[EshanS]

Originally Posted by Black_Star

There is another Hero ADV coming with a 300~ cc engine. So for Hero it makes sense to improve the engine rather than increase the cc. While it is a good engine it is still plagued with problems such as overheating and so on.

Exactly my point. Pushing it over to 250cc they would have to add an engine cooler (Oil/Water) feature. Besides, 250cc is the perfect category to begin with than 300cc.

Originally Posted by UtkarshC

Apart from its sheer off-road capabilities, I believe that one of the main reasons why the Xpulse has become so popular is its price tag. Offering a 250cc engine would put to rest enthusiasts' "lack of power" woes, but it'd also bump up the price significantly. While some would welcome the bigger engine and be ready to pay the extra money, some wouldn't.

I think adding 2 more valves isn't a huge deal but the slight increment in power should help the Xpulse cruise at triple-digit speeds with more ease and, thus, improve the bike's cruising capabilities. Riders who like to tour would appreciate this change. Also, the increased torque would help in off-road scenarios. And the overall performance of the engine should be smoother.

Hero has also said that it has revised the gear ratios. It would be interesting to see what difference this makes. ​

I'm looking forward to swinging my leg over the new model soon!

You plan to cruise triple digits on a bony motorcycle like Xpulse? Its not like its not possible, however, given the dynamics of the motorcycle its quite risky IMO. I found the motorcycle to be super stable at 80Kmph, beyond this it was swaying a lot.

Revised gear ratios, that's a positive change! See how Bajaj prices its products - Pulsar for that matter 150, 180, 220, etc. A minimal price differentiation is always welcome. Similarly, a bump in the CC would not have mattered considering its a positive move.

Originally Posted by Sran

The price released on 1st May, 2019 were

XPulse 200 FI ₹ 1.05 lakh
XPULSE 200 carb ₹ 97,000
XPulse 200T ₹ 94,000
Xtreme 200S ₹ 98,500

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motor...ml#post4582628 (Hero teases small adventure bike. EDIT: It's the XPulse 200)

It seems the price increase is more than 37% from the base model of 2019 XPulse 200T. From the costliest model, 200FI the increase is 22%. The prices have increased quite significantly. Hope it's worth it.

Yep, exactly my point. For 2 valves and a new paint job, the current pricing has gone up by 5k to 7k from the previous version, which absolutely does not make sense.

[abhishek46]

I appreciate the way Hero has been slowly improving the xPulse, by providing these type of incremental updates.

The USP of this offering is it's reasonable sticker price.
The price may be more now, compared to what it was 2 years ago.
However, we should also take a look at it's competition.

The RE Himalayan is currently Rs 2.15 Lakh Ex-Showroom, which is almost twice the price of the xPulse.

[Balaji31582]

Originally Posted by Sran

The price released on 1st May, 2019 were

XPulse 200 FI ₹ 1.05 lakh
XPULSE 200 carb ₹ 97,000
XPulse 200T ₹ 94,000
Xtreme 200S ₹ 98,500

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motor...ml#post4582628 (Hero teases small adventure bike. EDIT: It's the XPulse 200)

It seems the price increase is more than 37% from the base model of 2019 XPulse 200T. From the costliest model, 200FI the increase is 22%. The prices have increased quite significantly. Hope it's worth it.

This could be a perspective. But please allow me to add another possible perspective. No offence to pulsar owners, the specific brand didn't evolve for a long time now except for the yellow and neon stickers. You should look at the price increase and its nothing unique offering.

But in general the BS6 made every other offering to soar on pricing aspects. Xpulse being a very unique offering at entry level with a good word of mouth among the purposeful owners, hero is trying to keep the momentum by listening and implementing the feedback.

Hero has added additional 2 valves, increased the illumination of headlamp, better heat management, better seats with all marginal increase in power and torque will all need some little to minimal engineering inputs and so there is a cost associated. Whether this is good in reality is something we need to wait and see, but atleast I wanted to show thumbs up for their efforts.

