Hero MotoCorp teases new off-road bike ahead of EICMA show; will it be Impulse 200 or 250?

Hero MotoCorp has teased an image of an all-new bike that will make its debut at the EICMA Motor Show in Milan in Italy, next week. Though the image does not reveal any major details of the upcoming model, the backdrop looks like a countryside and that indicates it can be an off-road bike.

There are two possibilities. The upcoming model can be the long rumoured bigger Impulse model or it can be the Dakar rally bike of Hero MotoSports team for the rally in January next year.

A closer look can spot spoke wheels and long travel suspension of the bike in the image. It does look like an updated version of the Impulse.

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 the audience and the company eventually discontinued Impulse in India.

If the picture belongs to new Impulse, the motorcycle is expected to use the engine currently under 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 bigger Impulse model is also rumoured to get C-ABS (Combi ABS) system.

Another possible engine in the upcoming motorcycle will be a 249cc, single-cylinder, 4-valve liquid cooled, fuel injection engine capable of producing 31bhp of power and 26Nm of torque mated to a 6-speed transmission. The motor is under development for the HX250, a sports bike model which the manufacturer unveiled as a concept at Auto Expo 2014.