Jun 27, 2010 07:29 PM
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(Updated Jun 27, 2010 07:36 PM)
“Live off the edge”
That is one of the worst tag lines I’ve ever heard. There’s something called gravity that would pull you straight down to the earth and instant death, a fact that the Hero Honda advertising team were oblivious to, and the new advertisement they’ve come up with to suit it is pathetic. I can’t imagine anything more idiotic than a man crossing an ocean to reach an island on bike. However, there’s still hope for the bike as I’d heard a lot of encouraging stuff about the bike and was sure it would be a lot better than the advertisement.
The bike I had at hand had a black and red color scheme that looked good until my eyes fell on the rear mack wheel. Who thought that one red and one black would look good? They are seriously mismatched and I would prefer to have them both black any day. The front is pretty simple compared to the appealing rear. The LED’s at the back give the whole bike a sophisticated look and when they go on they look brilliant and I couldn’t wait to see them at night. The fuel tank has some sort of curves and blends in totally with the bike. It’s not too big or small, its picture perfect. However, the dashboard is a bit of a disappointment.
The tacho dials are analogue and the speedo is pretty large. I didn’t understand why it had such a big diameter because it just made the dials too long. It seemed to have come off a sports bike back in the ‘90s. It doesn’t pose some sort of fancy short handle which has become more of a trend these days with fast bikes. It doesn’t even have an engine kill switch. I think the finish is quite crude, mind you, not bad just a little awkward. I am the sort of person who thinks the digital age is here and I think it would do a lot better with a new dash.
I got on the bike and then I realized how high it actually is. I don’t know of any other bike that’s higher than the CBZ. It offset the balance somehow and I was pretty nervous when I got the bike rolling. The two ends of the handle seemed to a bit too far apart for my liking and just added to my nervousness. It took me a while to get used to the feeling and when I did, I rolled the throttle.
Trust me this baby flies. I shifted up quickly and was doing almost 90+ in no time. It would probably slaughter any 150cc bike in straight line acceleration but trust me at those speeds I’d never been as scared as I was that day. This is not an easy bike to handle and a novice would find it a bit tough. There also seemed to be a fair amount of vibration from the engine. The rear breaking is okay, not good, just okay. You can never be sure if it’ll be enough. The front breaking is pretty stable and you wouldn’t have to worry too much about locking up and I pray to god you never do.
When you go into a corner you can feel why the unusual high ride height is a problem. It’d make you pretty nervous and a little too much on the breaks and you’d be flat on the road. I didn’t dare drive too quickly because I was in no mood to break a bone or two. When I got off the bike, I can tell you how much more I valued my life. After having ridden the bike I must say the tag line to this bike is just perfect.
It got my heart racing as quickly as it would have if I’d have to jump out of a plane. It is truly one of the most terrifying bikes out there and you’d need to have the heart of a lion to buy one of these. I can give you a million things that are wrong with the bike, but you know what? It’s an absolutely fabulous bike and I think it has easily become my favorite in the 150cc range. If I was 18, which I am, I would buy this bike in a heart beat, because that is a time to live your life ‘off the edge’.
