The Xtreme series of motorcycles by Hero – 125 and 160 – garnered huge interest and the design of the motorcycles is a head-turner. Now, the company has spiced it up a bit with the Xtreme 250R, giving it the same, sharp design language but with a more capable engine for youngsters to make the move up the ladder. Having ridden the motorcycle for a good distance on some twisties, here’s what we have to say.
Hero Xtreme 250R first ride review — Beauty is in the eye of everyone
The motorcycle looks good! Hero has put in a lot of work to get the angles and geometry of the motorcycle as close as possible to a modern-day litre-class street naked focused on razor-sharp handling — if not, better. The motorcycle is underpinned by a trellis frame.
The motorcycle features an angular headlight, aggressive tank shrouds, a muscular tank and a minimal rear section. The layered tank section and the front give it a big-bike feel, and the colour combinations make it a striking bike to look at.
Hero Xtreme 250R first ride review — Ride and handling
Swing a leg over, and the motorcycle feels compact. The straight handlebar gives the rider a slight forward lean, while the footpegs keep your legs tucked comfortably right under you. Overall, the rider sits leaning forward, but the posture is not too extreme on the Xtreme. The saddle height of 806mm is welcoming and the narrow profile between the legs ensures both feet are planted firmly on the ground for a 5’7″ rider.
The switches are placed within comfortable reach and the motorcycle comes to life with a pleasant roar. On the roll, the engine feels smooth and the power delivery is linear, however, once you push it past the 6,000 rpm mark, the engine becomes more lively. The motorcycle revs clean to the redline and there are minimal to no vibrations at all, which makes this an extremely … Xtremely likeable engine.
On the long straights, the motorcycle feels faster than what it is actually doing and this is owing to the lack of wind protection. The motorcycle gets to triple-digit speeds quite easily and is happy to sit there all day long.
When you show it some twisties, the motorcycle is happy to lean in and feels surprisingly agile. Adding to the quality of the ride are the suspension — USD forks at the front and a monoshock at the rear. The setup is right on — it feels stiff enough to offer sporty handling and is not too plush to make the ride wavy. It soaks in the bumps and bad roads well, and the setup makes the motorcycle a fun-to-ride machine.
Hero Xtreme 250R first ride review — A hit-and-miss affair
Sadly, there are a few hits and misses. While the motorcycle handles like it’s on rails, the tyres are a weak link. The stock tyres do tend to let go when cornering hard and they are the weakest links on the motorcycle. The next area of improvement is the instrument cluster. The motorcycle features an LCD cluster, which kind of lets down the premiumness of the Xtreme 250R. A TFT dash would be such a big step up.
The motorcycle features dual-channel ABS with two modes — Road and Track. The former keeps the ABS on for both wheels while the latter turns off ABS at the rear. The issue — it resets every time the engine restarts. Finally, the brakes — the front lacks bite and changing to a set of sintered pads will do the magic, however, we will speak more about this when we ride for longer.
Hero Xtreme 250R first ride review — Should you buy it?
The answer is a yes! The Xtreme has the aggressive looks to match its competition and handles like a dream. The performance is adequate and the engine is smooth. The tyres are a concern, however, instead of spending considerably more on competition, a new set of tyres will sort it out for a fraction of the price. The dash can be ignored as it offers phone connectivity, albeit with a lower-resolution screen. And at Rs 1.80 lakh, ex-showroom, the Xtreme 250R is a tempting offer when compared to the competition in the segment.
| Specifications | Xtreme 250R | 250 Duke | Dominar 250 |
| Engine | 249.03 cc, Single | 249.07 cc, Single | 248.8 cc, Single |
| Power | 29.5 bhp | 30.5 bhp | 26.6 bhp |
| Torque | 25 Nm | 25 Nm | 23.5 Nm |
| Gearbox | 6-Speed | 6-Speed | 6-Speed |
| Weight | 167.7 kg | 162.8 kg | 180 kg |
| Price | Rs 1.80 lakh | Rs 2.27 lakh | Rs 1.80 lakh |
