Honda and Suzuki are determined to make their mark in India’s vast executive-commuter segment. We pit their all-new offerings against others in the segment

Photography: Sanjay Raikar

This might look like a civilised struggle among motorcycle manufacturers trying to make some room in the executive-commuter segment of India. In reality, this is a ruthless combat among industry giants, swinging their swords to gain ground in the lucrative 20-30-lakh-unit-a-year segment! And the apple of the eye for most bike buyers across the country has been Hero’s humble Splendor. Millions consider their bikes to be what Parle-G is to biscuits – simple, hassle-free and cost-effective, making Hero MotoCorp the largest two-wheeler makers on the planet.

Arch-rivals like country’s second largest two-wheeler manufacturers, Bajaj Auto, automobile major TVS Motor and internationally reputed two-wheeler makers, Yamaha, have carved a niche for themselves with bigger and sporty bikes, but have not managed to shake Hero’s firm grip on the commuter segment. Taking nothing away from them, there are lakhs of Discovers and Star Cities on the road and the YBR 100 proves to be a decent product. Since the market is so vast, there’s enough room for everyone, but none of the motorcycles has been able to make a major dent in Hero motorcycle sales. Well, until now.

The market is quickly transforming. Hero have bid Honda adieu, thus giving the Japanese company a free hand to launch a direct competition to the Splendor, which, by the way, is a Honda product in the first place. Here comes their most inexpensive motorcycle for India: the Dream Yuga. Meanwhile, as Hero models shed the ‘Honda’ tag, it has caused a slight flutter among buyers about the future products from the company. These recent developments have taken some brilliance off the already ageing Splendor. Sighting this opportunity, Suzuki also jumped into the fray and launched the Hayate, their most aggressively marketed motorcycle in India.

So we take these two new Japanese offerings and bring them face to face with everything else in this segment, including the segment leader in the Slpendor Plus avatar, along with the feature-rich TVS Star City, Bajaj Discover 100 and the refined Yamaha YBR 100.

Design And Features

The TVS bike has good ergonomics, a comfortable seat and solid build quality. It has everything going in its favour. Right from the best in class fuel tank of 16 litres (twice the size of Honda, Bajaj and Suzuki), giving it a staggering range of over 1,000 kilometres. The sporty all-black design, with the attractive white and blue body-art stands out in a crowd. It also has the most comprehensive switchgear in this shoot-out, complete with a mobile phone charging point.

The other sporty design comes from the Bajaj Discover, with its aggressive front fairing and nicely carved tank. The angular chopped exhaust with a chrome protector and clear-lens tail-light and indicators make it unique, although not my favourite aspects of it. The overall proportions are compact even though it has the longest wheelbase of 1,305 millimetres. The Discover has the hardest seat and instead of the ‘Ride Control’ switch, which is more of a marketing gimmick, an engine-kill switch would have been more appropriate. Even the plastic quality could have been better.

Hero MotoCorp sell more variants of the Splendor than any other bike. There is the Splendor Plus, which we rode, which comes with spokes and alloy variants but without electric-start (ES). An extra Rs 3,000 would get you the the ES equipped Splendor Pro, which is identical to the ‘Plus’, but has a black exhaust. There is not much that has changed on the Splendor over the years as the company believes, ‘Why try and mend something that is not broken?’ It has the most minimalistic design and hardly any features and this no-nonsense approach has been working in favour of the bike until now. The tall handlebar of this bike gives it an upright riding position, which is suitable even for well-built individuals.

Following the minimalistic theme is the Yamaha. Although the company is a master of design when it comes to sportsbikes, the YBR looks rather bland in its attempt to keep it simple. The finish and build quality are good, but the bike design as a whole is not very appealing. Like the Splendor it comes with a metal carrier that’s pretty useful.

The Honda Dream Yuga shows the sober cues of its elder sibling, the Shine 125. Since the latter has already been well accepted in India, this was the safest way to go. Its smoothly flowing lines improve aerodynamics while the bike is attractive without being overtly flashy – a smart design that would suit people of all age-groups. The features are on a par with most in the segment and, like other Honda products, the fit-and-finish is great. The long seat and comfortable riding position of this bike is a boon on long rides. This Honda is the only bike in this segment that offers tubeless MRF tyres, which improve road grip and handling. The only other bike to offer MRF tyres (non-tubeless) is the Suzuki.

This brings us to the Suzuki Hayate. The bike takes the right inspiration from the GS150R and SligShot. Its flared front fairing and fender work well with the superbike-inspired tail-light. The carbon-fibre patter on the side-panels and instrument console are interesting. The seat is wide, long and extremely well cushioned and the riding position is spot on. Adding everything, this Suzuki is the most ergonomic of the lot. However, it lacks a few basic features such as the pass switch and its protruding side-panels can be bothersome.

