It was claimed to do the nought to 100 kph sprint in 3.8 seconds only!
Back at the 2014 Auto Expo, Hero left everyone stunned when Pawan Munjal officially pulled wraps of something which they called as ‘Hastur‘. Obviously, they were very quick to label it as a concept but they went onto share a lot of its specs.
According to the official numbers that were released, Hastur was powered by a 620 cc parallel twin engine which was capable of producing 80 PS of peak power and 72 Nm of max torque. That is not all – Hero went onto officially, on record, reveal the performance numbers of the naked…
Hastur Top Speed & Performance Claims
According to the largest 100 cc seller, Hastur was capable of doing 0-100 kph in 3.8 seconds with an astounding top speed of 240 kmph!
For reference, claimed top speeds of some similar capacity bikes are listed below (sourced from the internet)..
- CBR 650F – ~ 195 kph
- Yamaha R6 – ~250-260 kph
- Kawasaki Ninja 650 – ~210 kph
As you can see, Hastur is claimed to be faster than a few established motorcycles in this displacement range. But there is only one problem – there is no Hastur! So, did Hero actually test a concept motorcycle for its nought to hundred and top speed performance, which did not appear to be rideable?
After showcasing it back in 2014, Hero has only risen to motorcycles capable of top speeds of around 100-125 kph and capacities of 200 cc in five years. In a latest statement given by one of the top official from the company, they have almost ditched Hastur and have no plans of making it in the coming 3-4 years (read it here). Which means that without any substance and concrete plans, Hero laid some emphatic claims which were/are hard to believe!
Their famed Center of Excellence (CIT) was commissioned in 2015-16 and new motorcycles have only started to come in in the last few years. Similar, very tall claims were made for HX250R – a 31 PS would-have-been motorcycle which was axed, without launch, and the reason given was – ‘the market has moved on‘!
So the question is – can Hero or anyone else make any kind of claims by merely labelling a motorcycle as a ‘concept’ and walk away with brownie points for something which they haven’t really achieved/done or are not capable of achieving? A reference example can be – a man, out of nowhere, standing amidst a busy square, starts shouting that he has developed a flying suit which can take a person to space, but he can not demonstrate it and doesn’t talk about it in the next 5 years!
Obviously, in Hero’s case their senseless display of some unachievably-innovative two-wheelers in 2014 and 2016 have done them more harm then good but shouldn’t there be some kind of a ruling which prevents manufacturers from claiming ‘anything‘?
Why Hero’s Target of Beating Bajaj is Unrealistic
I have an even bigger question – shouldn’t manufacturers be held accountable for what they claim/showcase as ‘concepts’? Till the time we have some rules, let us be the ones to ask them questions…
