Ride-by-wire throttle, ride modes, cruise control… Never thought these could be the highlights for a 125cc commuter, but there I was, looking at the new Glamour X — Hero MotoCorp’s latest offering in the popular segment. Were these really necessary? Will it even work like it’s supposed to? Why the Glamour and not the Xtreme 125R for these updates? With these questions looming in my head, I rode out of the hotel.
I decided to ‘take things easy’ and start with Eco mode as I strolled through a quaint neighbourhood outside Jaipur. The Glamour X blended perfectly in the slow-paced morning — the throttle response was gentle, and the 124.7cc air-cooled single-cylinder engine didn’t mind me puttering around at crawling speeds in the third gear. And that’s when I realised every commuter on the road was a Hero motorcycle — some were HF Deluxes, some Splendors and even a few Super Splendors. Although, my bike screamed premium. All-LED illumination with LED DRLs, colour-LCD display and muscular styling made it stand apart from the crowd, but with the upright ergonomics, a long seat and skinny tyres, there were no two ways around the fact that this was a commuter.
Functioning like a hive mind, all of us moved to the highway. Of course, I had a lot of testing to do, but the others? A 20-odd km stretch on a national highway was a part of their commute to work or school. And of course, Eco was no match for the highway, so switched to Road mode and now the engine felt peppier enough to flow with the highway traffic. I was cruising comfortably at 60 kph and there were no vibrations at all. It was now time to try on the cruise control.
At 64 kph, I pressed the cruise control button, toggled it downwards at the system was engaged… but not in a way I expected it to. The speed fluctuated between 55 kph to 70 kph, so I quickly turned it off. Meanwhile, the flow of other commuters around felt eerily automated, powered entirely by muscle memory; they were dodging potholes, taking on speed bumps while conversing with their pillion.
I went through the same potholes and speed bumps, and the Glamour didn’t disappoint. Despite the fancy features, Hero ensured it stayed true to its commuter roots. But Hero also plonked in the same engine here as the Xtreme 125R, so the Glamour had to do justice to that, too.
At a press of a button, I was in Power mode — now it felt almost like different motorcycle — the modes didn’t restrict performance, but only the way the engine behaved, and now, it was in its sportiest guise. Soon enough, the other commuters were way behind, and now I was overtaking the bigger bikes and cars, even. The engine didn’t mind that and it was only after 96 kph that I could feel a slight buzz at the footpegs. But then again, not many would be taking the Glamour X to those speeds.
This bike isn’t going to be the weapon of choice to hit the twisties on weekends, either, but with that eager engine, I hit a long section of winding roads, and to amp up the difficulty, it was quite a steep climb, too.
Surprisingly, the Glamour was a hoot here. I had my reservations about the 18-inch wheels and the JK Tyres rubber, but they did their job better than what was expected out of them. In fact, it was only the footrests grinding through corners that made me back off a bit. Thankfully, the brakes were up for the task at hand, too. There was enough stopping power and progression, although some more feel at the lever would have been appreciated, especially since it doesn’t get ABS.
That’s shocking, isn’t it? For a bike that brags of so many fancy features, something as essential as ABS has been skipped. And that’s perhaps the only chink in the Glamour’s armour. Yes, the cruise control didn’t work the first time, but it was a one-off issue, and this function on other bikes worked just fine.
At ₹ 99,999 (ex-showroom Delhi) for the disc variant, the Glamour comes across as a great value-for-money proposition, offering a great blend of performance, features and style. Although the overall quality of the bike was great, the tall flyscreen was noisy, the switchgear cube had a slight play, and the lack of ABS was a big miss. That said, for all its fancy tricks, it hasn’t forgotten the simple job it was built for — getting you to work without breaking a sweat, and that’s what matters.
