Hero Xtreme 160R 4V Long Term Review: Introduction

Gallery Introduction The Plan The Details Bike Stats

Introduction

Hero Xtreme 160R 4V Right Front Three Quarter

Hero MotoCorp has kicked off its premium section of motorcycle offerings this year with the launch of the Xtreme 160R 4V. The bike was launched just a few months ago and is the spiritual successor to its two-valve version. However, Hero made many changes to this 160cc commuter, which should make it even more upmarket than before.

We rode the Xtreme 160R 4V during its launch at Hero’s test track and also conducted a thorough road test recently. But that’s not all. The Hero Xtreme 160R 4V has made it to the BikeWale long-term garage and I have been given the keys to it for the next few months. So, this will be my go-to motorcycle for everything; right from daily home to office commutes to intercity and interstate rides, if the schedule permits. I am quite excited about it because riding a large engine capacity bike for long distances and having fun with it is convenient. However, the real test is taking a commuter bike to places, building patience, and seeing how well it stands all the adventures.

The Plan

Hero Xtreme 160R 4V Left Front Three Quarter

Winter is approaching and so is the riding season. The end-of-the-year weather makes it just right to take the Xtreme 160R to places. This is because the saddle time on this would be a tad longer due to its limitations. The plan is to go riding on Sunday(s), and even clock a few thousand kilometres through commuting and some long rides. This will reveal the bike’s character in terms of build quality, comfort levels in different scenarios, as well as how well the engine withstands the test of time.

The Details

Addressing the changes that Hero made to the 4V model, there are quite a handful. The Xtreme 160R’s 163cc, single-cylinder, air/oil-cooled motor now houses a four-valve setup. This has led to a small power bump and the bike now makes 16.6bhp and 14.4Nm. From our experience so far, the engine has proven to be peppy and decently fuel-efficient, too. We managed to get 48.28kmpl from the Xtreme 160R 4V during its mileage test.

Then, it now gets fancier-looking and attention-grabbing golden USD front forks. The overall ride quality is slightly stiff but we plan to play with the preload setting of the monoshock to see if there is a sizeable difference in the response. Other changes like a denser seat and a slightly altered fascia have also been made for the 4V model. It features full LED illumination, USB charging port, fully digital screen, side stand cut-off sensor, and a single-channel ABS.