In terms of design it’s a close call between the Hayate, that most people in our office voted for, and the Dream Yuga, which has better features and has subtle cues.

Engine And Fuel Efficiency

In terms of the engine, all the bikes under consideration here are air-cooled, SOHC with two valves, although the Suzuki Hayate is the biggest with a 112.8-cc motor that produces 8.4 PS of maximum power and 8.8 Nm of peak torque. The TVS Star City’s 109.7-cc engine is one of the most powerful, capable of 8.29 PS and 8.1 Nm, while the Yamaha YBR comes with a 106-cc motor that churns out 7.6 PS and 7.85 Nm and the Hero Splendor Plus’ trusted 97.2-cc engine has the lowest power output of 7.4 PS and the maximum torque offered is 7.95 Nm. The Bajaj Discover has the smallest engine of 94.38 cc that belts out 7.7 PS and 7.85 Nm, but is the only motorcycle here to be mated with a five-speed gearbox, since all the other bikes offer four cogs. The advantage of an extra gear was evident in the fuel economy run, for this Bajaj stretched a litre of fuel to a very impressive 79.5 km on average. The Splendor’s 69.25 km per litre has been its USP, while the Star City and Hayate manage close to 68 kpl. And the YBR managed just 62.5kpl. The Honda Dream Yuga with its 109-cc mill, which also does duty on the Twister, produces the best-in-class output figures of 8.63 PS and 8.91 Nm and also addresses the clichéd but all-important question, ‘kitna deti hai?’, by delivering an impressive 72 km per litre.

On paper, the Bajaj looks most promising, closely followed by the efficient Dream Yuga.

Ride And Handling

The lightweight and compact Splendor is very easy to manoeuvre through busy streets, but it feels too light on the highway. The suspension set-up competitively seems too soft, especially when riding with a pillion. It’s good for the city, but does not feel very reassuring on the highway. On the other hand, the Discover has a hard seat and firm suspension, making it not very comfortable for long rides. During slower riding, road undulations are transferred to the rider and pillion. With its class-leading wheelbase it offers a good straight-line control, but is not the most agile of this lot. The Star City is tuned to be on the firmer side, but, unlike the Bajaj, it soaks up most of the bumps and imparts a solid feel while riding over bad roads. The TVS is fairly easy to handle, but tends to get nervous while negotiating fast corners.

Being tuned for comfort, the YBR offers a soft and relaxed ride. Its handling is not as engaging, but decent enough for this segment and the bike is well behaved during cornering. Similar to the Yamaha, the Hayate is focused on offering a soothing ride quality. It is stress-free and extremely comfortable over potholes. However, when ridden with a pillion at a reasonable speed, it does bottom out while riding over speed-breakers. Like most Suzukis it is very agile and easy to manoeuvre and the great riding position is the icing on the cake. In this shoot-out, Honda have struck the right balance by being neither too soft nor unbearably hard. The Dream Yuga’s long suspension helps it overcome bad patches of the road yet maintain its poise. Being among the lightest in the segment, it is nimble and cuts through traffic like a samurai sword. The two bikes that top this section are the Honda, which is extremely well sprung and very suitable for Indian road conditions, and the Suzuki Hayate, which is soft and is tuned for comfort.

Performance

The YBR has a pretty refined engine and feels best when ridden lazily around town. Not that it lacks punch or cruising abilities on the highway, but being the heaviest at 123 kg it takes what seemed like a very long 9.9 seconds to go from 0 to 60 km/h. Even the mighty Hero Splendor shows its age and, at 9.39 seconds, did marginally better in the performance sprint. But in spite of being developed in the late 1980s this smooth engine is still a hot seller, powering six different Hero models currently. The Splendor weighs 14 kg less than the Yamaha, is smooth and efficient, but lacks outright punch, which can be felt while riding with a pillion.

The Bajaj bike uses ingenious technology like twin-spark and swirl induction and manages to have enough grunt across the rev range. The engine feels at home on congested city roads, but on highways it feels strained when revved hard. The fifth gear helps it cruise comfortably at 80 km/h, but the engine becomes noisy. This puny motor propels the Discover from zero to 60 km/h in just over 8.5 seconds, which is remarkably close to TVS Star City’s figure of 8.47 seconds.

