Hero expands internationally
By Ben Purvis
Hero MotoCorp is already the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer by volume but remains a relative unknown in Western markets - something that the company is hoping to change as it launches into the UK, having already operated an R&G centre in Munich for some time and started selling in Spain and Italy.
The Euro5+ compliant export range is led by the Hunk 440, an A2-licence-legal machine with a fairly basic design including an air-cooled, two-valve single-cylinder engine, measuring in at 440 cc and making 27 hp at 6,000 rpm and 36 Nm at 4,000 rpm.
It's bolted to a six-speed transmission and packed into a steel trellis frame with KYB upside-down, 43 mm forks and dual rear shocks. A twin-piston ByBre caliper grips the 320 mm front disc, with ABS, and there are 17-inch alloy wheels at both ends, with 110/70 rubber at the front and 150/60 at the rear. It's essentially a straightforward, distilled essence of a motorcycle with little to stand out from the competition beyond a bargain price tag that puts it toe-to-toe with the likes of the new BSA Bantam - a machine with a similar set of specifications but a more recognisable brand name - but also into competition with the likes of the hugely successful Honda GB350S.
The Hunk is, notably, similar to the Indian-market Harley-Davidson X440 in terms of its engine and chassis. Hero designed and builds the X440 on Harley-Davidson's behalf as part of a partnership that also sees it distribute H-D's higher displacement bikes in India, and there's much speculation that the machine could get an international launch - perhaps as the basis of the long-expected 'Sprint' model that has been confirmed to be coming to Harley range in 2026 as a sub $6,000 entry level machine.