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Pulsar NS400Z – CHALA APNI

Aspi Bhathena

APRIL 2026

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Spiralling Costs

From the first of this month, the prices of two-wheelers will go up as the result of a rise in the cost of manufacturing, which, in turn, has gone up due to the rising cost of fuel and gas, which has a direct bearing on the cost of raw material and transport.

The Bike India Awards were presented last month. We have been presenting these awards for the past 21 years. When I look back upon how the contenders have changed over this period of time, it becomes apparent that in 2006, most of them were commuter motorcycles and scooters, with only a sprinkling of 250-cc to 350-cc motorcycles. In contrast to that, we did not have a single 100-cc motorcycle for the jury round this time, the smallest capacity bike being a 125-cc one. Even the scooters this year were 150 cc. In keeping with the trend of the times, we also had electric adventure motorcycles and electric scooters.

The Royal Enfield Guerrilla has received an update. The notable change is a transition from dual-purpose tyres to road-specific ones and this has made a big difference in the handling of this motorcycle. It feels planted and the grip offered by the new tyres is better than that from the earlier dual-purpose ones.

The Indian motor sport fraternity has suffered a double blow, first with the demise of Sanjay Sharma (Hardy), head of JK Tyre Motorsport, in February, and the loss of Hari Singh, five-time national rally champion, last month. Hardy was instrumental in Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok making it to Formula 1 and Gaurav Gill to the World Rally Championship (WRC). I had known Hari Singh since his rallying days and I got to know him even better when I started running the GT Cup concurrently with the JK Tyre National Championship races. He was always willing to help everyone. They say that god takes away the good people first. My heartfelt condolences to his family. Keep rallying in peace, my friend, till we meet again. The sad part is that the accident that claimed his life could have been avoided.

Aspi Bhathena

Editor

MARCH 2026

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GST: An Unexpected Fallout

The higher rate of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on motorcycles above 350 cc is forcing manufacturers to downsize their 400-cc bikes to 350 cubic centimetres. There are rumours that Triumph is already testing a bored-down 350-cc version of its 400-cc line-up.

The GST Council is levying 40 per cent GST on motorcycles above 350 cc, thereby equating such motorcycles with luxury cars like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. This is utterly ridiculous. As a result, the same thing that happened in the car industry is going to happen in the motorcycle industry—manufacturers making sub-four-metre cars to get the benefit of a lower rate of GST. These cars are made specifically for the Indian market. Similarly, motorcycle manufacturers will continue making 400-cc-plus bikes for export while selling the 350-cc versions in India.

It is heartening to see that the police are cracking down on loud aftermarket exhaust systems. They should catch those motorcycle riders who create a nuisance at night with those crack-and-bang sounds. Then we have those loudspeakers blaring out music during festivals that are far louder than any motorcycle exhaust. However, the police do not interfere because, maybe, such events are sponsored by local politicians. The law should be the same for everyone, whether it is a car with a loud exhaust system, a motorcycle, or loudspeakers. All should be equal before the law.

To curb pollution, the government of Maharashtra wants to ban bikes that are more than 15 years old in Pune and Mumbai. They conveniently turn a blind eye towards the rampant felling of trees in the name of construction and development, thus giving rise to dust and pollution. This phenomenon is the main source of pollution in all the major cities across the country.

Aspi Bhathena

Editor

FEBRUARY 2026

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FTA Gives Rise to High Hopes

The latest buzz on social media is the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union. Everyone seems to think that the prices of European motorcycles such as BMW, Ducati, and KTM will come down. They may come down in respect of certain models that are manufactured in Europe. Most of these manufacturers also have manufacturing facilities in Thailand, and India already has an FTA with Thailand. The price of riding gear and helmets could come down, and we do hope that the restriction on the import of safety gear is removed.

