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Honda CB Twister vs rivals

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Five executive entry-level commuter motorcycles fight for supremacy. But which bike offers the best bang for your buck is the question Bunny Punia tries hard to find an answer to

Photography Sanjay Raikar

When Honda launched the 110cc CB Twister in the market recently, quite a few eyebrows were raised about its high sticker price for a commuter bike. However, the CB turned out to be the most involving and fun to ride commuter we had come across in a long time. It looks smashing, has a gem of an engine, is comfortable for the rider and of course, is a Honda. Does that mean it can divert customers away from other manufacturers straight into Honda showrooms? To get the answer, we decided to pit the CB against its rivals – a top of the line commuter bike from each manufacturer. We chose the 100cc Discover from Bajaj, the 100cc Splendor NXG from Hero Honda, TVS’ 109cc Star City and lastly, the 106cc G5 from Yamaha. All the bikes compared here are top end models.

Bajaj Discover 100

Any bike that makes history by selling 5 lakh units within 225 days of its launch ought to be a great performer. The Discover is just that. Aimed as the country’s first small capacity long distance motorcycle, this little Disco has a lot of aces up its sleeve. It looks nice in a sporty way – an angular chopped exhaust, a raised visor, sporty pattern of the tyres, et al. The bike’s trump card is its 94.38cc engine that makes use of both the twin-spark tech gadgetry as well as the swirl induction technology. The power and torque numbers are nothing to rave about, though the riding experience is what brings a smile to your face. The motor feels eager, always willing to propel the bike ahead in traffic, apparent by the roll-on figures. In fact, maneuverability is top notch and the suspension setup too is just right, though overall comfort is hampered due to the hard seat. During this shootout, most of us didn’t want to ride the bike for this one painful grouse. This is also the only bike in its class to feature a five-speed gearbox. Retailing at Rs 46,400 (on-road, Pune), like other Bajaj offerings, the Discover 100 is a good value for money proposition. Its incredible fuel efficiency comes in the form of the icing on the cake. Is this the best bike here?

Hero Honda Splendor NXG

You can never go wrong with a Hero Honda. They are the masters of the commuter segment in India. With six different offerings in the 100cc segment alone, there is a bike for every kind of commuter. We decided to choose the NXG, a sportier, modern and fresh looking avatar of the hugely popular Splendor. Typically Hero Honda, you get to see a lot of sticker work on this bike. The bikini fairing is slightly larger than the company’s other models and along with an all-black colour scheme, it lends the bike a good look. Overall, the proportions are well sorted and the bike makes tall as well as heavy riders feel at home. The NXG turns out to be the lightest bike here and this is evident while encountering rush hour traffic. It is also where the ultra reliable 97.2cc engine comes into its own. It is butter smooth and efficient though the lack of outright punch across the rev range does disappoint, especially when riding with a pillion. However, the gear ratios are tall and the bike even manages the best top speed here at 96.92km/h. For Rs 47,300 (on-road, Pune), the NXG offers a well rounded package with the company’s huge after sales support and best in class resale value. Reasons enough for us to crown it the winner?

TVS Star City

In the July issue, during our 100cc shootout, the Star Sport managed to grab the co-winner’s crown along with the Bajaj Platina. The bigger 110cc Star City shown here only manages to improve on its smaller sibling, proving its credentials strongly. Ergonomics are good, seat comfort is excellent and the bike imparts a solid feel while riding over bad roads. The engine too is strong – 109.7cc belting out 8.3PS of power and 8.1Nm of torque. This is the second most powerful and torquiest bike after the CB and expectedly it is the second quickest of the lot as well. It even manages to be the quickest in the 30-70km/h roll-ons in the fourth gear. The biggest in class fuel tank, a mobile charging point and a five-year warranty for a small amount further gets this bike more brownie points. It also has one of the most comprehensive switchgears among all the bikes here. Rs 45,400 (on-road, Pune) for the top end variant is what it demands, putting itself more or less in the same price bracket as others. Should the competition be worried about this small warrior?

Yamaha Libero G5

If there is a bike here that seems to be perfectly suited for well built riders, it has to be the Libero G5. It feels substantial for a commuter machine and not surprisingly, turns out to be the heaviest of the lot. Everything about the G5 is on the softer side – the well padded seat, the suspension setup and even the way it rides and handles over city roads. In fact, this is a bike that makes you want to go about your daily commuting in a lazy, laid back manner. But this doesn’t mean it lacks outright punch or cruising abilities on the highway. This is the same 106cc engine doing duty on the Crux and the Alba for years now. The G5 also comes with the best switchgear of the lot, offering every possible feature including an engine kill switch. On the looks front, the red and silver colour combination give it a smart look and the bike even sports dummy air scoops under the tank. It won’t be wrong to say that the G5 continues to look good even after five years of launch. Rs 49,000 (on-road Pune) does make the bike dearer by a few grand as compared to the others here. Will this prove to be a
hindrance when it comes to clinching the crown?

