Faced recurring knocking problems with my 7 month old Hero Xpulse 200.

During the 14,700 km I traveled, I crashed the motorcycle several times off-road, but there was no serious damage, especially to the engine.

BHPian GreasyCarb55 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

I never thought I would have to create a post like this, but here we are.

This is my pride and joy (or at least it should have been), the 2024 Hero XPulse 200 4V Pro which I received on 4th February 2024 from Automiles Hero Malad in Mumbai.

In a previous post, I had written about how riding an Activa 1G Touring and riding a rented XPulse 200 2V made me fall in love with off-roading as the latter was one of the few bikes that my weight (only around 110kg) could handle. .

When it came time to buy a bike I was given a 2 liter budget so the only real choice was the XPulse so I went straight ahead and bought the Pro.

This bike taught me a lot about off-roading and touring: I rode 14,700 km on this bike in 7 months.

But in those 7 months this bike had 3 major knocking problems. The first time they replaced the entire crankshaft under warranty, and the second time they replaced part of the balancer. On Saturday I was returning to Mumbai from Igatpuri McDonald’s and on the highway the problem started again. If my calculations are correct, I recorded a mileage of 24 kilometers on this section…

On Sunday I went to Automiles to ask what could be done, the mechanic checked the bike and we also found white smoke coming out of the exhaust, the manager told me they would fix it but if there is a problem with the piston or blocking I will have to pay for it (Why).

And for some reason, warranty repair bills are no longer showing up in the Hero app under Services.

Yes, I crashed the bike several times off-road, but there was no serious damage, especially to the engine. Most of the time it was serviced at Automiles Service, brake pads were changed and 12,000 km was done at SGS Hero in Goregaon as both times Automiles people repeatedly told me that they don’t have space and I didn’t want to wait.

There are no engine modifications either, the only “mods” I’ve done are the ergonomic/utility modifications (390 ADV footpegs, MotoTorque handlebars, and extra HJG lights).

I have to take the bike in for service again this Wednesday to get the knocking problem fixed. I don’t have a spare car in Mumbai or even a family, but I don’t know what else to do.

That’s what BHPian b16h22 I had to say about this:

It’s unfortunate that you had to deal with these serious problems on your 4V. From what I’ve seen, these engines are getting very old. Have a few close friends who owned them. A close friend of mine had 2 2Vs in the past and each one made a terrible noise at high rpm with less than 10k km on it. The day I bought a nearly new Rally Pro for another friend, a guy came up to me and asked if they had fixed the engine noise on that car because he had sold his own 2V due to very bad engine noise and other problems. It’s really time for the hero to move away from this engine. I hope the LC 210 engine they are testing is much better in terms of reliability.

That’s what BHPian kamitesh I had to say about this:

It’s very sad to hear about your struggle. Speaking from personal experience, I got a very enjoyable 11k kilometers on my Xpulse 200 4v, including a long drive to Spiti and back to Mumbai. There were never any major issues and minor issues were quickly resolved by the same company, Hero SVC Automiles. I had to give up my Xpulse last year when I got the new Duke 390 V3, but I really miss it and have recently found myself looking for a 200 4v Pro based on my past experience. However, your post is making me rethink as I realize this is a hit or miss with the quality of the hero.

Don’t be upset about the lack of history in the Hero app, this happened to me with Hero and now with KTM. I live with this since I have manual backup bills.

Your bike is under warranty so I would suggest to be patient and contact Hero/Automiles to get the issue fixed. Sudhir, the SVC manager at Automiles, is quite patient despite being very busy with work. Establish rapport with him to quickly come to a meaningful decision. If possible, get Yogesh to work on your bike as he is one of the experienced technicians and checked my bike thoroughly before and after my trip to Spiti. If all else fails, you can try another Brand Hero in Chembur as a backup, which I hear is pretty good too. Good luck with that.

That’s what BHPian Debsen I had to say about this:

Your experience is unfortunate, but you are not alone. I have a 2020 Xpulse 2V FI with only ~15,000 km on it. During this time I encountered the following problems:

• Replacement of fuel pump under warranty
• Replacement of rear monoshock absorber under warranty.
• Speedometer cable, ABS sensor, engine switch were replaced under warranty (after long disputes with the service center)
• Clutch disc, battery replacement at my expense.
• Parts such as the running boards are still not available, more than 6 months after I ordered them.
• Horn doesn’t work

The motorcycle was carefully maintained, all maintenance work was carried out at an official service center. It has never been abused and has only made one long (~1800km) trip so far. A friend had a minor accident, but the damage was mostly cosmetic (to both the bike and the rider).

I have an old Pulsar 150 and Pulsar AS200, so I am used to not paying attention to reliability issues. But the ones I’ve encountered while using Xpulse are serious.

That’s what BHPian Sidharthan I had to say about this:

My 2022 Xpulse 4v had a knocking problem from 9k on odo, now at 20k. When it was shown to the service center they replaced the balancer shaft as a solution (as far as I know they have replaced this part on every Xpulse which is what causes the engine noise). However, the knocking problem remains. I was told that the piston had failed and needed to be replaced.

I decided to ignore their advice and continue with the knocking noise problem at idle. In May this year, I toured Ladakh without any problems with the engine except it sounded rough towards the end of the 3 km ride. On the other hand, I had 3 punctures and the bike had to be towed in a truck until Manali suffered severe external damage which was not included in the insurance claim. I resurrected the tank on site and replaced several parts without the help of a service center.

Regarding the warranty, even if your app does not display history, you are still entitled to replacement engine parts without any out-of-pocket costs. If the dealer becomes hysterical, try contacting the Hero’s higher authorities.

Finally, don’t be disappointed with Xpulse. It definitely has a problem engine, but learn to live with it. In fact, although the engine looks and sounds rough, it is actually quite reliable. Apart from a slight lack of power in the Ladakh region, it performed well, without any problems with altitude, fueling, etc. Even after a 12-hour truck ride through the passes and serious damage to the body, the bike drove from Manali to Delhi without stops and without any failures. It will still be the best value for money ADV in the market, with great suspension and incredible off-road capabilities, better than the Himalayan and other models in the market.

Also, if you keep an eye on travelers, they prefer these lightweight dual-sport ADVs because of their multi-dimensional flexibility. Honda and Kawasaki will soon release dual sport products CRF and KLR, which are being tested, at a much higher price. You will find the same Xpulse selling for a couple of lakhs cheaper.

Have a nice ride.

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