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Swedish Flavour

This is the first editorial of 2020 and we have a new brand of motorcycles launched in India in the form of Husqvarna. The Swedish brand is owned by KTM and will be sold through KTM dealerships.

The India Bike Week (IBW) was held on the 6th and 7th of December and drew a record crowd.

It is that time of the year when the Indian Motorcycle of the Year (IMOTY) is held and the jury consists of all the leading motorcycle and auto magazines and websites. Unlike last year, when we had a runaway winner in the Royal Enfield 650 Interceptor, this time the competition was closely fought and the winning margin was just one point and the winner was Hero Xpulse 200. It is not just about making the best motorcycle, but it also has to be value for money. The Jawa motorcycles were launched in December last year and now, after one year, we have still not been able to get our hands on the bikes for a road test. One wonders why it took so long to give us the bikes for a road test. Had it not been for the IMOTY jury round on the 2nd of December, we would not have got the bikes. That apart, copying the old Jawa to such an extent as the stance of the motorcycle — the tall front end and squat from the rear — restricts the suspension travel and that forces them to go for a stiff suspension set-up. On the positive side, the low stance at the rear makes for a low saddle height, thus making it easy to manoeuvre the motorcycle. It is easy to ride the bike in city traffic thanks to its low seat height along with low gearing and strong low-end and mid-range performance. However, if you compare this motorcycle with the Suzuki Gixxer 250, which was on test simultaneously, then it falls short in all departments.

Aspi Bhathena
Editor

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Let There Be Sunshine

THE BIGGEST MOTORCYCLE SHOW IN THE WORLD, EICMA (MILAN MOTORCYCLE SHOW), was held in the first week of November. All the global manufacturers put their best foot forward with their best models for this show and this year was no exception. Honda showed their CBR1000RR-R superbike that is ready to take on the likes of the BMW S 1000 RR and the mighty Ducati Panigale V4 in the horsepower race with an output of 217 hp. The Honda CBR was only one of the many show-stoppers. KTM and Ducati also had some phenomenal bikes on display. You may read a detailed report of the show in this issue.

With the onset of winter, we look forward to some invigorating sunlight after a prolonged monsoon this year. This will also give me an opportunity to put some miles on my long-term Royal Enfield 650 Interceptor. The winter weather is great for riding, although there is one downside to it: pollution. Automobiles are considered to be the prime cause of pollution, especially in our capital city, New Delhi, but nobody is willing to consider other culprits such as construction, coal-fired power stations, and industries spewing out harmful pollutants.

The new Motor Vehicle Act and the provision of heavy fines in it seemed to have a positive effect for a few days as people began obeying traffic rules and stopping behind zebra crossings. Now, however, it is back to square one with rampant riding/driving down the wrong way, jumping traffic signals, and not caring two hoots for traffic rules in general. The traffic police need to come down heavily on the offenders and book them.

The month gone by witnessed a rise in the sale of two-wheelers due to the festive season. Now let us see if the market can keep up the momentum over the next couple of months.

Aspi Bhathena
Editor

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A Beacon of Hope

THIS MONTH WE MAY SEE A SLIGHT IMPROVEMENT IN TWO-WHEELER SALES ON ACCOUNT of the festive season; however, the sales will not match last year’s figures during the same period. In spite of the big discounts offered by all the manufacturers, the sales of new bikes are at an all-time low. The premium bike segment seems to be doing all right but that is misleading because it is the success of the Royal Enfield 650 twins; if you look at the sales figures of the other brands, they are all struggling.

The manufacturers are going to have a real challenge in the coming months because they do not know how many bikes they have to manufacture. If they produce too many and are not able to sell everything they make before 31 March 2020, they will have to scrap the stock or offer heavy discounts to shift that stock. In the present market, if they try to sell a BS-VI bike, it costs at least Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000 more than a BS-IV bike. Imagine trying to sell a Hero Splendor or an Activa at a premium of Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000 in this market scenario.

This month we bring you the first ride of the all-new KTM 790 Duke and the motorcycle lives up to expectations. We only wish it were a little more affordable. We also have the first ride of the Triumph Street Triple RS from Spain and, last but not least, we have taken the Hero Xpulse to Nepal.

Always think of safety. Wear a helmet and proper shoes when you ride your bike. Please be considerate to other road-users because they may be someone’s mother, father, brother or sister. Remember, there is always somebody waiting for you at home.

Aspi Bhathena
Editor

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Transport Bill: A Few Ticklish Issues

The hot topic being discussed at the moment is the new Transport Bill that provides for the levy of heavy fines for traffic offences. The fines have gone up by as much as 10 times. Such heavy fines for traffic offences are welcome, but there is no need to fine someone between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 for failure to carry along original registration papers. The insistence on producing original papers is a contentious issue because if your original papers are in your two-wheeler and the vehicle happens to get stolen, then the thief has your vehicle with all the papers, thus making it easy for the miscreant to dispose of the stolen two-wheeler.

