Hero Xtreme 160R Long Term Report – Conclusion

What worked so far?

The Hero Xtreme 160R is quite a simple motorcycle overall. It looks good, packs a good amount of muscle without feeling heavy on its feet, and comes with some nice touches like the LED headlight shape and golden-coloured USD front forks. It has a nice blend of youthfulness with the maturity and simplicity of a commuter motorcycle.

On the handling front, we feel the Hero Xtreme 160R is one of the very intuitive and easy-to-ride motorcycles. It flicks around in a sporty manner and is quite engaging when you are taking corners. The same agile nature also makes the Xtreme 160R favourable when it comes to city riding with bumper-to-bumper traffic. The bike manoeuvres from tight spaces without needing much effort and feels easy to move around in small parking spaces as well.

Speaking of the overall usability, the comfort levels on the Hero Xtreme 160R are commendable. You can be in the saddle for hours without any noticeable pain or a sensation of discomfort. We rode it from Mumbai to Nashik and back, Mumbai to Pune and back multiple times, neither of the BikeWale team members had any gripes towards the Xtreme’s ability to be accommodating. But there are other limiting factors, which we have addressed in the next part.

Throughout the last nine months, we found the Xtreme 160R’s suspension and braking performance to be quite consistent. It rides very well on the broken city roads absorbing most of the bumps and undulations without any dramatic response and feels planted even when you are riding it at high speeds. The brakes too are reliable with the ABS well-calibrated so you can push the limits without much intrusion.

What needs to improve?

The Hero Xtreme 160R has a lot of aspects that we feel work in its favour, but it’s nowhere near perfect. One of the few things that we feel must improve is the engine character. If you are riding it only in the city, then the Xtreme’s motor feels spritely and tractable. But, once you are stretching its legs, the bike’s limitations are exposed a little too early. Triple-digit speeds, although attainable, aren’t natural to the Xtreme. Even if you are riding anywhere close to 90kmph, the engine feels strained and looks to run out of steam. Although the city fuel efficiency was around 40-48kmpl, the numbers take a notable hit on the highway.

We feel Hero could also work on the build quality of the Xtreme 160R as it showed signs of paint fade. This seemed to be a result of the engine heat and not something we had expected. Then, the paint finish on the tank too started wearing out in a not-so-long riding span.

Lastly, we feel the Xtreme 160R needs better packing as the instrument console showed signs of moisture accumulation after almost every wash. Plus, under direct sunlight, the readouts aren’t visible. You constantly need to tilt your head or move it closer to the screen to read the numbers. However, this isn’t a deal breaker.

Should You Buy It?

In the grand scheme of things, the Hero Xtreme 160R is good at what it is meant to do, and that’s commuting. Moreover, it scores brownie points, courtesy of the handling, ride quality, brakes, and overall comfort. But, the engine crudeness and the lack of high-speed highway riding ability steal some points from the Xtreme’s scorecard.

However, if you are someone who will seldom use it for intercity or intrastate jaunts, then the Xtreme 160R would be much more suitable for the same. This will also lead to better fuel economy since you would ideally ride it more calmly. Overall, if the said niggles aren’t a bother for you, we feel the Hero Xtreme 160R could be a worthy prospect in the 160cc segment. Last but not least, Hero has recently launched the 2024 Xtreme 160R 4V and it packs more features, a new colour, and other small revisions.

Product details Make: Hero MotoCorp Model: Hero Xtreme 160R 4V Premium Kilometres covered this month: 8,000km Fuel efficiency: 40-48kmpl (Tested) Photography by Kaustubh Gandhi