Honda CB Twister

A lot has already been discussed about Honda’s first bike for the masses last month. No doubt it is one of the best looking motorcycles in the country, aping its bigger sibling, the CB1000R perfectly. The engine performs brilliantly for a 109cc motor, churning out performance figures that end up shaming quite a few 125cc machines. Like a typical Honda, it doesn’t sacrifice fuel efficiency at all. The motor also feels stress free at highway speeds and unlike the 125cc Hondas, the Twister is pretty smooth and vibe free even at 70-75km/h. The suspension is slightly on the stiffer side, but ride the bike with a pillion and it outshines all the motorcycles here. However, we do miss simple things like a pass switch, an engine kill switch and pilot lamps. Why, Honda why? So, is there a chink in the armour there? Definitely, this is the commuter segment where value for money is the first priority. Consumers want to pay as little as possible and even a difference of a grand can change the final decision. In this case, the CB turns out to be six to nine grand dearer than the other bikes. Agreed, it has a lot of positives as discussed above and also comes with a front disc (absent on the other bikes), but is the price justified?

Royal Bobber

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Oshan Kothadiya can’t take his eyes off the latest custom bike on the block built by Rajputana Customs
Photography Vijay Singh

Custom bikes are gaining popularity by the day in India. Even at the 2010 Auto Expo, what really caught my eye was the custom bobber built by Vijay Singh from Jaipur. After completing his studies in Canada, he returned to India recently to pursue his passion for custom motorcycles and built the Original Gangster using a 350cc Royal Enfield Thunderbird twin spark engine. The frame is built by him and his team at Rajputana Customs from the ground up. No compromises were made in the materials used too.

The bike oozes a classy vintage appeal. The retro looking white walled tyres are hard to find in India. The air filter cover looks like a revolver tumbler which sticks to the theme. The Rajputana Customs emblem and the neat detailing given to the footpegs add to the bike’s individuality. The frame has been built from carbon steel and the accelerator is internally built in the handlebar which gives it a
clean look. Adding to the bike’s vintage appeal is the hand shifter (Jockey shifter) which was used in Harleys in the 1940s and 50s. Since the bike is a hard tail, the rider’s seat is given a spring to cushion the ride. The Springer suspension which works on a linkage mechanism looks brilliant and has been totally hand built by Vijay. The bike rides on 21-inch front wheels and 17-inch rears. The wheel hubs for the front tyres too have been built by Vijay.

Equal attention is given to the battery box that is neatly tucked below the rider’s seat. The dual fuel tank is simple but well executed. Even the fuel tank lid does not look like it has been borrowed from some other bike and adds to its distinctive touch.Though the bike is unique it does not lose the Royal Enfield feel. A custom vintage bike like this would cost you around Rs 2.5 lakh which is not a very steep price. We would love to see more bikes from this youngster.

The hog way round

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Harley-Davidson announced their formal entry into India with the launch of a dozen models at the Auto Expo at Delhi
early this year in January. A couple of months down the line, I finally managed to get hold of almost the entire H-D range for a ride, an experience and much more.

Words Bunny Punia   
Photography Sanjay Raikar

XL 883R Roadster (Sportster family)
The Sportster family is considered as the first step into the world of Harley- Davidson motorcycles. This family in India consists of the XL 883L Sportster, the XL 883R Roadster, the XL 1200N Nightster and the XR 1200X. The 883s without a doubt are the most important bikes for the country due to their relatively low sticker prices. In fact, the 883L with a sub Rs 7 lakh tag has already lured thousand of enthusiasts around the country including me. This is also the reason why I decided to ride this little machine for a longer period of time. We had the 883R variant for the ride which comes with a few more features and goodies as compared to the L model and of course a slightly higher price tag. Nevertheless, its genes are pure Harley and this American icon is a modern motorcycle that proudly boasts of its heritage. The company’s 883 lineup is legendary, having turned the motorcycling world upside down when they were first introduced way back in 1957.