TVS’ 109.7-cc motor is one of the largest, has strong power and torque figures and the bike is among the lightest, rather quick off its feet. Its steady flow of torque keeps the Star City going on low revs, aiding city riding, while the tall fourth gear comes handy during cruising. Like the Bajaj engine, even the Star City motor is reasonably smooth at lower revs, but coarseness creeps in when revved harder.

Having the largest motor helps the Suzuki Hayate become the second fastest in the performance run, managing to touch the 60 km/h mark in just 8.26 seconds. The power-band is well spread out and the bike can take both open roads and busy streets in its stride. Surprisingly, its engine is not as smooth as the Yamaha’s or Honda’s, but in terms of refinement it is ahead of TVS’ and Bajaj’s.

Honda’s Dream Yuga shines in this section as well thanks to its gem of an engine. Applying what the company calls ‘Intelligent Ignition Control System’ the acceleration of this bike is effortless no matter what the driving condition. This executive-commuter wipes competition off in the performance run by being the only bike to do 0-60 km/h in under eight seconds, 7.82 seconds to be precise.

Thus Honda and Suzuki impress again with very respectable 0-60 km/h figures and, more importantly, have a wide power-band, which make them a pleasure to ride within the city or cruise on the highway.

Verdict

It is evident that the two new entrants, the Honda Dream Yuga and Suzuki Hayate, are the star performers in our test, clearly indicating that these modern offerings are well-thought-out products backed by advanced engineering. However, merely earning brownies here will not earn them sales, since a lot depends upon having dealerships deep within India and having a strong service and support network: a factor where Hero, TVS and Bajaj have an upper hand. Suzuki are determined to have 1,200 sales-and-service points within the next three years, while Honda’s target is to go up from 1,500 to 2,000 this year itself. As of now, no one comes close to Hero’s widespread network.

The other very important factor is price. The current market leader, Hero Splendor in its ‘Plus’ variant, retails at Rs 50,185 and the ‘Pro’ with electric start at Rs 53,488. The rugged Bajaj Discover carries a price tag of Rs 50,136, while the feature-packed TVS Star City is sold at an aggressive pricing of Rs 49,769 and the Yamaha YBR 110 at Rs 50,335.

This brings us back to the latest entrants since the two have completely different strategies. Suzuki have introduced the well rounded Hayate at the bottom end of the spectrum at Rs 47,735, which should get them a strong following from semi-urban areas and smaller towns. Honda, who have recently become the number two two-wheeler manufacturers in India, are cashing in on the respect they have garnered for their products and have priced the Dream Yuga at Rs 55,025, making it the most expensive in this segment.

The Hayate comes a close second. It’s a wonderful package, but loses out in efficiency, ride quality and, as of now, Suzuki have fewer dealerships. On the other hand, the Dream Yuga demands about Rs 1,500 extra compared to the Hero Splendor Pro, the segment benchmark, but offers great fuel efficiency and is equally powerful with new-age technology. More importantly, it comes with Honda’s quality assurance and widespread sales and service network. We’ll go with the Honda this time round.

Photography: Sanjay Raikar

It was a long time ago that Hyosung entered the Indian market in a tie-up with Kinetic Engineering and offered us the Comet. In its naked avatar, that twin-cylinder 250-cc motorcycle was a hit among the enthusiasts, but its success proved ephemeral owing to the limited number of bikes sold, poor after-sales service and non-availability of spares. This month Garware Motors are all set for that bike’s re-entry in a new garb – the Comet R. The additional R in the name is because of the full fairing on the motorcycle. Another technical change in the bike from the old Comet is that they have dumped the carburettor and introduced fuel injection, primarily to meet the emission norms. Apart from these, there isn’t much that is different in this bike from its old version. How would this bike fare against the current 250-cc all-rounder, the CBR 250R? We decided to find out.

Design And Styling

The CBR 250R as well as the GT250R are both full-faired machines and that is the only thing common to both so far as styling is considered. The GT250R looks quite nice from a side profile with its big bike looks. It is actually the same size and shape as its elder brother, the GT650R. This works both in favour of the bike and against it. There is a whole bunch of buyers who want these bikes for their muscular and big looks and the Comet R serves this purpose quite well. However, so far as performance goes, this big and heavy bike fails to impress.

As an individual bike, the GT250R does appeal with its muscular styling. But when compared to the CBR 250R, the design looks a little dated. For example, the front screen of the bike is flattish, something that we have seen in the early 1990s. In fact, the bike has very little curves all through, which might add up to its aged looks. Nevertheless, there is no denying that the Comet R has a lot of road presence and manages to attract the attention of quite a few. The CBR 250R, on the other hand, is much smaller with modern styling. The layered fairing and the Y-shaped headlight make it quite an appealing motorcycle.

