BREAKING: Hero Glamour X 125 Launched - Most Feature Packed 125cc Bike In India

Quick News Highlights

• The Glamour X 125 comes in two variants: drum and front disc

• Offered with 3 riding modes: Eco, Rain & Power

• Will rival the TVS Raider 125, Bajaj Pulsar N125 & Honda SP 125

The Hero Glamour X 125 has been launched in India at a starting price of Rs 89,999 (ex-showroom, Delhi), and bookings have begun. It is the most feature-packed 125cc bike as it comes with cruise control for the first time in its segment, along with several other goodies. The bike is offered in two variants and here’s a breakdown of their prices:

This makes the drum variant just Rs 2,701 more expensive than before, whereas the disc variant costs Rs 8,801 more than the disc variant of the older bike. The price hike is pretty reasonable considering the extra features the top-end variant gets. 

More premium design

The design of the bike has been slightly tweaked, and now comes with 5 colours: Matt Magnetic Silver, Candy Blazing Red, Metallic Nexus Blue, Black Teal Blue and Pearl Black Red. The biggest change in terms of styling is most visible on the tank, where there’s a metallic Glamour badge with a large red X complementing it. The new design does help make the Hero Glamour X 125 stand out compared to the Glamour Xtec and standard Glamour variants.

Feature-packed instrument console:

The bike comes with a color LCD console which offers smartphone connectivity and related features such as call/SMS alerts and turn-by-turn navigation. The console looks similar to the Hero Karizma XMR 210 and the Hero Xtreme 250R. It also shows the real-time mileage readouts, distance that can be covered with remaining fuel, gear position indicator with shift prompt, and even comes with an automatic brightness adjustment.

Riding aids:

The brand has also offered a ride-by-wire throttle. As a ride-by-wire throttle can be operated electronically, Hero has been able to equip this bike with riding modes that change the behaviour of the engine by modulating the power delivery. There are 3 modes: Eco, Rain and Power. This is quite a handy feature when riding in intense rain where a milder power delivery will help in preventing accidents.

Along with this, the bike now comes with a cruise control system. The system will come in handy for those riders whose commutes include a little bit of highway riding. The system will help in reducing rider fatigue when riding on long stretches of roads with no traffic. 

However, we really wished the brand had given the bike a single-channel ABS instead of the cruise control. The ABS would have played a bigger role in improving the safety quotient of the bike. While cruise control is an impressive feature, the majority of the highways - especially during commutes - aren’t so empty as to require cruise control to minimise wrist pain.

Lastly, the bike’s switch gear has been redesigned and has taken some bits from the brand’s higher capacity offerings like the Hero Xpulse 210. The switch gear looks quite premium and adds a nice touch to the bike overall. The left hand side switch gear offers riders the option to navigate the console and its features. There’s also a ride mode button allowing riders to toggle through the 3 riding modes. On the right handside, there’s the engine start/kill switch along with the button to activate the cruise control. There’s also an emergency braking alert which turns on all the four indicators in case of a sudden braking scenario. 

Powertrain and underpinnings:

The Glamour X 125 is powered by the same engine as the Hero Xtreme 125R (same power and torque too). The engine is counterbalanced for reduced vibrations. It makes 11.55PS and 10.5Nm, making it 0.8PS more powerful than the older Glamour. 

The bike gets a i3S which is Hero’s idling-start-stop system, that cuts off engine power when idling. The bike can be turned back on by pulling in the clutch. This system should help in improving mileage.

The bike gets the same telescopic fork and twin shock absorber setup at the rear. The bike rolls on 18-inch alloy wheels at both ends, now with a disc brake at the front and a drum at the rear. There’s also a variant with a drum brake up front. This base variant does not get the cruise control feature, riding modes or even the all-LED lights. It makes do with halogen lights, but gets the same colour LCD instrument console as the top variant.  

The bike has a seat height of 790mm which is quite accessible. The fuel tank capacity comes to 10 litres, and the bike has a kerb weight of 125.5kg for the drum variant and 127kg for the disc variant. The kerb weight should be manageable for most riders. Hero also offers a few accessories. This includes a cushioned backrest for added pillion comfort, belly pan to protect the lower portion of the engine, knuckle guards, small windscreen, tank pads, and a rear tyre hugger to prevent water from splashing back.

BikeDekhoSays

The launch of the more feature-packed Hero Glamour X 125 is the brand’s answer to premium commuter offerings like the TVS Raider SX variant and the Honda SP125. While it’s clearly a lot more feature-packed than the SP125, it is also slightly better than the Raider in terms of features. 

We are quite happy to see these changes, and we think the brand might be using the Glamour X 125 as a platform to test these features before offering it on their higher capacity offerings. Usually brands tend to give such features on higher-end models first and then let them trickle down to the lower-end ones. Hero has gone with a bottom-up approach here. That said, we really wish the disc variant got a single-channel ABS. Interestingly, take a look at this table:

What Hero seems to have done is offer two 125cc bikes at a similar price point (for the top variants). Those who want features and more matured looks can go for the new Glamour X 125. Riders seeking aggressive looks can consider the Hero Xtreme 125R (read more about its variants and features here). With these two bikes, along with the Hero Super Splendor 125 for the mileage and budget-conscious riders, Hero seems to have the 125cc segment properly covered.