Hero Maestro: 6300 Kms Ownership Review

[abhi9044]

So it was during my school days. I used to get tired after riding a bicycle fromvhome to school and then coaching. This was when it first struck me that now it's enough.I need a scooter now. Coming back to home i told my mother that how badly i needed a scooter. She understood my problems and asked dad to buy one for me. About a month later my father was ready to buy me a scooter.Choice was to be made by me only as my father won't be using this scooter(He is a proud owner of Hero Splendor).So i decided discussing it with my friends and taking a ride of their scooters. Out of all the scooters i rode(Namely the Activa,Aviator,Activa i,Swish 125) the scooter which i founded to be most impressive was Aviator. I was a fan of Aviator due to it's looks and performance.But since most of my friends possessed Activa so they were suggesting me the same. I decided not to buy the Activa as it was a very common scooter. So made up my mind to buy a black Aviator. Called up Jugal Kishore Honda and asked them if they have one in stock. They said yes they have it in stock but only one is left. Told my father about this and he agreed to buy the scooter the next day that is on Sunday.

THE NEXT DAY...

We didn't owned a car till then. So my father called one of his staff members but due to certain problems he wasn't able to come. So my father said that we'll buy the scooter next sunday.I was dissappointed and sad. But after about 1 hour my father's colleague called him and said he has completed his work and was ready to come.After about half an hour we left our home and went to purchase Aviator. But during our drive to Jugal Kishore Honda i asked my dad to have a look at Sun Motors too which was approximately 4 kms before the Honda showroom. Went there and had a look at the MAESTRO and was like WOW. Earlier Maestro never appealed me because of it's bulky looking rear but this time it was a complete different story. The front face, the instrument cluster,the stylish side panels and the large rear,everything was perfect for me. The sales guy was also very decent. But then i decided to check out the Aviator also. So we headed towards JUGAL KISHORE HONDA and had a look at the aviator. Wasn't really impressed after seeing it. Adding to that the sales man 'If you want to buy it then take it else go' kind of behaviour was also irritating. The third thing because of which i didn't wanted to buy a honda was the starting problems during the winters. The only plus point i could think of was that aviator offered Tubeless tyres(Mestro offers tube with puncture endurance). Anyways decided not to buy Aviator and headed towards Sun Motors again. Took a final look a decided to buy it. I also thought to book Activa 125 but it was having long waiting periods so decided to stick with Maestro. Chose white colour but my younger brother liked Electric Blue. So Electric Blue was finalised and all the accessories were fitted.The cost of accessories(namely the proctective guards,seat cover,side footrest, buzzer and accelarator grip covers ) was around 2500INR. The ON ROAD price came to be 57,000INR including the accessories.

PERFORMANCE

Coming to the performane Maestro really impresses it's rider. The pickup is great(though a little slow in my maestro when compared to my friend's Maestro). Till 20kmph pick up isn't great until the engine is warmed up. But even when engine is cold and the vehicle once crosses the 20kmph mark pick up becomes great. It can do 60-70 with two people on board easily. Till date I have achieved a maximum speed of 92kmph with two people onboard. The engine easily lets you overtake vehicles. Starting the scooter was never a problem. Almost everyday it starts in first attempt,unlike my friends Activa 125 which requires about 10 kicks.The engine is smooth and will hardly vibrate. During the run in period it used to vibrate when it used to reach 60kmph but smoothens up after that. Nowdays vibration hardly kick in.

KITNA DETI HAI

The 'Kitna deti hai' factor is one of the most important factors while buying a new vehicle. Maestro doesn't fails to impress here also. It returns around 40-48kmpl in city while out on highways it returns arond 55-60kmpl. Though for these figures you always need to ride your scooter into ECONOMY mode and avoid quick accelaration.

HANDLING

Handling is a big plus point of maestro. Even at 92 with two people onboard the scooter never made me nervous. I had driven the scooter many times at 80kmph and it handles quite well. In city also handling is light.

COMFORT

The front suspension isn't really helpful in absorbing potholes. But the rear suspension is great. It really absorbs the potholes very well. The seat is comfortable and all the controls can be easily accessed.

ISSUES FACED SO FAR

Not much but once the instrment cluster stopped working. Only the fuel gauge was working. Showed it to Sun Motors and they said the meter cable is broken. A new cable costed me 170INR along with labour charge. I told them that the vehicle was in warranty and they should do this free of cost. They said the warranty doesn't applies on meter cables.

The second issue faced is this dimming of the headlight at night when i honk or use the indicator. Asked the mechanics to look into this but hardly do they listen. Need help with this.

Third issue was faced after installing a new air filter @5445kms. I know it was very early but wanted to replace it.The mechanics at Hero were not ready to change it so got it done from outside. But after the change of air filter sometimes a sound similar to the sound produced by crickets at night can be heard. Need help with this also.

Fourth issue is of pickup. Sometimes the pick up fails till 20kmph. Not matter how much of throttle you use. The scooter starts shuddering and moves calmly.Need help with this too.

Anyways i am satisfied with my boy.
Any suggestions/feedback are welcome.

[Ambylovers]

Hi,
India was getting into Scooter mode in recent years. Many of my friends who were very crazy about sports bikes too are getting new scooters now a days.
Its really trouble us if we see a Less than 10000 kms ridden scooters are having issues. Anyways all were small ones and not trouble you much.

