Hero XPulse 200 Pro review: Too cheap to ignore?

I have been looking forward to this one. Priced at just £2,700, the made-in-India Hero XPulse 200 Pro undercuts pretty much everything in the UK market - even Chinese bikes. It’s so cheap that you almost can’t afford not to buy one.

But could this old-school-styled, old-school-engined, and astonishingly cheap dual-sport actually be any good? Recently, I travelled to the wilds of Lancashire to spend a day riding (and crashing) the 199cc thumper in some of the most beautiful scenery Northern England has to offer. Here’s what I learned:

A little background

Hero is one of India’s largest motorcycle manufacturers. In the 2024-2025 fiscal year, it churned out an astonishing 19.6 million two-wheelers. Its most popular commuter model, the Splendor, sells roughly 1 million units a year.

The company used to be known as Hero-Honda, but that joint partnership ended 16 years ago. Since then, Hero has been expanding globally. It currently operates in 48 countries, with the UK quietly added to the list late last summer. It is even more a ‘cheap and cheerful’ commuter brand than its Indian counterpart, Royal Enfield.

The XPulse 200 Pro, and its lower-spec companion, the XPulse 200 4V, is an excellent example of that ethos. It doesn’t get much cheaper, nor much more cheerful. The two bikes are the second and third models to be introduced in the UK, following last year’s questionably named Hunk 440.

You may also be interested in: Hero Hunk 440 (2025) review, spec, details and features

The bike was first introduced in India back in 2019. In its home country, the XPulse platform has recently been upgraded, now carrying a modern 210cc liquid-cooled single. However, we get the previous version here in the UK, driven by an air-/oil-cooled engine that is so old school it features a physical kickstarter.

Looking at some reviews of the Hero XPulse 200 Pro, I’ve noticed a tendency by some to draw direct comparisons to the Royal Enfield Himalayan 450. This comparison is entirely unfair to both brands. It completely undersells the premium quality of Royal Enfield’s dual-sport and places expectations far too high for the XPulse 200 Pro.

That’s not to say that Hero’s bike isn’t good, simply that there is a stark reason for the £3,000 price difference (the starting price on a Himalayan 450 is £5,750).

You may also be interested in: 2026 Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 Mana Black review

Design and build quality

The XPulse 200 Pro features styling that is refreshingly unpretentious. Other manufacturers would struggle to resist the urge to give it unnecessary fairings or faux-rally bits. This is a bike that clearly reflects the use case in its country of origin. It is built to tackle both the densely populated towns of India and its notoriously bad roads.

The XPulse 200 Pro doesn’t look fancy; it looks functional. And it’s all the better for it.

Going forward in this review, I think it’s fair to point out that almost any criticism or moan I may have about the bike can be immediately countered with the following statement: “Yeah, but it costs £2,700.”

Overall fit and finish, and build quality, aren’t bad, but they aren’t great either. Nothing looks or feels overly flimsy, but it certainly doesn’t feel premium (“Yeah, but it costs £2,700”).

Perhaps the only thing that particularly stands out as problematic when looking at the bike is the oil cooler. Hero has chosen to stick it out to the left of the engine, where it seemingly serves as protection for a crash bar. It flexes on its mounting when you touch it.

Seat height is 890 mm, made more manageable by a narrow seat and chassis. I’m 6-foot-1 and had no trouble getting both feet flat on the ground. But if that seems too tall for you, check out the XPulse 200 4V. It is effectively the exact same bike but with less off-road-capable suspension, an 825mm seat height, and a £2,500 price tag.

The seat is firm but not insufferably so. Hero claims the XPulse 200 Pro is “designed for long distance comfort.” I call shenanigans on that, but the low-power nature of this motorcycle means it’s an unlikely choice for long motorway hauls anyway. 

For a bike this tall, the rider triangle feels cramped; the handlebar is a little too close. Things change when you ride in a standing position. It feels comfortable and natural when adopting an ADV stance.

The bike feels particularly light and manageable. Hero claims a wet weight of 161 kg.

Engine and transmission

The XPulse 200 Pro is powered by a 199cc air-/oil-cooled single-cylinder engine that Hero claims it designed and built from the ground up.

This bike originally came out in 2019. The original engine actually had a carburettor (this one is fuel injected). The current UK bike has a kickstarter. It doesn’t get more old-school than that.

The XPulse 200 Pro also has an electric starter, which works just fine. Indeed, it works significantly better than the kickstarter. I found that the kickstart really only worked immediately after the engine had been shut off when warm. The placement of the passenger peg doesn’t help; my heel kept catching the peg when attempting to kick down.

Claimed peak performance from this quirky powerplant is 19 bhp at 8,500 rpm and 12.8 lb-ft of torque at 6,500 rpm. That latter number means you’ll be aggressively cracking the throttle to the stop to get ahead of traffic at lights, but it is genuinely enough. And off-road, it means a manageable, non-threatening power delivery.

On the road, there is mostly enough power for mere mortals. Mostly. As long as you never venture onto a dual carriageway. The absolute fastest speed I was able to attain on the XPulse 200 Pro was 66 mph. That was going downhill.

I will note, however, that it was composed at that speed - a fair bit of engine noise but no chaos. And anything below 53 mph is pretty easily attainable. As you would expect, gear selection is crucial for steady progress, but the bike has more push and shove than I was anticipating.

It is a good choice for urban environments and somewhat viable if you live somewhere like Sussex (where I live) and suffer from congested, poorly maintained roads where you rarely exceed 50 mph anyway.

