Jim Gorde

Royal Enfield have finally launched their café racer model, the Continental GT, in the UK. The new motorcycle infuses the essential café racer design elements with authority and is also the company’s most powerful model.

The Continental GT runs a 535cc bored-out version of the company’s single cylinder, unit-construction engine. Bore diameter is up by 3mm, to 87mm, from the 84mm the 499cc guise runs. Stroke is the same at 90mm. If these numbers seem familiar, that’s because they are indeed identical to the Lightning 535 the company used to have on offer earlier last decade. What aren’t identical, of course, or course are the output figures. The new Continental GT puts out 29.1 PS at 5,100 rpm and 44 Nm at 4,000 rpm, up from the 26 PS and 38 Nm the cast-iron-engined Lightning had on offer. The gearbox is also a five-speed unit, on the left, against the ancient four-speed right shifter, which was complete with the ‘spoon’ for neutral setup. With the bike tipping the scales at 184 kg, the performance should be quite something!

Mechanically, almost everything on the Continental GT has been entirely redesigned for maximum performance. The suspension components are uprated, you get clip-on handlebars,  and the wheels and tyres happen to be 18″ Pirelli Sport Demons: 100-section front and 130-section rear. The fuel tank is also a reasonable 13.5 litres. Royal Enfield will also offer a choice of seats depending on your riding style.

The bike has been launched at £5,200 in the UK. But you don’t have to worry about conversion figures or sky-rocketing exchange rates because the bike will be made in India and should be priced between the Rs 2.2-2.5 lakh bracket. The launch in India is scheduled for later this year. Watch this space!

Story: Jim Gorde

Kawasaki have finally answered our prayers and have decided to bring in the big guns to make their presence felt in the Indian big-bike segment. They are set to storm the competition by launching three different bikes which cater to a wide variety of audiences on the 4th of September.

All three are just the seductive, powerful and aggressively-styled motorcycles we were particularly longing for. Kawasaki had been toying with the idea of getting these bikes into India for a long time but always seemed unsure about it. Now though, they believe they will give the competition a run for their money.

The first new arrival will stir up a storm in the litre-class category: the absolute hooligan of a motorcycle that is the Ninja ZX-10R. With the 998cc four producing 200.1 PS at 13,000 revs and a considerable 112 Nm, it is an excellent track tool which feels at home on a day of hard riding. It will arrive loaded with features like 310mm petal rotors with ABS, traction control and Ohlins fully-adjustable suspension to name a couple.

If the Ninja ZX-10R seems a bit to extreme, there’s the lean, mean and green street-machine, the Z1000. The second arrival, it now packs a 1,043cc motor which delivers 128 PS and 110 Nm; more than enough muscle to match its stature. The price tag won’t make your eyes water either.

The third and final weapon in their onslaught is none other than world’s-fastest-bike contender, the Ninja ZX-14R – big, burly and quite intimidating to many indeed. It is the natural rival to the renowned Suzuki Hayabusa, with Japan’s gentleman’s agreement limiting their top speed to a few decimals below 300 km/h. Powered by a massive 1,441cc inline-four, the ZX-14R makes 200 PS at 10,000 revs with a huge 162.5 Nm of torque coming in relatively low down at 7,500 rpm. When equipped with the Ram-Air system, the output jumps to 210 PS. Like its size, the price tag isn’t expected to be diminutive either.

All three bikes will be imported as CBUs, so expect figures around the Rs 15 lakh mark when Kawasaki and Bajaj announce the prices at launch. The bikes will initially be available in Pune, Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai and throughout the country later on. Bajaj will be responsible for retailing and servicing the bikes through their Pro Biking network.

Story: Jim Gorde