Introduction
When the Hero Mavrick 440 joined BikeWale’s long-term garage a few months back, I took a short spin on the bike only to be instantly impressed by how easy and seamless it feels to ride. Then, a few weeks back, when I was presented with the opportunity to use it on a daily basis, I happily took the keys of the Mavrick. Now, our stint with the motorcycle is going to end soon. Before we bid it adieu, here’s what we liked about it over a few months of usage and what we think could be better.
Likes
The Mavrick’s 440cc engine packs most of its punch under 4,000rpm which makes it easy and fun to ride in the city. The strong pull in the lower revs means you can ride higher gears at lower speeds and don’t need to work the gearbox too much. Overtaking other vehicles feels like a quick affair, even if you’re running a gear higher for a given speed. All of this is accompanied by a bassy exhaust note which sounds sweet. Plus, the Mavrick is almost deprived of any vibrations until 110kmph which only makes this engine all the more pleasant to ride.
Another strong suit of the Mavrick is comfort, not just in terms of the riding position but also suspension-wise. With an easy-to-reach and wide handlebar, slender midsection, and slightly rear-set footpegs, the riding position offered by the bike is comfortable yet involving. Moreover, the suspension setup is soft enough to absorb most of the undulations efficiently while not being a compromise on the handling front. While you do feel the minor road joints, rumblers or small potholes, the sensation isn’t that of a violent thud or kickback. It’s only while going over the nastier and taller speed bumps that you get lifted off the seat but things are always bearable.
The Mavrick also impresses on the handling front. On the move, it feels quite light for its 191kg kerb weight and zipping your way through traffic feels natural. Even around corners at higher speeds, the motorcycle doesn’t need too much effort to be steered and once leaned over, holding your line isn’t a task. Despite the suspension setup being more inclined towards comfort, the bike doesn’t feel wallowy and inspires confidence to go a bit hard around corners.
Overall, the Mavrick is a bike that’s effortless to get along with courtesy of a lot of aspects. The riding position is comfortable, the engine is smooth and torquey, the clutch is quite light, and the gearbox is slick. Plus, with a low seat height, manageable weight, and agile handling, living with it is further seamless.
Dislikes
One of the weakest points of the Mavrick is the braking setup. Not only does the front disc lack bite, but the lever feel is also poor. Coming to a halt from higher speeds demands you to pull in the brake lever all the way. Even when you do that, the bite from the front disc is soft which means you need to rely on the rear brake and engine braking way more than most modern motorcycles.
While the engine feels peppy in the city, the highway is where the Mavrick lacks the zip to some extent. The acceleration beyond 4,000rpm, or 100kmph, is quite flat which means overtaking other vehicles needs to be a well-planned affair. This could be an inconvenience while touring only since the engine feels potent in the urban setting.
The riding triangle on the Mavrick is quite sorted with a soft seat cushioning. While this is not a problem on short rides, the lack of cushion poses an issue on longer rides when the backside starts getting sore too soon.
Our test bike has also encountered minor technical hiccups. The bike has just done close to 2,000km and the engine check light kept coming on sporadically last month. Fortunately, it hasn’t happened again ever since it made a trip to the service centre. Also, after having left unridden even for a day, the bike refuses to crank up in the initial few attempts. I have to turn the key on and off repeatedly and press the starter button multiple times for the self-start to do its job. Since the instrument cluster and lights come on while this happens, the issue seems to be more related to the starter motor and alternator than the battery.
Should you buy it?
The Mavrick 440 has been a great commuting companion for us during its stint at BikeWale. Owing to the effortless riding experience it offers, you don’t need to think twice to reach out to its keys, be it for daily office commutes or running some errands. It can also do a decent job at touring. The engine’s low and mid-range torque, bassy sound, agile handling, and comfortable ride quality and ergonomics have been the highlight for us.
What the Mavrick lacks is a sense of riding something special. It doesn’t attract a lot of attention visually, there isn’t enough tech to write home about, the engine performance isn’t outright thrilling, and the quality levels could be better.
Photography by Kaustaubh Gandhi
Gallery
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Hero Mavrick 440 Left Side View
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