Honda Hornet 2.0

Honda has finally updated the hornet. It is now called the “Hornet 2.0”. What’s new? Let’s take a first look.

Styling

The bike gets an updated design. The front end now features an updated all LED headlights with new LED turn indicators as well. The main attention grabber up front is the all new USD forks. Hornet is the first fully Indian made Honda bike to feature LED indicators and USD forks. The ignition key is now shifted to the tank. Rest of the design is updated by some new paint schemes and graphics.

Full LED headlight and tail light

 

Split seat layout

Key on tank

Features and equipment

The bike gets,

Full LED headlight

LED tail light

LED turn indicators

An engine kill switch (finally)

Dual petal disc brake with single channel ABS unit

Hazard light switch

Split seat layout

Fully digital instrument console

The instrument console consists of information’s such as,

Speedometer

Tachometer

Fuel gauge

A clock

5 levels of illumination control

Gear position indicator

Battery voltage indicator

Service due reminder

Hazard light switch

Fully digital console

Engine kill switch

 

Engine and transmission

While we expected a 200-cc engine, hornet 2.0 is powered by a 184.40cc air cooled, fuel injected motor which produces 17.3 PS of max power at 8500 rpm and a healthy torque figure of about 16.1 Nm at 6000rpm. We get a 5-speed gearbox. The power figures aren't class leading. But the torque is 16.1 Nm which is good.

184.40 cc air cooled,fuel injected motor

Suspension and brakes

The suspension duties are carried out by a new USD (upside down) fork at front and a monoshock at the rear. Hornet 2.0 is the only bike in the segment to feature a USD fork. Braking duties are carried out by a 276 mm petal disc at front with single channel ABS and a 220 mm petal disc at back.

USD froks

220 mm petal disc at the rear

282 mm petal disc up front with ABS

Monoshock at the rear

 

Tyres and dimensions

We get a 110/70-17 M/C 54S (Tubeless) tyre up front and a 140/70- 17 M/C 66S (Tubeless) tyre at the back. Wheelbase is 1355 mm and kerb weight is 142kg.  Ground clearance is 167 mm. Fuel tank capacity is 12 L.

 

Price

The bike is priced at 1.27 lakhs* which about 29000 rupees more expensive than the previous model. While it offers more power, torque and features than the previous model, it is priced close to TVS apache 200 4V and the NS 200. So, the competition is tough. These are only spec figures. How do these figures translate into the road? Stay tuned for the detailed from ride review.

*Ex showroom price

Yamaha R15 V3, see why it's the gold standard of entry level performance biking

Styling

It is all about the 'R' DNA. The design is heavily inspired from the elder siblings. The front section is wider and sharper than the previous model. The headlamp unit is now replaced by an all LED unit, which looks cool. The fairing is much wider than before, which gives the bike much more road presence. The side profile is all about sharper lines. The sculpted tank and sharper fairing dominates the side profile of the bike. The exhaust is now redesigned and it looks good. The tail section now gets a new sleeker looking LED tail lamp. The bike looks sportier than before. Overall, the build quality of the bike is not so good when compared to the older model. Some of the body parts feel flimsy, especially on the tank and one which holds the windshield.

Aggressive front with wider fairing and all LED headlight

Sharper side profile with sculpted tank and split seat layout

Full LED tail light and 140 section rear tyre

Equipment and features

          The bike gets,

• Full LED headlight and tail light
• Dual channel ABS
• Slipper clutch
• Fully digital instrument console
• 
  

         The instrument console consists of,

• Speedometer
• Tachometer
• Odometer
• Fuel gauge
• Gear position indicator
• Rev-limiter indicator 
• VVA ticker
• Average fuel consumption

  

  Fully digital instrument console.

  
  

Engine and Transmission

Powering the bike is a 155.1 cc fuel injected, liquid cooled, four valve engine which puts out 19.3 bhp of max power at 10000 rpm and a max torque of 14.7NM at 8500 rpm.  The bike gets a six speed gear box with a slipper clutch on board. The engine gets VVA (variable valve actuation) technology as well. The engine is a gem. It just likes to rev. The low end is adequate, bike starts pulling from about the 5000rpm mark. After that, there is a continuous serge of power. 8000rpm is when the VVA activates, then it is like a second wind. The acceleration from  8000rpm to 12000rpm redline  is very strong.  This flexibility of the engine makes it stand out for me. It has enough power throughout the rev band. The slipper clutch makes sure that the rear tyre does not lock up even while shifting down aggressively. The gearbox is smooth with precise shift. The clutch is also light and easy to use. Refinement levels are good. There is some vibration at the top end of the power band, which is expected from a high revving single cylinder engine. The throttle response is so nice and precise. This is a machine, which begs you to ride hard like an absolute hooligan.

