Tag: hero splendor

Hero Motocorp introduced a new variant to its bread and butter model, Splendor earlier this year. Called iSmart, the bike is primarily made of the same components that have been used on Splendor for years. However one crucial addition is the i3S technology which stands for ‘Idle Start Stop System’. The objective of i3S is to help you save fuel when your bike stands idling at traffic signals. Typically, i3S enables the bike or car to shut off the fuel supply system when you press in the clutch at a signal. And when you want to start moving again, release the clutch to restart the supply – it’s a huge fuel saver. But on iSmart, things are a little more clumsy – you will need to bring down the gear to neutral in order to effect a fuel supply stop. When you are in slow moving traffic, it’s not always possible to bring the gear down to neutral, and so this diminishes the effect of the i3S technology. But if you obsess over fuel economy, this is one bike you should consider.

So, let’s get started on the specifications first. Like every other variant in the Splendor line, the Splendor iSmart is powered by a 97.2 cc engine that can power a maximum power of 5.74 kw (that’s 7.8 PS) at 7500 RPM. In terms of torque, this engine can provide up to 8.04 Nm at 4500 RPM. If you hadn’t guessed it already, it’s the same old 4 stroke single cylinder engine at play here. The bike measures 1965 mm x 770 mm x 1095 mm in dimensions, has a wheelbase of around 1235 mm and a ground clearance of 160 mm. The kerb weighs around 110 Kg with the fuel tank capable of holding 8.7 liters with 1.8 liter reserve. The starting price of the Hero Splendor iSmart (ex-showroom, Delhi) is at Rs. 47,550 for the Self Spoke model, with Self Cast costing a thousand rupees extra. Do note that the on-road price will be much higher and will include local levies, octroi, and other taxes.

Manufacturer Mileage Claim

Given that the Splendor iSmart is primarily no different from any other Splendor in the market; but with the i3S technology, one should expect the mileage to be typically higher than what other Splendor bikes offer. Although there is no claim about the mileage from Hero on their official website or in the press release, from what I have gathered from other websites, Hero is claiming a a standard mileage of between 85-90 kmpl on the iSmart. Note that this is not very different from the other Splendors. That’s because mileage studies are not performed under traffic conditions – the i3S kicks in only when there is heavy traffic (when you have to stop-start a lot). So there is nothing out of the ordinary here.

Reviews from Customers & Test Rides

OverDrive in their review call the iSmart “the best looking Splendor ever”, although the i3S decal in the middle of the tank may seem like an eyesore. In terms of fuel efficiency, the i3S appears to save under 5% of fuel over a 50 km test run. With i3S disabled, the reviewer clocked 46.25 kmpl in peak hour Mumbai traffic on the iSmart. When it was enabled, the mileage increased to 48.46 – it might not seem like a lot, but if you are someone who has to endure long traffic signals every day of the week, you can realize that the benefits can easily add up.

In the review on TopGear, reviewer Christopher Chaves commends the “funkier-looking” headlight cowl on the new iSmart, the comfortable seating and the close handlebars that allow for upright riding. In terms of mileage, the reviewer was able to extract 64 kmpl from the bike, although this appears to be at a speed of around 50 kph on the highways. The review from MotorBeam, on the other hand, is much more positive about the mileage. The writer says that this bike is “99% sure” to deliver a 70 kmpl mileage – sounds like a lot and I presume they are talking about the bike’s performance on the highway.

Motoroids is equally excited about the bike. They point out that they tried their best to emulate a typical highway riding scenario without focussing on extracting maximum mileage. Even with that, they noticed a mileage of 67-69 kmpl, which is commendable and on par with what has been said in the earlier reviews.

Finally, let us see what the regular customers have got to say. Sadly, MouthShut doesn’t even have a category for iSmart yet. However, there are a couple of reviews from real customers on BikeWale – the reported mileage from these people is between 70-72 kmpl which is quite impressive. However, one customer points out that the i3S technology sometimes causes the engine to stop when riding at the 40-50 kmph mark. I could not find similar comments elsewhere, but if this were true, Hero seriously have an important task at hand to fix the problem.

