Hero MotoCorp finally dropped the curtains on its new flagship offering. The Hero Mavrick 440 is the second model to be based on the new 440 platform co-developed with Harley-Davidson that spawned the X440 last year. With the Mavrick, Hero has taken a neo-retro approach bringing modern style with old-school charm and a torque-friendly motor as the cherry on top. Here are five things you need to know about the newest Hero motorcycle.
Design
While the Mavrick 440 shares its underpinnings with the Harley-Davidson X440, the motorcycle sports a completely different design from the latter. The round LED headlamp with the integrated DRL, bulbous fuel tank with shrouds on either side, a scooped-up single-piece seat and the chunky grab rail, all scream modern.
The Hero Mavrick will be on sale in three variants – Base, Mid and Top. The base trim will get the Arctic White shade with black lettering and spoked wheels. The mid variant gets the dual-tone shades – Celestial Blue and Fearless Red – along with alloy wheels, while the Top will get the Phantom Black and Enigma Black colours with a dual-tone finish on the seat, machined-finish on the engine and diamond-finish on the alloy wheels.
The Hero Mavrick rides on 17-inch tyres sourced from MRF, while the seat height of 803 mm makes it accessible for most riders. The kerb weight stands at 187 kg (alloys) on the motorcycle.
Features
The flagship Hero is fairly loaded on the feature front with a projector lens LED headlamp with an automatic function. It also gets all-LED lighting, a USB charging port, a slipper clutch and dual-channel ABS. The motorcycle packs an LCD instrument console that gets Bluetooth connectivity bringing turn-by-turn navigation, call and SMS alerts, and over 35 connected features with an e-SIM in the top variant.
Engine
The Hero Mavrick 440 draws power from the same 440 cc single-cylinder, air/oil-cooled SOHC motor as the Harley-Davidson X440. Power output is identical at 27 bhp at 6,000 rpm, while peak torque stands at 36 Nm at 4,000 rpm. That’s 2 Nm less than the H-D X440. The engine is paired with a 6-speed gearbox. The bike comes with telescopic forks at the front and twin shocks at the rear, while braking comes from disc brakes at the front and rear.
Rivals
The Hero Mavrick will be competing in a highly contested segment starting with its cousin the Harley-Davidson X440, followed by the segment-leader Royal Enfield Classic 350, Triumph Speed 400, and Jawa 350. Prices then will be crucial for the motorcycle when it finally goes on sale later in the year. The Mavrick will be sold via Hero’s new Premia dealerships intended to retail the brand’s more expensive offerings.
Expected Price And Availability
The Hero Mavrick is expected to be priced from around Rs. 2.2 lakh (ex-showroom) onwards, which should give it a substantial drop in price over rivals while keeping a healthy gap over the X440 as well. Bookings will begin from February onwards while deliveries have been promised from April 2024. More details on the Mavrick will be available in the coming weeks.