Congratulations and wishes to clock many more miles without issues.

[bhvm]

1. meter cable should been under warranty. you should try sending an email to company customer care.

2. bulbs dimming is a UNIVERSAL problem with most bikes and scooters. the electrical systems on these are sub standard and when rpm drops, so does the brightness.

still you may try-

Make Your Scooter / Motorcycle Headlight Brighter By 80%

3. please don't change parts from outside and follow company maintainance schedule.

[abhi9044]

Thanks Ambylovers for your wishes.[:)

Originally Posted by bhvm

1. meter cable should been under warranty. you should try sending an email to company customer care.

2. bulbs dimming is a UNIVERSAL problem with most bikes and scooters. the electrical systems on these are sub standard and when rpm drops, so does the brightness.

still you may try-

Make Your Scooter / Motorcycle Headlight Brighter By 80%

3. please don't change parts from outside and follow company maintainance schedule.

Thanks bhvm. Coming to the light dimming it does not depends on rpm in my case.Even if i am cruising at 60kmph and then honk even then the lights become dim. Don't know why? I think the battery needs some distilled water.

[bhvm]

abhi, is this problem about bulbs new or used to happen even when scooter was new?

and of course, do get the distilled Water filled.

[abhi9044]

Originally Posted by bhvm

abhi, is this problem about bulbs new or used to happen even when scooter was new?

and of course, do get the distilled Water filled.

bhvm I started to face this problem after one of my services. As far as I can remember this problem started occuring after I asked the mechanic to reduce the idle rpm. I wil get this water job done in my next service. But actually the service centre of Hero where I use to get my vehicle serviced is horrible. They'll just wash your scooter,apply grease on moving parts of the vehicle and polish the scooter. I doubt whether they change the engine oil or not as after my third service(according to the manual the oil should have been replaced twice after the third service) once I opened up the dipstick and saw some sparkling particles in oil.

[bhvm]

oh that's serious!!
dude visit other service center and get things checked!

[abhi9044]

Thanks bhvm. I will surely visit another service centre next time

[RVSB]

Nice scooter there, Maestro is the most punchiest scooter next to the Suzuki Lets.
But where are the snaps and clicks?
Please try some other ASC.

Originally Posted by bhvm

still you may try-
Make Your Scooter / Motorcycle Headlight Brighter By 80%

But, you said that trick of changing bulb will make the warranty void, isnt it? the scooter is new right?

[bhvm]

yes bro, but sometimes safety is pricier than warranty. but I will suggest waiting 1 year before modifying anything.

anyways there isn't much you can do about scooters.

[RVSB]

Originally Posted by bhvm

yes bro, but sometimes safety is pricier than warranty. but I will suggest waiting 1 year before modifying anything.

Yes, safety is important but i came across one case, one guy was told that changing the headlight has made the tail light to blow off!!! So that, Warranty was void! FYI, the scooter was a Honda Dio!

Originally Posted by bhvm

anyways there isn't much you can do about scooters.

Yes, that's true. What if we have a standalone aux light with a standalone rechargeable battery setup?

[bhvm]

hello rvsb,
nice to have you back After long.

1. I've fiddled numerous times with activa headlight and haven't had a problem. I was First running a 60/55 car bulb which worked wonderfully.

recently, I modified again to run an LED bulb. I had to make a dedicated rectifier to supply proper DC voltage, but it's working beautifully. and power consumption has come down from 60w to 12w.

2. I have a bike torch holder. sometimes I mount a powerful (cree) torch on it and enjoy nice spot. strangely, a torch has more range than headlight.

3. about aux lights, I'm thinking along the same way. decent led spots are available in 10-18w range. I think the internal Battery will be sufficient to power these.

do you have any ideas where to mount such aux lamps?

[RVSB]

See the above pic, there are two points starting at LHS of no. plate and one at LHS of reflecter above front shock absorbers.
We can place the aux light at either on no. plate (make a hole on the number plate and take a 'u' clamp, straighten it fully, there are two holes in the clamp, right? place one hole of the clamp on the hole on no. plate and take a bolt and nut and screw it with both joined together. now on the other hole of the clamp, take the aux light and using bolt and nut screw there or use some strong gum like anabond and tie the light to the no. plate with steel wires tightly to prevent falling) or above the front shox (remove the reflector, there will be a hole, using steel wires, tie the aux light tightly and apply some anabond on point of contact).
Now place a rechargeable scooter or bike battery (12V) under the seat.
Those white dotted lines on the pic show the route of wires from the aux light to the battery.
Use a standalone switch (the household electric switches can be used) and connect the points. Place that switch near or under the seat or near the bag holder.
Use a battery charger (like this: NOCO Genius G750 6V/12V 750mA Amp Smart Battery Charger and Maintainer: Amazon.in: Car & Motorbike ) to charge the battery.
Mr. bhvm, will my setup work on the Maestro?

[abhi9044]

Here are few pics. The FrontThe Rear

[abhi9044]

HERO leading the HONDA'S A pic taken during our ride to nearby town The tea break at a dhabha.The blue and the black beauty togetherMAESTRO. Love this logo.The guy in this pic is the owner of the black beauty.Love this dirty lookBrothers standing side by side.