Introduction
We have been doing back to back reviews of two wheelers from Hero MotoCorp. We hope you enjoyed reading our review of Mavrick 440 motorcycle posted last week. After riding the mightier Mavrick, it is of course a very different experience switching to the Xtreme 125R motorcycle. While Mavrick is positioned at the top, the Xtreme 125R is in the commuter category with a very different value proposition. Xtreme 125R is a surprising addition into Hero’s portfolio which is already busy with multiple other 125cc bikes like Glamour, Super Splendor and the likes. The intention of Xtreme 125R is clear, it is giving a head-to-head competition to TVS Raider 125 -. a product which clearly focuses on design and aesthetics heavily and tries to pack everything nicely yet maintaining the affordability.
The all new Xtreme 125R addresses enthusiasts who are wanting a sporty stylish looking bike and are constrained by budget to buy a 150/160cc bikes. While the Xtreme 125 can be regarded as THE bike at a particular price point it is still not a replacement for a 150cc+ bikes. Having said that, the bike definitely opens up choices for the customers in addition to Honda Shine 125, SP125, TVS Raider and Bajaj Pulsar NS125. We rode the Xtreme 125R in Bengaluru last week, what follows below is a short review of this bike:
Design and Looks
The motorcycle here in discussion was offered in Firestorm Red color for us to test it out. We had 7 days to test the bike – these are our first impressions. The headlight and front design is definitely unique and distinguishing, the DRLs, the headlight eyes looks good but sometimes feels overdone. Looks are subjective, but the front design of TVS Raider seems more proportionate and engaging .. We liked the LED indicators on Xtreme 125R, how it looks and physically bends – especially how nice it looks with a 3-segment pattern like a running lights which you see on high-end cars. The main attraction of Xtreme 125R is the muscular looking fuel tank with an “Xtreme” 3D badge. It is important to note the material seems to be plastic/fibre.. The motorcycle gets a mono-suspension for the rear-wheel and has. a very nice design at the back including rear mud guard design along with the tail lamps and indicators at the back. The side profile of Hero Xtreme 125 is appealing – the main highlights being the stickering on front fairing, split seat setup, alloy wheels , the exhaust muffler, the overall fit and finish of the body with the use of contrasting colors.
Moving up close near handlebar, the motorcycle features a digital console which is quite busy with multiple information like the speedometer, odometer, fuel gauge, tachometer, gear indicator and the likes. It is informative and readable. The Raider 125’s digital console is even more busier and additionally gets a color TFT display on top trims.
The all new Hero Xtreme 125R features a dedicated Hazard light switch on the handlebar, that is quite good for a 125cc bike. Ergonomics wise, the handlebars are nice to hold, riding triangle is good and you put your foot down like any other sports/commuter motorcycle.
Specs and Dimensions
Talking about the dimensions, the all new Hero Xtreme 125 weighs 136 kgs (Kerb Weight). The motorcycle measures 2009mm in length and 793mm in width, . The motorcycle’s wheelbase is 1319mm, this is an amazing factor helping the rider to perform well in the corners. The seat height of Xtreme 125 is 794mm which is good even for short riders. The fuel tank capacity of Xtreme 125 motorcycle is 10 litres which is more than sufficient for a lower cc bike.
Engine and Performance
The motorcycle is powered by a air-cooled 4 Stroke 125cc engine which is fuel injected. The 125cc engine of Xtreme 125R is capable to churn out a maximum power of 11.4 bhp at 8250 rpm and delivers a peak torque of 10.5 Nm at 6500 rpm. Hero claims a fuel economy of 66 kmpl on their brochure but in reality we got around 50 kmpl of mileage. The engine is mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox.
Ride and Handling
How does it ride? The all new Hero Xtreme 125 although is under-powered with just a 125cc engine, it performs surprisingly great. The engine/exhaust gives you that feeling like screaming – that is how it is – the Xtreme 125R is quite noisy and fun to ride. Do not expect that you could cruise above 90-100 kmpl easily, it struggles after certain speed, but the feedback from the motorcycle is amazing – it feels energetic and asks for your inputs to push it further. It is really a joy to ride this motorcycle on corners, it bends really well. We could only reach around 104 kmph as top speed, if pushed hard, the bike may attain more speed as well. We tested the bike on highways mostly, and it did a decent job. Riding along with the pillion was not a problem at all, thanks to split seat setup.
The bike does a decent job in the traffic conditions and it has a good turning radius for taking that quick U-turn. The 17inch MRF tubeless tyres used provide better grip on the road.
Brakes and Suspension
Talking about the suspension, at the front, the all new Hero Xtreme 125 gets a 37mm conventional fork and at the rear you get hydraulic mono-shock absorbers. Suspension is very decent – riding on humpy-dumpy roads for a while in this motorcycle is doable.
Talking about the brakes, the top trim Hero Xtreme is equipped with a disc brake setup at the front with a single-channel ABS. The other variant of Xtreme 125R which is on sale gets Disc brake with IBS setup (which doesn’t include ABS feature). Overall the brakes were quite responsive and the feedback was intuitive.
Colors on Offer
The all new Hero Xtreme 125 is available in 3 attractive colors as of now: Firestorm Red, Cobalt Blue and Stallion Black.
Price
There are 2 variants of Hero Xtreme 125R which are on offer. The base variant (IBS) is priced at Rs 95,000 (Ex-showroom Bangalore) and the ABS variant is priced at Rs 99,500 (Ex-showroom Bangalore).
Verdict
Hero Xtreme 125R is a good stylish motorcycle in the 125cc segment. It is definitely giving a tough competition to TVS Raider in terms of design, looks, features and price. You should definitely buy the Xtreme 125R if you are looking for a sporty bike in budget and are looking for sporty design and mileage. Having said that, it is definitely not a valid replacement for a 150/160cc bikes in the market.
You can add more to this story by commenting below.
