With the Japanese name taken off the brand, Hero MotoCorp aim at conquering one of the largest two-wheeler markets with a bold step. We try to find out if they have the right product for it
Story: Adhish Alawani
Photography: Sanjay Raikar
By now it is common knowledge that what may be regarded as one of the most successful and longest lasting ventures in the history of the Indian motorcycle industry has come to an end. Hero and Honda ruled the Indian market for approximately 27 years before parting ways. Together they revolutionised the way motorcycles were being conceived and perceived in our country. Over these years they made bikes for the masses as well as the enthusiasts – be it the first CD100 that popularised four-stroke and affordable motorcycles in India or the CBZ that gave birth to the current generation biking culture. Let us also not forget that it was Hero Honda who brought in the first fuel-injected commuter to India (the Glamour FI) and also the extremely popular, all-rounder Karizma. Now they have decided to go their own way in this highly competitive market. In other words, former partners are competitors now.
Actually, that’s not completely true, because Hero will continue to receive technological support from Honda until 2014, but will not be marketing their products with Honda included in the brand-name. The first offering from Hero, the Impulse, is such a product. Many thought that this one is the Honda Bros (sold in Brazil), but it isn’t so completely. Superficially, the Impulse’s 149.2-cc engine displaces the same as the Bros’. However, Hero have modified the cylinder head slightly and reduced the compression ratio from 9.5:1 to 9.1:1. Along with that a CV-type carburettor has replaced the fuel-injection system in the Bros. The outcome of this on the power front is a drop in the bike’s peak power from 13.8 PS to 13.2 PS. While the Bros attains its maximum power at 8,000 revs, the Impulse does so at 7,500. Similarly, the peak torque has come down from 13.63 Nm to 13.40 Nm. This too is at 5,000 revolutions per minute instead of at 6,000 RPM. In short, Hero have made sure that their forte – fuel efficiency – remains intact while not forgetting the fact that the Indian customer needs more power and torque in the lower revs. The replacement of FI with carb seems to be a measure to keep the cost down. However, the biggest difference between the Bros and Impulse is that the former can run on ethanol too while the latter is designed to run on petrol only.
The Impulse has been built on a semi-double cradle frame with 180-mm travel suspension forks at the front and 150-mm travel monoshock suspension at the rear. Also, the bike has a ground clearance of 245 mm. That and its long-travel suspension make sure that the Impulse can tackle off-road terrain or rocky paths easily. Hero have equipped this bike with dual-purpose tyres from CEAT as standard. There is a 19-inch wheel at the front and a 17-inch one at the rear to suit the off-roading character of the bike.
The seat of the impulse is a long one; starting from over the tank to let the rider sit as close towards the front as possible. It’s pretty flat and offers a comfortable seating position, slightly biased towards the front, as it would be on a dual-purpose bike. The handlebar is not too short, not too wide. The exhaust has been neatly placed next to the seat on the right side with a heat protective cover on it to save the pillion rider’s thigh.
The instrument console on the Impulse is completely different from that on the Bros. The Impulse gets a digital speedometer and analogue tachometer with tell-tale lights placed around them. The digital display comprises speed, trip meter, odometer, time and fuel level. At the rear is a cluster of LEDs making for a decent tail-light.
The plastic used in the Impulse has a high-quality feel and look to it. Hero have taken good care of quality not only of the plastic parts, also of the paint, especially on the rims, where it tends to chip off more than elsewhere.
Coming to the riding part, there is no doubt that the Impulse is a fun machine. It is meant to be taken to terrain less frequented to experience off-roading – a segment that has been mostly untouched by the Indian bikers. The Impulse will live up to what it is supposed to deliver to a great extent. We didn’t get an opportunity to take it off the tarmac during our first ride, but we can confidently say that the overall geometry of the bike is quite promising. Besides, the low-end torque helps in playing around with the machine. The engine has decent juice to start off with. It delivers power and torque very linearly and in a smooth manner without any peaks. The light front end along with the good bottom-end torque will make the stunters fall in love with the machine, for it is ever ready to do all the wheelies you demand.
All in all, the first impression of the Impulse has left us with a smile on our face. Hero have taken a bold step in coming out with a first product that is not a hardcore commuter (in fact, it’s the first proper dual-purpose motorcycle in the Indian market). Though the company is offering a product meant for the enthusiasts, it still has plans to sell it in a high number and not restrict itself to a niche market. The company plans to achieve this by pricing the Impulse competitively at Rs 66,800 (ex-showroom, New Delhi). The price, quality, reliability of the brand and the established name are factors enough to make the Impulse an instant hit. How it fares on our set of core tests is yet to be discovered. We shall do that soon. Until then get yourself a test ride of the Impulse from a showroom nearby. Good fun is guaranteed!
