Hero XPulse 200 4V

The Hero XPulse 200 4V is a bike that’s quite close to my heart and it has been something that I myself have been thinking of buying for quite a while now. And that’s because it makes for an absolutely brilliant commuter. It’s comfortable, has immense off-road capabilities, looks very handsome and most importantly, it’s India’s most affordable adventure bike. Let’s dive into the details: 

The XPulse 200 4V looks very handsome to my eyes. Its small windscreen, big front fender, tall and lean stance, minimal panels and long, flat seat, they all combine to make it look like an old-school dirt bike. I highly recommend all of you off-road enthusiasts to head online and check out some of the wild ways people have customised their XPulses. That said, I agree it’s not for everyone. The Impulse was a bit too radical looking for most when it came out a couple of years ago and the XPulse might be too ‘off-roady’ in the way it looks for some too. 

Over its 3 variants, the XPulse 200 4V is on sale in 6 colours. While both the Pro variants have their specific colour schemes locked in, the standard XPulse can be had in 4 colours: Black Industrial Grey, Techno Blue, Black Sports Red, and Nexus Blue White. The Blue White colour might look the nicest but then there’s an awful lot of them out on the road. If you really want to stand out with your XPulse, the Industrial Grey actually looks quite nice. It’s not only a rare colour, but the darker, more subtle shades also might hide the scratches you get due to the small tumbles you’d eventually have when going off-road. 

The Hero XPulse 200 4V has a 21-inch front wheel shod with a 90/90 tyre. At the rear, there’s an 18-inch wheel with a 120/80 tyre. They’re spoke wheels as you’d see on off-road bikes. The only downside with them is that they’re tube tyres, meaning repairing punctures will be quite a pain. 

The newer Hero bikes like the XPulse 210 and the Xtreme 250R have gained from the brand’s betterment in terms of build quality. But the XPulse 200, being an older product, doesn’t benefit from that. While its build quality isn’t bad in any way, a lot of owners have reported loose screws, switchgear malfunctions and rusting. The finish levels could’ve been better too, as the messy wiring might leave you wanting. 

Safety Features

Apart from disc brakes and a single-channel ABS system, the XPulse 200 4V doesn’t really have any safety features to talk about. Now, it doesn’t really need a traction control system for it’s quite a friendly engine. That said, I would’ve liked if Hero had given it a dual-channel ABS system, for more safety that way is always appreciated. 

Convenience Features

The XPulse 200 4V’s features list is quite decent but it’s nothing to really brag about. The fully digital LCD console is simple and easy to read. There’s a USB charging port and smartphone connectivity with nifty bits like turn-by-turn navigation as standard. While the console didn’t give me a very premium feeling, I appreciated how simple and utilitarian it felt. It’s just that I wish the space utilisation was slightly better as very little space is dedicated for the turn-by-turn navigation prompts and I had to sometimes squint to see what it was saying. 

Rider Comfort

Comfort for the rider on the XPulse 200 4V is brilliant and that’s coming from a 6’0 lanky guy for whom most bikes feel cramped. The ergonomics are neutral, upright and super comfortable. What I really like is that despite having a tall seat height on paper, the XPulse’s narrowness makes it quite easy to get your feet down even for relatively shorter riders. The one downside to that is the thin seat but then while the seat isn’t as large and spacious as the Royal Enfield Himalayan 450, it never really left me wanting more space. 

Pillion Comfort

The pillion comfort on the XPulse is brilliant too. One thing though, is that the seat feels quite soft. So riding two up for longer durations of time means both of you will be sinking into the seat at a quicker rate, so aches and pains might kick in that much quicker. Another thing if you intend to tour with the XPulse is that there isn’t a whole lot of space left once there’s a pillion onboard. So travelling with a pillion plus luggage might be a challenge. 

The XPulse 200 4V’s 199.6cc engine makes 19.2PS at 8500rpm and 17.35Nm at 6500rpm. When the XPulse was last updated in 2021, it got a four valve setup (as the name suggests) and the bike started making a bit more power than before. 

City Performance

The XPulse’s power and torque figures don’t sound like a lot because they aren’t. It has decent power in the lower revs and that makes commuting quite easy. Twist the throttle a little bit and you will be able to execute overtakes quite nicely. And that sort of bottom end torque is what you need when going off-road as well. But if you too like to ride in a slightly spirited manner, you’ll almost instantly realise that the XPulse barely has any grunt left in the upper half of the revs. It runs out of breath after 5000-6000rpm and even slightly experienced riders might soon find it a bit underpowered.

Highway Performance

And that feeling of the XPulse being underpowered is even more out on the highway. While the bike can hold a steady 75-80kmph, the engine becomes quite loud above that. While it can stay at 100kmph, the relatively small engine feels stressed and becomes noisy at those speeds so it’s not a very smooth experience. So while touring on the XPulse 200 4V isn’t absolutely impossible, if it’s something you really want to do a lot of, you might want to think about the XPulse 210. With its liquid-cooled engine, the 210 feels a lot more highway-friendly. 