So there you go. As usual, here is a summed up version of mileages as reported by different reviewers. Do let me know what you think in the comments below.

This has been a rather splendid week as far as bike reviews go – we have already reviewed three Splendor bikes. Today we will review the fourth of the Splendor variants – the Hero Super Splendor. This model was launched close to three years back and is the only Splendor bike in the 125cc range. The bike is equipped with a 124.7cc 4 stroke single cylinder engine that can crank up a power as high as 9 BHP and torque as high as 10.35 Nm at 4000 rpm.

The Super Splendor measures 1.995m long, 0.735m wide and 1.095m tall. The wheelbase measures 1.265m with a ground clearance slightly lower than the rest of the Splendor bikes at 150mm. In terms of fuel capacity, the Super Splendor can hold 13 liters and is heavier than the rest of the Splendor bikes at 121 kg. kerb.

What this all means is that the Super Splendor with a higher power and heavier kerb weight could technically deliver a mileage lower than the rest of the Splendor variants as compromise. But we will have to look at the reviews to actually confirm if this is true. The Super Splendor is available at a price of Rs. 50,650 ex-showroom Delhi.

Official Claim on Fuel

According to Hero Motocorp, the Super Splendor will give you 83.1 kilometers for one liter of petrol. To give you a perspective on this number, here is the officially claimed mileage figure on all the four Splendor bikes that we have discussed now:

This is actually contrary to what we had predicted earlier. The 125cc Super Splendor actuavlly has a higher official number on its fuel than the likes of Splendor Plus. Also, at 83.1, I believe the Super Splendor has one of the best economies in the 125cc segment.

Customer Reviews

Let’s start with MaxAbout as usual. In their review, the website calls the Super Splendor “the most mature bike” among the various Splendor variants. The bike has been tested to reach 60 kmph in around 8 seconds and according to MaxAbout can deliver 65 kmpl on city roads with highways offering 75 kmpl.

BikeDekho doesn’t seem to have had an in-house review of the bike. However, according to a user who claims to own a Super Splendor, the bike offers “excellent mileage” of around 66 kmpl. This is on par with what has been claimed on MaxAbout as well.

To better understand what real world customers have to say about the bike, let’s check out the reviews on MouthShut. There are over 75 reviews of the Super Splendor on the website and the reviewers there have rated the bike 4/5 with regards to fuel consumption. However when it comes down to the numbers, it gets pretty confusing. I honestly could not find a pattern in the numbers reported by various customers. The reported mileage has varied between those reporting around 48-51 kmpl to those reporting 65-70 kmpl. There are others that claim around 50-55 kmpl as well.

On Olx, the story is something very similar. The reported economy is anywhere between 48-65kmpl. However, unlike MouthShut, there is more consistency in the numbers where the average falls around the 55kmpl mark.

So there you have it. Most official reviews point to a pretty decent mileage of around 60-65kmpl. However reviews from real customers put it slightly lower. Here is a summary of what we have seen reported by various sources.

We have been reviewing the mileages of the Hero Splendor motorbikes over the past two days. The Splendor NXG was launched by Hero Honda back in 2007 and since then has gone through more than a couple of upgrades. The Splendor NXG is regarded a ‘deluxe’ bike among the Splendor range of motorbikes.

Like the rest of the Splendor motorbikes, the Splendor NXG also has a 97.2cc 4 stroke single cylinder engine that delivers a maximum power of 7.8 PS and a max torque of 8.04 Nm at 4500 rpm. The bike measures 1.965m in length, 0.720m in width and 1.095m in height with a total ground clearance of 160mm. The fuel tank capacity appears to be slightly lower than the other Splendor bikes with just a 9.5 liters fuel tank with 1.8L reserve. The basic kick spoke variant of Splendor NXG will cost you Rs.42,250 ex-showroom in New Delhi.

