Hero confirmed on its social media handles yesterday that its upcoming Harley X440-derived machine will be called the Mavrick, and that it will be launched on January 23. And now, another Mavrick test mule has been spied, giving us a little more insight into this new Hero.
- Exhaust muffler is rectangular, not round like X440
- Tail-lamp seems to be a sleeker unit
- Wheels, tyres are entirely new
The Hero Mavrick mule seen here is heavily draped in camouflage which masks the design quite well, however, some key elements can be pointed out. First and foremost, the exhaust muffler on the Mavrick is a completely different unit to the H-D X440, with the Hero 440 having a more rectangular design than the Harley's round one.
This muffler seems to be smaller and better integrated into the bike than the one on the X440, which is rather bulbous and isn’t the prettiest one out there. Hero also released a teaser of the Mavrick’s exhaust note recently, featuring a faster beat with less thump and more rasp.
The tail-lamp too seems to be a sleeker unit on the Mavrick 440, while the wheels are entirely new. Where the Harley X440’s wheels bear clear resemblance to the air-cooled Sportsters of yore, the Hero Mavrick’s wheels have a completely different design with a twin-spoke pattern. Elsewhere, we can that this test mule gets conventional stalk-mounted mirrors, which suggests that the bar-end units spied previously are likely to be optional extras.
The actual engine itself is expected to remain largely unchanged, so expect a 440cc air- and oil-cooled motor. Output figures should remain in the ballpark of the Harley (27hp, 38Nm), though Hero could play around with the state of tune to alter the character slightly. In the X440, we’ve found this to be a punchy, smooth and characterful motor with a nice spread of torque, and you can expect most of those characteristics to be carried over. The main frame, twin rear shocks and braking hardware appear to be quite similar to the X440.
While the Mavrick will be a premium model for Hero, its positioning is going to be more accessible than the X440 in the market. Expect it to find a middle ground between the Karizma XMR (Rs 1.80 lakh) and the Harley-Davidson X440 (Rs 2.40 lakh-2.80 lakh).
All prices ex-showroom, India.
Azaman Chothia
Vishal Venugopal
