Quick Ride: Mahindra Mojo
The Mojo by Mahindra 2 Wheelers has been the worst-kept secret in Indian automotive history and a truly unique product for its sheer development cycle time. It’s taken five years for it to go from first look to product, which means it’s been bouncing around some brains even longer than that. When we first learned of it some years ago, it ticked the right boxes: a relatively large 300cc displacement, liquid cooling, modern-ish suspension components. It was a different world, one in which a well-kept RD350 still ruled the roads. There were even two exhaust pipes, an absolute essential checkbox to be taken seriously as a “big” bike. The Mojo is a stark reminder of just how quickly and much the world has changed since it planned to make its entry.
For Mahindra 2 Wheelers, this is an all-new motorcycle. It shares nothing with their previous commuter platform upon which the Centuro is based, though the family resemblance is obvious with those awful gold bars across the side. While it wasn’t developed ground-up by Mahindra in India, it has seen significant changes through its slow cooking for half a decade, and has come together well as a bike. Mahindra 2 Wheelers need this bike to be performant to cement their position as a serious player.
There’s no getting around the fact that the Mojo is a confused motorcycle. As a styling exercise in the previous decade, you could have let it pass as an interesting Italian concept. Motorcycle roles and their attendant ergonomics have evolved into well-understood segments today. For instance, you expect a sports bike to have a crouching seating position, a cruiser to be laid-back, an adventure tourer to be upright with the possibility of standing on the pegs. Mahindra pegs the Mojo as a touring motorcycle, but for the way it looks, it must prove those credentials for the customer to believe them. It looks roughly like a sporty naked — a well-understood format of bike, but swing a leg over and you’re unlikely to get your foot directly on the pegs: they’re set ahead enough for a perfect “commuter” stance. You could be sitting on any of the myriad 100cc commuter motorcycles available in India.
This is unexpected, not necessarily bad. Certainly, the decent seat and comfortable reach to the bars would make longer rides on the Mojo far more appealing than, say the knee-cramping KTM twins. The 15.5-litre tank is sculpted to receive your knees and allow you to lock in properly. The hybrid analog/digital instrument cluster is large and visible, day or night and the bike is light enough to push around for parking without complaint. It’s not light, but manageable. We do have a gripe with the side stand though, which is short and stubby, and hard to get to with your left foot. The front headlight cluster with its twin round lamps is aggressive and imposing, and the LED strip ‘eyebrows’ are a nice touch. The lights themselves aren’t very bright though, nor is the spread optimal. We’d swap out the standard bulbs with something more potent if we had the bike longer.
Build quality is OK. Paint and components look cheap, but they’re put together well. We didn’t have any squeaks or rattles on our test, but Mahindra could have done more to take the visage a bit upmarket. There’s nothing here that looks any more premium than a regular commuter motorcycle.
For its size, the Mojo is immediately underwhelming on the go. The 30Nm of torque is delivered higher up in the rev range and doesn’t make its present felt initially, which we expect is due to the 165kg dry weight. That said, the motor is reasonably refined and you don’t feel too much vibration in the arms or legs, though there is a high frequency buzz through the tank at some speeds. Mahindra have clearly damped the worst of them out for comfort. Power delivery is extremely linear and there are no surprises anywhere. This will put off the more aggressive rider, but we suspect that it will make the Mojo easy to live with in the long run, and likely grow on the rider through time. Of particular note is the six-speed gearbox on the bike, which is a pleasure to flick through. It’s positive, gave no false neutrals during our test and clutch action is feather-light.
The Mojo can also be deceptive in the way it builds speed. The commuter riding stance and linear power, combined with an unimaginative exhaust note don’t give the rider an indication of speed. But speed it is capable of. I found myself doing higher average speeds on my late-night commute back home than with some larger motorcycles I could mention. You could do a no-nonsense 100kmph all-day, every day on the Mojo and be in that sweet spot of comfort and control. You do feel like you’re caning a small-capacity motor, but the 295cc is evident when you look down at the speedo. Ride quality is also very good for city use, and makes the speed the Mojo is capable of more useful more of the time.
Kudos to Mahindra for providing top-notch tyres with the Mojo: Pirelli Diablo Rosso II hoops on 17” rims. Mahindra 2 Wheelers is using this feature in their marketing material, so we expect this tyre choice to continue. We also hear that the dealers are offering replacements and competitive rates, so you shouldn’t be too worried wearing them out on tours. It’s a relatively soft compound tyre, so we aren’t sure how long they’ll last, but they’ll be fun getting them to bald.
Unfortunately we weren’t very happy with the dynamics of the Mojo. Perhaps it was a combination of a nearly-full tank (15.5 litres is a lot of weight to be carried high on the bike) and the large headlight assembly mounted on the forks. The Mojo felt heavy to steer and the weight on the front did not translate to a planted feel. It felt a bit like sitting on top of a bike as opposed to being a part of it. To be sure, there weren’t any scary moments, but we had trouble becoming one unit. Another bugbear is the front brake. It’s a 320mm petal-shaped disc, but initial bite is lacking, so you end up using more effort toward the end of the lever travel. They stop alright, but don’t inspire confidence. There’s also no ABS, which is a serious omission. Mahindra is working on an ABS model, but it’s not available now.
The Mojo has been launched at Rs 1.58 lac ex-showroom, which is very competitive for its segment, whatever segment you choose to slot it into. Long-term reliability and costs are unknown, but it should make for a capable, and frugal cross-country motorcycle.
In the half-decade that Mahindra has taken to bring this bike to market, the competition has grown to be formidable. You could buy a KTM Duke 200 for less, which performs better in all respects, but is less suited for long hauls. Then there’s the R15, CBR150 and Pulsar 200 range. Mahindra 2 Wheelers has made a smart marketing choice by connecting the dots and playing up the ‘touring’ angle; most of the competition can’t really boast of this capability.
Originally published at ThrillOfDriving.com on December 1, 2015.
