Braking
The X Pro comes with a conventional disc-at-front and drum-at-rear setup for the top end variant. The bike gets a 240mm disc upfront and a 130mm drum at the rear. The disc brake is courtesy Bybre which is the Indian division of Brembo catering to smaller machines.
While the rear brake is more than efficient for a drum unit, the front leaves a lot to be desired. The front brake lacks in bite and feels drum-ish. The disc brake unit surely gets the job done and can haul the bike from speeds north of 60kmph but not without making you skip a few heartbeats. Hero MotoCorp should definitely look in here and work to get this issue sorted out. On second thoughts, this might have been purposely done to suit the tastes of first time disc brake users. (Wonder when our bike buying lot will get matured enough!)
Summing it up, the brakes can be best described as adequate and we surely need more feel and braking power from the front disc unit.
Motoroids Rating: 6/10. Average. Really Average.
Overall
An average road user might be quick in dismissing off the Passion X Pro as yet another sticker job from Hero. However, there is more than meets the eye and it seems like Hero MotoCorp has finally come up with an appropriate product to rival the hot selling Honda Dream Yuga.
The Passion X Pro isn’t really leagues ahead of its rivals in any of the department but Hero surely makes quite a case for itself by offering the unmatchable Hero trust and of course, a wider service network along with great fuel economy, adequate power and features such as electric start, alloy wheels and a digital display. At almost INR 65k on road, the X Pro is priced real close to some of the 125cc bikes out there. However, what you get for a small premium is a really accomplished commuter that has the much trusted Hero backing and mechanicals which are probably reliable enough to survive a nuclear blast. The bike can surely do with better footwear and brakes though.
Motoroids Rating: 7.5/10. A very well sorted out bike with stellar fuel economy and almost all the characteristics of a good commuter.
Go to Page 6 for Hero Passion X Pro Pictorial description