The 2013 edition of the Indian Superbike Festival took place at Amanora in Pune. We bring you the highlights.
Images: Jim Gorde
India Superbike Festival 2013
New Bike Specifications
First Look: 2014 Honda CRF 450 Rally
Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) – the Japanese manufacturing bigwig’s racing wing has raised the curtains on its latest entry for the upcoming 2014 Dakar Rally. A year after HRC made a trailblazing return to the Mecca of rally raids, they’ve announced their participation in the next installment of the competition as well. Drawing parallels to last year, HRC have again used the the CRF 450X enduro as blueprint for their dedicated rally machine, called the CRF 450 Rally.
Honda had introduced the Dakar-ready model exactly a year ago,and now, the new CRF 450 Rally has undergone a series of upgrades and improvements based on data pertaining to maintenance requirements, aerodynamics, durability and engine performance gleaned from last year’s race. The bike will be propelled by HRC’s signature Programmed Fuel Injection system this time around as well.
Team HRC’s 5 racers and their respective CRF 450s will participate in the upcoming 2013 Morocco Rally which starts on the 13th of October, using it as a platform to build towards next year’s Dakar Rally, which will also feature the same personnel and vehicles that will appear in Morocco. The bike will be produced and released for sale to other rally teams post-Dakar next year.
Story: Harket Suchde
Police Model Design Honda CBR 250R
Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt Ltd (HMSI) has unveiled the Police Model Design of its CBR 250R motorcycle, in partnership with ‘Grand’ IJS Electronics, a manufacturer of emergency vehicles warning products. The motorcycle was shown at 16th Indian International Security Expo 2013.
The Police Model Design CBR 250R has been designed as a police patrolling vehicle to facilitate quick response to incidents and provide high visibility at night. The motorcycle is equipped with LED lights, red-blue traditional police beacon lights, collapsible pole lights for high visibility, and torch light to allow reading and writing at night. The motorcycle is also fitted with a police siren with public address (PA) system that incorporates a push-to-talk button to switch to the microphone, as well as a utility box. Along with the motorcycle, Honda provides a specially designed helmet that includes a hands-free microphone to help in addressing the public while riding the motorcycle.
Story: Gaurav Nagpal
Harley-Davidson Chennai HOG Ride
Chennai recently woke up to the sound of 300 Harley-Davidson motorcycles roaring through the city. H.O.G. chapters across India from Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Indore and Kochi came together with their families making this a big milestone for Harley-Davidson in India as it was the biggest zonal ride ever. The posse made their way through the streets of Chennai to Mahabalipuram in celebration of the 2nd Southern H.O.G. Ride. The three day event, organized featured live music, stalls having the latest Harley-Davidson merchandise on display, a tattoo parlour and a “Swap Shop” where riders could exchange motorcycle accessories and install them on the spot.
“The Southern H.O.G Ride has always been one of my favourite regional rides. I attended the first Southern H.O.G Ride in 2012 which was nothing short of fantastic. This year’s edition has been equally fabulous if not more. These three days passed in a flash, as I made new friends, shared my riding stories and will now be riding back home with a whole new set of brothers” Bala Chandrasekharan, Director, Coromandel H.O.G, Chapter, Chennai. Coromandel Chapter is the host chapter for the Second Southern H.O.G. Ride. As the men at Harley-Davidson say, ‘You’re not just buying a bike but an entry into a culture and lifestyle that the brand offers’.
Story: Rommel Albuquerque
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
