Hero Mavrick Long Term: Highway Report

Gallery Introduction What’s good?What’s not good?Verdict Product Details:

Introduction

Let me say it upfront: If you follow the official speed limits while touring, the Hero Mavrick 440 will be a lovely companion. As you can tell, given the caveat, it’s not as multi talented as some other 400cc motorcycles when it comes to logging many miles a day. Here then, is what is good and what’s not about the Mavrick as a long-distance touring machine.

What’s good?

Cruising speed. If you are more about the journey than the destination, the Mavrick should fit your bill. It feels relaxed and composed at anything up to 100kmph. It gets there quickly too without one having to rev the engine out; the joys of a tractable engine. So, returning to your three-digit cruising speed is neither trying nor tiring. At 100kmph, there are barely any vibes to speak of. Plus, there’s enough grunt at this pace for a quick overtake.

Hero Mavrick 440 Right Front Three Quarter

Ride quality. Much like in the city, the Hero’s suspension setup works well on the highways. It might not have a lot of travel, but the setup in terms of spring rates and damping makes it both absorbent and fast to settle. This holds on most roads. However, we did find the rear struggling a bit on old concrete roads over 100kmph wherein the surface had become unpredictably uneven. Here too, the ride isn’t uncomfortable; it’s just not as pliant as it is on most other surfaces.

Hero Mavrick 440 Rear Suspension Spring Preload Setting

Range. The Mavrick has been returning close to 35kmpl as we short-shift around town. This figure did not go up significantly on the highway. We followed the usual order of city riding - upshift at around 3,000-3,500rpm with only half a turn of the throttle instead of completely whacking it open - and we saw the FE figure inch close to 40kmpl on the highway. But, the bigger benefit was the added range. The Mavrick can do up to 450km on a full tank before the red reserve block on the fuel gauge starts to blink.

Luggage carrying capacity. When travelling solo, the Mavrick makes for a roomy motorcycle to carry a large tail bag and a tank bag. The pillion portion of the seat is large enough to hold a 50-litre tail bag, and the fuel tank - with its flat-top design - is ideal for a tank bag. What you see here in the pictures is Viaterra’s 45-litre Hammer tail bag and 13-litre Oxus magnetic tank bag. Together, these should see you through a week’s riding.

Rough road manners. It might have conventional suspension with only 130mm of travel at both ends, but the setup allows one to be mildly adventurous with the Mavrick. The 175mm ground clearance helps, of course. You can jump off speed-breakers, take on pothole-ridden sections on the highway, or turn off onto lesser-known district highways without a bother. But, remember to stand on the pegs and keep the throttle open to sail through it all.

What’s not good?

Top-end performance. Now, 100kmph comes easily to the Mavrick. It will also sit at 120kmph with some prodding. But, it is a struggle for the motorcycle to hold speeds higher than that. In fact, even with the throttle pinned in sixth gear, all it takes is a slight incline for the Mavrick to drop back to 120kmph or under. As mentioned earlier, it is more about the journey than getting to the destination as quickly as possible with this Hero.

Handlebar vibes. It’s all good with the motorcycle till about 4,000rpm. Rev the engine beyond that and one can feel uncomfortable vibes on the handlebar. Interestingly, it’s not that the whole motorcycle throws a fit when revved beyond 4,000; it’s just the handlebar. One can barely feel the vibes on the seat or footpegs till the engine gets close to the redline. In fact, these handlebar vibes are another reason you might want to settle at 100kmph or under when touring on the Mavrick.

Seat design. Spend around an hour in the Mavrick’s seat, and you begin wondering why the company hasn’t offered a touring seat as an option. The current seat isn’t supportive or comfortable enough to spend long hours in. And, it can cause some lower back aches too if you don’t stand up on the pegs or shift in the seat from time to time.

Verdict

The Mavrick makes for a good touring machine in our book. It is not the quickest, mind, but it is certainly capable. It is torquey, dynamically sound, and has a respectable range and acceptable luggage-carrying capability. We agree that it needs a better seat design and lower handlebar vibrations. And, a more potent front brake should help matters as well. But, these are issues, we feel, a sound motorcycle technician should be able to resolve to a great degree.