[CrAzY dRiVeR]

10k kms milestone + Observations from a 5-day, ~1100kms ride

Completed a 5-day, ~1100kms ride on the Aerox over the extended weekend with two other BHPians for company - KarthikK on his Yamaha FZ25 and neil.jericho on his Suzuki Gixxer SF250. Completed 10k kms as well while on the last stretch back home.

Here are a few long term observations:

Cons:

- As everyone knows by now, the rear suspension is just for namesake. It does nothing! Was the single biggest pain point over the two lane rural roads of Karnataka. Almost thought I'd injure my back during the back breaking roads of Kudremukh national park.
- The range! Needs refuelling every 120kms on an average, which is 3x times the fuel stops needed for the other bikes.

Pros:

- 3 years after the launch, this thing still grabs a ton of attention. On the roads, at places we parked, during discussions with strangers - many questions were raised about the Aerox. These days I'm not used to as much attention, with the rather subtle Tiger Sport 660 being my main ride!
- Handling is absolutely spot-on in the hills! Even with the non existent rear suspension - you can lean it over easy and comfortably till the center stand spoils the fun. Good compound, wide, 14” IRC rubber at both ends contribute to the experience.
- Performance is adequate for a highway ride. Could sit at 80-100kmph all day, though not much juice left afterwards.
- Decent fuel efficiency - saw an overall figure of kmpl despite pushing it quite a bit over 5 days.
- Good practicality and storage - with the 24.5L underseat storage devouring a large bag and several smaller items!

Group shot - With KarthikK on his Yamaha FZ25 and neil.jericho on his Suzuki Gixxer SF250



Somewhere at Kudremukh national park - the most difficult roads we encountered, due to the potholes.



At Maravanthe beach -



During the return leg, somewhere near Hassan -



Average FE peaked at around 45 kmpl, during the 2-lane ride in the hills! It drops significantly during the expressway rides, when opened up above 80kmph.



Overall trip distance -



Overall FE -



The amount of lugggage I had in the under-seat storage of the Aerox - a duffel bag, a portable compressor, chain maintenance kit for other bikes and a puncture repair kit.



Seated comfortably with space to spare -



Topped up with a 15L Rynox storm waterproof bag above it -



15L was a good match for the size of the Aerox. A view from the back -



Parting shot, from Kudremukh -

[Speedracer47]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

What's the odo reading when this issue happens? Or there is no such pattern identified in users?

No pattern as such. Mine happened with 15k on odo and some people had the issue within 7k kms as well. Seems like most of the people having issues are having the 2022 model so it’s possible that it could be a bad batch or something

[ashkamath]

Originally Posted by Speedracer47

No pattern as such. Mine happened with 15k on odo and some people had the issue within 7k kms as well. Seems like most of the people having issues are having the 2022 model so it’s possible that it could be a bad batch or something

Let's see. I have a 2024 Aerox and let me see how this pans out. Will share my experience as and when this issue surfaces with me.

[quicksilver101]

Originally Posted by quicksilver101

I was due for my fourth free service at the one-year mark, but the service center did not call to remind me, so I missed the mark.

I still wanted to get the bike serviced since I needed a reason to visit one of the sellers I had previously bought stuff from (the repair parts mentioned above). He just opened his Aerox-specific service garage in Jogeshware West, Mumbai (near Lotus Petrol Pump), and I really wanted to get a seat upgrade and headlight upgrade done.

...

The headlight and seat upgrade was pending, so I got that done earlier this month from BG Customs in Jogeshwari, Mumbai. I also got new mirrors. I've lived with these mods for more than two weeks, and honestly, the mirrors make the biggest difference, followed by the headlights and then the seat.

Seat:

Starting with the seat, there is a new "v2" seat floating around in the market, which is presumably the second iteration of the same-looking seat. From what I know, this is "waterproof," but I have no experience with the previous version.



Anyway, this seat doesn't get its foam soaked and doesn't wet your pants instantly as if you sat on a sponge, so it is "waterproof" in that context. It looks very stylish and well-made, and it adds a slight bit of comfort. Only slight, though — it's better than before, but your behind is still going to be sore after a ride. It slightly improves pillion comfort but adds some height too.



Another con is that something is amiss with the rubber fittings underneath (they don't come with the seat, so you have to add them from your old seat), so the seat no longer 'pops' open when you unlock the boot.



This cost me Rs. 6,500, and you can get it if you want a plug-and-play type seat, but I can't readily recommend it as a "comfort" upgrade because it doesn't upgrade comfort enough. Getting a seat custom-tailored to my needs would have cost time which I could not afford, so this works for me.

Headlights:

I needed a headlight upgrade because street lamps are not working in the approach roads near my house and in various spots on the highway near me. Aerox's stock lights and high beam are insufficient.

I got these (presumably) HJG fog lights installed for Rs. 3,500, including relevant brackets and installation. And these are installed in a way that makes them hidden and virtually invisible if you're not looking for them.



The button is installed near the right handle (you can see the red button in one of the seat pics). It toggles yellow light in the up position, off in the middle resting position, and cycles through various patterns of white light in the down position.



I've tried these at night, and they make a world of a difference. Obviously, you need to exercise common sense and not blind oncoming traffic. These are specifically angled downwards, and I use them sparingly, only when my stock high beams aren't enough, and I am at risk of a bad road patch. I can recommend them for their price.

Mirrors:

I've been unsatisfied with the mirrors too. The stock mirrors do just an okay job with visibility. These Nemo mirrors were in stock and for relatively cheap at Rs. 1,600, so I went why not install them too.





To my surprise, this was the biggest upgrade on the list. The visibility through them is very good. I can clearly see a lot more of the world behind me, which is such a boon in city riding. This is the mod that I regret not doing sooner, as it makes a lot more functional difference in the overall riding experience at a lot less cost.

----

At this point, I've spent a lot of money on mods on this bike, and I still have some pain points to address. I need to do something to fix the seat "pop-up" when trying to open the underseat storage (it's very inconvenient now with this aftermarket seat since you have to get half a finger in and kinda push it up, whereas the pop-up made unlocking the underseat very effortless). Then there's the rather shoddy front suspension. Unfortunately, the suspension doesn't seem like there is a cheap fix that everyone agrees upon, so I will wait it out a bit more as I am out of budget for now. I do love how the bike performs now (aside from front suspension) so I am content.