Over one-and-a-half years ago, at EICMA 2024, Hero MotoCorp revealed a sketch of its largest road-legal adventurer yet in the form of the Xpulse 421. Since then, there has been little development on that front, and so far, the company’s Xpulse line-up is available in two guises: the air/oil-cooled 200 and the newer, liquid-cooled 210. However, what you are looking at in these spy images are the first and clearest spy shots of the Xpulse 421, and there’s a lot to dissect.
- Will use a brand-new liquid-cooled engine displacing over 400cc
- Has a big TFT display, new switchgear and cruise control
- Gets a brand-new chassis and off-road-oriented hardware
Hero Xpulse 421 spy shots: What can be seen?
Like the current Xpulse 210, the bigger 421 also has more ADV-esque styling cues, with a large front windscreen, comprehensive bodywork, a big tank that swoops downwards towards the rider’s seat and a chunky upswept exhaust. The Xpulse 421 will use a brand-new single-cylinder liquid-cooled engine touted to displace 400cc or slightly above that mark. Output figures remain shrouded in mystery for now, but going by similar options available in the market, expect them to be in the 40hp/40Nm ballpark.
We can see that Hero’s biggest liquid-cooled engine yet is nestled within a tubular trellis frame, most likely constructed of steel. A long-travel USD fork and monoshock are on suspension duties to suit the off-road intentions of the Xpulse 421. Similarly, we can observe that it has large wire-spoke wheels with tubed tyres. The front appears large enough to be a 21-inch unit, and in true off-road fashion, expect an 18-inch rear.
While we are discussing the Xpulse 421’s chassis, the bike uses a rather sturdy and chunky swingarm, likely to cope with the rigours of off-road riding.
Disc brakes at both ends are visible, with the front caliper radially mounted, and switchable dual-channel ABS is likely to be part of the feature set.
Speaking of features, we can observe a rather large TFT display on the Xpulse 421, and it is certainly larger than the 5- or 6-inch units, which have become the norm in this price bracket. Complementing the dash is new switchgear, particularly on the left-hand cube, to control all its functions. Two buttons in particular are of real interest. Firstly, on the LH cube, there’s a dedicated mode button finished in red, alluding to the fact that the Xpulse 421 will have different riding modes. Secondly, on the RH cube, there’s a cruise control toggle switch, which means that Hero’s biggest ADV will come equipped with this feature too.
Last but not least, the Xpulse 421’s design is equal parts purposeful and appealing – at least to this author’s eyes – and considering that all of the chassis fixings and visual elements appear to be more or less in place, what we are looking at is an advanced-stage prototype, not an early-stage development unit. Considering all that, the production-ready Xpulse 421 could make its official debut at EICMA 2026 and should appeal to buyers in other global markets as well.
However, that is not a certain indication of the Xpulse 421’s market launch timeline. Cast your minds back to EICMA 2023, when the Xoom 125 and Xoom 160 were first showcased, but both were launched only in 2025, with widespread availability of the 160 (and other Premia-exclusive products) still not entirely sorted. Whenever the Xpulse 421 arrives, expect Hero to price it in the ballpark of Rs 2.70 lakh-Rs 2.90 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).
Image source: Shifting Gears
Vishal Venugopal
Ved Janve
Azaman Chothia