The transmission is OK. It’s smooth enough, but has the vague feel of something that may need replacing sooner than you’d expect on a more premium machine (“Yeah, but it costs £2,700”).

Chassis and brakes

The front suspension is fully adjustable on the XPulse 200 Pro. That is uncommon on a motorcycle this affordable. The suspension is tall (250 mm travel on the front forks, 220 mm of travel on the rear shock) and capable of suffering a remarkable amount of off-road abuse.

In the hands of a skilled rider it can do some impressive things. Inch Perfect Trials instructor Sarah Bell put on a demonstration of feats that I would describe as “101 ways to end up in hospital.”

The bike works well in the hands of an idiot, too. Our test route included some vert-tricky-for-me off-road terrain. Mud, rocks, deep ruts, little drop-offs, and streams swollen by two days of rain. The bike’s suspension handled it all without complaint. I was impressed.

I think I would have been even more impressed with better tyres. The XPulse 200 Pro is equipped with Metzeler Enduro 3 Sahara tyres. I would have expected them to be quite good - Metzeler’s a quality brand - but here, the tyres lacked grip in all situations.

There was little to no feel on the road. They were noticeably slippy on wet tarmac and even slippier on wet rocks and in deep mud. If I owned an XPulse 200 Pro, the first thing I’d do is invest money into finding better rubber.

That lack of tyre confidence contributed to my lack of confidence in the brakes. The brakes are not good (“Yeah, but it costs £2,700”). Not awful or dangerously ineffective, just not good. Part of the reason for this is the fact that the rear wheel does not have ABS; only the front is equipped with a (basic) anti-lock system. 

Hero’s marketing suggests that the rear has the tech, but there were no ABS sensor rings on any of the rear wheels of the press bikes we rode. This means it is entirely possible to lock up the rear easily, especially on wet surfaces.

Off-road, the absence of rear ABS isn’t a major issue. 

Related to this, the dashboard claims the ABS system has three settings: Road, Off-Road, and Rally. According to Hero, Road offers full ABS, Off-Road turns off ABS entirely, and Rally turns off ABS in the rear only. The physical reality of the bike (no rear ABS sensor ring) negates these claims. In fact, you have two choices: a bike with ABS at the front, or a bike with no ABS at all.

Off-roading: Mud, rocks, and bent shifters

An excellent suspension, gentle power delivery, and relative lightness all mean that the XPulse 200 Pro is well suited to someone like me, who lacks serious confidence off-road. I really do feel that this is a bike that I could easily learn and grow on.

After several days of rain, our test route was slippery and squishy. Inevitably, I crashed. Twice.

The first was a slow, muddy tumble caused by entirely the wrong choice of line and a fistful of panic throttle. 

Being thrown into the mud at low speed isn’t actually all that bad. When I looked at the bike, I was a little surprised by the level of damage. The most obvious issue was that the gear shifter had bent entirely out of place. Fortunately, it appears to be made of soft butter, and YouTuber Mike Pye was able to push it back into place with his boot while I kept the bike steady. The left-hand guard had also been mangled, but I bent that back by hand.

The second crash involved attempting to ride up a steep section of miniature boulders that resembled a waterfall. I slammed the bike head-on into a rock, came to a halt, and tumbled again. Again, there was a need to physically kick the gear shifter lever back into place, as well as the handguard. The left crash bar was also bent. 

But the bike started right up, and with some heavy breathing and clutch slipping, I made it to the top.

One of the most amusing aspects of my crashes was the fact that the oil cooler - something that I questioned from the start - was fine. Perhaps its flex is a feature not a bug, giving it resiliency in a crash.

Fancy bits and maintenance

It shouldn’t surprise you that high-end tech isn’t the XPulse 200 Pro’s ‘thing.’ There’s the basic ABS, full LED lighting, a well-placed USB charger, and the baffling option of Bluetooth connectivity on a very old-school LCD digital dash. 

When it comes to maintenance, however, there is a lot of reason to be upbeat. A motorcycle doesn’t get much mechanically simpler than this. Everything is pretty easy to visually access and mechanically understand. The bike even comes with a tool kit under the seat.

Hero suggests changing the oil, oil filter, and air filter every 3,000 miles. It suggests replacing the spark plug and checking valve clearances every 6,000 miles.

Verdict

Let’s be honest: if you’ve got more money to spend on a dual-sport motorcycle, you should probably spend more money. The XPulse 200 Pro is far from perfect. Some of the components appear to have been made of old beer cans and will simply not stand up to a crash.

A secondhand Honda CRF300 Rally will give you twice as much in terms of durability, braking quality, and engine power. But a good-condition example will also cost twice as much as a brand-new XPulse 200 Pro.

And that’s the crucial thing: maybe you don’t want to spend that much. Throwing down in excess of £5,000 on a trail bike implies a seriousness and dedication to green laning that you might not actually have. 

Maybe you are a novice. Maybe you are realistic about the limited number of places in the UK where legal off-roading is actually possible. Or maybe you’re just not sure if off-roading is right for you.

The XPulse 200 Pro is a cheap, risk-free way to find out if you like the dirt/mud. The suspension is surprisingly capable. Give it better tyres and carry a spare gear shift lever in your backpack, and this thing will offer up all kinds of silly fun.

It is hilarious, completely non-threatening, and ridiculously cheap. What’s not to like?

Gear worn in photos

Helmet: HJC RPHA 60
Jacket: Spada Vanguard
Gloves: Richa Atlantic GTX
Pants: Spada Vanguard
Boots: Sidi Taurus GTX
Backpack: Oxford Aqua H2

2026 Hero XPulse 200 Pro specs