Ride And Handling

The CBR 250R has been built on a twin tubular frame while the GT250R sports a cradle frame. This itself puts the GT in a better position than the CBR. Also, the Hyosung has a set of 41-mm upside down forks upfront and a pre-load adjustable rear mono shock suspension. The CBR sports 37-mm regular front forks and a pre-load adjustable mono shock suspension at the rear. However, the big difference between these bikes is the set-up that they run. While the GT250R is on a much stiffer side, the CBR runs a soft set-up. Now this distinction in set-ups gives different characteristics and usability to these bikes. The Comet R comes across as a very good bike for hardcore sport riding with excellent handling and road grip, but becomes a bit of a pain in daily city commutes. The CBR 250R’s soft set-up gives it a very comfortable ride on city roads, but while cornering hard, it induces a little bit of wallowing, especially if the surface is uneven. Also, the relaxed sitting posture on the Honda is much more practical for daily riding than the extremely aggressive seating of the Hyosung.

Engine And Performance

The engines powering both these bikes are 250 cc. Apart from the displacement, though, there is hardly anything common between the two motors. The Hyosung engine is an air-cooled, 75-degree twin-cylinder that pumps out 28 PS of peak power at 10,000 revolutions per minute and 22.07 Nm of torque at 8,000 RPM. As against that, the Honda’s engine is liquid-cooled, single-cylinder that pumps out 25.5 PS at 8,500 RPM and 22.9 Nm at 7,000 RPM. Greater power and twin-cylinder configuration might make one think that the GT will have an advantage in outright performance. However, it is not so. Under outright acceleration, the CBR sprints to 100 km/h from standstill in 8.47 seconds while the GT250R takes 9.62 seconds. The CBR has an advantage not only in outright acceleration, but also in in-gear roll-on acceleration. Furthermore, the CBR scores more on top speed too by getting to 144.4 km/h with one gear to go while the GT makes it to 141 km/h in the top gear.

The CBR gets this advantage over the GT for several reasons. Firstly, it has 0.83 Nm of extra torque. Secondly, it makes peak power and peak torque at much lower revs than its competitor. Thirdly, the CBR’s engine is mated to a close ratio six-speed box as against the five-speed box on the GT. And very importantly, the CBR weighs just 167 kg (ABS version), which is a whole 21 kg lighter than the 188 kg GT. The only advantage that the GT250R has over the CBR is that due to its slightly lower gearing and twin cylinder engine, it can run easily at slow speeds in higher gear.

The Verdict

The CBR 250R has turned out to be the better of the two in various aspects so far and continues to do so when it comes to versatility. It has a more refined engine and comfortable ride quality that gives it an everyday practicality. With its relaxed seating posture, the CBR proves to be a great one on the highway too for touring. The GT250R, on the other hand, has great road presence with its big bike feel. It has better handling for sport riding too. But as an overall package, it fails to make an impression with its engine’s slightly lower performance, unrefined character and heavy weight.

Another thing that disappoints a little is the quality of material used and the fit-and-finish. The price of the motorcycle is yet to be announced and it will certainly play an important role in deciding the fate of this machine. With the CBR 250R ABS model priced at Rs 1.9 lakh (OTR, Pune), it will be quite a task for Hyosung to beat it. Besides, the missing ABS option on GT should be a factor to think about, since buyers today demand more value for their money.

Honda are all set to take on the mighty Yamaha YZF-R15 with their latest offering, the CBR 150R

Photography: Sanjay Raikar

Motorcycling in India witnessed a change in perception when Yamaha launched the YZF-R15 back in mid-2008. This 150-cc offering from Yamaha changed everything that a 150-cc bike meant for the Indian customer. It had all the elements that made bike enthusiasts put it on a high pedestal where no one else dared to challenge it.

After almost four years of being on the top, there is some competition now for this supersport machine. Honda have quietly (I say quietly because I haven’t come across much media hype for this product) fielded their CBR 150R in the market and started selling it bang on against the R15. That naturally gives rise to the big question: which of these two is the better bike? Both are Japanese, both are 150-cc supersport machines, both have names with a legacy and both are priced competitively. Then what is it that sets them apart? What differentiates the two machines? Let us find out.

Design And Styling

The YZF-R15, which has been in the market since 2008, got a cosmetic enhancement a few months ago. The upgraded R15, version 2.0 as they call it, is an outright aggressively styled machine. Its sharp edges and straight lines make it a stunning looker. The R15 has enjoyed a lot of love and craze among the youth owing to its fast bike looks derived from the elder sibling, R6.

