Hero is currently the second largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world in terms of volume and the first in India: in recent years, it has established a partnership with Harley-Davidson for the production in India of a medium/small displacement H-D motorcycle, the Harley-Davidson X440, which was a success in India. In fact, there is no talk – as yet – of exporting either the X440 or the Hero Mavrick 440, a motorcycle based on the same platform as the X440, to Europe.
Of course, part of the agreement between the American and Indian manufacturers was to produce an almost homologous bike: the Mavrick 440 in fact uses the same frame and engine as the X440. The former is a classic tubular steel frame and the latter is the same four-stroke, air-cooled, oil-filled single-cylinder engine with two valves per cylinder that happens to be the largest capacity engine in the Hero range. Performance is 27 hp at 6,000 rpm and 36 Nm of maximum torque at 4,000 rpm, with 90% of the maximum value available from as early as 2,000 rpm. As usual when we talk about India, exhaust noise is taken very much into account and on the Hero website you can hear the noise of the Indian single-cylinder, which has a six-speed gearbox and assisted clutch.
The design has a classic look, but certainly not “American”, distinguished by the Full LED light system with DRL and the frame where the fork is traditional with a diameter of 43 mm and the steel rear swingarm is guided by a pair of shock absorbers adjustable in preload in 7 positions.
Small adjustments have been made to the seat height in relation to the ground, here 803 mm instead of 805 mm, to the wheelbase, which on the Mavrick is 1388 mm instead of 1438 mm, while the weight is similar, 191 against 187 kg in running order, with the Indian only being lighter than the Bar&Shield.
The equipment is good, with a single digital instrument equipped with turn-by-turn navigation and connectivity which, added to the other technical specifications, makes you think that a possible import into Europe may have its reasons…
The Maverick 440 can already be booked in India. Deliveries are scheduled for April 2024.