Team Bike India

Bollywood icon Salman Khan’s Being Human Foundation is instantly recognisable thanks the amount of promotion he and his superstar friends have carried out for it. Recently, this promotional activity was taken to a whole new level, when Suzuki along with Salman announced the release of a special, limited edition ‘Being Human’ version of the Suzuki Access.

Speaking at Suzuki’s Mumbai dealership, Salman, who was there to purchase his very own being human scooter, spoke about this collaboration and what he hopes will come out of it, he said, “I am really happy that Suzuki has launched a co-branded Being Human scooter. This is the first step in a long association between Suzuki and Being Human: The Salman Khan Foundation. Suzuki’s nationwide network will help the Foundation increase its reach in its mission to provide education and healthcare for the underprivileged.”

Through this collaboration, Suzuki will not only sell this special edition of the Access, but also various other Being Human merchandise in it’s outlets across the nation. The proceeds from these sales will be used to help educate underprivileged children, pay for heart surgeries and cataract operations, and organise bone marrow donation camps.

Atul Gupta, Executive Vice President of Suzuki India felt optimistic about the masses also joining in on the cause, he said, “Suzuki is proud to extend its partnership with Salman. Suzuki globally is committed to contributing to the development of the community though social action programs. We are very happy to be able to contribute to the Being Human effort by promoting the cause through the presence of branded apparel at our dealerships and we are sure our customers will become partners in the goals of the Being Human Foundation.”

Story: Harket Suchde

On the back of the recent reveal of the popular Karizma’s more powerful new avatar, Hero MotoCorp have slowly started to release details about some of the other bikes that will make up the 15 new ones they intend on bringing in to the market from next year onwards. Information regarding the new Splendor, which has traditionally been Hero’s strongest product in the Indian automobile market, has been the next in line to surface from Hero’s Global Sales and Marketing Conference in Macau, China.

The design of this new Splendor is aimed towards wrenching back the market share from some of its entry level competitors who have been steadily encroaching on territory previously dominated by it. Reports suggest that Hero intend on accomplishing this by not only giving the bike the whole hog of cosmetic upgrades,but also introducing a variant called the iSmart that will incorporate the start stop system in a motorbike for the first time in India.

The start stop system is a technological tool that turns the vehicle off when it comes to a standstill, at a traffic light for example, and starts it again when the vehicle is revved up. This system has the obvious benefit of improved fuel economy, something that has been the cornerstone to the Splendor’s popularity in the Indian market. If incorporated efficiently, the iSmart will surely help he Splendor range regain the lofty heights it once enjoyed in the entry level motorbike segment.

While speaking at event, Hero MotoCorp’s Managing Director and CEO, Pawan Munjal also spoke about the many alliances and acquisitions that Hero have made in foreign design and engineering firms, and how despite not actively searching for more such acquisitions and partnerships, if the right opportunity came their way, money would not be an object to buying further stakes in automobile firms or even the outright purchase of dedicated two-wheeler production firms.

Story: Harket Suchde

Picture source: www.motorbeam.com

BMW Motorrad enthralled motorcycle enthusiasts all around the world last year at EICMA when they showcased Roland Sands iconic Nine T concept. Rumoured to be the Bavarian brand’s final air-cooled, boxer-powered offering to the masses, the street-fighter is undergoing rigorous testing in Italy.

Company officials have revealed that the BMW Motorrad Nine T is capable of producing 90 PS of power along with 110 Nm of peak torque. The production ready version has the DNA of the BMW S1000RR with an elongated fuel tank, it also appears from the spy pictures that Akrapovic have custom designed the exhaust for the Nine T.

What’s even more exciting is the fact that BMW head honchos have disclosed the unveil date for the Nine T street-fighter; October 16th is the red letter day for BMW Motorrad fans the world over. The price has also been rumoured to be around the $ 19,000 (INR 11.8 lakh) mark.

Story: Sayem Syed

Picture source: www.mo-web.de

Hero Motocorp have been widely reported in a variety of media outlets to have announced the introduction of 15 new products by 2014, including an all powerful, revamped, Karizma, which will also hit the showrooms in accordance with this time line. The announcement was made as part of Hero’s Global Sales and Marketing Conference in Macau, China.

While the new Karizma is expected to retain the same engine as the current one, it is the first of Hero’s two-wheelers to have been re-tuned and developed in coalition with American technological partners Erik Buell Racing, the direct consequence of which is that the old mill will produce more power than ever before.

The 15 new products will include reboots such as this one along with completely new designs. Hero hope to bring these new bikes into the market between the October – December period in 2014 so that they can capitalise on the historically lucrative festive season.