Let us see if they implement the rule of not more than three astride a two-wheeler, which includes infants and children. Today a family of three or four on a two-wheeler is a common sight and the police tend to turn a blind eye to such instances. More than two persons astride a motorcycle is dangerous; it is not easy to handle a bike with more than two persons. Some of the two-wheeler manufacturers are also to blame for making bigger seats to accommodate more than two persons. Indeed, they use it as a USP, saying that the concerned two-wheeler has the longest seat in the segment.

The Transport Bill also lays down that it is mandatory to use ISIcertified helmets and that anybody caught selling non-ISI helmets is liable to prosecution. This is ridiculous. I, for one, will not trust an Indian helmet to protect my head when I am riding a motorcycle at more than 200 km/h on a racetrack. The law should be amended to allow international brands such as AGV, Arai, and others that meet international safety standards which are higher than those of the ISI. Why should the authorities keep people from using protection of a better quality if they are willing to spend nearly a lakh of rupees for a helmet?

Aspi Bhathena
Editor

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No Light at the End of the Tunnel

The Indian automobile industry is going through one of the toughest times. The sales figures are sliding month on month and there is no solution in sight; if anything, things are only going to get more difficult with the implementation of Bharat Stage VI norms coming into force from next year. All the new two-wheelers will become more expensive once they are upgraded to BS VI specifications.

For the last one year, the sales of two wheelers have been sliding and the government has done nothing to arrest this decline.

The new hefty traffic fines are meant to deter traffic violators, but, at the same time, this will lead to an increase in the rate of chai-pani. I would like to know what the hike in the fine is for two-wheeler riders riding triple seat or a mother and father riding with a child or infant in their arms and if they will even be fined. Just outside my office there are two policemen posted at the crossroads waiting to catch people breaking the signal and that is very good, but, at the same time, there are two-wheelers zipping up and down on the wrong side of the road to which the policemen turn a blind eye. I think this is as big an offence, if not bigger, than running a traffic light.

The registration fees are going to be hiked in the near future. That means when one re-registers one’s two-wheeler from one state in another, one will have to re-pay the registration fee. Why can’t we have one registration fee across the country and pay road tax on fuel? It will bring down the one-time payment burden on the buyer as also the hassle of getting a no-objection certificate (NOC) and having to re-register one’s two-wheeler when one moves from one state to another.

Aspi Bhathena
Editor

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No Use Putting the Cart Before the Horse

This month Bike India celebrates its 14th anniversary and I would like to thank all our readers, manufacturers, and our supporters for being with us for the last 14 years.

There has been frenzied activity on the electric two-wheeler front for the past couple of months, including the notification from the Niti Ayog saying that all two-wheelers below 150 cc will have to be EVs from 2025. The idea may seem very futuristic, but it is a little unrealistic. To develop an internal-combustion (IC) engine bike the lead time is between three and five years. Imagine developing a bike with electric propulsion from the ground up in six years. It is a very difficult task.

The electric two-wheelers in the market are of a poor quality, made either in China or with Chinese components. We will end up with a heap of scrap because these bikes will not last for more than a couple of years. First let us get clean and uninterrupted power supply before we go electric.

For our anniversary issue we always have some special stories and this year I decided to conduct a ride at the Mecca of motorcycle racing: the Isle of Man TT course and the motorcycle of choice was the Royal Enfield Continental GT. For this ride I had two legends with me: Siddhartha Lal and Freddie Spencer. Siddhartha is known for turning around the fortunes of Royal Enfield and creating these two brilliant twins. “Fast Freddie” is three-time world champion and the only man to win the 250 and 500 world championships in the same year. What better place to put the Contis through their paces than the most demanding racetrack in the world? This time instead of me telling you how the bikes performed, it is Freddie Spencer doing the critiquing this time around. It was a pleasure to ride with Siddhartha and Freddie. For me, it was a dream ride and I would like to thank the Royal Enfield teams both in India and the United Kingdom for making this ride possible.

Once again I would like to thank all our readers and supporters.

 

Aspi Bhathena
Editor

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Wide versus Narrow

LAST MONTH SUZUKI LAUNCHED A 250-CC GIXXER AND AN UPDATED 150-CC GIXXER. The first ride on both these bikes was held at the Buddh International Circuit. After riding both the motorcycles everyone said that the 250 was not as nimble and quick to steer as the 150. Both the motorcycles share the same chassis with identical steering head angle and wheelbase, but one steers quicker than the other. Nobody knew why that was happening. The answer is very simple: the 250 runs on a wider set of tyres compared to the 150 and this slows the steering response. Fit the 150 wheels and tyres on the 250 and you will see that it is as quick and nimble to steer as the 150.

Incidentally, today the “expert” opinion-making journalists are able to differentiate between a slow-handling bike and quick-steering motorcycle but are unable to identify the reason for the change in characteristics.