Mileage

In about a week of riding the XPulse 200 4V, it gave me a mileage of almost 35kmpl. That is respectable but again, I do have a slightly excitable right hand. If you like riding your bikes in a calmer fashion, the mileage figure might even cross the 40kmpl mark. A friend of mine regularly gets 41/42kmpl with his XPulse and with its 13-litre tank, he covers well beyond 400km before the reserve light pops up. 

Underpinnings

The XPulse 200 4V has a telescopic fork at the front and a monoshock at the rear. There’s 190mm of travel in the fork and 170mm of wheel travel in the shock. The seat height is 825mm and the bike boasts a massive 220mm ground clearance. The XPulse is a fantastic example of how you don’t need fancy stuff to make something work. I’ve seen people complain about the XPulse 200 4V missing out on a USD fork despite being an off-roader, but if a fork works the way it should, it doesn’t matter if it’s a USD or a telescopic unit. And the XPulse’s fork definitely works! 

City Handling

The XPulse’s city handling is quite nice and I found myself filtering through traffic at a pretty rapid pace. What makes it all that quicker is that I did not have to worry about there being a pothole or speed breaker on the other side when I overtook someone. Such is the XPulse’s suspension that it doesn’t require you to worry about these little things. One thing I’d recommend though, is to overtake people at a gentle pace. When I rode the XPulse Rally Kit with its super tall seat height, I was essentially sitting at a much higher level than the average bike/scooter rider. So overtaking them at pace really freaked them out because it took them a while to figure out what in the world just flew past them at such an unnatural height. 

Highway Handling

The XPulse’s highway handling is stable and predictable as well and I had no major complaints from it. One thing though, is that if you ride the Pro variant or the Rally Kit out on the highway, both variants have so much suspension travel that things might feel a bit vague when you try to make quick lane changes. I was so far from the ground that I lost a bit of sense as to what was going on down there. It wasn’t dangerous or unstable in any way, mind you, just something that you’ll need to get used to. 

Brakes

The XPulse’s braking is quite decent as well. It’s an off-roader so Hero obviously couldn’t give it super sharp brakes because that’d scare people off. So while they aren’t very sharp, I got the bike to stop whenever I needed to, sometimes by just grabbing a handful of brakes. 

Ride Quality

Brilliant is the word that comes to mind when I talk about the XPulse’s ride quality. Of late, Hero has been nailing suspensions on its bikes and scooters and the XPulse is no different. The suspension feels nice and soft and given that there’s so much travel, I felt pretty much invincible going through our bad roads. Even the biggest potholes and speed breakers couldn’t shake the XPulse and I felt like I was on a tank that was weathering everything that was thrown at me. 

If you opt for the Pro variant or even slap the Rally Kit onto your standard XPulse (both of which have even more suspension travel), it almost feels like an overkill for the everyday commuting duties because there’s almost nothing that can disturb the suspension. 

To sum the Hero XPulse 200 4V up: it’s handsome, extremely comfortable, has a LOT of capabilities and is still very affordable. I don’t know if you can tell but I am quite fond of the little adventure bike. Anyone who’s looking to try a bit of off-roading or even just want a simple, comfortable commuter, it doesn’t get any more comfortable than the XPulse at this price point. I can imagine parents and even grandparents being very happy to be pillions on this bike. 

Would I immediately buy one though? Well, no. And that’s because of the existence of the XPulse 210. For just Rs 24,000 more than the XPulse 200’s base variant, I can get the XPulse 210, which provides a very good jump in terms of performance, given its liquid-cooled engine. And that jump, for me, is worth the extra Rs 24,000. So if you too have even the slightest of touring ambitions with your XPulse, I’d recommend spending the extra money. It might sound like a substantial amount but the few extra EMIs that you’d be shelling out would be very much worth the money!

Variants

The XPulse 200 4V is on sale in 3 variants. Its base variant costs Rs 1,51,500, while the Pro variant costs Rs 1,64,500. For the extra Rs 13,000, you get more off-road focused, longer travel suspension, a much taller seat and a really good looking red and white colour scheme. And then you have the top-of-the-line Pro Dakar Edition for Rs 1,67,500 (all prices ex-showroom Delhi) which is essentially the Pro variant but in a gorgeous Dakar Rally colour scheme. If you like the colour scheme, the extra Rs 3,000 is worth it. 

Hero XPulse 210

The Hero XPulse 210 has more features, power and looks slightly better than the XPulse 200 4V while costing about Rs 24,000 more than the XPulse 200’s base variant’s ex-showroom price. While the bump in power doesn’t sound like a lot, it makes the XPulse 210 a much better tourer than the XPulse 200. So if you’ve any touring ambitions, I’d recommend stretching your budget a little bit and getting the 210. But if you’re on a really tight budget and want a bike just for commuting, the 200’s affordability is definitely appealing. 

Royal Enfield Scram 440

The Royal Enfield Scram 440 is essentially the Scram 441 but with a slightly bigger engine and a couple of other changes. The XPulse is cheaper and more importantly, lighter, something that newer riders will appreciate almost immediately. So as a beginner bike, the XPulse 200 4V still seems like the better option.