Hero Mavrick Long Term: City Report

Gallery Introduction What’s good?What’s not good?What’s next?Product Details:

Introduction

There are some bike keys you never shy away from, no matter the weather, route, or occasion. I said this about the Hero Mavrick in one of my Instagram posts. At the time of writing it, I had only spent around 200km riding the bike in the city. I have clocked over 600km since then - again in the city - and my opinion about the Mavrick has not changed.

Needless to say, as a motorcycle to commute on, the Mavrick is great. But, it’s not without its issues as a commuter. Here then, is a list of what’s good and what’s not about the Hero Mavrick as a daily rider.

What’s good?

The engine. It is smooth and tractable, and it sounds nice. Moreover, it is mated to a crisp shifting gearbox with well-spaced-out gear ratios. As a result, one never needs to go over 4,000rpm for all means and purposes. To bring things in perspective - the motorcycle hits 100kmph in sixth with less than 4,000rpm on the digital tachometer. Plus, thanks to the engine’s torque spread and the well-sorted gear rations, one can short-shift between 3,000-3,500rpm, and still be quicker than almost everyone around on the way to work or back.

The ergos. The Mavrick's ergonomics are properly sorted, and I am reminded of it whenever I jump onto it from another bike. The seating triangle is spot on with a wide handlebar and neutrally set footpegs. Plus, the spaciousness between the seat, footpegs, and handlebar makes the bike feel roomy without feeling disconnected.

The ride. Now, there’s nothing to write home about Mavrick’s suspension hardware. But, the setup in terms of spring rates and damping settings - not to mention the suspension travel - ensured the Mavrick stayed settled and comfortable no matter what the Mumbai roads threw at it. Maybe my weight helped, and a lighter rider might not enjoy the ride as much. But, I doubt that the latter lot will ever find it uncomfortable.

The flickability. I love 17-inch wheels on motorcycles. Not only do these help around a twisty section of tarmac, but they are a boon while commuting. With reduced gyroscopic effect and a relatively sharp steering geometry, these make the bike feel light and agile. It’s no different with the Mavrick. It flows effortlessly through fast-moving traffic feeling lighter and smaller than it is. Plus, the bike builds confidence in the rider courtesy of its positive feeling front-end.

What’s not good?

The brakes. Seventeen-inch wheels also highlight chinks in a motorcycle’s dynamic armour. In the Mavrick’s case, it is the weak front brake. The front brake lacks progression and bite, and the lever comes in all the way to the handlebar grip. This meant I had to rely on the rear brake more than I would have liked. We believe better brake oil with sintered brake pads could solve this issue. And we will give it a go in the days to come to see if it makes a difference.

The seat. The seating ergonomics on the Mavrick are spot-on; we mentioned that before. But, the seat design isn’t nice. Maybe, it was scooped oddly to reduce the seat height, or someone at the Hero testing department thought sitting up close to the tank was okay. Whatever the case, it is not the best place to spend long hours in.

The instrumentation. Well, in today’s day and age of colour TFT and switch-cube controlled menus, the Mavrick’s dot matrix instrumentation looks dated. It is not the easiest to read either, especially the tachometer.

What’s next?

We will continue to use the Mavrick as our daily rider because I can’t think of a better bike to do my 80km daily commute on at the moment. But, we will also take the next month to see if we can improve upon some of its shortcomings. If not, we will plan a highway outing to tell you how it feels on the wide open roads.