Hero Xpulse 210

It has been more than a year since I rode the Hero Xpulse 210 briefly during the first ride event in Udaipur. It had surpassed all my expectations by being impressive in almost every way and I had been itching to put it through a comprehensive road test since then. However, some hiccups at Hero’s end meant we just kept on waiting to get it for more than a year. That said, now that we have finally ridden the motorcycle for more than a week, does it continue to impress us? Or was it just the initial novelty that made us like the Xpulse 210 back then? Let’s find out.

The Xpulse 210 is supposed to be a more premium alternative to the Xpulse 200, and that shows in the way the former looks. It is a bigger and less industrial-looking motorcycle than the 200. In fact, the 210 exudes more of an ADV vibe with a high-set, beak-style fender, the fairly tall windscreen, and the knuckle guards, all of which give away its adventure-centric intentions. From the fuel tank onwards, the dual sport persona starts to show with the tank tapering towards the rear and blending into the nearly flat, almost motocross-style single-piece seat. The high-slung, underseat exhaust is a clear giveaway that it is meant for hardcore stuff like water wading.

The quality levels are equally commendable with the bike not leaving any room for complaints. The paint job looks well executed, there aren’t any untidy welds, and the quality of plastic is good all across. I just felt the switches could have a more tactile feel, but that’s just me nitpicking.

The 830mm of seat height may sound a bit intimidating for shorter riders. However, get on the bike and you’d be surprised by how narrow the motorcycle is at the centre, which means flat- footing is easily doable, even if you’re shorter than my 5’11’’ frame. And the combination of easily reachable handlebar, centre-set footpegs, and a long seat put you in an upright and comfortable riding position. The seat is a bit narrow and the cushioning is on the softer side, so people with a sensitive backside may feel some discomfort on longer rides, after close to 2-3 hours of continuous riding. But for a one-hour-long commute, it doesn’t pose any challenges.

The Xpulse 210 is a very involving and entertaining motorcycle to ride with its throaty, almost dirt bike-like exhaust sound being one of the reasons for that. You tend to keep revving the engine even when it’s not needed just to listen to that brappy sound for longer.

On the move, the motorcycle doesn’t seem to offer as strong a low-end torque delivery as the 200, but mid-range is where the 210 comes alive. Sprinting off a traffic signal or pulling off swift overtakes in city riding conditions is easy and fun. And when you hold on to each gear for longer, the performance feels steady and strong even towards the top end, almost till its redline of 10,000rpm. In case you want to ride lazily, the Xpulse 210 allows that too, and doesn’t protest when you ride at 40-45kmph in sixth gear.

On the highway, 90kmph feels like the sweet spot. It can do 100kmph as well, but that’s where the engine starts feeling a bit strained and vibrations creep in on the handlebar and footpegs. The buzz isn’t really annoying, but will be constantly felt. At 100kmph on the highway, overtaking requires a bit of planning and downshifting, but since the top speed is close to 135kmph, it doesn’t get too demanding for the bike.

The clutch is on the lighter side, and the gear shifts feel crisp for the most part. However, after a few minutes of riding, the radiator fan on the left starts blowing warm air onto your legs constantly. Strangely, this not only happens in traffic but also on the open road at higher speeds.

The Xpulse is known for offering supremely comfortable ride quality and the 210 takes things to a whole new level. The minor undulations are handled with such plushness that you might not even feel most of them. Over bigger bumps and through deeper potholes, there is a sense of controlled firmness, which keeps the bike settled. It doesn’t feel overly springy like the Xpulse 200.

The mild firmness aids in lending it great handling dynamics. For a tall and long travel suspension-equipped, dual-sport offering, the Xpulse 210 handles like a charm, changing directions effortlessly and feeling in control. Despite the narrow tyres, it doesn’t feel unnervingly tippy either. Obviously, it is not the sharpest around corners, but it doesn’t feel lazy and, in fact, going around corners cross-bodied in supermoto fashion feels quite involving and fun!

The front brake offers decent bite but the stopping power comes in a very progressive manner. It might feel inadequate initially, but it’s just a matter of recalibrating your braking inputs, and you get used to the setup in no time. The rear brake has a good balance of bite and progression and feels just right, especially off-road, where modulating your braking inputs to get the right amount of slide is easy.

The moment you take the Xpulse 210 off the beaten path, you instantly realise that’s where it belongs. The Xpulse 210 is genuinely the ‘cheat code bike’ for off-roading. It offers perfect standing-up ergos by putting you in a very natural position. Even if you’re close to 6 feet tall, you don’t need to bend down too much to reach the handlebar and grabbing the bike with your legs is easy. What else works in its favour is the extremely flexible suspension.

The setup not only absorbs all dips, crests, and stones with ease, but it also lands big jumps with good composure, without bottoming out easily. That truly helps when you’re sending it on an unknown trail blind for the first time. Moreover, it feels light and fluidic enough to take on the tight and technical trails like a cake walk. Do remember that you have to keep the revs over 4,000rpm for faster sprints because that’s where the actual drive exists. But that’s never a challenge since the power delivery is fairly linear and the throttle response is crisp.

The Top variant you see in these pictures comes with a TFT screen, which is bright and the information is laid out in an easily legible format. The Bluetooth-enabled display shows all the crucial info and accessing everything through directional keys on the left side switchgear is not complicated. This variant also gets dual-channel ABS with three different modes which allow you to choose between keeping it active for both wheels, turning it off for the rear wheel, and deactivating it for both wheels. Further, there is a full LED lighting system, a USB charging port, and a front grab handle to pull the bike out of tricky situations.

In our test, the Xpulse 210 returned a fuel efficiency of 34.2kmpk when ridden through moderate traffic. This translates to a range of around 445km from its 13-litre fuel tank. That is decent considering the figure will be 2-4kmpl higher when ridden on the highway at steady speeds.

The Xpulse 210 is a fantastic motorcycle in my books. Two things that it does brilliantly are city commuting and off-roading. The light weight, good mid-range torque, and absorbent suspension make it effortless to ride in the city. And then it’s got the hardware, ground clearance, ergonomics, and nimbleness to prove capable through technical and flowing trails. Not that it is free of faults. The engine could do with better heat management, considering the fan stays on for an unusually long amount of time, and refinement at highway speeds. A slightly stronger mid-range would also add brownie points. But these aren’t deal breakers by any means if you want an accessible and fun dual-sport offering for commuting, off-roading, and occasional long rides.

Now, I must remind you that by paying just Rs. 23,000 over the Top model of the Xpulse 210, you can go for the base variant of the TVS Apache RTX, which is a bigger, more premium, more powerful and definitely a more versatile offering. But do remember that the RTX would be more suitable for those who aren't really keen on off-roading, and touring is on top of their agenda. So, whether you should go for the lighter and smaller Xpulse or the bigger and more premium Apache RTX completely depends on your use case and priorities.

Photography by Kaustubh Gandhi