The 883 has a narrow frame and a raw sporty styling which looks classic and timeless. Its ergonomics are spot on for lazy laid back cruising. In fact, even at slow speeds, you don’t feel its 251kg dry weight at all. The 883, like most Harleys, comes with a 45degree V-twin motor displacing 883cc. The company doesn’t like to disclose its maximum rated power, however, international websites claim it to be anywhere between 40-50horses. Even though the 883 is not about performance, it will still do the 0-100km/h sprint in seven seconds. The bike’s true character lies in lazing around on open highways, munching up miles with your arms and legs stretched out a little. The talking point here is its 70Nm of torque. Slotted in fifth with the needle at 100km/h, there is enough juice left for overtaking maneuvers as well as playing around with fast moving cars. 150km/h is what I saw at one point of time with probably another 10-15km/h to come. However, the 883 feels at home at around the 100-110km/h. The tank holds 12.5 litres of fuel, good for around 300km of highway riding. It might be the smallest bike in the company’s portfolio, but the 883 range is unmistakably Harley including the way it rides with the characteristic vibrations and engine noise. Yours for Rs 7.50 lakh (the 883L is even cheaper at Rs 6.95 lakh), the 883R is your ticket into the world of iconic motorcycles.

XR1200X (Sportster family)

This is a sportier variant of the XR1200R which was the first Harley tuned for European riding and styling tastes. With the X, what you get is a blacked out engine casing and a matte black tail, tank and mudguards to create a more aggressive look and of course brilliant Showas (suspension). The XR1200X looks like no other Harley; it has a charm of its own. It takes time getting used to the high seating position but that in combination with the comfortable upright posture helps in giving you a commanding view of the road ahead. The bike is powered by the same 1202cc motor doing the honours on the 1200 Nightster, though with a different level of tuning. Maximum power is believed to be around 90 horses, but as is the case with most Harleys, the torque does the talking, all 100Nm of it. The bike felt pretty comfortably though the seat could have been softer. Power delivery was great. In fact, with the upright posture, I had to hang on tight during flat out acceleration in the top three cogs. The XR1200X sells for Rs 11.95 lakh – a good deal for a sporty 1200cc V-twin bike.

Super Glide Custom (Dyna family)

This is the first ever factory custom Harley. Though termed as a cruiser, the versatility of this bike surprised me no ends. It might weigh in at 310 kilos (kerb), but the ease with which the Custom handled slow moving traffic and even inside our big resort campus left me impressed. Without any kind of wind protection, the Custom managed to chew up miles easily while sitting at an indicated 110km/h with me saddled up comfortably in the broad seat, holding on the wide pulled back handlerbars. The 1584cc engine belts out 123Nm (gulp!) of torque and is pretty smooth at cruising speeds with that typical Harley twin-cylinder music from the engine.

On the design front, the simplicity of the overall composition will be appreciated by many – the twin flush caps for the tank, the simply laid out speedometer, the upside down indicators upfront, et al. In fact, the true beauty of this bike’s understated charm is its blank slate appeal. The Custom offers a great platform for anyone who likes to leap into the sea of personalizing their bike with Harley’s accessories catalog.

Fat Boy (Softail family)

This is the quintessential tough guy motorcycle and without a doubt, one of the best selling Harley-Davidson bikes ever. Arnie too rode one in The Terminator and if you are in Yankee land, chances are you will end up seeing more of these solid disc wheeled motorcycles than other models on the road. As the company’s Indian MD puts it, the Fat Boy is a timeless combination of power and style. True to its name, it weighs in at 330 kilos, but feels lighter on the move due to its low mass centralization. The 1584cc engine is mated to a six-speed ‘box and is a real pleasure. It hasn’t lost its typical Harley charm with the inclusion of the compulsory fuel injection. Like most Harleys, the well padded generous seat, pulled back bars and footboards allow for a comfortable riding posture but for serious touring, a windshield is recommend. This is where another thing comes up – the list of aftermarket add-ons for the Fat Boy requires a book of its own! If I am in the market for the most outrageous road ready custom, then this bike would sit at the top of the motorcycle chain.

Heritage Softail Classic (Softail family)

The Heritage Softail Classic remains as retro styled as it was when launched two decades ago. With only subtle changes on the design front over the years, this bike retains its old world charm, so loved by a huge chunk of Harley riders. The 21-inch spoke wheels with the white walled rubber, the retro styled leather saddles and the leather extension to the rider’s seat – this is the bike to have for those who love old schools. Beneath all that metal and leather is a modern 1584cc motor putting out an impressive 117Nm of torque at a low 3200rpm. This translates into effortless low speed cruising (so typical of a Harley, isn’t it?). Aboard this bike, you feel you are back in time and yet you get modern touches like ABS. The king sized windshield can be removed, however, I like it this way. Some may think this bike is a bit much of a throwback, but I have to admit that it’s a good looking bike all in all. It’s true what some say about the classics never going out of style, I guess. Rs 19.45 lakh is a lot of money, but certain things just seem better with age, don’t they?

