Hero Xtreme 160R 4V review: Gunning 4 the throne?

The Hero Xtreme 160R was always a very likeable motorcycle with a unique design, great chassis and peppy performance within the city. What let the bike down was that the motor would struggle above 80kph and it didn’t feel quite as special as some of its rivals. This new 4V model hopes to fix all of that. 

Hero Xtreme 160R 4V engine and performance

Let’s start with the new engine. It really is just that – new. Hero tells us that this is much more than just a new 4-valve head and an oil cooler and, in fact, even the block and crank cases are different and the gearbox has been fully revised with new ratios. The result of all these efforts is an output of 16.9hp at 8,500rpm. That represents a healthy 1.7hp gain over the old bike and Hero says the new gear ratios enable it to accelerate much harder than before while retaining a similar top speed to before. 

In fact, the company says this is the fastest accelerating bike in the segment and while we’ll have to test that out for ourselves, it certainly feels like it’s one of the quicker bikes in the segment. 0-60 feels brisk and where the old bike would start tapering off above 80kph, this one pulls more convincingly and seems to hit 100kph a lot quicker. Top speed is somewhere around an indicated 120-125kph. 

What’s most likeable about this motor is its tractability. Stick it in almost any gear and open the gas and you’ll get meaningful acceleration. Even in 4th gear at 25kph on an incline, the engine was happy to gently build speed and this character will make it quite enjoyable in the city. Refinement is quite good and while it isn’t as amazingly refined as the Bajaj Pulsar N160, it’s good enough that you won’t complain. The 5-speed gearbox can be a little clunky sometimes, but for the most part it gets the job done – not great but not terrible either. 

Hero Xtreme 160R 4V ride and handling

The Xtreme 160R was always a light, nimble and sweet handling bike and that hasn’t changed, for the most part. The top version with the USD fork now weighs 145kg vs the previous 139.5kg, but it’s still one of the lightest bikes in the class. Aside from the good looks, the USD fork will bring some improvements to front-end rigidity and stability, but we’d have to ride this bike back to back with the standard telescopic fork version to know for sure. 

Hero has softened the suspension a little to improve comfort and while it’s still an entertaining handler, it does feel a little more squishy and less communicative on the limit. When you really start to push it, the footpegs will scrape the ground without too much effort, but given what this bike is meant to be, it is a fun little thing. Overall, I remember the Bajaj Pulsar N160 feeling more taut and reassuring in the corners, but this is an area that will have very little relevance to most customers. 

What they will want to know is how comfortable the bike is and there’s good news there. The suspension comfort is good for the most part, although the bike can feel a little too soft if you hit a big enough bump hard enough. The new split seats are also thick, nicely padded and quite comfy although we didn’t get a chance to try out the single seat. In general, the bike soaks in bumps quite nicely and the riding position is comfy for large riders with only a hint of a sporty lean forward to the handlebar. 

Hero Xtreme 160R 4V design and features

Hero has also used this opportunity to subtly tweak the design and the plastics around the fuel tank area are angled a little more aggressively, while the headlamp is mounted a little lower on the USD variant. With its split seats, the bike looks muscular and quite large for a motorcycle of this capacity.

The new switchgear looks and feels noticeably better than the old Xtreme and that helps the bike feel a little more expensive. I’m also fond of the funky neon colour theme on our bike, but this does divide opinions. If you want something more subtle, there are other more muted colour schemes. 

There are three variants – Standard Connected and Pro. The USD is only on the Pro version, but strangely enough, if you want all the Bluetooth-enabled connected features, including geo-fencing and navigation alerts, you can only get those in the mid-spec model. 

Hero Xtreme 160R 4V verdict

This bike will be positioned above the Xtreme 160R 2V, which remains on sale. Prices start at Rs 1.27 lakh for the standard variant and go up to 1.36 lakh for the Pro version that you see here. That makes the Pro more expensive than the top-spec TVS Apache RTR 160 4V and the dual-channel ABS variant of the Bajaj Pulsar N160. Then again, all these improvements have clawed the Xtreme back towards the top of this segment in terms of how it feels and rides. A proper comparison review is due.  

All prices are ex-showroom, Delhi.

Also See:

Hero Xtreme 160R 4V video review