Hero is readying a larger, near 300cc, single-cylinder performance-oriented motorcycle. We’re not sure if the company will show the bike at the Auto Expo 2018 but it’s expected to go on sale in the middle of 2018.
The bike is based on the XF3R concept bike which the company showed at the 2016 Auto Expo. The new bike will, along with the incoming 200cc Xtreme and the XPulse adventure motorcycle, sit on top of the bike maker’s portfolio. The 300cc bike will be positioned as a natural upgrade for existing customers who own executive commuter motorcycles. Hero wants to foray into the growing mid-sie bike segment. Pawan Munjal, CMD, Hero MotoCorp, had said, “We are putting a lot of focus on some of the areas such as the high growth segments.”
Besides rivalling the KTM’s 250 and 390 Duke motorcycles, the Hero XF3R will take on the likes of upcoming bikes like the TVS-BMW’s Apache RR 310 and the anticipated BMW Motorrad models – G 310 R and G 310 GS – which will be launched here later this year.