Night Rod Special (V-Rod family)

This is the rock star of the entire H-D gang. It looks mean and menacing and even made me look cool while riding it. Well almost. I did have my arms and legs stretched out, but leaning ahead made me feel more comfortable as well cut through the air properly. At times, all it took were a few seconds to get from an indicated 100 to an indicated 150, thanks to the new generation sophisticated and smooth 1250cc engine that belts out 125 ponnies along with 111Nm of torque. Going from zero to hundred in fewer than four seconds with a top whack of around 225km/h, the Night Rod is unlike any other Harley. In fact, the intoxicating V-twin growl and that linear acceleration are courtesy engine design help from Porsche. For most, the Night Rod might be a difficult bike to handle around curves or in city traffic, but for me it rules the roost and for reasons. Show up on one and people don’t stop staring. For Rs 18.95 lakh you also get custom quality construction, inimitable Harley cachet and a set of wheels that is as much fun to look at as it is to ride. Period.

Road King (Touring family)

When first launched in 1994, its styling was the biggest asset for the Road King – one of the two bikes from the touring family. The bike carries a mix of retro design elements like spoke wheels, three big chrome lamps upfront, inverted indicators, et al. along with modern touches like hard panniers, technological advances for the engine, plus cruise control and ABS! Even the chassis is all-new and it shows its true colours in case you push the bike hard. It has the same 1584cc engine seen on the Softail family, though this one pumps out 127Nm of torque. In fact, I rode the Road King after riding
the XR1200 and was immensely surprised with its smoothness. I could comfortably ride this bike to its full tank range (300km+) between stops and the only snag would be the wind turbulence created by the screen for my tall height. If the likes of Elvis Presley were still alive, they would have one of these gorgeous machines parked in their Graceland garages. Like most say, it’s good to be King, though at an expensive sticker price of Rs 20.45 lakh.

Street Glide (Touring family)

The chunkier and modern of the two touring bikes, the Street Glide had me hooked the moment I swung a leg over. It might look like a Road King with an add-on bat wing type fairing, but there is a lot more to this bike. The Street Glide is the original stripped and slammed (lowered rear suspension) bagger from Harley-Davidson and is powered by the same twin cam 96 V-twin engine as on some of the other models, though it is in its torquiest form here. It performs more than well and during our early morning shoot, getting the rear to spin out was pretty easy. In fact, with the fairing, high speed cruising is better than some of the other machines here. The lowered ride height, however, limits the suspension travel and two-up, bad roads can rattle your insides pretty easily. The six pods in the speedometer console finished in white look sporty with the music system and various buttons under it increasing the functionality. The system, a Harman Kardon unit, was kept near its top volume most of the times much to other motorists’ surprise but this is the way a Harley is to be enjoyed on open Indian roads.

Ultra Classic Electra Glide (CVO family)

Prepare to be coddled. The most powerful, heaviest and comfiest bike of the whole range is the Ultra Classic Electra Glide, a bike born out of the CVO or the Custom Vehicle Operations’ family of Harley-Davidson. Harley’s entire bag of techno tricks are featured on the CVO Ultra, including a 160Watt CD/AM/FM/WB/MP3 Advanced Audio System by Harman Kardon, CB and intercom, passenger audio with controls, cruise control and standard XM Radio to name a few. If size matters with money no bar, this is the machine to have. Both the rider and the passenger sit in the plushest of accommodations and once on the move, its massive 430 kilo weight seems to vanish. In fact, while riding up to the Amer fort, I was effortlessly scraping away expensive metal from the footboards. The engine sounds sweet with an intoxicating intake growl at low revs with a surge of locomotive like torque available throughout. The CVO sits lazily at an indicated 150km/h with much in reserve to tease other smaller models of the family easily. If your idea of a road trip means ditching your business class ticket and riding to Mumbai from Delhi, the CVO is the answer even at its staggering Rs 34.95 lakh sticker price. Who says inspiring dreams is always cheap?

