Before we even start off with talking about the Mahindra Mojo, I’d like to clear the air about a few common questions that have been asked around the motorcycle and in due course of this story, aim to discuss those in detail. Are the KTMs in trouble?
Absolutely not – the only bike on its way that the KTMs will have to worry about is the BMW-TVS 300cc single. Are any of the Royal Enfield bikes in trouble? Nope – nothing can match the old school charm and machismo(pardon the pun) of a Royal Enfield and most people buy them specifically for that reason.
The most natural question that comes up then is where exactly does a 300cc single-cylinder motorcycle fit in if not in direct competition with the KTM Dukes or the Royal Enfield Bullets?
To answer that, we need to take a step back, widen our horizons and look at the Indian motorcycling market as a whole. Bikes and cars and the emotions they evoke are completely different – while car buying decisions are based more on practicality than emotion, motorcycle buying is quite the opposite, when we talk about the affordable performance market obviously.
For example – consider that your car budget affords you the ability to buy, say a Skoda Octavia or a Toyota Innova. You really would love to drive around in the Octavia but then you turn around and your entire family is standing right behind you – your wife, two kids, your parents and the family dog. Most sensible people would drop their Octavia dream and head for the Innova – practicality wins over emotion. Performance motorcycles on the other hand aren’t limited by this thought process – you buy what really connects with your riding style, while still staying within your budget. While the KTMs and Royal Enfields appeal massively on the emotional front which is the biggest driver of their success, they cumulatively leave a void in the enthusiast motorcycle space.The KTM Dukes, both 200 and 390 are really impressive motorcycles and through their unmatched performance and sharp dynamics that reward their riders in the city and on tight twisties, they’ve garnered quite the fan following themselves. While many buyers of the KTMs have taken them over long distances, the ergonomics aren’t exactly touring friendly and the cramped capacity of the fuel tanks doesn’t aid much in that regard either. The Royal Enfields are pretty much on the other end of the spectrum – long distance tourers but with a lazy demeanour that carries on the charm of old school British bikes. Not everyone who likes to go touring wants a Royal Enfield though – riders like me need something that falls a little in between them and the KTMs. What we need is a motorcycle that has the touring ability of a Royal Enfield and the aura of the Duke. Till date riders like me have made do with the KTM Dukes simply for a lack of a decently powerful, fun and sport-tourer friendly motorcycle in the Rs 1.5-2 lakh price bracket. This is the space that the Mahindra Mojo is vying for and at an introductory price of Rs 1.58 lakh(ex-showroom, Delhi), it is one impressive bit of machinery indeed.
Like most of you reading this, we first heard of Mahindra Two Wheeler’s plans of bringing in the Mojo sometime in 2010 – the bike was unveiled among big fanfare and Aamir Khan on stage too. The original bike which was to be the Mojo didn’t really get great first impressions and the Mahindra put the project on ice for a few years only to completely revisit the design in time for the 2014 Auto Expo in New Delhi – and thank God they did! It may have taken its time to enter the market finally, but in the time that has passed, the engineers at Mahindra Two Wheelers have put in some serious thought into the motorcycle. The thing about the Mahindra Mojo is that you’ve got to look at this motorcycle as a whole – for a change, the individual details don’t do much justice to the bike’s design. The Mojo is more about how it is pieced together and while it isn’t the prettiest thing on Earth, it is still quite the head turner. The first thing that really catches your attention is the bike’s size – it looks big and that’s definitely a bonus in India. The overall stance makes it look aggressive enough to attract attention and that it did quite a lot on our 650-odd km ride from Bangalore to Coorg and back. Visually, the mass is centered toward the front of the motorcycle with the huge sculpted tank, the big 295cc single pot, the massive radiator-housing side pods and the fat front forks. The single biggest visual element on the Mojo though is the headlight housing that takes in the dual round lights with a whole lot of surfacing around it. Move further to the back and the tail section is sleek, ending in a neat little LED tail lamp that kind of reminds us of the older Ducati Monster. Then again, there are three standout elements on the Mojo that really stick in your memory and the effectiveness of the bike’s styling is proven in the fact that at least one of these elements take up attention no matter which angle you’re looking at it from. Up front, and sitting snug above the dual lamps are a pair of eyebrow-like LED pilot lamps that impart a truck load of aggression to the Mojo’s face. If the Mojo was a Transformer, it would be a Decepticon – especially if you look at it in its Charcoal Black paint scheme. Look at the bike from either side and the twin tube exposed frame in a matt golden hue flowing into the big silver triangular elements of the chassis dominates the mid-section of the Mojo. Further back are the twin exhaust cans that really impart the only bit of visual mass to the tail end that the Mojo has. All things considered it’s not a bad looking bike at all and to be honest it all grows on you the more you ride it.