Official Mileage Claim

The fuel economy as claimed by the company for all the Splendor range of motorcycles is in the 80+ range. The Splendor NXG is no different either. According to Hero Motocorp, the Splendor NXG will give you 87.7 kilometers for every liter of petrol when rode on standard test conditions which is under extremely favourable highway-type road conditions. You will definitely see a lower mileage on a typical city road.

Reviews From Customers & Reviewers

MaxAbout praises the bike for its refinement and fuel efficiency and in fact says you can feel the refinement even as you start the ignition. In their road test, the website says they were able to see 65kmpl on city roads that goes as high as 70 kmpl on the highways.

BikeAdvice says the Splendor NXG which is designed for the ‘next generation’ could give the Platina and TVS Star City a run for their money and is pretty reliable with low cost of maintenance. Their test ride delivers a much higher fuel efficiency extracting 75kmpl combined on city and highways.

ProDease has a very short review and I am not sure if the mileage they claim on the review is something they were able to personally test or has been quoted from secondary sources. In any case, according to them, the Splendor NXG will give you an economy of up to 60kmpl with the average around 50kmpl. I would not vouch for this claim yet since it seems to be much lower than what other sources claim.

To validate this, let us dive right into MouthShut to see what real-world customers see. There are 21 reviews for the bike here and the customers have rated it 4 on 5 for fuel consumption. There are a few complaints that customers have posted that includes things like poor acceleration and that the bike is not really built for long rides. These are things that you should check out when you test ride yourself. However, on the fuel economy front, the bike is consistently rated between 60-70 kmpl which is pretty good for city rides. But I must note that there were at least a couple of unhappy customers who reported a lower mileage of between 48-52 kmpl.

On Olx, there are several Splendor NXG bikes put up on sale and if you look at the numbers reported by the sellers, it invariably falls between 55-70 kmpl. So I think the realistic expectation from the bike is around 60kmpl. Consider anything over this to be a bonus.

To conclude, I think the bike has a few issues to sort out as I see from the MouthShut reviews. But that apart, the bike appears to deliver great mileage on most counts. If you do not see it on your own bike, it could be because of some sort of wear and tear that you should get fixed at a service shop. Here is a summary of what the various websites have reported

The Hero Splendor is one of the long serving brands in the Indian motorbiking segment having been introduced more than a decade back. The Hero Honda Splendor Plus was first introduced in 2004 and later, in 2007, relaunched it with modified fairings, alloy wheels and a few other improvements. After the split between Hero Motocorp and Honda, the bike has been marketed as the Hero Splendor Plus and continues to be one of the most popular products from the Hero Motocorp.

The Hero Splendor Plus engine has a displacement of 97.2cc and is air cooled with a 4 stroke single cylinder. It delivers a max power of 7.5 PS and a torque of 7.95 Nm at 5000 rpm. The bike measures 1.97m in length and 0.720m in width. With a ground clearance of 159mm, the bike is definitely on par with the other bikes custom built for the Indian road conditions. However, with a kerb weight of 109kg, the Splendor Plus is made to feel lighter and thereby contribute to a better fuel efficiency. The Splendor Plus is available in Delhi at an ex-showroom price of Rs. 42,950 for the Spoke model.

Mileage Claim From Hero

Although the Splendor Plus is built with an engine similar to what is available on the newer model, Splendor Pro, the mileage delivered is lower. According to Hero Motocorp, the Splendor Plus can give you 80.6 kilometers for every liter of petrol. Compare this with the 90.1kmpl claim on the Pro. But again, as we saw in the other article, the real world numbers may vary vastly considering these are numbers fetched from standard testing conditions.

We will do a side by side comparison of all the Splendor bikes later. Keep checking.

Customer Reviews

BikeDekho calls this bike a “commuter cum executive bike” which is both sleek and attractive. The website reports an economy of between 65-70 kmpl on city roads. With a 11 liter fuel tank, this means, you could go 770 kilometers at a stretch before going completely dry.

MaxAbout has a very similar review of the bike. They note that the engine used in this bike is comparatively slower than those used in the other variants of the Splendor. The fuel efficiency as reported stands at around 65-70 kmpl on city roads that can go as high as 72-75 kmpl on highways. On IndiaGarage though, a user claiming to be a Splendor Plus customer reports a mileage of just around 55 kmpl.

