Hero Splendor Pro Classic Long Term Review - Final
We have to say goodbye to our long term café racer a little prematurely. The bike hasn’t been selling well and chances are it will be taken off the market for good. And so, Hero called for it. But, in the time we spent with the Splendor Pro Classic, we learnt two things. First, one doesn’t need large capacity engines and high price tags to make a bike cool.
The Pro Classic is based on the Splendor (it’s obvious I know, given the name). So, it uses Hero’s tried and tested 97.2cc single cylinder sloper engine. It makes a little over 8bhp, so it is slow. It takes around nine seconds to hit 60kmph and never gets to 100kmph. On a downhill, with some drafting, I did manage to hit 95kmph. Once.
And second, a little thought, some styling ingenuity and reliability can go a long way in making most unlikely fans. I am one. Now, I might have started my motorcycle journey on the original Splendor but before this café racer came along, I wouldn’t have consider riding one, forget buying one, in the present. But this one looked right, was so easy to ride, was phenomenally fuel efficient, and though it came with a clubman style handlebar and a single bum-stop seat, it was still comfortable. Not once was I turned off by the idea of having to ride to work and back (an almost 80km commute) on the Pro Classic in the time we had it.
And now that the Café racer has gone back, I honestly don’t mind picking one up from the used market because I know I will enjoy it. I will like looking at it. And I love not having to stop for fuel ever so often. Now, the good and the bad. First, the positives – styling, ease of riding, fuel efficiency, light controls, flickablity and, of course, bullet proof reliability. The negatives – outright acceleration, poor tyres, drum brakes, ride…and not much else.
It might not still be a brilliant ‘new’ buy. But, as a used bike, given it doesn’t command a very good resale, it is definitely worth considering.
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Photography by Kapil Angane
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