Hero Honda Achiever in India – Not the best looking yet reliable
Hero Honda has one of the strongest brand names in India. To date, they are still called the world’s largest two wheeler manufacturer. This indeed speaks of the hard work and dedication associated in its bike making prowess and holding a considerable amount of shares in the market.
In India, it is all about trust and brand acceptance. Once the product is accepted, trust spreads like wildfire. Then, it all depends on the quality of the products that follow, and if all is well for a couple of years, any company would still be selling good for the next 10 years.
So, having achieved this status, Hero Honda are continuing their progress and trying to challenge new bikes in the market.
Hero Honda group is no more now, and it calls itself as Hero MotoCorp after its split with Honda some time back. The event packed with celebrities in London witnessed the launches of Hero Impulse and Hero Maestro, bikes yet to come to India. There are reports suggesting the introduction of Hero Impulse some time later this year hopefully.
MotoCorp would be taking its own course while Honda already making plans for the new 100 cc bikes to be released that uses the CD platform in yesteryear’s Hero Honda bikes.
The case of the Hero Honda Achiever is quite a miserable one when compared to the sales of Hero Honda Splendor, CD Deluxe, CD Dawn etc. This bike failed to climb the sales chart, performance was miserable and is still living in the showrooms along with the other competitors. It has been spending quite some time in showrooms, perhaps the company feels it still has a chance down the road.
September of 2005 saw CBZ’s domination come to an end. Hero Achiever in India made its debut around 2006 with a front fairing that was round as it was Hero Honda’s only bike in this segment to make it to the market until 2007 when the CBZ once again came back. Hero Honda’s worst fears came true when the Hero Honda Hunk was launched and breathed fire into the Indian roads, and it was a hard time for Hero Honda Achiever as it was thought this bike would further be neglected.
When looking at the bike, it has a striking resemblance to the Ambition, and it does share the Honda Unicorn’s engine. The Hero Honda Achiever is powered by a 149.1 cc, air cooled, four-stroke engine that generates 13.4 bhp. Transmission is via five-speed constant mesh.
Like earlier said, the bike failed to hit the mass possibly because it lacked the thrill and adrenaline rush riders wanted way back when it was launched. When a situation like this happens to any company, it really becomes difficult to make a quick decision as to whether stop its production and take it back straight away or still persist and see whether it would make a name sometime in the future. The bike, however, clocked zero to sixty km per hour mark in 5.63 seconds.
The body of the bike looks pretty big and all muscled accounting for its straight line stability, although cornering the bike is a bit difficult and seems tedious when riding in traffic, but while riding on a highway is pretty comfortable and stability wise performs well too.
The top speed of the Hero Honda Achiever is 109 km per hour.
The Hero Honda Achiever in India has a large body, and the fuel tank looks a bit chiselled and might not offer a desirable knee indent. The bike has a wheelbase that is 1290 mm, tall handlebars, a good ground clearance of 160 mm, front telescopic hydraulic shock absorbers and rear swingarm adjustable shockers. All these features make the bike a bit robust and pleasurable for a smooth and comfortable ride.
Having seen the bike fail badly in making its presence felt to the consumers, a lot good could be told about the bike’s ride quality. Another admirable quality is the bike’s vibration-free and low-noise engine. Clutch and gear shifting operations are pretty smooth with a considerably good gearbox. These qualities make the bike solid.
The front disc brakes of 240-mm diameter add up a bit more character to the existing solid presence of the bike. Narrow tubes seen in earlier versions are now replaced by tuff up tubes, which promises a puncture-free ride or rather takes away the pain of puncture nightmares when off to an adventurous bumpy or off-road ride.
Hero Honda Achiever Photo Gallery
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