John McEnaney
Harley-Davidson Service Operations Area Representative, India


Age: 50
Favourite H-D bike in India: FXDC Dyna Super Glide Custom
Why? “It’s a no BS bike”

How different will be the maintenance of Harley-Davidson bikes in the Indian riding environment vis-à-vis the US?
Harley-Davidson motorcycles have been ridden for decades in over 70 countries spanning various terrains and weather conditions. In the U.S. itself, we have experienced and tested our motorcycles in every riding condition. To give you an instance from India, the first Founders Ride we did in the country was through torrential rain in New Delhi. Furthermore, our ride through Jaipur presented us with a different set of riding conditions – heat, varied roads and some long stops in traffic. The fantastic thing about India is that the variations and unique riding terrain make it an incredible riding destination. Our vision for our dealerships in the country will be to provide world class after sales maintenance and servicing at par with a Harley-Davidson dealership anywhere. The service teams across our dealerships in India will be trained to ensure customers enjoy every minute of ownership and have an optimum experience.

What about the performance of Harley-Davidson motorcycles in India’s harsh, i.e., hot summer months?
We’ve ridden through the pouring rain in Delhi, the summer heat in Jaipur and the stop-go traffic of Mumbai and Bangalore. Every ride has been a new experience. Over the next few months, we plan to ride across different regions in India and enjoy the thrill of riding through varying terrain and weather conditions which you cannot experience anywhere else in the world.

Anoop Prakash
Managing Director
Age: 37
Favourite H-D bike in India: FLSTF Fat Boy
Why? “A timeless combination of power and style.”

When do we see the first H-D showroom up and running and in which cities?
Bookings for Harley-Davidson motorcycles will open across India on the 20th of April, 2010 and will be taken by our dealers in Mumbai, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Bangalore and Chandigarh. We will announce dealer locations by the first week of April with all five showrooms scheduled to open by the end of summer. This year all 12 motorcycles from our Indian model line-up will be available on sale in addition to a broad selection of accessories, merchandise and apparel.

Which models have been the most popular among prospective Indian buyers till now?
We realized from the start that bringing in one or two models would not come close to meeting the craving and demand for the full Harley-Davidson experience here. Through our website, www.harley-davidson.in, prospective owners from all corners of the country have staked their claim to be among the first to own a 2010 Harley-Davidson motorcycle and we have seen demand across all model
families. For the city riders appreciating our heritage and classic cruiser styling, the Sportsters and Dynas seem to be on the top. For speed enthusiasts, the Night Rod Special has captured their hearts. For executives wanting the classic originals to explore greater India, the Softtails and Touring bikes reign supreme. Additionally, since we have partnered with ICICI Bank to provide loans at 11 percent interest, all riders can find their ride!

Sanjay Tripathi
Director, Marketing
Age: 37
Favourite H-D bike in India: VRSCDX Night Rod Special.
Why? “Speed, torque, stability and of course its hotrod styling!”

Harley-Davidson is an iconic brand and markets itself pretty well. Is this working in your favour in India already?
The stature Harley-Davidson enjoys is because our riders have built a bond not only with their motorcycles but with each other. The inclusiveness of the brand, the enthusiasm of the owners and the camaraderie built between the riders transcends geographical boundaries and binds them into a global HOG (Harley Owners Group) family. We have brought the pure Harley-Davidson experience to India with a range of 12 models from all five of our motorcycle families to give riders here the true look, sound and feel of our heritage, our culture and the Harley-Davidson lifestyle. Our range of MotorClothes will only add more authenticity to the complete Harley-Davidson experience in the country.

Do we see special made in India, for India ad campaigns on the Idiot box soon?
We are in the process of finalizing the right mix for our marketing campaigns and will soon roll them out to bring Harley-Davidson motorcycles closer to our riders. Our campaigns will certainly reflect the Harley-Davidson ethos and from a marketing standpoint we will continue to hold experiential events, so that riders and enthusiasts get the opportunity to really understand the lifestyle and experience.

Return-of-the-king

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THE  BIKE  INDIA  INTERVIEW
KENNY ROBERTS
Words: Mat Oxley 
Photography: Chippy Wood

From the late 1970s to the early 1990s GP racing was ruled by five riders from the same country. Time to take the ultimate American road trip and visit King Kenny Roberts, Wayne Rainey, Eddie Lawson, Freddie Spencer and Kevin Schwantz. In part I of this special series, is the man who started it all: the King.

For a motorcyclist, this is like driving through the gates of Graceland. There’s no Elvis-commissioned ironwork, but the motorcycle sculpture poised above the gates and the National Rifle Association sticker on the entrance keypad tell you all you need to know: this is the home of the King, the most important motorcycle racer in history.