Also please don't forget they have also started to build the XPulse brand by providing specific accessories which shows that there is a brand building cost associated. Whether this price increase is justified or not will be known when the 4v version is taken on road and covers few 1000 kms.

But certainly I wish Hero doesn't stop here and add versions on top of this with adding specific features like switchable ABS, traction control, etc but keep the base version still on market for core enthusiasts who wanted to enjoy the purpose.

[AtheK]

The only problem I find with this bike is to get it to the places it deserves to be in. Me being in Bangalore will love to ride this on trails in places like Western Ghats. The bike will no doubt shine there, and make you extremely happy, while exploring trails and getting some real good off-road time, biggest gripe is getting there.

With the small engine and comfortable cruising speeds of around 80-90, getting there will tire you out, but ya once there this should be so much hoot to ride. Cheap and easy availability of spares means you can throw it around, explore places you could have only thought of, just that one missing part of getting there, is something that needs to be overcome. The other adv bikes on other hand are so expensive to own and maintain that you are always scared of dropping them, not this baby!!

That said I am going to test ride this, and I am on fence to pick one up, it should be totally worth it's price if I can pull few trails on it.

[RiderZone]

Originally Posted by AtheK

With the small engine and comfortable cruising speeds of around 80-90, getting there will tire you out, but ya once there this should be so much hoot to ride.

My BS6 Xpulse has that cruising speed, I would expect the new one to have 90-100, which is a small difference but should make a big impact. The limiting factor would be tires, my Maxxis tires whine like a truck at anything above 80, cruising at 100 with stock tires should be very easy.

The Xpulse has a very specific use case, and it was already good at it. The small improvements will make it better, and the price hike is negligible. Worth a buy for sure.

[AtheK]

Originally Posted by RiderZone

The Xpulse has a very specific use case, and it was already good at it. The small improvements will make it better, and the price hike is negligible. Worth a buy for sure.

Without a doubt. I have only heard good things about Xpulse, and more or less almost made up my mind to have one in garage. The fact that big rock dirt park is very close to my house means I should be able to use it much more frequently, and also double it up as my city commuter as I have one of those missing in my stable as I recently sold the RTR 160.

[drt_rdr]

Originally Posted by RiderZone

The Xpulse has a very specific use case, and it was already good at it. The small improvements will make it better, and the price hike is negligible. Worth a buy for sure.

Actually, it's not made for a specific use at all. The standard xpulse is a jack-of-all-trades and the best jack-of-all you can buy in India right now.

It's not as good on the road as a regular roadbike. It's not as good on dirt as a proper dirt bike. But the fact that it's comfortable enough in either conditions gives you a lot of freedom in terms of where you can take it, and that is the USP here. + the cheapness.

I'm not sure about the price hike though. But at least, Hero's giving us some improvements, not just a deal-with-it price hike for the same product.

[SoumenD]

Originally Posted by Black_Star

There is another Hero ADV coming with a 300~ cc engine. So for Hero it makes sense to improve the engine rather than increase the cc.

Is there any word on when that can be expected? Hearing about it since almost a year and half. I am on the fence waiting to replace my gen-1 RTR160 which is about to complete 14 years. I really love the Xpulse but only grudge is the 200cc engine. I was looking for something that can help me cruise at 100kph on highway without straining the engine too much and of course with all the capabilities of this bike. A 300cc would have been perfect but not sure how long do I have to wait.

With the RTR on the verge of completing its 15 year LTT mark, am not too keen on extending it for another 5 years, so looking to replace this at max within a year.b

[drt_rdr]

Originally Posted by SoumenD

I really love the Xpulse but only grudge is the 200cc engine. I was looking for something that can help me cruise at 100kph on highway without straining the engine too much and of course with all the capabilities of this bike. A 300cc would have been perfect but not sure how long do I have to wait.

I'm not going to suggest you go ahead and buy the xpulse.

But this cruising speed arguement is, IMO, very overrated. Being able to cruise at 100 doesn't really save a significant amount of time compared to being able to cruise at 90 or 80.

Assuming ideal conditions, that you're able to maintain constant speed throughout the distance, you can cover 100 km in 1 hour going at 100kmph.

