The flagship ADV from Hero, the Xpulse 400 was recently spied testing again after its last appearance a long time back in the hills; It will rival the soon-to-be-launched RE Himalayan 452
Hero Motorcorp will foray into the premium motorcycle segment with a slew of new models scheduled for a launch next year. The home-grown two-wheeler manufacturer is currently leading the entry-level motorcycle space and holds the crown for the top-selling two-wheeler brand in the Indian market. Amongst its upcoming premium offerings, the Xpulse 400 holds a prominent place as the motorcycle will be positioned in a highly competitive ADV segment that is currently booming in the domestic market.
The bigger Xpulse 400 was spied last year for the first time around the Ladakh region, sparking the news of its debut in the near future. The test mule was again spotted in the hills sometime back. Recently, a heavily camouflaged test mule of the Hero ADV was again spotted, this time around in the Jaipur city.
It is no secret that Hero is working to refresh the Xpulse nameplate and the current Xpulse 200 4V will also likely get the new 210cc liquid-cooled engine from the Karizma XMR. It was spotted testing alongside the Xtreme 210cc naked street motorcycle. As for the bigger 400cc Xpulse is concerned, the latest test mule looks quite similar to last year’s test bike. The bike appears sizable, much bigger than its 200cc sibling and sports a muscular fuel tank. In terms of equipment, we expect it to get USD forks for front, and rear mono-shock, wire-spoke rims, all-LED lighting setup and digital instrument cluster amongst others.
The up-swept exhaust seems quite prominent and the test mule is shod with a chunky off-road biased rear tyre, while the front wheel is surely a 21-inch unit. The bike was being tested alongside the KTM 390 Adventure, most probably for benchmarking purposes. The engine details of the Hero Xpulse 400 are still under wraps and so far we haven’t got any clues from the test mules.
There are two broad possibilities in this case, a new 400cc liquid-cooled engine as per the segment’s demand or using the Harley-Davidson X440’s mill. Choosing the former will put the bike neck to neck with its direct rivals, the upcoming Royal Enfield Himalayan 452 and the KTM 390 Adventure, as both these bikes get a liquid-cooled engine.
On the other hand, going with the latter will help to keep the costs in check, resulting in aggressive pricing. It remains to be seen which path Hero will take for the Xpulse 400. The Hero ADV will likely launch next year in 2024 and it will be sold via the brand’s Premia dealership chain.