The commuters in the state of Kerala observe traffic rules punctiliously. Hardly any instances of riding on the wrong side of the road are observed. Both the rider and the pillion wear helmets, and the traffic is well organized, with public transport buses stopping in a proper lay-by and not in the middle of the road. Such discipline was observed across the state, not just in the city of Kochi but even in small towns. Perhaps the high literacy rate in Kerala has something to do with the citizens’ behaviour on the road. Furthermore, although the roads in Kerala are narrow with single-lane highways, the road surface is first-class.

The fascination with media has grown to such an extent that anybody with a smartphone becomes an expert. What these people do is read other people’s reviews and then write their stories and speak on social media. If you ask them for their own assessment or feedback, you will instantly realise that they do not have the faintest clue about what is happening in the automotive world. After all, the easiest thing is to criticise someone else’s work. If you think there is a problem with a bike, then you should be able to offer a solution to that problem, and not just say that the bike is bad. There is no perfect motorcycle or scooter in the world; the best compromise is a good bike.

Aspi Bhathena

Editor

JANUARY 2026

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Heartening Momentum

The year 2025 just flew by, but, contrary to what we thought, the pace of activities has not slowed down. We recently witnessed TVS MotoSoul and the India Bike Week (IBW). Both events had a good turnout, despite a last-minute change in venue (from Goa to the hill station of Panchgani) in the latter’s case.

The prestigious Indian Motorcycle of the Year (IMOTY) Award ceremony was held last month. There were some strong contenders for the awards in various categories from most of the manufacturers in the country, except for Hero MotoCorp. The new Hero XPulse and the Hero Xtreme 250 missed their entries due to some misunderstanding. The Ultraviolette X-47 was the second runner-up, the KTM 390 Adventure was the first runner-up, and the TVS Apache RTX was the overall winner. For the first time in the history of these awards, we saw an electric motorcycle among the top three vying for the IMOTY.

The TVS Apache RTX is the first ADV by TVS, and it has been long overdue, considering that TVS is the first Indian manufacturer to have an official motocross team and a rally team. They have won many motocross and rally championships titles, and that is why it was surprising to see that the company had not yet added an ADV to its portfolio. As they say, it is better late than never. The Apache RTX looks big for a 300-cc motorcycle. Moreover, the new engine is very compact in its dimensions, considering its capacity of 300 cc. This adds to the bike looking big, as compared to the size of the engine. Looks apart, the motorcycle is built well, rides and handles well, and performs equally well. TVS’ racing experience in rallying and motocross has helped it build a very capable dual-purpose motorcycle. Even in the past, we had occasion to observe that TVS R&D had used its considerable racing experience to improve its road bikes, and, once again, the RTX is a very good all-round motorcycle from the company.

We wish all our readers a happy New Year. Please ride safely.

Aspi Bhathena

Editor

DECEMBER 2025

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More than just Festivities

This year has just flown by and I am already writing the last editorial for 2025. The activities are not slowing down even in the month of December. Last month we had the last round of the Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup in Coimbatore and we had a very special guest for the race, my dear friend Freddie Spencer. The insight and his knowledge of riding a motorcycle is incredible. Just after seeing the boys riding on the CCTV feed, he suggested some changes that helped them improve their riding. It was an honour and privilege for me to ride with “Fast Freddie” on the new Royal Enfield GT-R 750 that I have built. Tthe only thing I can say at the moment is that he was really impressed with the new bike compared to the GT-R 650 that he runs in the BTR (Build Train Race series in the USA).

The end of the year seems to get quite hectic with all the bike festivals, starting with Royal Enfield Motoverse. Then we have TVS Motosoul, and last, but not the least, IBW (India Bike Week). And in between all these bike festivals we have the IMOTY (Indian Motorcycle of the Year) award.

The Royal Enfield Motoverse festival is getting bigger with every passing year and, this time, there was an array of motorcycles displayed from custom bikes to accessorised ones, flat track racing, and even Moto-Polo being played for the first time in India. Another first at Motoverse was the ‘Well of Death’ which really impressed me with women riders riding in there without holding on to the handlebars and riding side-saddle. I am now looking forward to the TVS Motosoul festival.

Aspi Bhathena

Editor