At the end of the half-mile drive is the house where King Kenny Roberts has lived for the past 25 years and the mini racetrack complex where so many world champions have learned and played – from Roberts to Rainey, from Lawson to Kocinski, from Fogarty to Lorenzo.Indoors Roberts is sheltering from a winter storm and taking phone calls from people working on bringing him back to where he belongs: MotoGP. The scale of Roberts’ latest venture is mind-boggling – a long-term budget of several billion dollars (for MotoGP, NASCAR and F1), factory Ducatis and a team Boeing 707 to shuttle hardware between races and a new HQ at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, where fans will be able watch the bikes being prepped. And the whole deal will be the subject of a TV reality show filmed by Brad Pitt’s production company.

‘Dude, we’ll be on the grid at Doha,’ growls Roberts, whose team last raced MotoGP in 2007. ‘Until then I’ll just play golf or mess around with my motorcycles.’Roberts, who will be 60 next year, has always thought big. It’s what’s allowed him to accomplish a unique number of achievements: twice Grand National dirt champ, knee-down pioneer, three-time 500 king, fighter for riders’ rights, championship-winning team owner and motorcycle manufacturer.

Think on this: when Roberts won the 500 crown at his first attempt in 1978 he started the season contesting the 250, 500 and F750 world championships, which would be like Ben Spies doing Moto2, MotoGP and World Superbike in his rookie international season. He won his second 500 title in 1979 after breaking his back during preseason testing. Oh, and he’s only got one testicle (the legacy of a motocross accident) and he’s got a bullet in his left leg (hunting mishap). We’re talking old school hard man.

Roberts’ success on 500s fronted a wave of American talent that ruled GP racing on and off for more than two decades: Spencer, Lawson, Rainey, Schwantz, John Kocinski and Kenny Roberts Junior all followed in the King’s slipstream.

After Roberts packed up riding in 1983 he created GP racing’s first super team and guided Marlboro Team Roberts rider Rainey to three 500 world championships. And when he tired of racing factory Yamahas he built his own motorcycles from the crankshaft up. His Proton KR3 two-stroke 500 triple was good enough to beat Valentino Rossi to pole position at Phillip Island in 2002, though his Proton V5 MotoGP four-stroke wasn’t so brilliant.

There’s little evidence of Roberts’ stellar successes inside his house. There’s tarnished old racing trophies for doorstops, a V5 crankshaft for a toilet roll holder (‘About all that thing’s good for!’), a couple of guns and a hunting dog that bounds about with excited anticipation whenever Kenny handles his shotgun.

Behind the house it’s a different story. Walk past the hot tub and the wine cellar and you enter the King’s ‘man cave’ – a workshop full of every kind of motorcycle in every stage of disarray – from dirt trackers to motocrossers, from roadracers to road bikes, including an original RD350LC in Yamaha US yellow with no engine. ‘When Yamaha gave me that my manager said “Kenny, that motorcycle must never be used”, but I lent some racer the engine and it never came back.’ There’s also a lathe, a milling machine, some welding kit and faded posters of long-ago glories.

These days Kenny spends a lot of time here, fixing and spannering, welding and hammering. ‘I’m a motorcycle guy who builds motorcycles. Kids keep wrecking them and I keep building them.’

Current project is a bizarre mini-roadracer – a CR450 motocross motor in an aluminium roadrace frame (drawn on Kenny’s drafting board and welded together by the man himself) with minibike wheels. Kenny doesn’t really seem to know what he’s going to do with this one, but that’s not really the point. He’s having fun fiddling and fettling. ‘Next I want to build my own dirt track motor.’

Behind the ‘man cave’ is another building – Kenny’s museum, packed with Grand National and world title winners, at least a dozen homemade Proton and Modenas GP bikes and an Aladdin’s cave of high-end grand prix ‘auto jumble’ – factory YZR engines, racks crammed with all kinds of aluminium chassis, acres of carbon-fibre bodywork, dusty old leathers and piles of dirt trackers’ steel shoes.

Outside there’s dirt track ovals, motocross courses and a mini roadrace track around which Roberts and his disciples would ride, honing their ability to open the throttle faster than anyone in the world. ‘When Wayne was hitting it hard we would ride from sun up to sun down, every day.’ No wonder Rainey went on to emulate his mentor’s 500 title hat-trick.

Just across from the hot tub is what can only be described as a GP racers’ vegetable patch. There’s a chicken wire cage protecting half a dozen old Team Roberts flight cases, with tomatoes growing inside.