155.1 cc four valve, liquid cooled, fuel injected motor

Handling

A telescopic fork up front and a monoshock at the rear carry out suspension duties. Handling wise, it is still a gold standard. The bike tips into corners with ease. We can maintain a good line while cornering hard. The suspension is well tuned. It is not so stiff when compared to an RC 125, but it is well damped. So, mid corner bumps does not unsettle the bike. The riding position is aggressive, so we feel very much connected to the bike. The top end power helps to blast out of corners. The tyres offer good grip while cornering. We get a 100/80-17M/C 52P section up front and a 140/70-17M/C 66H at the back. The wet grip is not so good. The footrest is rear set, so they will not scrap while cornering hard.

 

Practicality and ride comfort

It is not a comfortable machine. Because as mentioned the riding position is aggressive, which may cause back pain and wrist pain when spending longer hours on the bike. If you are carrying a heavy backpack, it is even more painful. If this is not a problem for you, then it is a good city bike as well. The engine has enough punch in the low rpms as well. The bike can do about 40km/h in sixth gear without any knocking. Suspension is bit on the stiffer side as expected. However, it is well damped, so ride quality is overall good. It is not painful to ride on bad roads. Liquid cooling always help to keep the engine temperature low. I didn't face any major heating issues even in heavy traffic. The pillion seat is useless, because it is placed quite high and the integrated flimsy grab handle is not useful at all. The seat is angled downwards, which makes it worst. Even though the ground clearance is good, the coolant tank is placed at the bottom of the fairing, which can be damaged easily. The rear side mirrors are somewhat ok.

Split seat layout

coolant reservoir placed at the bottom of the fairing

Brakes

Braking duties are carried out by a 282mm-Single Disc up front and a 220mm-Single Disc at the rear. We get dual channel ABS as standard. Brakes are very good. The front brake offers good feel and feedback. The stopping power is also very good. I also like the fact that the ABS does not intervene too much. It kicks in only when needed in a smooth manner. Rear brake does have good stopping power, but there is not much feedback from the pedal. There is not much  front-end dive even when braking hard. The stability of the front end while braking hard is very impressive.

282 mm front disc with ABS

                                                                            

220 mm disc with ABS

 

Fuel efficiency

The bike returns about 45-48 Km/L on city riding conditions and about 50-55 Km/L on highways, if ridden sensibly. The fuel tank capacity is 11 L. This should give a decent tank range for long distance riding.

Price

The range kicks from about 1.5 lakh* for the base variant and 1.53 lakh* for the top end variant.  At this price point the bike is a bit expensive. But the bike offers many class leading features and a power packed engine. Do take a proper test drive before buying.  If you are considering an entry level performance bike with good power and riding dynamics this will be the best choice till date. If comfort and practicality is your priority, this isn't the bike for you.

*ex-showroom kochi

Suzuki Gixxer SF Bs4 In Depth Review

  

Styling

Suzuki has finally updated the gixxer sf, which is now quite identical to it's elder sibling the sf 250. The major difference is however a different design to the alloy wheels, different style finishes to the exhaust and different colour finishes on the engine. The paint schemes are also different. The 155 only gets glossy finish paint work when compared to the matte finish on the 250.  Both of them get a limited edition blue paint scheme, which is the "Motogp" edition. The only difference in this paint scheme is that the 155 gets a black under belly cladding  compared to the blue one on the sf 250. There isn't a single 150 badging on the sf. But there are two of them hidden inside both side of the fairing. Other major visual updates are the new LED headlamp, tail light and a new clip on handle bar setup. Overall the fairing is neatly integrated and well designed which gives the bike a premium look.

Sporty looking profile with all new LED headlight

12L fuel tank with a new split seat setup 

LED tail lights, twin port exhaust and a wider section rear tyre

Features and Equipment

The 155 comes with a fully digital instrument console with white back light, which consists of all the basic informations such as ;

• A speedometer 
• Tachometer 
• Fuel gauge
• Two trip meters
• Gear position indicator
• A clock
• Shift light
• Service reminder. 

The shift light can be manually adjustable according to your riding style. The console is very easy to read even in bright sunlight.  As mentioned earlier the bike gets both LED headlights and tail units. The 155 comes with single channel ABS unit.

Fully digital instrument console

Powertrain

The sf 150 uses the same 155 cc two valve air cooled single cylinder fuel injected engine. Now it produces 14.1 bhp of max power at 8000 rpm and 14 Nm of torque at 6000 rpm. These figures may not seem very exciting. But due to the fuel injection on board the bike feels so smooth and peppy. The bike has good low end and strong mid range. Top end is a bit lacking, but the bike revs cleanly to it's redline. Keeping the specs aside the sf 155 is now even more fun to ride. Even though the low end is good, the bike comes to life after 5500rpm. After that the power band kicks in and bike just pulls so nicely. This mid range is well highlighted by the exhaust note, which sounds quite good at high rpms and so smooth and barely audible at low rpms. The sweet spot of the engine is in between 6000 to 8500 rpm range. The engine runs out of steam after 8500rpm. The gearbox is a 5 speed unit, which offers precise shift. It isn't as smooth when compared to the other contenders in this segment. There is some hardness and the tightness can be felt sometimes. There are no false neutral issues though. The clutch feels moderate, so it's easy to use in traffic conditions.