Going at 90, you'd take just 7 minutes longer to cover 100 km.

Going at 80, you'd take about 15 minutes longer to cover 100 km.

So, to cover 400 km, you'd take just about half an hour longer at 90kmph and an hour longer at 80kmph.

For short trips, the time savings is negligible. For longer trips, it's still not a very big deal considering the distance because, realistically, it should go without saying, there are more complexities to covering long distances than just cruising speed.

A minor difference of 10 or even 20kmph in cruising speed can easily be lived with.

More importantly, the wheels and suspension of the xpulse can easily help you keep up decent speed over bad patches where you'd usually have to slow down much more on a roadbike.

[SoumenD]

Originally Posted by drt_rdr

I'm not going to suggest you go ahead and buy the xpulse.

But this cruising speed arguement is, IMO, very overrated. Being able to cruise at 100 doesn't really save a significant amount of time compared to being able to cruise at 90 or 80.

Appreciate you taking time to pen down all those numbers. But guess I was not clear enough about my cruising speed requirement. When I say cruising speed of 100kph , that basically means the engine should feel relaxed(5-6k RPM at top gear) at that speed and has enough poke left to do those quick overtakes. Hope this time its clearer. And before you say Adventure 390 should do it, I already tried and its kinda too tall(and a little heavy) for me. Xpulse height and weight suits me.

P.S: I happen to have some experience in touring on 2 wheelers from yesteryears. Started back in 2007 and continued till 2011. Had covered around 22k kms across India back then. Back then affordable riding gear brand was DSG(still have the jacket), not sure if we get those these days. Looking forward to getting back to those days but not too sure if body would allow, so starting off with something that doesn’t cost a bomb

[drt_rdr]

I happen to have some experience in touring on 2 wheelers from yesteryears. Started back in 2007 and continued till 2011. Had covered around 22k kms across India back then. Looking forward to getting back to those days but not too sure if body would allow, so starting off with something that doesn’t cost a bomb

Ah, got you.

On those lines, I was thinking more or less the same thing as you. A 250 or a 300 would be a great engine size for a do-it-all motorcycle for India.

In my case, I've been waiting since ages for a step up from my Impulse, but the Xpulse is not a big enough step up in the sense that the capabilities are still similar to the impulse.

But if you haven't had the experience of a dual-purpose motorcycle yet, I'd say the xpulse is a nice starting point to ride and get used to this type of bike till a better thing comes along.

Back then affordable riding gear brand was DSG(still have the jacket), not sure if we get those these days.

I remember those prices though I never bought one of them. DSG and Cramster were the go-to brands back then. And petrol was around 40 rupees a litre. And I was able to buy both my 150cc motorcycles for around the price of a new one today. It appears the only hope of cheap personal transport now would be waiting a year or two and going electric.

[SoumenD]

Originally Posted by drt_rdr

Ah, got you.

On those lines, I was thinking more or less the same thing as you. A 250 or a 300 would be a great engine size for a do-it-all motorcycle for India.

Precisely.

Originally Posted by drt_rdr

In my case, I've been waiting since ages for a step up from my Impulse, but the Xpulse is not a big enough step up in the sense that the capabilities are still similar to the impulse.

Your Impulse might be just 5 years old. Proper upgrade would be a 300 Xpulse for you. Better to wait.

Originally Posted by drt_rdr

But if you haven't had the experience of a dual-purpose motorcycle yet, I'd say the xpulse is a nice starting point to ride and get used to this type of bike till a better thing comes along.

Well if I do pick it up now and the 300 comes next year, would feel like having missed out as can’t(rather won’t feel like) sell an 1 year old bike. So probably will wait till next year mid for some news & then decide.

Originally Posted by drt_rdr

I remember those prices though I never bought one of them. DSG and Cramster were the go-to brands back then. And petrol was around 40 rupees a litre. And I was able to buy both my 150cc motorcycles for around the price of a new one today.

