FB Mondial HPS 300 - All You Need To Know

Kinetic’s Motoroyale is reportedly planning to launch the HPS 300 motorcycle in mid-September. Here’re all the juicy details of the bike!

The Indian motorcycle market is teeming with new entrants looking to grab a share of the hot and happening mid-capacity segment. Latest in the line is FB Mondial. For the uninitiated, FB Mondial is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded in 1936. They were quite active in motorsports with their race machines up until 1957, after which they were forced to shut shop thanks to a financial crunch. The brand was again revived in 2014 with two small new offerings: the Hipster 125 and Hipster 250. Now the brand, in partnership with Kinetic-owned Motoroyale, has set their sight on India with their quarter-litre motorcycle, the HPS 300. Let’s see what this scrambler, set to be assembled at Motoroyale’s Ahmednagar plant, is all about:

Design:

The HPS 300 is essentially a scrambler with a neo-retro approach. It looks quite nicely designed, with an egg-shaped halogen headlamp complementing the shapely fuel tank. There are shrouds on the sides of the tank which cover the upper portion of the radiator and offer a visual mass-forward design as well. The side panels have been kept simple while the scrambler-type twin exhausts with brushed steel finish run over it on one side. This combo really does make the side profile look a bit aggressive, thanks to the stylish heat shields finished in contrasting black. A meaty-looking engine cowl keeps the underside visually busy, while also being functional for added protection. At the rear, the ribbed rider’s seat ends with a hump, making it seemingly impossible for a pillion to comfortably sit on. The design is rounded off by a fat knobby tyre with a license plate-integrated tyre hugger.

Coming to the instrumentation, there’s a minimalistic offset-mounted circular digital pod, and the almost-flat handlebars feature bar-end rear-view mirrors. The riding position is likely to be upright with the slightly rear-set footpegs.

Powertrain:

Unlike what its name suggests, the HPS 300 is actually a 250cc motorcycle. It draws power from a 249cc DOHC single-cylinder liquid-cooled, fuel injected motor that’s good for 25.1PS at 9000rpm and 22Nm at 7000rpm. Its nearest competitor, the KTM 250 Duke, generates 4.8PS and 2Nm more. On the other hand, the Yamaha FZ25’s 249cc air-cooled engine with an oil cooler lags behind by 4.2PS and 2Nm compared to the HPS 300. The bike employs a 6-speed transmission linked to a chain drive. Fuel tank capacity is only 9 litres, limiting its potential to go on long tours.

Underpinnings:

FB Mondial hasn’t cut corners on suspension bits, as the motorcycle rides on 41mm upside down front forks and twin gas-charged shock absorbers. Oddly, the front travel is a lot less than the rear, at 90mm and 120mm respectively, which doesn’t sound exactly apt for trail riding. Only a detailed ride would give us a fair idea about how the motorcycle behaves in the real world.

The wheel setup, however, seems to be appropriate enough, with an 18-inch front and 17-inch rear spoke wheel setup. They are shod with knobby tires (100-section front and 130-section rear) and are reined in by 280mm front and 220mm rear petal discs with dual-channel ABS as standard. At 135kg dry, the motorcycle should have sprightly dynamics.

Expected pricing and rivals:

Being a niche manufacturer and a niche product, the HPS 300 is likely to be priced on the higher side compared to the KTM 250 Duke’s Rs 1.79 lakh ex-showroom Delhi price. Expect the motorcycle to cost somewhere around Rs 3 lakh, ex-showroom. Considering its expected price tag it would actually rival with 300cc-plus capacity bikes like the soon-to-be-launched Husqvarna Svartpilen 401 in the entry-level niche scrambler space. Other rivals include the KTM 390 Duke and the BMW G 310 R.