The Engine The Suspension The Price The Dug Dug
The Weight
It all started a day after Valentine’s Day. The entire team was on its way to the middle of a desert to ride Hero’s most powerful motorcycle yet. It was called the Hero Mavrick 440. We all had caught a glimpse of the motorcycle when it was launched and the first looks of the vehicle were out for the viewers to view. But this time it was different, we were going to ride it.
From the looks, it looked quite different from the Harley Davidson 440X, which the Mavrick shares the platform with. But it was safe to say that, the Mavrick 440 was pleasing to the eye from multiple angles. The attention to the front of the vehicle, the tank design, and the rear section of the vehicle… everything was done tastefully!
However, the big aspect of the vehicle was the engine. Even the presentation before the first ride emphasized how the engine had been tuned to provide a more usable torque bandwidth when compared to its rivals. They had also gone to lengths to showcase the difference, which meant how much they thought this aspect was the USP of the motorcycle.
Now that all the presentations were over, the ride had finally begun. The first leg of the journey wanted us to ride the Rann of Kutch and halt at the Tent City Hotel. This allowed us to get a grip on the platform and let us have an idea of what type of potential it can hide.
One thing that became clear, as soon as we were on the road, was that the Mavrick was quite a capable cruise. The seating position was comfortable, the motorcycle was poised and grunty at the same time and to top it all off, there was a lot of torque that was available at any gear (except the sixth). All these pointed towards its mile-munching prowess.
As I started clearing miles on it, it started to become clear how much thought had gone into the making of this product. Everything worked well and there was a clear direction in vehicle usage. Now that says something. Sometimes the need for a motorcycle to please everyone leads to a lack of identity. However, the Mavrick doesn’t have such a problem. It is built with a clear picture in mind that is to be the best cruiser in its price range.
It is priced quite aggressively as the prices just shy off INR 2 Lakh, making it one of the most affordable 400cc motorcycles in India. Moreover, it is aggressively priced when compared to its rivals and that makes this a perfect candidate to disrupt the market.
