September 2017

A Momentous Tie-up

THE BIG NEWS LAST MONTH WAS THE TIE-UP BETWEEN BAJAJ AND
Triumph. Going by the information available as of now, this is a technical tie-up whereby Triumph will supply technology for big motorcycles and Bajaj will help Triumph break into the sub-400-cc market to take on the European manufacturers.

The Triumph line-up of products suits the Indian market, for it does not concentrate on out and out sport motorcycles. Bikes like the Bonneville are easy to ride on the open highways as well as congested city roads. On the other hand, Bajaj’s expertise in lowcost manufacturing will help Triumph make an advent in the 250-cc market which they are trying to enter after having aborted the previous project. This looks like a win-win for both as Bajaj will be able to make big-capacity cruisers and Triumph affordable entry-level bikes.

There is big news in the motor sport arena for motorcycle riders who want to make it big in road racing. Even today the young talent in India does not get to ride thoroughbred racing bikes for them to be able to compete against the best in Asia. All that is set to change as Honda are going to withdraw the CBR 250R from the one-make championship and replace it with the over-the-counter Moto3 racer, the NS F250R. The NS F250R is a proper racing motorcycle and this will give our boys an equal opportunity along with the other Asian countries.

We, as journalists, are supposed to educate our readers and give them our expert opinion. The big problem today is that anybody who can ride a bike becomes an expert thanks to the internet. You not only need to have the riding capability to take the bike to its limit to see how it performs, but also the knowledge and capability to understand how the bike is performing. The easiest thing to do is criticise, but when you find fault, you should also be able to offer a solution to the problem if you are an expert.

Aspi Bhathena
Editor