After almost half a decade Mahindra is finally set to launch the undoubtedly most rigorously tested bike of the country- Mojo. The stage is all set and it is now just a matter of time that the bike is officially launched, Mahindra has not only started taking bookings for the Mojo but also it is now available for the test rides. Based on the details surfaced about the bike, it looks a promising product from the house of otherwise a manufacturer popularly known for their 4-wheelers. The Mojo took a great bit of time to get developed and the result is actually gets in favor of the bike, these many years are known for the rapid and gradual evolution of two-wheeler industry of India and Mahindra have taken the advantage of learning from the process. No doubt it took excessively long time to bring a product but effort of developing something that should not only be at par with the competition but also ahead of it in many ways certainly takes its own course of time.
Despite of the endless efforts of the automobile companies the toll of the ever growing technology and its accessibility to the end user is inevitable. No matter how hard you put your efforts, there are always certain things that go against you; it is especially applicable for the automobile industry where every other manufacturer is striving hard to get through in the cut throat competition. The Mahindra Mojo is not an exception and for this otherwise great looking product there are certain things that might play spoil sport for the company.
Upcoming Competition:Mahindra has portrayed the Mojo as a Tourer, to justify the tag of “It’s time to answer the call of the road” the Mojo is featured with class leading Fuel tank capacity of 21 liters. The ergonomics of the motorbike is also perfect for long hauls; upright seating posture, comfortable single contoured seat and high torque producing engine all makes it a touring machine. The segment for a perfect tourer that comes in budget is still untapped until company like Royal Enfield has revealed their upcoming tourer- Himalayan.
The bike like Himalayan is actually what is required for a hardcore biker, who wants a capable machine for long journeys. The Royal Enfield motorcycles which are otherwise synonymously used for the touring machines in our country are now actually going to be the one. The Himalayan with engine capacity more than 350cc and features like long distance travel front suspension, high raised fenders, pannier brackets, luggage carrier and crash protectors seems more practical option as a “Tourer”.
The Royal Enfield has now the advantage what Mahindra used to relish earlier, they will launch their product after Mahindra therefore they can price the Himalayan accordingly. But, this is something inevitable and will follow the same suite with RE in its later stage, we are considering this because the Himalayan is going to be launched up next and will directly affect the sales of Mojo as no other bike will do in the future.
Long term Reliability:There is absolutely no doubt that Mahindra has done extensive R&D on the Mojo but one cannot deny the fact that the long term reliability of the bike is still unknown. The entire engine is been designed and developed by Mahindra in its Indian facility, there are parts procured by the international brands like; tires have been procured from Pirelli and certain electrical like sparkplug from Bosch but to keep the manufacturing cost checked the company had to either go for the self production or for the local vendors. It is only time will tell how these things work together in the longer run.
Brakes:
However, Mahindra has featured the largest disc brakes on both the wheels in its class but contrary to the competition the brakes are not from brands like Brembo, Nissin or Bybre. It is said that the brakes are the biggest let down in the Mojo. If we put the Mojo under the current competition with the likes of Honda CBR 250R and Duke 390, there is even lack of ABS feature on the Mojo (Mahindra might consider ABS in future).
Heavy Weight:The Mojo tips the scale at 182 Kg as kerb weight; the overall weight of the bike is significantly higher than the competition. If we look at the kerb weight of Ktm Duke 200 it is 136 Kgs, it is because of this, that even with impressive torque figure of 30 Nm the Mojo hardly beats the Duke 200 in drag. Despite of the increased kerb weight Mahindra surprisingly opted for the (unnecessary) dual exhaust canisters, however, this additional weight could easily be avoided by simply omitting the extra muffler.
The front end of the Mojo is heavier and it adds considerably to the overall weight of the bike. The beefy upside down fork along with bigger and heavier disk brake upfront also responsible for the extra acquired weight. Further the big twin headlight assembly is also there to contribute and it is because of this extra kerb weight the overall power to weight ratio gets disturbed.
Value for Money:
In our society where the value for every penny spent is one of the most important criteria behind every buying decision, the value for money quotient related to Mojo competitors will play one vital role. Even if Mojo is priced between Duke 200 and Duke 390 the features like premium WP suspensions, Bosch EFI, Bybre brakes, ABS and Slipper clutch (in Ktm Duke 390) will hard to be ignored before taking buying decision.
By: Farhan Kashif
