Hero MotoCorp caught one and all by surprise at its ‘Hero World 2024’ event in January this year with the unveiling of a concept motorcycle, then dubbed the Commemorative Edition. Now, the company has revealed the production version of the bike, which has now been named ‘The Centennial’. This creation, based on the Karizma XMR platform, is to commemorate the 101st birth anniversary of the company’s founder chairman, Dr. Brijmohan Lall Munjal, and Hero will only produce 100 units of the Centennial. The motorcycle was conceptualised, designed and developed by Hero’s teams at the Centre for Innovation and Technology (CIT) in India and Tech Centre in Germany.
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The production version of the Centennial drops some of the exotic bits seen on the concept bike shown at the start of the year. Hero has dropped the Ohlins suspension (replaced by a 43mm upside down fork and a Wilbers monoshock), and binned the Pirelli tyres in favour of MRF Nylogrip Zapper-S tyres and added bar-end mirrors. The alloys are now all black and do not feature the red highlight seen on the concept’s wheels. Also included are milled aluminium special edition number badges on the side covers.
The single-seat setup has been retained, along with the part-carbon fibre semi-fairing, machined and anodised handlebars, handlebar mounts, triple clamps, and rear-set foot pegs as well as the aluminium swing arm and carbon-and-titanium Akrapovic exhaust. All the changes make the Centennial a tad lighter than the regular Karizma XMR, with its kerb weight rated at 158 kg.
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Thanks to the lightweighting measures, the Centennial weighs 158 kg.
Hero has decided to auction the Centennial, but the auction will not be open to the general public. Instead, the company will only extend an invitation to buy the Centennial to its own employees, business partners and stakeholders. It remains to be seen how much the Centennial eventually costs, with the proceeds all set to be ‘utilised for the society's greater good’, as per a company statement. Deliveries of the Hero Centennial will begin in September 2024.