Let’s next look at MouthShut. There are over 70 reviews for the bike and the customers have given the bike an overall rating of 4/5 for fuel consumption efficiency. Reading through the reviews, we find that the average mileage that customers see on city roads is pretty impressive and is consistently between 58-65 kmpl. On highways, it seems to increase to as much as 69-70 kmpl. One customer however warns that you may not see a great economy in the first 2-3 months after purchase.

On Olx, most of the Splendor Plus bikes put up for sale have their fuel economy specified in the 60-70 kmpl range although there are more than a couple of bikes that are reported to be seeing 47-55 kmpl economy.

So there you have it. Here is a summary of fuel efficiency as reported by various sources.

As a bottomline, it is pretty clear that Splendor Plus delivers what it matters. So if you are considering this bike, my suggestion is you should go for it.

Hero Honda launched the Splendor range of motorcycles close to a decade back. Since the time, there has been more than a few upgrades and variants of the brand launched. After the joint venture between Hero Motocorp and Honda ended, Hero has been independently marketing the Splendor range. The Hero Splendor Pro is one of the latest variants launched in the market having been announced only in 2011.

The Splendor Pro comes with a 97.2cc single cylinder 4 stroke engine that can crank up a max power of 5.74 kw (7.80 PS) and a max torque of 8.04 Nm at 4500 RPM. The bike has a decent 159mm ground clearance and weighs 109 kg at the minimum (the self-start variety weighs 3 kgs more). The bike has a 11 liter fuel tank The Hero Splendor Pro is priced at a minimum of Rs. 45,037 ex-showrrom Delhi with price varying according to the feature you are going for (kick spoke, kick cast, self spoke or self cast).

Company Claims

Mileage is one of the most important features for a bike in the sub-100cc range. And the Hero Splendor Pro does not disappoint; at least as far as the official claims go. According to officials from Hero Motocorp, the Splendor Pro can fetch you 90.1 kmpl under standard test conditions. The keyword here is ‘standard’. So this should of course reduce when you test ride it on a city road. So check out the rest of this article to see what various people who have tested the bike have got to say as far as city riding goes.

Customer reviews

MaxAbout notes that the Splendor Pro does not look any different from any of the older variants. However, the new engine makes the bike much more responsive and quick. In the fuel economy department, the website says they were able to extract 65 kmpl on city roads and 79 kmpl on highways.

BikeDekho praises the bike for its “ultimate” comfort and flat seating positions. In their test, the bike review website has noted to have reported 60 kmpl of mileage on the Splendor Pro. BraveheartBikers, another blog from bikers commends the Splendor Pro for its very low maintenance charge and reports an economy of 65kmpl on cities which goes up to 75kmpl on highways.

Customers who have already owned higher priced bikes with better power may not find the Splendor Pro the best in looks, but MyIndiaGuide calls the Splendor Pro “very stylish and mind blowing”. In their review of the bike’s fuel consumption, the website reports having seen 65-70 kmpl which is indeed impressive.

There are a number of second hand Splendor Pro bikes available for purchase on Olx with prices ranging from Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 40,000. Most of these bikes report a mileage of between 50-65 kmpl. This is of course a wide range that does not serve useful to you, if you are a consumer but if it’s of any consolation to you, let me tell you that a majority of the reviewers have put the number at 60-65 kmpl with only a handful reporting mileage lower than that. Your mileage may literally vary.

So there you have it. The fuel efficiency of the Splendor Pro does paint a pretty positive picture of the bike. We do not find any reviews for the Splendor Pro on MouthShut. However, from what we see from the rest of the reviews both from real world customers as well as test riders, this bike is built to give you the most efficient ride and it will definitely not burn a hole in your pocket at the petrol pump.

Do you like the other features this bike comes with? Then you should definitely go for it because this is not a bike that should bother you in the fuel department. Check out a summary of reports from various reviewers.