Hero XPulse 200T First Ride Review

To complete the foundations, the XPulse 200T shares its braking components with the Xtreme 200R. You do miss out on the petal discs found on the off-roading XPulse 200. However, braking performance is not compromised. In fact, if I had to stick my neck out, the 200T has the best stopping power of the trio. The single-channel ABS does feel intrusive on a few occasions but it brings the bike to a halt soon enough. Lever feedback is still pretty vague and this is a department in which we would like things to improve.

Engine does not support touring
For a motorcycle that is pitched towards going the distance, the XPulse 200T does disappoint. When clocking 100kmph in top cog, the engine is rattling at 7500rpm, which is quite close to the 9250rpm limiter. Even 80kmph feels strained at 6000rpm, at which point you are greeted with a good amount of buzziness. This buzziness is felt greatly at the pegs, with a bit of the vibes filtering through to the tank and pegs as well.

A sombre looker
What is different here? Well, the XPulse 200 sheds its off-road persona here, getting rid of the large front fender and the small windshield. Even the aluminium bash-plate gives way for a plastic one. The dimensions thus look a lot more approachable and the seat gets a ribbed cover.

While looks are subjective, the styling on the XPulse 200T is a rather sombre affair, especially when you consider how appealing the standard XPulse is. Not to mention, both the Xtremes look quite sporty in their own right as well.

A modern bike it is not, but even though Hero claims that the styling has a bit of a retro vibe, it seems a bit of a stretch. The colours on offer are not the most flattering in our opinion and we are not totally sold on the styling either. You get the same tank, LED headlight, LED tail-light, body panels and the Bluetooth-enabled full digital console found on the XPulse.

With turn-by-turn navigation with integrated Google Maps, the navigation process is certainly better than the similar feature found on the TVS NTorq 125. There is a mobile application available both on the Google Play store as well as Apple’s app store. The pairing process is quick and does work well for the most part. You can also receive call alerts as well as a low battery indicator, which are displayed prominently. But the small niggles we encountered indicates that the app is still in the finetuning process, which should be completed by the time the bike hits dealerships later this month.

Doesn’t fit the bill
With the Xtreme 200R and the XPulse 200, we do agree with the aspirations that Hero has for these bikes. The Xtreme 200R does manage its city duties quite well, and as an off-roader the XPulse 200 can give birth to the off-road enthusiast in you. Hero has priced the 200T bike at a delicious Rs 94000, ex-showroom Delhi. Sadly, if only Hero had managed to deliver on the promise of touring as they have with the pricing, then the XPulse 200T would have been impossible to resist.