Hero Xtreme 200S
Hero Xtreme 200SIBTimes India/ Ken Sunny

Hero MotoCorp yesterday unveiled Hero RR 450 rally bike which will be ridden by CS Santosh, the popular Indian rider, and others at the upcoming Dakar Rally in January 2018. On the sidelines of the event, Dr Markus Braunsperger, chief technology officer (CTO) of Hero MotoCorp shed some lights on the upcoming bikes from the largest two-wheeler manufacturer in the world.

Markus told TOI that the next two years will be very exciting for Hero MotoCorp in the terms of product strategy. "If you might remember, I said that we will make the Xtreme 200S happen before the next Auto Expo. So you can expect the Xtreme around the Auto Expo. We are at the finish line," he said.

His words indicate the launch of the Xtreme 200S can be expected by the end of this month or early 2018. For the uninitiated, the Xtreme 200S in its concept was one of the attractions at Hero's pavilion at Auto Expo 2016.

The naked sports bike underlines Hero's know-how in the premium bike making. The version at Auto Expo was built on a diamond frame chassis. It is characterised by a dual-tone body colour, contrast coloured seat, mudguards and alloy wheels. The model showcased was fitted with a conventional fork and monoshock rear suspension, disc brakes at both ends and multi-spoke alloy wheels. The Xtreme 200S will feature split grab handles, chunky silencer, LED tail lamp and an analogue-digital meter console.

The Xtreme 200S is expected to draw power from an air-cooled, single cylinder, 4-stroke 200cc engine that will produce maximum power of 18.6 PS at 8500 rpm and maximum torque of 17.2 Nm at 6000 rpm. The mill will be mated to a five-speed gearbox. The Xtreme 200S will go up against the Pulsar 200NS, KTM 200 Duke, TVS Apache RTR 200. The motorcycle is expected to be priced slightly over Rs 1 lakh.

Source: Times of India