Hero MotoCorp to launch 200cc off-road bike soon; lease of life for Impulse?

Despite being the largest two-wheeler manufacturer in the world, Hero MotoCorp is not a strong force in above 200cc bike market. While the company excels in commuter segment, there are not enough bike models in 200cc and above from the Gurgaon-based automaker.

Now, emerging reports indicate that Hero is in pursuit to crack the 200cc above market with new bike models. "We are going to have enhanced focus on the two growing segments — scooters and premium motorcycles — with new products. In the current fiscal (FY18), we are looking at aggressive market share gains to consolidate leadership, without compromising on the bottom line and our margins," Pawan Munjal, CMD, Hero MotoCorp, was quoted as saying by Economic Times.

The report also adds that Hero is working on a higher-powered (200cc), off-road motorcycle to be launched towards the middle of the next financial year (FY19). There are no specific details on the model available at the moment.

It needs to be noted that Hero is one of the first automakers which launched affordable adventure bike in India. The 150cc engine powered dual-purpose model, Impulse, launched in October 2011 was a bold step. However, being an early bird it failed to woo audience and company eventually discontinued Impulse in India.

It looks like the new off-road motorcycle project may lend a new lease of life to Impulse. Multiple reports claim that the new model in question will be Impulse 200. The motorcycle is expected to use the engine in development for the upcoming XTreme 200S while the tuning will be different.

This engine is likely to be tuned to churn out 18.5bhp at 8,500rpm and peak torque of 17.2Nm at 6,000rpm and will get two riding mode options - City and Sport. The model Impulse 200 is also rumoured to get C-ABS (Combi ABS) system.