Hero Mavrick 440 : First Ride Review

The Visuals

Hero MotoCorp claims that a lot of focus has gone into bringing out the muscularity and the ruggedness of the motorcycle. To do that, the overall design philosophy revolved around designing a bike with the majority of the mass at the front, and I think they did a good job there. The Mavrick manages to churn out a good design appeal. The fascia, with its round, LED headlamp and large turn indicators makes the bike look quite modern. But when you look at the bike from the dead front, the large tank shrouds give out a macho look.

From the side, with the large fuel tank, exposed chassis tubes, and the single seat, Hero MotoCorp has tried to create a unique style. A lot of people may like it, but some of us would call it a commuter-ish design. The rear section of the motorcycle has decent mass too, thanks to the presence of a wider tyre, large grab handle, and big turn indicators. The overall fit and finish are done well, just like the paint and the welding. No complaints there.

The Mavrick 440 is available in a total of five colours through three different variants. The one that you see here is the top-spec Phantom Black.

The Package

Indian consumers have a thing or two for motorcycles with lots of features. So, it looks like the Mavrick 440 will satisfy most of them. Firstly, the bike is equipped with LED lights throughout – the headlamp, too, has LED DRLs in it.

Then, the instrument cluster gets the negative display treatment, but it is all digital. This unit supports Bluetooth and smartphone app connectivity. Using this system, riders can access turn-by-turn navigation and check phone and message notifications along with phone battery status. The cluster itself shows a wide array of ride info such as distance-to-empty, gear indicator, real-time mileage, odometer, and also speed.

The USB port comes standard on the Mavrick 440, just like the dual-channel ABS. The suspension on the bike consists of the traditional telescopic forks at the front. The rear gets twin shocks but with seven-step preload adjustability.

The Ride

As you know, the engine on the Mavrick 440 is the same as the one seen on the Harley Davidson X440. However, close to 95 per cent of the engine is the same. The reason I say this is because this 440cc, single-cylinder, air-cooled unit churns out 2Nm less than that of the Harley’s. So we are talking about 26bhp and 36Nm of peak torque. But this drop in torque hasn’t affected this bike's performance. The Mavrick 440 is 4kg lighter than the X440 and that means the power-to-weight ratio is still on par with the X440, if not better. After riding over 150km, it was clear that this is the best Hero engine I’ve ever ridden. I say this because there are a lot of things this engine can do well. Firstly, the refinement and the overall NVH of this motorcycle are really good.You won’t experience any vibrations if you ride the bike like an average Indian rider does – with easy throttle, short shifts, and a consistent 70-80kmph speed. But try riding it hard, which I did, and minor vibrations start kicking in post 100kmph. The same intensity stays till the 120kmph mark. However, the buzz can only be felt on the handlebar. Things get better here, thanks to the light clutch, which gets the slip and assist tech. I also liked the gearbox – it offers slick shifts.

The two aspects of this motorcycle that I loved are the low-end torque performance and the tractability. Hero claims that 90 per cent of the torque can be felt below 2,000rpm and it did feel that way. The flat torque curve allowed me to have easy overtakes and quicker straight-line starts. The fuelling is spot on – something that I have not seen with other Hero bikes.

Now, when we talk about riding dynamics, the Mavrick churns out a great experience. The combination of the trellis chassis, 17-inch front wheel, and the wide handlebar allowed me to have a confident ride. The bike is stable at high speeds and far more predictable than I expected. I thoroughly enjoyed flicking the bike around.

The suspension setup on this Hero has been tuned quite well. Although the route didn’t have a lot of bad roads, some patches helped me gauge the ride quality. The tuning of the bike has been done to give out a comfortable ride. It isn’t too plush, but good enough to keep the fatigue at bay. A big plus point of this bike is the seating comfort. It is super easy to get on the bike and the seat height is fairly good. Once on the saddle, the seat triangle is spot on for commuting, touring, and even off-roading. The upright commanding ergos is something that will make life easy in city traffic conditions. The overall weight distribution is spot on as well.

The Conclusion

After spending two days with the Hero Mavrick 440, it is clear that it is an extremely likeable motorcycle. Hero MotoCorp has managed to develop a motorcycle that is easy to ride and handle, has an engine that produces a good amount of low- and mid-range performance, and the overall comfort aspect has also been well taken care of. This can also become the only bike one should own as it is quite versatile too. The overall styling may not be liked by many, but this is one subjective aspect. I liked the design language as it is not too sharp or aggressive. The only thing I didn’t like about this bike is the instrument cluster – it is too compact and small for a bike this size. The top-end variant of the Mavrick 440 costs Rs. 2.73 lakh (on-road, Mumbai). At this price point, the Mavrick 440 offers a lot of value and has the potential to not only gain market share in the 400cc segment but also disrupt the 250cc segment in the country.

Photography by Kapil Angane