Hero Mavrick 440 1000 km review

After riding the Hero Mavrick 440 for over 1,000km, we think it is seriously underrated and deserves more attention

For the first time since the launch of the Mavrick 440, Hero MotorCorp has a big bike. This is a brand design product between Hero MotoCorp and Harley-Davidson, positioned on the new 440cc platform. Prices start at Rs 1.99 Lakh (Ex-sh) and can be purchased from e-commerce website Flipkart at a starting price of Rs 1.82 Lakh. At this price, the Mavrick 440 is significantly lower than the Royal Enfield Classic 350, which starts at Rs 1.99 lakh (excluding taxes).

People will tend to choose the Mavrick 440 and get a quality product on paper. But that sentiment wasn’t reflected in the sales charts, and I always struggled with not knowing why. Hero MotoCorp provided a review sample of the Mavrick 440 to Rushlane and I rode the motorcycle in the city, during rush hour traffic in Pune, and even took it for 1,000 kilometers on the highway to understand how underrated this motorcycle is .

Hero Mavrick 440 1000 km review

The Mavrick 440 is a striking and stylish cruiser motorcycle. It is available in three variants – basic, mid and top. Prices on Flipkart range between Rs 1.99 Lakh (Ex-sh) and Rs 2.24 Lakh (Ex-sh) or Rs 1.82 Lakh (Ex-sh) to Rs 2.07 Lakh (Ex-sh). The top-spec version of the Mavrick 440 is Rs 72K cheaper than Harley-Davidson’s top-spec X440 if purchased through Flipkart!

Color options vary by model. The ‘top’ variant, Rushlane, offered by Hero only comes in Phantom Black and Mystery Black shades, with DT Brown seats and some Copper highlights. I hope that’s not the case as I would have loved the “top” variant with the arctic white tint that is only available with the “base” variant. Even the Sky Blue and Intrepid Red shades look really good and stand out. But the “top” variants don’t offer these, and vice versa. I think design and color are one area that holds back the Mavrick 440’s huge sales potential.

Design and appearance

Speaking of design, Hero has an interesting blend of streetfighter, retro and commuter styles on the Mavrick 440. From the front, the Mavrick 440 looks like a neo-retro bike with a round LED headlight and turn signals. The side profile projects a muscular street-fighter appeal, and the rear looks like an ordinary commuter. The exhaust side is the best angle of the motorcycle as it shows off the large disc brakes at both ends, the DT finish on the alloy wheels and the blackened engine bay.

However, the side profile rubs you the wrong way, as the Mavrick 440’s exhaust angle is inconsistent with the angle of the rear subframe. It’s not obvious in photos, but when you see it in person, it feels important. If it were me, I would remove the rear seat armrest immediately. Even though the motorcycle is over a year old, it still attracts a lot of eyeballs. People have asked me many times about this motorcycle.

I just hope Hero makes it a proper neo-retro motorcycle for maximum appeal rather than a mishmash of genres. Even the shape of the instrument cluster isn’t completely round. In fact, the actual instrument cluster is a horizontal reverse LCD screen with warning lights arranged in a circular shape. The panel is not visible in direct sunlight and I wish it had an anti-reflective coating on top to reduce reflections.

Ergonomics and specifications

The Hero Mavrick 440 is a cruiser with an upright and relaxed riding position. Its overall length is 2,100 mm and its wheelbase is 1,388 mm. Ground clearance is 175mm and seat height is 803mm. I’m 182cm tall and can easily put my legs over the saddle with flat feet. Even riders of smaller stature will find this motorcycle easy to maneuver. The handlebar position ensures that the rider sits up straight, and even the rider’s footpegs are fairly neutral.

The fuel tank also has knee grooves. For my height, I wish they were a little taller, but for most Indian riders, these knee notches will be perfect. One thing that caught me off guard was how wide the Mavrick 440’s handlebars were. It’s probably easily the widest in the segment and offers a lot of leverage when turning the bike. It’s essential to keep an eye on these handlebars when navigating through city traffic. At 187kg, it’s also very easy to control.