It’s another Ducati and we’re pleasantly surprised, as always.
For a bike that tall and with weight distribution of 47:53 front as to rear, it was but natural for it to pop wheelies as if it were a backyard game. On the Hypermotard, it absolutely takes no superhuman effort to impress others on the road with antics like riding with the front end floating in the air, shifting up a cog and then popping it once again. To make things even more exciting, I got a pillion on board and realised that keeping the front wheel planted became all the more tough. The stunter in me was highly satisfied after a really long time. The way this bike popped and then the way its forks upfront handled, the landing was phenomenal, so easy yet so exciting! However, it was after all this that the bike started revealing a character that was rather unexpected. I reached the hills and the zigzags invited me to play with them. I was sceptical about leaning this machine, thinking about its tall stance, upright seating position and rear-biased weight distribution. But the Hypermotard handles like a track-focused machine. It was beyond my imagination and my ability to fathom the fact that I could actually go round most of the fast corners with my knee dragging on the tarmac and the bike willing to lean more than I asked it to. This Supermoto defies every assumption about its handling that you may have formed on account of its looks. Point it towards the corner, put a little pressure on the inside bar, throw the bike down and the suspension gives you such precise feedback that you wish you had the courage to lean further. Rock-solid, the HYM negotiates every corner with utter ease. In fact, it inspired so much confidence that I wished I were on a race-track, challenging my own supersport leans. Adding to all this is the set of Pirellis with super soft rubber, which don’t leave the tarmac at all. Every centimetre of their contact patch gripped the road so well that I had a hard time even sliding the bike on purpose.
All about the new R15
It’s sharper and more aggressive in overall styling. This is the result of excellent implementation of the feedback received from the customers. The R15 now takes a number of cues from the R125 and a few from the R6. This basically applies to the new tail-piece that incorporates an LED tail-light and a split seat. There is a wider rear tyre, a radial one from MRF that measures 130/70-R17 and in front an upsized 90/80-R17. There is a new mid-cowl that is wider and suits the wide nose of the R15 better now. There is a new rear tyre hugger and a tinted visor too. As a whole, the bike looks more muscular and aggressive than before.
Yes. An excellent aluminium swing-arm has replaced the basic steel one. The new swing-arm is 55 millimetres longer than the old one, increasing the wheelbase. The seat height has been raised from 790 mm to 800 mm, making the revised R15 a little taller than the original. The bike looks superb with its new tail-piece and split seat, which will attract more attention. But it also entails a lot of pain for the pillion rider, as he/she will sit much higher and on a narrower seat. Yamaha have incorporated a few changes into the R15’s ECU mapping too, and claim better response to the throttle input, making the power and torque delivery linear than before. However, do not expect this to reflect in the output figures, which remain the same at the same revs as the earlier R15. 
TVS are all set to launch the RTR 180 with ABS. Is the new safety feature good enough? Adhish Alawani tries to find it out on a track especially devised to test brakes
To start with, the demonstrators from TVS rode two bikes – one without ABS and the other equipped with the unit – on various wet surfaces. The RTR without ABS had an out-rigger with four support wheels to keep the bike upright whenever it lost traction. Without doubt, the wheels of the one without ABS were bound to lock up and skid and so they did. However, the RTR equipped with the ABS unit showed immense road hold even when a fistful of brake was applied.
To test it myself, I hopped on to the bike with the out-rigger and went out on the various wet surfaces. First, with the ABS off, I slammed the brakes and experienced one of the most fearful things ever on two wheels – the front wheel got locked, the front end went down and there was no chance of recovery. This was on the regular wet tarmac. On the blue basalt it was bad and even worse on the ceramic. After getting a feel of what happens without ABS, I switched on the unit and went in again. To my extreme disbelief, the bike was amazingly composed and stable even with the brakes slammed. I even tried braking at the end of the wet patch and carrying the brakes on to the dry patch. What I found out then was that the wheels, of course, didn’t lock up on the wet. However, when they hit the dry patch, the ABS was still working, but now it knew that the bike was on dry patch and it immediately improved the braking and reduced the stopping distance. Mightily impressed by the ABS unit, I returned to the resting area admiring one of the best upgrades on an Indian bike I had seen. 
TVS say that the ABS system was developed and tested initially at the IDIADA testing facility in Spain under all possible road conditions before fine-tuning it for the Indian environment. Also, the company has stated that when the ABS system was tried on professional racers’ bikes at the Madras Motorsports Club racetrack, they were able to cut down their lap times by over one full second, which showed that not only was the ABS effective in day-to-day use for the average rider, but also boosted the performance riding of the skilled ones.