Back indoors is another ‘activities’ room. More chaos: old helmets, golf clubs (Roberts is an ace golfer, he made the cut in last year’s Pebble Beach Pro-Am), an artist’s easel, a half-finished oil painting. Who’d have thought this hard-man racer was an artist? ‘When you paint, everything else goes; it’s like taking a ride up into the mountains on your motorcycle. If you’re pent up, it makes it a different day.’

Roberts’ ranch is a two-hour ride from the fleshpots of San Francisco. This isn’t California Girls or Gangster Paradise country, it’s farming land – almond trees and cattle all the way to the Sierra mountains where Roberts buys his wine from micro-wineries. ‘Finding some American wines I like was a big relief, because I was always afraid I was going to run out of the stuff I brought back from Europe.’

The King was born just down the road in Modesto, where his parents and grandparents settled after escaping the Midwest dustbowls of the 1930s depression.

He started riding bikes by chance, aged 12. ‘I was training horses, I was going to be a cowboy. These people I worked for in Modesto bought their kids this minibike with a lawnmower engine. I go to feed the horses one day, they say “Kenny, ride the bike”, I say “no, don’t want to”. They say “you’re a baby, you’re a chicken”. ‘No, I’m not chicken, I just don’t want to ride it.” “You’re a chicken”. Okay, so I rode the minibike. Scared the shit out of me, so I had to have one.’

Doing things the hard way, taking the tough option has always appealed. ‘All through my career I’ve tended to stack more on my plate than I needed. If someone says I can’t do something, then I have to do it.’

It was the same when the rookie roadracer started hanging off, getting his knee down and rear-wheel steering in the early 1970s. His mentor Kel Carruthers told him he was insane. Within years everyone was doing it.

And it was the same when he came to Europe and started agitating for riders’ rights. ‘We were treated like monkeys. The tracks were dangerous and we got ripped off. If we complained, they told us “shut up or we’ll pull your licence and you won’t be able to race”.’ Roberts’ breakaway championship, World Series, never happened but it shocked the racing establishment into treating riders right.

Over the years he has been just as much of a technical maverick. Team Roberts was the first outfit to use carbon brakes and the first to make serious use of datalogging. When Yamaha dragged their feet on development he went and built his own GP bikes.

‘I’ve got this disease which makes me want to do everything myself. I can get stuff done right by someone else but I want to do it myself. Yamaha were giving me a hard time, so I walked.’

He thinks this attitude might have something to do with aggression – he’s always had a big fire in his belly. ‘I was pretty aggressive when I was a kid. I used to get into fights a lot, I was always in trouble.

‘I wasn’t at school much. I have dyslexia, so when I left high school I couldn’t read or write nothing. When I was 19 and Yamaha threw my first contract in front of me, I was, like, what do I do with this?’

He may not be very literate but Roberts has fierce intelligence. He brought a new level of technique and analysis to the sport. ‘If someone went through a corner faster than me I would have to analyse that: why was he faster? There has to be a reason. Putting it all together intrigues me.’

That ability to look at things and understand what needs to be done helped him become GP racing’s first big shot team boss. Back in the 1990s he was running an outfit with a budget of $18 million, not bad for a kid who could hardly read or write.

1969 Starts dirt track aged 13
1970 US national novice champion
1971 US national junior champion
1972 4th US national expert championship (Yamaha)
1973 US Grand National champion (Yamaha)
1974 US Grand National champion (Yamaha)
1975 2nd US Grand National championship (Yamaha)
1976 3rd US Grand National championship (Yamaha)
1977 4th US Grand National championship (Yamaha)
1978 500 world champion (Yamaha)
1979 500 world champion (Yamaha)
1980 500 world champion (Yamaha)
1981 3rd 500 world championship (Yamaha)
1982 4th 500 world championship (Yamaha)
1983 2nd 500 world championship (Yamaha)
1990 Marlboro Team Roberts Yamaha
Wayne Rainey, 500 world champion
John Kocinski, 250 world champion
1991 Marlboro Team Roberts Yamaha
Wayne Rainey, 500 world champion
1992 Marlboro Team Roberts Yamaha
Wayne Rainey, 500 world champion

Roberts has never been able to back down. That’s why he accepted an invitation to ride his infamous TZ750 dirt tracker at the Indy Mile during last year’s Indianapolis MotoGP weekend. The Tee Zee Miler is the bike upon which the King won (in his opinion) his greatest victory, at Indy in 1975. It is arguably the most evil piece of over-powered machinery ever created – 120 horsepower, dirt tyres, no front brake.

