Hero Xtreme 200S vs Bajaj Pulsar 220F vs Suzuki Gixxer 150 SF – Which is best faired bike?

A battle of faired bikes – Hero Xtreme 200S to rival semi-faired Pulsar 220F and fully faired Gixxer SF 150

Hero surprised everyone by launching not only XPulse bikes but a fully faired sports bike too. The Hero Xtreme 200S is a fully faired motorcycle to come out of Hero’s stable after a very long time. It was Karizma ZMR with full fairing which was launched back in 2014.

Hero’s new full faired city sports bike will go head-on with established rivals like Bajaj Pulsar 220F and Suzuki Gixxer 150. All these three bikes have fairing and the bikes with fairing have a special place in the Indian market. Let’s start with the design elements on these bikes.

Also Read: Hero Xtreme 200S launched at Rs 98,500

How they look and which one is the best looker here?

Hero Xtreme 200S, as I said before, has a sleek front fascia. The headlight is a twin LED unit with pilot lamps on the outer edges. The headlight and taillights are LED unit which is a plus point as LEDs are brighter and doesn’t suck charge from the battery. Both Pulsar and Suzuki are devoid of LED headlights.

Hero Xtreme 200S lies between the two main rivals

Side panels on Xtreme don’t have any crazy graphics rather a sober single color which looks cool to the eyes. If you look from the side, the cowling goes all the way down and joins the engine belly. However, the engine is fully exposed so that the air circulation is not obstructed. Suzuki has the heart covered though.

Also Read: Hero XPulse 200 to take on Himalayan from Rs 97,000

Graphics on Blue Gixxer has ‘ECSTAR’ graphics which is quite eye-catching. Pulsar has blue and Red strips on base black color which looks cool but more color combinations are heartily welcome.

Pulsar 220F has a simple yet striking semi-fairing. The headlight assembly is in a vertical fashion with a projector lamp as well as a normal reflector bulb. There are faux air-intakes on both sides of the headlight assembly. Rest of the motorcycle is similar to other Pulsar models. There is a fatter exhaust muffler which gives the bike a beefy look.

Pulsar 220F is the most powerful among the lot

Gixxer here is the most appealing fully faired bike here. The fairing is aerodynamically designed which helps bike in achieving higher top speed than the naked Gixxer model. The headlight is a single reflector unit with a Halogen bulb.

The handlebars on Xtreme 200S and Gixxer SF are single piece tubed one. The exception here is the Pulsar 220F as it gets Clip-on handlebars with a sporty riding position. Sitting position on Xtreme and Gixxer is upright and more comfortable then Pulsar.

What’s at the heart and how they perform?

Moving on to the main point of argument, the fuel burners. This match is between a 155cc, a 200cc, and a 220cc motorcycle. This might look a bit unfaired as a 200 and 220cc bike will lead the race. The main point I’m looking at is the pricing. If your doubts are cleared, let’s start talking.

There are a lot of technical similarities in the trio of engines. They are all single cylinder, air-cooled (Pulsar has oil-cooling too), 2-valve SOHC head, with a 5-speed gearbox. The swingarm is also rectangular in shape for all of them. Pulsar 220F and Xtreme 200S have carburetor whereas Gixxer also has an option for EFI.

Hero Xtreme 200S is powered by a 200cc engine which pumps out 18.1 bhp and 17.2 Nm torque. The Xtreme 200S will be doing 100 kmph in 12 seconds same as that of Pulsar 220F. Suzuki’s performance is least exciting them with 0 to 100 kmph achieved in 17 seconds which is around 5 seconds slower than both Pulsar and Xtreme 200S

Bajaj Pulsar 220F is the fastest motorcycle here with a speedo-indicated top speed of around 145 kmph. Gixxer SF tops out at 131 kmph whereas Hero Xtreme 200S is the slowest with an estimated top speed of around 120 kmph (speedo-indicated).

What they have other than Engine?

Hero Xtreme 200S and Gixxer SF are built around a diamond frame whereas the Pulsar has to keep itself content with a double cradle frame. That said, Pulsar 220F performs exceptionally well on the straight line but cannot take on the corners with confidence. Gixxer SF and Xtreme 200S are better at attacking corners.

Pulsar 220F also lacks a monoshock at the rear as it goes with twin gas charged spring dampers. Other two, i.e, Hero and Suzuki has Monoshock at the rear while all of the above has telescopic forks up front. Gixxer has the fattest 41 mm forks.

Also Read: Upcoming Bajaj Bikes in India in 2019-20

All these bikes ride on 17-inch alloy wheels on both ends which are further shodded with tubeless tyres. Gixxer SF has the widest rear tyre at 140 section which is a radial tyre. Xtreme also gets an MRF sourced 130 section radial tyre for the rear end. Speaking about the front end, Pulsar 220F has the thinnest 90 section tyre while the other two bike gets 100 section front tyre.

The three rivals here possess discs at both ends which are gripped by the same Bybre 2-piston caliper at front and single-piston at the rear. Speaking about the safety tech, all these motorcycles come equipped with single-channel ABS as standard. Single-channel, why you ask, to keep costs under check.

The important features to look out for

Hero Xtreme 200S is the most feature-packed sports bike here. There is a fully digital instrument cluster which comes with Bluetooth connectivity. When paired with Bluetooth, you can get call alerts and can enjoy turn-by-turn navigation via Hero Rideguide mobile app. Console shows all the important numbers as well as a gear-position indicator.

Gixxer SF also sports a fully digital instrument panel which only shows basic information like Speedo, tacho, trips, shift light, etc and nothing more. Pulsar 220F, on the other hand, has the dated instrument console. This one comes with an analog tachometer and digital readouts for speed, odometer, and trips. There is a shift light in Pulsar 220F as well.

So which one is worth your money?

All the three bikes here are capable of handling day to day task and are good looking machines. Pulsar 220F is the most powerful bike here and also performs better than the Xtreme and Gixxer. Gixxer, on the other hand, is a fully faired bike but produce the least power at 14.6 bhp. The price difference between these two bikes is just Rs 3,000.

This is where Hero Xtreme plays its part. When a customer goes out to buy a motorcycle, he looks at the design, performance, cost of ownership, and not to mention a crucial factor, the fuel economy. Gixxer SF has the smallest engine thus it will provide the best fuel economy. Pulsar, on the other hand, drinks fuel like pineapple juice.

Also Read: KTM RC 200 vs Honda CBR 250R

Hero Xtreme 200S has a 200cc engine but produces lesser power. So, Xtreme 200S will provide good mileage and also respectable performance when needed. All in all, if you are looking for an outright performer, go for Pulsar 220F otherwise Xtreme 200S makes a good sense as it has best of both worlds.

Specifications

Ride Safe, Ride Hard, and always wear a helmet while riding. Stay Tuned for more from the world of motorcycling.

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