I am proven wrong with a slew of new launches.

People swear by Hero bike's reliability. The biggest 2-wheeler manufacturer has no performance bikes at all

[PrasannaDhana]

Hero motors and me are similar.

I have been planning to have a six packs abs for ages now, hero have been planning to launch big capacity motorcycles for ages now.

I still have my family pack and I am very sure Hero is no different regarding its goals

[JagMan]

I'd for one be shocked if it were hero that did any actual development. They've perfected the value strategy. Build in numbers and earn from that. Even there the hero group includes component suppliers, so they earn profits from multiple pies our of the hero motors revenue. These guys are still flogging the same honda engine they entered the markets with.

The xpulse as well came from the impulse which was entirely a Honda product. They can mix and match the components they already have from honda, but actual innovation? I'd be very surprised. They had a tie up with AVL before it got acquired by TVS and then EBL went under before the work on their 250 could be completed.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

Hero motors and me are similar.

I agree though! Can believe this rumour only once something really materializes and comes to production.

Yes the Impulse / XPulse is an exception - but that is the only exception to their lineup in the past two decades since the original Karizma, IMHO.

[010101]

They had an interesting concept in Hastur and the HX 250, which just remained that - a concept. This rumoured 350cc, I believe, is positioned into the cruiser market dominated by the Royal Enfield classic - which wont bring in the numbers.

They are too conservative for them to not worry about the numbers.

I eagerly wait for some good affordable cruisers other than RE but wont hold my breath for Hero.

[drt_rdr]

Originally Posted by am1m

Yes, that's been a very refreshing entry into the Indian market. I just wish they had given it more juice. Hoping that's still a possibility. Come ON Hero, 200cc doesn't cut it anymore, think 350-400 cc XXXPulse!

Originally Posted by Mafia

But it is just one bike! I hope I am proven wrong with a slew of new launches.

People swear by Hero bike's reliability. The biggest 2-wheeler manufacturer has no performance bikes at all

I'm sure you must've come across the thread posted a year or so ago about the rumoured bigger capacity xpulse with a 300 cc motor or something. They've got something in the works. And it goes without saying there's going to be a roadbike variant of that engine too.

It's going to be a tough job for Hero to make the xpulse 300 match up to people's expectations of "cheap and best" VFM bike and also contend with the Himalayan.

I'm guessing they'll probably chicken out though. They'll temper their passions, downscale their ambitions, and just put out a splendorously value packed 250cc, probably by reusing xpulse 200's parts to the extreme.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by drt_rdr

I'm sure you must've come across the thread posted a year or so ago about the rumoured bigger capacity xpulse with a 300 cc motor or something.

Yeah, I've been living in that hope too!

But like you correctly say:

Originally Posted by drt_rdr

I'm guessing they'll probably chicken out though.

That could very well be Hero's mission statement!