Part of the reason why the Mahindra Mojo needs to be ridden to be believed also has to do with the beauty of all the mechanical bits. If you consider the parts list itself, there’s enough to be awed – 60mm front USD forks with a 143.5mm travel, a rigid front triple clamp, massive 320mm front disc brake with radial JJuan calipers, coaxial mounted engine, frame and swing arm, high pressure gas charged mono shock at the rear also with a 143mm travel, 240mm rear disc and Pirelli Diablo Rosso II tyres – 110/70 R17 up front and 150/60 R17 at the back! That’s a whole lot of kit for a motorcycle that costs as much as the Mojo does but it’s not just about the features list on paper. All of these components come together to work in perfect harmony(in most situations) to deliver a really feel-good vibe from the Mojo that makes you appreciate it for the bike it actually is. Then there’s an elaborate instrument console with an analog tachometer and digital speedometer setup that itself is a big talking point.
It may look simple, but it incorporates a whole lot of features that even the KTMs don’t have. Apart from showing you the engine speed(rpm) and vehicle speed(km/h), the console also has an LED dial that floats at the highest rpm in each gear before catching up with the analog needle and a top speed and 0-100km/h recorder too. The Mojo puts a whole lot of electronics into use as well – a dull red shift light tells you when you’ve hit the red line but in broad daylight it’s hardly visible – a brighter white light would do wonders. There’s a roll over sensor that basically cuts the fuel supply if it detects a sudden change in the bike’s angle to drastic levels and rear wheel lift in case of a crash. There’s even a limp home mode that simply cuts engine speed to a maximum of 5, 000rpm in case it detects any sort of malfunction. Once you’re done soaking in all of these it’s time to get on, start it up and take it for a spin.Thumb the starter and the 295cc liquid-cooled, DOHC single-cylinder thrums to life, firing through Iridium spark plugs before settling down into a rhythmic idle breathing out through its twin exhaust cans. Mahindra has spent a whole lot of time tuning the exhaust note itself – a liberty that having a one-into-two setup offers and they’ve managed to make the Mojo sound mean and aggressive enough without really getting on your own nerves or those of others around you even at rpms close to the red line. Of course, the stock bike comes equipped with a db-killer which can be removed if you want your Mojo to sound louder. At a 76mm bore and 65mm stroke, the Mojo’s engine is oversquare and you realise that as soon as you blip the throttle because despite being a tourer, this engine is no lazy slouch. Revs rise fairly quick and before you know it you could be flirting with the red line as you go through the 6 gears. I said before you know it because the Mojo keeps its vibrations in check and the shift light is pretty much out of sight – we ended up revving to the red line quite a bit throughout the ride. The 27PS of power peaks at a high 8, 000rpm and while that may not sound like too much poke from the Mojo, the bike’s real charmer is the torque spread. The 30Nm that peaks at 5, 500 rpm rises in almost flat curve so there is always enough pull from the Mojo even when you’re in a higher gear at lower speeds and this is what makes it so much more suited to sport-touring than most other bikes available today. You could be cruising at 120 in sixth gear, drop down all the way to 50km/h and yet the bike will power back up to triple digits without as much as a hiccup and without having to downshift if you don’t want to. This not only makes the ride stress-free and the bike that much more ride-able but it also ensures that you stay that much less exerted on a long ride