Ducati are all set to amaze enthusiasts once more come EICMA 2013. [Read more…]
Suzuki and Salman team up for ‘Being Human’ Access
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
Splendor To Get (i)Smart
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
Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride comes to India
The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride is a global event where bikers from 110 different cities hit their local cities’ streets simultaneously on old-school rides wearing formal clothing. For the first time ever, an Indian city in the form of New Delhi was also part of the event, and it was hosted by a bunch of Royal Enfield enthusiasts, both men and women, who go by the moniker Royal Mavericks.
The ride took place on the 29th of September across the globe, which included the New Delhi leg, in which 72 bikers took to the streets on their Royal Enfield. Tarique Afaque, Founder, Royal Mavericks, was quite proud at how the event turned out, he said, “It gives us immense pleasure and honour to conduct the DGR first time ever in India. It is very exciting to see the riders come out in huge numbers and participate in this momentous occasion. Royal Mavericks takes immense pride in being associated with ‘Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride’ (DGR) for a special cause in the Capital for the first time in India and we are looking forward for such rides in future too.”
Following a highly successful inaugural run in 2012 which was held across 64 cities, the Ride has built on its original premise of riders celebrating their bikes’ vintage lineages and inspirations, and paying tribute to biking culture of the yesteryears by dressing up in strictly formal, vintage-style clothing for the event, by incorporating the task of raising awareness and funds for a charity to its list of aspirations along with the aforementioned celebrations and the joy of riding. This year, the issue the ride aimed at raising awareness for was Prostate Cancer, with the proceeds from the Indian leg of the ride going to the The Prostate Cancer Foundation, Australia.
Story: Harket Suchde
BMW Motorrad Nine T spied testing
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
New, faster Karizma slated for 2014 launch
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.
Going Vroom with Honda
Weekends for a biker are the perfect time to unwind, and when a biker unwinds, it translates to a fun bike ride out on the open road with buddies. Over the weekend, we joined two-wheeler giant Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India for their latest customer experience initiative which reached out to their range of premium motorcycles owners. On an early Saturday morning, Honda organized their first fun ride in India for its superbike owners, who possessed either a CB1000R, CBR1000RR Fireblade, VT1300 CX Fury or a VFR 1200F, from Mumbai to Nashik. The initiative was so that Honda superbike owners could twist the throttle and experience the true performance of their bikes as well as have a chance to interact with the fellow Honda superbike owners.
As we started off from the Honda Wing World showroom in Andheri, Mumbai, the atmosphere surrounding us was thick with excitement as crowds gathered to have a peek at big bikes that were about to burn rubber and zoom off in a flash. Being astride a CBR 250R on the highway, I found it almost impossible to keep up with all 25 bikers. Out on the open highway, no matter how much the CBR 250R tried, it was no match for what its big brothers could churn out. After finally catching up with the other riders, we settled down for a nice lunch at Sula Vineyards in Nashik, which came after a safety briefing on how to ride a superbike properly and go for a round on a mini test track.
Y.S Guleria, Vice President, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India said, “Mumbai roads do not allow our owners to enjoy the ride on the superbike they possess. Honda in India focuses on safety riding as its business direction as we believe that safe riding training on these mean machines is equally important by giving the riders all possible safety tips to follow while riding on the road.”
Story: Rommel Albuquerque
Honda’s Big Plans for the RCV 1000
Honda look set to enthrall enthusiasts come EICMA 2013 later this year. Rumour has it that the Japanese marque will shed some light on the much-awaited RCV 1000 MotoGP replica. Ever since the RCV 1000 surfaced on the internet, there has been much talk regarding this amazing piece of machinery.
However, the RCV 1000 will be unlike any replica ever made; this bad boy is expected to come with a price tag of a whopping €100,000 ($133,500 / Rs 84.5 lakh). For this amount of money, Honda are set to deliver a bike with specs pretty close to those of the RC213V Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez are riding.
Although there has been no official news by Honda regarding the RCV 1000, few insiders claim that the masterpiece on two-wheels is already ready. All we can say is that we would have to wait until EICMA 2013 to see the RCV 1000 in all its grandeur.
Story: Sayem Syed
Women Bikers Début at Raid De Himalaya
Established in 1999, Raid De Himalaya is a yearly rally event that is executed under extreme duress brought about by the high altitudes of the Himalayan range. In the history of this precarious rally which features events for both two-wheelers and four-wheelers, participants have had to face up to a variety of hazardous circumstances such as the ever present temperatures that fall below 25°C, ice-covered roads, oxygen depravity at a heights of around 6000 metres above sea level, and natural calamities such as blizzards, earthquakes and snow-ins.
Clearly this race isn’t for those of the faint hearted, and this year, for the first time in the history of the rally, a woman rider, namely Sheetal Bidaye hailing form the city of Mumbai will participate in the experts only Moto-Quads rally, while a young 20-year-old student from Fergusson College, Pune, Kalyani Potekar, will compete in Raid Xtreme Alpine category which is for the newer, less experienced riders.
These courageous women will pit themselves against the elements, beginning their journey from Shimla, and traversing through the high mountain reaches of Khardung La and Wari La all the way through to Leh, where the rally comes to a close.
According to Vijay Parmar, President, Himalayan Motorsport, who are the event’s organisers, this journey will be fraught with challenges, he said, “The Wari La climb happens in 14 kilometres, while the Khardung La climb takes 32 kilometres. The descent is equally steep and rapid into the Nubra Valley. The challenge of the Raid lies in competitive driving at these impossible altitudes, which demand the best from both man and machine.”
The rally, that sees only a quarter of its competitors cross the finish line on an average, enters its 15th year and will run from the 4th to the 12th of October.
Story: Harket Suchde
Second TVS assembly line in Africa
In a statement issued by company officials Indian two-wheeler brand TVS stated that its in plans to setup an assembly line in Uganda. TVS Motor Company has been present in the two wheeler segment in Uganda for about a decade and has around eight dealers offering sales and services. The Chennai-based firm is one of the largest exporters of two wheelers and three wheelers from India.
Speaking to the media TVS Motor Company President, K N Radhakrishnan, said the company has reaffirmed its commitment to the Ugandan customer with the opening of its distributor Yuvaraj International Uganda Ltd. He also added that the company also intends to launch two new motorcycle models during this period.
While addressing his views to the media Radhakrishnan said, “Uganda is a market with a large potential for two wheelers and with commencement of the assembly line and introduction of new products, we plan to reach 25 per cent market share within a year of commencing operation with our new distributor.”
Story: Sayem Parvez Syed
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