Hero has reintroduced its HF Dawn in India at Rs 37,400 (ex-showroom, Odisha). The affordable commuter now features two new colour schemes – red and black with blacked-out parts which were chrome on the previous HF Dawn. The bike is only available in Odisha, for the moment and will make its way to other states in the country, soon.
The older HF Dawn was decommissioned back in May 2017 since it did not meet the BS-IV emission norms. The 2018 HF Dawn does meet the regulations, albeit with the same 97.2cc, single-cylinder, air-cooled engine paired to a four-speed gearbox. Power figures of 8hp and 8Nm of torque also remain unchanged. For the 2018 iteration, Hero has blacked-out almost everything that was either chrome or silver on the previous model – this includes the engine, wheels, drums, exhaust, leg guard and the fork. The bike also has new simple-looking decals.
Since this motorcycle is one of the most affordable commuters in the country, it is only available as a kick-start model with drum brakes and spoke wheels, for now. A model with electric-start, discs and alloy wheels will likely arrive in a few months. Braking is taken care of by the same 130mm drum, up front along with a 110mm drum at the rear. The suspension, also identical to the older HF, comprises of a conventional telescopic fork up front, along with twin-spring shock absorbers for the rear.
The 2018 Hero HF Dawn is currently the most affordable motorcycle in the company's line-up. In terms of competition, its direct rivals are the Bajaj CT100 B and TVS Sport.
Azaman Chothia
Vishal Venugopal