Even after long hours in the saddle, my body rarely tired. The seat cushions are a little softer for my liking, but didn’t cause any serious discomfort. There’s plenty of room for both rider and pillion. I embarked on a two-day highway ride on the Mavrick 440 and was impressed by how comfortable the machine was. Long distance travel is definitely this machine’s forte.

Performance

Also contributing to long-distance cruising is the engine. The Mavrick 440 has a displacement of 440cc and is capable of producing a peak power of 27 bhp and a peak torque of 36 Nm. The engine uses 2V/cylinder head and SOHC architecture. It is an oil-cooled engine with a high radiator mounted on the left side. The engine is mated to a 6-speed gearbox, which is a smooth gearbox. This powertrain has a lot of character, and the exhaust note is deep.

Even driving the Mavrick 440 during Pune rush hour traffic, I found the clutch lever not overly heavy like its direct 450cc rivals. The Mavrick 440 also showed no signs of abnormal heating. The engine makes a slight hum to show off its character, but it’s not annoying at 110 kilometers per hour. The engine has a low-revving nature and plenty of torque reserves waiting for you to flick the throttle for impressive thrust.

The overall impression of this engine is that it’s calm, relaxed and packs a punch if you need it to. The sweet spot is to set the revs below 110 km/h, which means the tachometer spins around 4,000 RPM. There’s more performance to be had beyond those speeds, but the engine feels strained at higher revs and the vibrations become more intense. Another noteworthy characteristic of this engine is that it is more than happy to maintain a speed of 110 km/h as long as it can and does not show any resistance.

fuel efficiency

In terms of fuel efficiency, we previously published a thorough mileage report, which came out to about 42 km/l when driving on the highway at 10% city and maintaining speeds of 90 km/h to 100 km/h. efficiency. This is an impressive figure, in the city I managed to achieve between 25km/l and 30km/l. I just wish the fuel tank was bigger for better fuel range and the fuel gauge on the instrument cluster was more accurate. Okay, much more precise than that.

Control – brisk!

The most surprising element of the Mavrick 440 is its handling. It’s surprisingly light on its feet, giving a lot of confidence to attack corners at higher speeds. The wide handle provides a lot of leverage. The Mavrick 440 weighs 187kg, which hides its weight well. It is very easy to move it even in a parking lot. For context, the 160kg Xpulse 200 Pro I reviewed previously felt noticeably heavier when handling.

The suspension is tuned for comfort and still offers commendable cornering headroom. The bump absorption is commendable and makes working on bad patches a breeze. While the handling characteristics are already very good, I wonder how much more they can improve once the USD fork variant shown at EICMA becomes available.

Braking is one area where the Hero Mavrick 440 needs improvement. While I was riding, I had an incident where I hit another motorcycle on the highway because that motorcycle couldn’t stop on time. As the bike’s front tire slightly hit the other bike’s rear exhaust pipe, no damage was done and I apologized to that rider. Additionally, rear ABS intervention was required as the rear brakes locked up multiple times.

Some reservations and conclusions

You must have noticed that I didn’t talk anything about Bluetooth connectivity or route navigation. This was because despite following the correct steps during setup and filling in the exact engine and chassis numbers, the system never connected. A Hero MotoCorp person mentioned that the connection can only be made if the number is registered in Hero’s database. I just wish the connection process was more seamless and less complicated.

Aside from the instrument cluster and braking power, there isn’t much to complain about the Mavrick 440. Even the LED headlights provide adequate illumination, intensity, projection and diffusion. If I really had to pick one stick, it would be the ORVM on the Mavrick 440. In the 1,000 kilometers I spent testing this motorcycle, despite tightening them by hand many times, they kept coming loose and being yanked. Additionally, even though this review sample was new, these ORVM bars were heavily rusted when I first received it, with only 350km on the Odo.

All in all, the Mavrick 440 has a lot of potential and impressed us beyond our expectations. It is full of character, has higher performance and better handling than any 350cc neo-retro motorcycle sold in India. If it was my money, I would choose the Mavrick 440 over the 350cc competition. I’m the kind of person who bought a Blackberry Z10 when the whole world was buying an iPhone 5S. If you’re like me and want to stand out from the crowd, you can’t go wrong with the Hero Mavrick 440. I just wish Hero could bring more style to the Mavrick 440.