155cc, 2 valve air cooled fuel injected motor

In gear figures 

Gear                                Top Speed(KM/H)

1st                                     45 

2nd                                   66

3rd                                    87

4th                                    104

5th                                    120-130

Note:All figures shown are obtained from the speedometer of the bike

Handling and ride comfort

Suspension duties are carried out by a telescopic fork at the front and a mono shock at the rear. The suspension is well sorted out for indian road conditions. The front suspension is slightly on the stiffer side but  it's well damped, so it soaks up the rough patches very well. The rear end  is slightly softer when compared to the front in order to aid a plush ride quality. Show some corners, the 155 really shines. It has good front end feel and the bike tips into corners with ease. The revised frame gives even more confidence to push the bike further more. The only problems are the almost neutrally positioned footrests, which scraps quite fast, which sadly didn't allow to use the full potential of the bike. The tyres offer good grip. We get a 100/80-17 sections tyres up front and a 140/60-R17 radial section tyre at the back. The only problem is that we cannot use the full potential of the back tyre due to the scrapping nature of the foot rest. High speed stability is superb due to the increased wheelbase(1,340mm) and 146 kg kerb weight. On high speed runs due to the small windshield there isn't much of wind protection. This problem can be solved by using a good after market wind shield.

Braking 

The bike comes with a dual disc setup and the front end gets ABS as standard. The front brakes offer good bite and stop power. Due to the front heavy nature of the bike the front end dives considerably under hard braking. The rear brakes have good stopping power but there isn't good feel or feedback from the pedal. Due to this the rear end can be easily locked up. The ABS unit is quite sensitive for my liking, which is good for our road conditions. But some times it feels over assisted. Also there is an annoying sound some times when the ABS kicks in. But overall the braking is quite good.

266mm  front disc with ABS and 240 rear disc without ABS

Fuel efficiency and maintenance cost

The bike returns about 50 km/L in city riding conditions and almost 55 - 58 km/L on the highway,  if ridden sensibly. Maintenance wises the bike offers 4 free services which costs in between 900-1000 rupees and after that, the regular paid service costs in between 1000-1200 rupees. The bike goes to service once in 4000 km. 

 

Price

Here i'm sharing the price details of the BS4 model. It comes at a price of about 1.35 lakhs onroad in kerala for the motogp edition. For that price the bike is almost 40k cheaper than the R15 V3(which is more powerful and has more features)and almost in the same price range of some of the 200cc bikes out there. So is it really a value for money machine? definitely no. Because it's quite expensive for a basic 150cc. But keeping the spec sheets and price aside, it's a wonderful  machine which quite excites you every time when you ride it. This fun factor makes the SF stand out for me and i can surely say gixxer sf 150 is one of the best 150cc out there in the market.

2020 MAHINDRA THAR , WHAT CAN WE EXPECT ?

Mahindra had finally revealed the launch date of the new Thar on August 15. The Thar has been one of the most anticipated vehicle of 2020. Till now Mahindra didn't announced any official specifications of the vehicle, many spy shots are getting viral in the social media. The spy shots reveal may details of the exterior as well as the interior of the vehicle. Let's take a closer look at it

EXTERIOR

Mahindra had completely refreshed the look of Thar. It now gets a redesigned front with much more aggression . The side profile also gets a new design. We can spot the much wider wheel arches and a new set of alloy wheels. From certain angles it kind of mimics the Jeep Wrangler. The side mirrors get a design update with the Thar badging on it. The rear end is now completely reworked. We can spot a new set of tail lamps and a new skid plate. Instead of the soft top, it seems Mahindra had updated the Thar with a hard top. At the rear we can see a new tailgate with a new glass panel. The spare wheel is mounted on the tailgate like the old one.

     New updated exterior design

INTERIOR

Mahindra had heavily reworked on the interior of the Thar and made it much more liveable now. We can spot a new redesigned  dashboard. There is a new steering wheel and a new infotainment system. The old gear knob has been replaced by new ones. The low range selection gear knob is now placed high next to the main one, which makes it easy to use. There are new controls for the air conditioning system and redesigned air vents. The cabin still feels rough and tough, which suites the Thar's "go anywhere" attitude. But all these new features will make the Thar much more usable for daily driving conditions. In order to add more practicality mahindra had finally replaced the side facing rear seats with a much more usable new forward facing ones. It seems that, the access to the rear seats are through the front doors by sliding the front seats. We can spot the latches to remove the hard top.

Heavily reworked interior with the addition of  new infotainment system and a new forward facing rear seats

POWERTRAIN

We can't comment much on the technical specifications yet. But it seems that, there will be a new 2.0 litre diesel  engine with a new 6 speed transmission. There are rumors that a new 2.0 litre petrol engine is also in the works. So stay tuned for our detailed first ride review.