Hero Xtreme 160R long term review, second report
The Hero Xtreme 160R’s life in our long-termers’ garage started out without any drama. All it did was take me around the city, running errands for the most part. While that is one of the things it was designed to do, it also had a performance-oriented side that was begging to be explored.
Well, since then I’ve hit the open roads a fair number of times. One particular day that I’d like to highlight is when the lockdown was announced in Maharashtra. I spent almost 18 continuous hours with the Xtreme 160R. It started off at the shoot for the 160cc segment comparison that featured in the last issue. Despite being very tired after a 12-hour shoot, I reached home to discover that the state would go into lockdown that night. That’s when I decided to go back to my home in Dahanu instead of being trapped in Mumbai for who knows how long. That decision shot up my travel distance for the day on the Xtreme by another 160km.
Paint overspray is unexpected in this day and age.
What I took back from that day was that I didn’t hesitate, despite having one of the most tiring days at work. While the promise of being home with family did play a big role in making that decision, it was the effortlessness of the 160R that was a larger contributing factor. It was the bike’s balanced ride quality, smooth engine and upright ergonomics that encouraged me to further extend an already very long day. As for things that could improve, it could be a little quicker from 80kph to 100kph and a little more room on the seat could go a long way.
