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After the Auto Expo in early February I attended two biking events: the California Superbike School (CSS) and the country’s biggest biking festival, India Bike Week (IBW). Indian motorcycle enthusiasts have to thank the father and son duo of T T Varadarajan and Siddharth for bringing the CSS to Chennai, India. I would like to thank T T Varadarajan and Siddharth for their hospitality and for letting me do a few laps. I really enjoyed myself on Vardu’s Honda CBR 600RR as it was the first time that I rode a quick motorcycle on the Chennai track since my last race on the Yamaha TZ250 in 1999.

It was nice to see superbike riders bring their bikes to the racetrack and learn how to ride them in a safe and controlled environment. What also felt good was that people were spending money on good quality riding gear. The CSS is well-organised and teaches riders how to control the motorcycle using just the throttle on day one, and thereafter with gears and brakes. Siddharth and Vicky Jaising are now closer to being qualified CSS instructors.

The fourth edition of the IBW was held on the 19th and 20th of February. There were a few negatives, the first being the dates — it was a little too late and this made it much warmer. Secondly, the new venue was narrow and long, which made it crowded. Furthermore, parking and traffic were major issues since the new venue was on the main road as compared to the one at Vagator which was not on the main road and where being close to the sea helped in keeping the temperature down.

The event has grown over the years and more and more manufacturers are taking part. Some people were not happy and criticised the event. If, however, you ask the same people to do something constructive, they would say they do not have the time but would still be the first to criticise. Every motorcycle rider does not want to tear down a racetrack, some people like to just cruise along and enjoy their ride. I look forward to next year’s IBW which, I hope, will be even bigger and better.

Aspi Bhathena
Editor

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This month we bring you an in-depth report on the 13th Auto Expo. The Auto Expo has grown over the years with manufacturers’ participation going up and new brands coming to India every year. During the BMW press conference, BMW Group India President Philipp von Sahr announced that BMW Motorrad, the motorcycle wing of BMW, was finally set to enter the Indian market by the end of the year. With BMW entering India, all the major motorcycle manufacturers are now present in the country.

Not only has Auto Expo grown in size, even the quality of the two-wheelers displayed has improved drastically. The quality of concepts displayed by international manufacturers was always good; now even local manufacturers have upped their game. The concepts from Hero MotoCorp and TVS were good. The show-stoppers for me were the two cousins: BMW G 310 R and TVS Akula 310 Racespec. The quality of the BMW 310 is very good and the riding position is nice and relaxed. The NAVI from Honda is something that I have been wanting to build for a long time but Honda beat me to it.

One day before the Auto Expo Royal Enfield unveiled their all-new motorcycle, the Himalayan. There is not a single fastener or a pin being carried forward from their previous models. Siddhartha Lal and his team have gone all out and not left a stone unturned in the making of the Himalayan. This is the first time Royal Enfield have made an overhead camshaft engine and long-travel monoshock rear suspension. The front forks are also long-travel and even with long-travel suspension they have managed to keep the saddle height low. The build quality is very good. The boys at Royal Enfield have done a fantastic job.

Aspi Bhathena
Editor

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Bike India wishes all its readers and supporters a happy new year as well as a safe and enjoyable riding year ahead!

Another year has gone by and it is award time once again. A number of very good motorcycles were launched in 2015, most of them priced on the higher side. Last year it was easy as the Harley-Davidson Street 750, priced at Rs 4.5 lakh, was good value for money, but this year 300-cc twin-cylinder motorcycles were priced in excess of Rs 3 lakh. The CBR 650F is an excellent motorcycle, but at a price of more than Rs 8 lakh on- road is quite steep for most people.

The Indian Motorcycle of the Year (IMOTY) jury had a clear mandate and voted the Yamaha R3 as the winner. This is the second time Yamaha have won the award after the R15 won it in 2009. As the chairman of IMOTY, I would like to thank JK Tyres for sponsoring the IMOTY awards for the last nine years even though they do not make motorcycle tyres.

This month we have the exclusive first ride of the KTM 690 Duke and the Triumph Street Twin plus some of the new motorcycles that were shown at the Milan motorcycle show and which will make their way to India.

This year is going to witness a lot of activity in the twowheeler industry. First, it will be the Auto Expo where manufacturers will show some concepts and all-new two-wheelers that they will launch during the year. Two weeks later, the biggest bike festival, IBW, will take place in Goa on 19 and 20 February. Fellow two-wheeler enthusiasts, there is lot to look forward to and Bike India will keep you up to date with all the latest news.

Aspi Bhathena
Editor

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The MotoGP world championship has been settled in Lorenzo’s favour and a lot has been said about the championship as to how it was won off the track then on the track. A lot of people are of the opinion that Lorenzo won the championship fair and square. One needs to go back to the year 2013 when the rules were changed to allow Marc Marquez to ride the factory Repsol Honda instead of riding for a satellite team. At that time it was mandatory for a rookie to ride for a satellite team for one year before getting a factory ride; but that rule was changed to accommodate Marc Marquez.

At Phillip Island, MM made sure that Rossi could not attack Lorenzo before making his move to win the race. He had so much in hand that he could drop his lap-time by one second. One second is a very big margin in terms of time in MotoGP; if Marc wanted, he could have won the Australian GP by a big margin but instead he decided to mess around with Rossi and the rest of the group so they could not attack Lorenzo.

In Malaysia Marc had a good start but did not follow Dani Pedrosa; instead he let Lorenzo also go through before he started dicing with Rossi. What Rossi did in Malaysia was not right but he was forced to do what he did. The penalty he received ended his championship hopes.

What Marquez did in Valencia was very evident — that he was protecting Lorenzo as he rode shotgun to Lorenzo and did not even make one attempt to overtake during the 30 laps, and when Dani passed Marc, he attacked Dani immediately so that Dani could not pass Lorenzo. Marc has to look within himself to see if he has done the right thing. HRC should take action against Marc as he has deprived Honda of a race win. Had the race been according to form, the result would have been Marc Marquez, Dani Pedrosa, Lorenzo and Rossi. This would have made Rossi the champion.

Aspi Bhathena
Editor

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The motorcycle industry is abuzz with activity what with new motorcycles being launched every month. Last month Yamaha launched the all-new R3 and now Honda have launched the CBR 650F this month. We have the first-ride impressions for you in this issue.

On the 23rd of August Indian motorcycle racing suffered a big loss with the sad demise of M R Raj Kumar (Raju). For me Raju was not only one of the best riders India has produced but also one of the best tuners. I had the highest regard for his riding capability and also for him as a human being. He was a thorough gentleman to the core. On the racetrack we used to fight tooth and nail but off the track we were good friends with mutual respect for each other. With the passing away of Raju the motorcycle fraternity has lost a true supporter of the sport. May his soul rest in peace. I offer my sincere condolences to the bereaved family.

Every time the government wants to introduce safety norms such as the anti-lock braking system (ABS), the manufacturers start complaining, saying that the cost of motorcycles will escalate and that there will be a drop in demand. Over the years, however, the cost of motorcycles has gone up by more than five times and yet we witness all-time high sales figures month after month. If the buyers don’t have a choice, they have to pay since a twowheeler is a necessity for most Indians.

Aspi Bhathena
Editor

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