Test riding the Hero Xtreme Sports bike

To be a success in the 150cc doghouse a bike needs to be a good looker a decent performer provide aboveadequate comfort and ergonomics and be relatively easy on the pocket With Xtreme Sports Hero has unveiled its latest progeny that will battle in this very arenaXtreme Sports draws visual inspiration from its Xtreme sibling because under the skin they are essentially the same There are a few discernible differences between the two however The headlamp unit has been tweaked and in what is surprisingly a recurring theme on the Sports is strangely reminiscent of the bike two generations its senior the now defunct CBZ XtremeThe instrument cluster is new and a combination of analogue rev counter and digital speedo which is clean and bold making it easy to read The key slot for the bike has been moved to the side agrave la retro cruisers Other retentions from the old CBZ Xtreme include the grabhandles which are separated by a new split seat There are extra panels on the tank and a belly pan that adds to the Sports moniker Another addition is a pair of LED pilot lamps Overall the Xtreme Sports is a decent looker The Sports doesnt come equipped with an engine immobiliser service indicator or underseat charging point It does however retain the Xtremes attractive LED taillamp arrangement along with the sidestand indicatorThe buttons are easy to use and dont feel flimsy While it retains the newest iteration of the same Hondasourced 1492cc it has been tuned to produce the greatest power output of the lot at 158 PS peaking at 8500 rpm The torque stands at 135 Nm at 7000 rpm This engine is married to a fivespeed transmission all of which sits in the longstanding tubular diamond frameThe Xtreme Sports engine is married to a fivespeed transmission all of which sits in the longstanding tubular diamond frame PicsSanjay RaikarThe footpegs are comfortably positioned and the handle is wide and easy to grip The riding position is fairly upright The tank is slightly bloated and that coupled with the side panels makes gripping it with your knees an uncomfortable experience The seat is wide and comfortable allowing for a plush ride even on extended stintsThe ride quality from the telescopic hydraulic front and adjustable gas reservoir rear suspension setup soaks up all the little niggles from craters and speedbreakers The ride is smooth and the handling too is sprightly when dodging through traffic but turns into a bit of a deterrent round corners because it doesnt give you a whole lot of confidence when leaning into bendsThe engine feels a little gruff and the exhaust note isnt the most pleasing to hear either The power delivery from that 158PS engine isnt the most urgent so you dont really get that feeling of urgency from all that power As for 060 kmh the Xtreme Sports did it in 567 seconds attaining its top speed at 1096 kmhThe default placement of the gearlever is slightly on the higher side and shifts dont feel completely on point eitherBraking is achieved either through a front and rear disc brake setup as on the bike we had or the front disc and rear drum combo available on the more economical variant The Xtreme Sports priced at R83100 for the dualdisc variant We managed to extract 45 kml in the city and 54 kml on the highway which equates to an overall efficiency figure of 4725 kml