Best Bikes in India | No.1 Two Wheeler Magazine
The Crosstourer, a belated arrival from Honda, adds a distinctive and promising new option to the most vibrant category of motorcycling. We got astride it in Spain recently to see how it fared vis-à-vis BMW’s class-defining R1200GS or Ducati’s Multistrada [Read more…] about Road Test: Honda Crosstourer
KTM has always been associated with the color orange – which is a good thing as they look mighty appealing in orange – but it is always refreshing to see the Austrian manufacturer’s products in other colours too.
Recently, an all new white and black paint scheme for the KTM 200 was unveiled by Bajaj who are looking to spice up the Duke range. Since its introduction, the neon orange baby Duke has become an eye-candy for every youngster in India. With it’s aggressive looks and naked appeal there are very few who disagree with the fact that the Duke is one of the best looking Indian motorcycles ever.
Bajaj have also hiked the price of the Duke 200; prospective buyers would now have to shell out 1.43 L (OTR Pune) if they want to own an exciting, fun, utterly mad Duke 200. We at Bike India feel that with the festive season just around the corner, addition of two new paint schemes will certainly help Bajaj bolster their already impressive sales further.
Peugeot chose the Paris Motor Show to debut a stunning new concept bicycle – the all-carbonfiber Onyx, a prototype TT and triathlon machine.
The TT/tri Onyx is an eye-catching design, with its matte black and copper finish making for unconventional yet stunning looks. The stem sits flush with the top tube and neatly integrates with the elongated aero head tube. The front brake is concealed within the fork, as also seen on a Boardman AiR/TT machine. The fork exceeds the 3:1 aspect ratio limit of the UCI, but Peugeot does not plan to make a UCI-compliant version, choosing instead to focus on the global triathlon market. The bike also includes Shimano Dura-Ace Di2, Enve wheels and Rotor elliptical chainrings.
Peugeot designers placed strong emphasis on aerodynamics, with flattened handlebars for a reduced frontal area and wheels covered with fairings. The bike also has an electronic shifter, as exposed shift cables would have created excess drag. The Onyx could be sold through regular bike shops in spring 2014, when production versions are expected to be ready.
Regular readers might remember the buzz about a bigger Pulsar being on the cards; that news has now been confirmed by no less than Rajiv Bajaj, who announced that his R&D department is working on a 375cc Pulsar, expected to be launched in 2013.
The bigger Pulsar will not be as radical a redesign as the 200NS is, but will debut as an elder sibling of the 200NS. It will be equipped with a fuel-injected 375cc, single cylinder, triple-spark liquid-cooled engine, with power and torque expected to be around 32PS and 25Nm respectively. This new Pulsar will be sharing its engine with the KTM 375 bike which is currently in the works, and both are expected to be launched at around the same time in 2013.
With an expected price of INR 1.5-1.75 lacs, the big Pulsar could be a threat to the Kawasaki/Honda/Hyosung 250s, and might well become the king of affordable performance biking in India.
An Indonesian blog has leaked what is claimed to be a drawing of a forthcoming naked bike based on the latest Kawasaki Ninja 300
The drawing identifies the bike as a 250cc model, but just as the 250cc and 300cc Ninjas are visually identical, the sketch, if real, is likely to be an exact representation of a 300cc naked bike that the market expects to get. The drawing uses the name ER250C, which suggests it could be part of the same family as the parallel twin ER6 and possibly be called the ER3. The styling though has cues from the Z800 and Z1000, so a Z300 nomenclature might be more suitable as it would align the bike with Kawasaki’s sporty nakeds, just as the Ninja 300 is aligned with the ZX-6R and ZX-10R. The bike could also be named J300, as Kawasaki recently applied for a trademark on that name.
The engine, suspension, frame and wheels appear identical to the Ninja 250/300, but the styling is far more edgy and different than was expected. Kawasaki appears to have gone beyond just replacing the front fairing, and has included a new tank, seat unit and exhaust. There is a chance that this is not an official drawing, but the same blog has also revealed documents pertaining to the ER250C submitted by Kawasaki to the Indonesian transport authority. It is believed that Kawasaki might use its manufacturing facilities in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines to build the bike.
This could be big news, as there are very few naked quarter-liter bikes in the market, aside from the not-for-North-America Suzuki GW250. The Ninja 250 has been one of the most popular 250 in India too, so the new naked 300, if a reality, could be sweet news for Indian bike enthusiasts!
Source and pic courtesy: TMCBlog.com