We did a road test on the new Honda CB300R and the bike feels like a 150 to ride with a leaner power delivery. The compact motorcycle is a joy to ride as you can flick it through traffic and around corners. Though it is sold out, the price is on the high side. Would I pay nearly Rs 3 lakh for a single-cylinder motorcycle when I can buy a Royal Enfield 650-cc twin-cylinder for almost the same price?

Last month Indian motor sport suffered a huge loss with the demise of Nazir Hoosein. In a way he was responsible for kick-starting my own motorcycle racing career, for it was at the Juhu races organized by his motor sport club, IARC, in 1977 that it all started for me. May his soul rest in peace.

 

Aspi Bhathena
Editor

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A Bleak Scenario Indeed

THE TWO-WHEELER INDUSTRY HAS BEEN WITNESSING A DECLINE MONTH ON MONTH FOR the past six months. There are a couple of reasons for this such as the atmosphere of uncertainty in the market, whether it is the job situation or just no cash flow, and to top these issues there is the compulsory five-year insurance for two-wheelers. When somebody buys an entry-level 100/110-cc motorcycle in the region of Rs 50,000, they are already stretching themselves to buy a daily mode of transport. If, over and above this, you burden them with a further Rs 5,000 or Rs 6,000, it makes the bike an unaffordable proposition for them.

Then we also had a fuel price hike wherein the cost of fuel hit the ceiling with an all-time high of Rs 90 per litre. If all this were not enough, we have the Bharat Stage VI norms coming into force. To meet these norms the manufacturers will have to do a considerable amount of work on the existing models and most of them will have to shift from carburettors to fuelinjection. This is going to push the prices even further north and if the economy does not improve, then the downward trend will continue for two-wheeler manufacturers.

The other day I stopped a motorcyclist going down the wrong way at Koregaon Park in Pune and asked him to turn around and ride on the correct side of the road. His response to me was, ‘This is my country and I will do what I want! Who are you to tell me?’ If such is the people’s attitude, what hope can we have? The only option is to enforce law and order in a strict manner, due to which the same Indians follow rules when abroad. Only then will we see some change in the attitude of the people; otherwise the scenario is bound to go from bad to worse.

Aspi Bhathena
Editor

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Dismal Trend

Two -wheeler sales have witnessed a steady decline over the past six months and this has prompted most of the manufacturers to cut down production. Incidentally, the health of the automobile industry is a good indicator of how the economy is doing.

Last month I was in Portugal to ride the all-new BMW S 1000 RR at the Estoril racetrack. The bike is truly a rocket ship. You may read my first ride report in this issue. The problem I face while riding these 200-plus-PS motorcycles is that I am sore for three to four day after the ride. This is due to not riding a motorcycle on the racetrack on a regular basis. The last time I rode a motorcycle on a racetrack was in January 2018 when I had gone to Valencia to ride the Ducati Panigale V4.

After the S 1000 RR ride I headed straight to Las Vegas for the BMW X7 drive and all the fellow journalists were laughing at me as I was struggling to walk up and down stairs. All I can say is that I am thankful to God that I can still wobble around a racetrack at a decent clip and keep the Indian flag flying. Most of the Australian, American, and European journalists are very quick to look down upon Asian journalists, especially when you have grey hair. However, it is only when they see you ride that their perception changes and so does their attitude.

Indian motor sport suffered a big loss with the passing away of George Francis. I had known George since my racing days when he got into race photography. He used to be present at all the race meetings in Chennai and I remember having fun with him while he was shooting. Whatever few action shots I have of myself are thanks to George. Thank you,
George. May your soul rest in peace.

Aspi Bhathena
Editor

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Triple Crown for Rookie Twain

AFTER A LULL OF THREE MONTHS, THE WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP (WSBK) kicked off in Philip Island, Australia, and the MotoGP season kicked off in Qatar. History of sorts was created by Alvaro Bautista and the all-new Ducati Panigale V4 R. It was a race for the V4 Panigale. It was rookie bike and rider that claimed the triple crown of the super pole, race one, and race two. Bautista is a rookie in WSBK but has come from MotoGP and this just proves that the standard of MotoGP is much higher than that of WSBK. I wish one of the sport channels starts broadcasting the WSBK races live.

For the first time, we saw the Japanese rider, Kaito Toba, win a Moto3 race. In fact, Kaito is a product of the Asia Talent Hunt Racing series which is open to all riders from Asia. We do not have a single rider from India in this series which is a stepping stone to Moto3 world championship.

In Moto2, Lorenzo Baldasari won from Thomas Luthi who made a successful return to Moto2 after struggling last year in MotoGP. It was business as usual with the main protagonist, Andrea Dovizioso, and Marc Marquez finishing first and second and Cal Crutchlow making a brilliant comeback from injury to claim the last spot on the podium.

This month we have quite a few first rides, comprising the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R, the upgraded Bajaj Dominar, Benelli TRK502, Yamaha MT15, and the updated Yamaha R15 ABS.

 

Aspi Bhathena
Editor