If that is the story of the Yamaha, the Honda gets its styling cues for the CBR 150R from the CBR 250R, launched last year, and the big VFR1200F. It is a little on the subtle side that would suit a sports tourer more than a supersport rider. The black treatment to the headlight cluster, the stubby exhaust and eye-catching white and orange graphics (our test bike in specific) are the elements that appealed to us the most. The glossy paint on the frame is the only let down, though. It would thus be very difficult to decide which of these two bikes looks better, for each speaks its own design language and each is impressively styled.

So far as the quality of material and fit-and-finish go, the R15 scores over the CBR. The switches and the clip-ons on the Honda have a little less exquisite feel to them. In fact, the switches seem to have come straight from one of Honda’s commuter bikes.

Posture And Ergonomics

The YZF-R15 looks aggressive and feels aggressive too. Its sitting posture is such that it demands a lot of lean-forward style. The seat is tall and the clip-ons and tank are low. Because of this geometry, it feels as if you are sitting too high and away and give a feel of stretched out posture. Besides, the knee recesses along the tank are quite deep, giving the bike a skinny feel.

On the other hand, the CBR 150R offers a more relaxed seating. The handlebar, seat and foot-pegs geometry is perfect for a comfortable ride – whether in the city or on the highway. Also, the wide tank offers a good feel to clamp on with the knees and its tall position gives it a bigger bike feel.

Engine And Features

This is what matters the most when the two bikes under consideration are high-performance machines. Both have four-stroke, four-valve, 150-cc engines, liquid cooling, fuel injection and are mated with six-speed transmissions. However, the R15 uses the SOHC mechanism while the CBR makes use of DOHC. So far as power and torque figures are concerned, the R15 makes 17 PS and 15 Nm while the CBR makes 17.8 PS and 12.66 Nm. It shows that there is a small difference in the power output of the two bikes and there is a considerable difference between the torque figures.

The differences don’t end here. The biggest variation between the two engines comes in the way they produce the power and at what RPM they do so. Whereas the R15 makes maximum power at 8,500 revolutions per minute, the short stroke engine of the CBR does it at 10,500 RPM. In case of the torque too, the R15 puts out the maximum torque at 7,500 RPM while the CBR does so at 8,500 RPM. These differences show up when it comes to outright performance testing. The slightly more powerful CBR 150R accelerates quicker from standstill to 100 km/h in 13.62 seconds while the R15 does the same in 14.13 seconds. Though the outright acceleration varies so much, things look a little different when it comes to in gear roll-on acceleration where the R15 goes much quicker from 30 km/h to 70 km/h in the third, fourth as well as the fifth gear and that too with a good margin over the CBR 150R. This is basically because the Yamaha puts out higher torque at lower RPM than its competitor.

What is worth mentioning about the engine of the CBR 150R, though, is its ultimate refinement. Even at high RPM, the silken smooth engine barely has any high-frequency vibrations.

Chassis, Suspension And Handling

The best part about both the bikes is the chassis and suspension settings. The YZF-R15 was the first Indian made bike to introduce the twin-spar or deltabox frame, as they call it in India. The CBR 150R follows the Yamaha now and brings in a similar frame. Both the bikes have a monoshock suspension at the rear and neither allows pre-load adjustment. However, there is hardly any need for it unless you are taking the bikes out to race professionally at the track.

It is really a very tricky proposition to decide which one handles better. Both are rock-steady in the corners and commit themselves to what is demanded. The only small difference that we found between the two machines was how briskly they turned in while attacking a corner flat-out. The CBR 150R, thanks to its shorter wheelbase, feels a mite sharper here.

Living With The Machines

Being slightly on the sporty side, one would expect neither of these machines to be comfortable for everyday use. Well, that isn’t really the case with the Honda. Because the R15 has an extremely committed stance, it automatically lends itself better to sport riding purpose. It is a great machine to challenge the corners. However, it suffers a little when it comes to everyday riding comfort (for the pillion as well) and while touring. On the other hand, the CBR can serve very well in almost every aspect. It has a comfortable seating for commuting everyday from home to college/work and back, can make for a good machine over the weekend and can be a wonderful machine on the highways.

The Verdict

So which one to buy then? Well, for those who are looking at hardcore weekend rides towards the twisties and don’t care much about their or their pillions’ comfort, the R15 makes for a good machine. It’s engine also offers good rideability in the city. But for those who want an overall package with a good top-end performance, comfortable ride and a comparatively fresh styling, the CBR is the obvious option. However, be prepared for a slightly sluggish performance while riding around town and also be ready to shell out an extra Rs 4,000.