‘I hadn’t ridden a bike for at least a year, so I can tell you I had some sleepless nights.’ And yet when he got to Indy he didn’t even practice, ‘because I wanted people to see it full throttle and go “wow!”. I didn’t build my career the way I did to ride around waving to the crowd.’

His WFO ride left the crowd – including Valentino Rossi – dumbfounded. ‘Once I kicked into turn one and got it sideways then I was okay. Obviously I can go sideways till I die…’

You get the feeling that’s exactly what he will do. Aged 58, Roberts is as far as he’s ever been from hanging up his steel shoe and kicking back on the porch. As we get ready to leave and hit the road to Wayne Rainey’s home in Monterey, we push him for more details about this 2010 MotoGP deal. ‘I could tell ya,’ he says, helpfully. ‘But then I’d have to kill ya.’ And judging by the way he handles that shotgun, he may not be joking.

… A DANGEROUS MAN TO KNOW
King Kenny Roberts has always liked a drink, so he can be a dangerous man to know on Sunday nights

‘I got drunk after I’d won the first 500 GP of 1980 in Italy. They were giving me champagne at the track and I rode to the hotel on the luggage rack on top of the car. The guys tried to get me off the roof but they couldn’t. I ended up eating at the hotel, with Randy [Mamola] and some other guys. There were these English journalists, eating at a corner table. They’d really pissed me off because they wrote all the wrong stuff about my World Series thing. I remember telling those guys: “if you ever do that again, I’m not going to get a lawyer, I’m not going to sue you, I’m going to kick your ass”. Boy, were they nervous, they were shitting bricks. So we’re in the hotel dining room and I shout to them: “you guys want some champagne?” “Oh yeah, thanks, Kenny!”. So I throw this bottle, it goes flying across the room and smashes against their table and the wall. All of a sudden they were eating so fast, trying to get out of there. Then I say: “you guys want some more champagne?”. “Oh no, no thanks Kenny!” I never got along with the British press, I wasn’t diplomatic back then.’

Re-electrified

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Royal Enfield gives a new lease of life to the Bullet Electra with a modern powerplant
Words: Ravi Chandnani   
Photography: Sawan Hembram

They say evolution is inevitable and Royal Enfield is no exception to this fact. The company has been able to churn out machines that are reminiscent of the past and at the same time are also fitted with contemporary technology. As a testimony to the above quote, the Thunderbird twin spark was followed by the Classic series with a new unit construction engine and fuel injection. However, this evolution was somewhat incomplete as the Electra was the only bike in Royal Enfield’s product line-up with the same old cast iron engine. It was an ageing bike which had a bit of Botox in 2005 when it received an electric starter, a five-speed transmission as well as a disc brake. It was high time for the manufacturer to recognize the winds of change and revive the Electra in the same way that it reanimated the Thunderbird. Realizing this, Royal Enfield has placed a new heart in that old world styled frame of the Electra – better late than never.

The new unit construction engine is able to lend the bike a smoother ride

The Electra has been impressing on the sales charts for a long time now and with the introduction of the new unit construction engine, it ends up becoming better in a lot of ways. Well almost. We received the bike for a short ride experience and needless to say, I quickly headed for the highway. The first thing that drew my attention after starting the bike was the quieter exhaust note which is achieved using a longer muffler providing better sound insulation – blame the government regulations for this. It sounded much more subdued compared to the older model. The handling of the new Electra has changed fairly given the fact that it has a higher centre of gravity compared to the older model. This is due to the design differences in the engines. To an extent, the new Electra feels a bit heavy even though the weight of the new bike is almost the same as the previous version. The ever present vibrations still exist, however, their density has gone down considerably. The new Electra is now wider by 60mm, taller by 40mm and longer by 20mm with the same wheelbase as the older version

The unit construction engine is the same motor that also powers the Classic 350 and it was no surprise that the performance of this powerplant was almost similar to the Classic. The new engine might be smoother, however, it is not as torquey as the Electra 5S, churning out just 28Nm of torque at 4000rpm – a drop of four Nm. The reason for this is the lighter crank. Nonetheless, the power output has been upped by 9.1 percent at 20PS.The styling and aesthetic value of the bike is still very much the same if you overlook the motor. It retains its retro charm just like other models in the Royal Enfield family. Overall the initial impression of the new Electra is pretty impressive, however, the excitement level might have gone for some die-hard ‘thump’ fans. But it goes without saying that even at an on-road (Pune) price of Rs 1.08 lakh, the Electra still remains the best option for the new and the old Enfield fan.