Is Hero launching a new adventure bike?

Over the past several years, the 250 to 500cc motorcycle market has grown significantly in India. Hero MotoCorp is now preparing not one, but two new 300cc+ motorcycles in an effort to capture some of this market share. Recently, it was seen that both of these bikes were being tested in Khardung La, Ladakh.

The first of these two motorcycles is Hero’s new ADV, which was previously seen in prototype form. Despite being camouflaged, the test mule does provide some information about the future motorcycle.

The spy photographs show the engine case and a tiny portion of the frame, both of which resemble the prototype in appearance. Similar to the prototype, the test mule also had an upside-down fork up front and a monoshock in the back. The front wheel of the bike shown in the photos is probably a 21-inch wire-spoke wheel.

Other than that, the test mule had the typical ADV accessories, like knobby tyres, an upswept exhaust end can, and a front mudguard in the shape of a beak. Once it is released, the new Hero ADV will compete with the BMW G 310 GS and the KTM 390 Adventure.

The second motorbike that was spotted was a supersport, and it had a lot of similarities with the Xtreme 200S in terms of overall appearance. This motorcycle had alloy wheels, a split-seat design, low-set clip-on handlebars, a complete fairing, and a tiny windscreen.

Although it’s not quite evident from the photographs, the supersport looks to feature the same upside-down fork and monoshock suspension setup as the ADV. It also has petal-style discs at both ends. The ADV’s setup will have more travel than the supersport’s, though. This new Hero motorbike will be up against competition from the TVS Apache RR310 and KTM RC 390.

As previously announced, the new liquid-cooled, single-cylinder engine from Hero will power both of these motorcycles and is anticipated to have a displacement of over 300cc. Although output numbers are not yet known, further information should be available soon.