re: PIC : Mahindra's Mojo 300cc caught testing near Pune. EDIT: Now Launched Here are the first riding impressions of the pre production Mahindra Mojo from our forum member ku69rd.
Mojo...the name does look a bit kinky reminding you of the Austin Powers 2 the spy who shagged me
eh!!! Well the quirkiness ends with the name as it is quite sorted out in its styling. Son requesting Dad to get a mojo might not actually sound cool. But that is what it is...Mahindra MOJO.
To start off with, you just cannot afford to miss the dual round headlights and those pronounced eye-brows which stand out when lit up in dark. The ugly black golden color combination of the trellis frame along with the swing arm screams loud and is sort of ‘In your Face’ design. Personally I believe this is somewhat of Mahindra bold designing DNA which actually made the XUV and now being carried on to Mahindra Scorpio. It’s either a hit or a miss with nothing in between.
Once astride the bike you will be greeted with the huge analog tachometer a smallish digital console which gives you a lot of information like the speeds, trip meter and fuel gauge. The bike in motion makes you feel those appropriately specked front forks, a very linear power delivery from its surprisingly silent engine with a mild bubbly exhaust note. As a matter of fact many of our test riders were of the opinion that the motorcycle sounded much better with those dual exhausts unlike the other single cylinders we have in market today.
The gear shifts were very confidence inspiring and slots well with no false neutrals in between. They follow the universal trend of 1D/5U. Tires put that power down to the road with minimal fuss with no dramas of wheel spin. The tires shod on our bike were Pirelli Diablo Rosso 17 inchers. You would have to excuse me for not putting up the specifications as it has been quite some time since I rode the bike. If the final release mojos come with Pirelli it makes a good selling point.
As mentioned earlier the bike has a very linear acceleration. It’s a very smooth ride to the 90 Kays and will leave you surprised as it reaches speeds without much of drama or vibes. There is an easy climb up to 90 and then eases after that. She needed quite a bit of roads before she fizzled out at 139 KMPH which I think is decent enough for a 300 CC motorcycle slotted for touring. It builds its case as a tourer with a big 20 liter tank and adequate braking power courtesy Ji JUan from South Korea. The brakes however are insipid when they are cold and perform better after brief running. The front rotors looks well designed but unfortunately come without ABS. Seating posture is spot on with an open chest position but very neutral. You are neither too inclined forward nor backwards. Knees are slightly bent but comfortable. A very good thing that I noticed was, you can stand up on foot pegs with minimal ease and no change in ride dynamics. This should help you take care of those ruts that might surprise you or those unmarked road humps. The cross winds does make the rear twitch. You can point this to the swingarm as I think there might be a bit of flex/lacking rigidity. Could have been a one off case as well considering that the bike was run in and was told me that it had a couple of falls by overzealous testers.
Build Quality: The bike we test rode had barely run and as such the parts were not exposed to a great deal of wear and tear. There was another bike which had around 3500 in its odo meter. The bike with all its plastic though felt it was well put in. Plastics were everywhere, right from the rear mud guard to front mudguard. The tank was solid metal but it had its share of plastic bits and pieces. However the front fork was very impressive which catches attention quickly. Will not be surprised to see the front fork being put to use for many other bikes. The fork has a good travel with the right balance of rebound and compression. However they have no room for adjustments and are factory tuned. Switchgear is pretty average but it confirms positively when used. The tachometer looks good and must be colorful in the night as the rev lights are on by default. It briefly shows the max RPM reached as the light stays on for a couple of seconds before disappearing. Fuelling seems to be slightly off, when you roll off the throtle you can experience a slight delay before it starts to decelerate. Not sure if this will be corrected in the final production version. Foot-Pegs are adequate. Seats are wide and should not be much of a hassle even for those with a wider surface area
Somehow the bike gives an impression that it is built to last. Designing is heavily inspired from Mahindra and needs to be seen how far they can take it.
Well Built, good design but the million dollar question would be...Who will bell the cat and shell out the monies to buy an unproven, untested bike from a SUV maker. |