I picked up my RTR160cc for 65k in 2007 and even after ripping the nuts off, fuel cost was less than Re.1 per km. Ah!!! Those were the days

Meanwhile don’t see any ride reviews yet on the 4V. When is the media drive?

[drt_rdr]

Originally Posted by SoumenD

Your Impulse might be just 5 years old. Proper upgrade would be a 300 Xpulse for you. Better to wait.

The impulse is actually on it's 10th year now. But yeah, I'm waiting for something that makes 25-30 hp and weighs around 130-140 kgs at most. We'll probably never get something like that here though.

Xpulse 300 doesn't look like it'll be the bike for me, going by the rumoured weight specs of 180 kgs. I'm actually looking forward to Yamaha bringing the WR155R here. The engine size may be a compromise, but the overall setup looks very capable.

I picked up my RTR160cc for 65k in 2007 and even after ripping the nuts off, fuel cost was less than Re.1 per km. Ah!!! Those were the days

I really miss those days. Bikes in the lower end haven't really improved by much these days but the cost of ownership has shot up crazy.

[KayEss]

Originally Posted by drt_rdr

I'm not going to suggest you go ahead and buy the xpulse.

But this cruising speed arguement is, IMO, very overrated. Being able to cruise at 100 doesn't really save a significant amount of time compared to being able to cruise at 90 or 80.

Assuming ideal conditions, that you're able to maintain constant speed throughout the distance, you can cover 100 km in 1 hour going at 100kmph.

Going at 90, you'd take just 7 minutes longer to cover 100 km.

Going at 80, you'd take about 15 minutes longer to cover 100 km.

So, to cover 400 km, you'd take just about half an hour longer at 90kmph and an hour longer at 80kmph.

For short trips, the time savings is negligible. For longer trips, it's still not a very big deal considering the distance because, realistically, it should go without saying, there are more complexities to covering long distances than just cruising speed.

Agree with everything you said.

In addition, I don't know if everyone feels stressed at redline. In my Impulse with the race concepts big bore kit, I would constantly ride near redline at near its top speed for hundreds of kilometres without getting stressed or fatigued myself. Sure the bullets can get you buzzed up doing that at length, but I dont suppose that necessarily has to be the case with every single motorcycle.

P.S: the impulse eventually did have a catastrophic engine failure, so there's that.

[karanddd]

Originally Posted by drt_rdr

I'm not going to suggest you go ahead and buy the xpulse.

But this cruising speed arguement is, IMO, very overrated. Being able to cruise at 100 doesn't really save a significant amount of time compared to being able to cruise at 90 or 80.

Assuming ideal conditions, that you're able to maintain constant speed throughout the distance, you can cover 100 km in 1 hour going at 100kmph.

Going at 90, you'd take just 7 minutes longer to cover 100 km.

Going at 80, you'd take about 15 minutes longer to cover 100 km.

So, to cover 400 km, you'd take just about half an hour longer at 90kmph and an hour longer at 80kmph.

For short trips, the time savings is negligible. For longer trips, it's still not a very big deal considering the distance because, realistically, it should go without saying, there are more complexities to covering long distances than just cruising speed.

A minor difference of 10 or even 20kmph in cruising speed can easily be lived with.

More importantly, the wheels and suspension of the xpulse can easily help you keep up decent speed over bad patches where you'd usually have to slow down much more on a roadbike.

This is bang on. I think it's mostly just a psychological thing, you have a big, powerful bike so you feel that you must be going fast. I bet any comparison of the stats of people touring long distances will reveal that times taken to complete similar distances are similar irrespective of motorcycle used. We cannot maintain a constant cruising speed anywhere anyway, and there are numerous and varied bottlenecks that equalise all, Ducati or Hero (in my experience). I have an Xpulse (carb version) that I bought to use in Kathmandu and I've used it once on the "highway" to Pokhara. Most of that road is curvy but in the few straight stretches the power felt adequate to me, I was up at 90 in no time and never wanted or needed to go faster. It felt like it could cruise at 90 just fine (maybe even more) and maybe the 4V can do at 100. In my eyes it's the perfect bike then for roads here, light, very comfortable suspension, and still fun to throw around.