RajatGhosh Editorial Photographer: To Kolkata on Hero Xpulse 4v

Saturday, September 10, 2022

To Kolkata on Hero Xpulse 4v

I was eating ice-cream on 1^st September with a few friends of Royal kings as we mulled a trip to Kolkata, come 2^nd I was off on a trip to Kolkata .

This was going to be a small quick trip and I wanted to see how the Hero Xpulse ( my new bike ) would perform on a trip on the Highway, normally I am used to riding a 500 cc Royal Enfield which has its own road presence , and it had enough power to overtake any vehicle that I needed to,

It was 0845 hours and the weather prediction was rains from 1130 in Jamshedpur, and rains from 1430 in Kolkata, I had a small window to ride and make it to Kolkata without getting wet at either end of the trip.

Fingers crossed I set off yes I did have a rain coat but was hoping I would not have to use it.

Weather Gods were kind to me mostly and soon I was approaching Kolkata.

I reached Kolkata and was greeted with a jam traffic jam, n managed to find a few workaround and kind of back roads to get to Belghoria expressway and then it was rains to contend with

This Xpulse would prove to be no push over either, it was quiet smooth and I kept trying to find faults and if One is travelling alone I would say Xpulse 200 cc is just as capable, I usually ride at 80/ 90 kmph and most roads have speed limit of 100 kmph, well I rarely cross 100 on my 500 cc bike either.( unless overtaking a distracted driver ) so this round did go to Xpulse , cons the bike is too quiet and I did have to use the Horn to warn off some distracted folks on the road.

While I am in Kolkata it means good food.

Lots of lazing around

Lots of get together “ Adda “

Film shoots / editing / hanging out with intellectuals,

And of course there is rains and water logging

I was glad for the Xpulse with its 200 + mm clearance it let me do plenty of water wading and kept me a- OK inspire of water logged roads there was a stretch near the irport from New town that had 3.7 feet of water and me and Xpulse did just fine through the water.

And soon it was time to head back, the roads calling once again, Time to head back,,,

Near Jhargram, in West Bengal I took some time to go explore the red soil roads into the jungles

XPulse: it returned a average of 35 km/lit on this trip

Average speed from 75 to 91 kmph

Took a stop every 90 km on way back,

(While going took a stop at 175 km and then at 130 km)

I imagines there would be more vibration on the bike, but in fact even when I was riding at 90 kmph there was no vibration in the mirror, a strange fact as In My Royal Enfield I cant see nothing in the rear view mirror post 70kmph and its just shapes but on Xpulse it was great.