After a slew of fantastic motorcycles in 2017, the New Year promises to be just as exciting! Last year was a fantastic year for Indian motorcycling. Our market has finally come of age, and enthusiasts can now buy the latest hardware right here at home, just months after an international launch. Top manufacturers from Japan, Europe and the Americas continue to strengthen their dealer network here, as new players constantly identify India as their next destination.
A long-awaited brand was BMW Motorrad, who finally made their presence known in India, as they launched several high-capacity motorcycles across all segments. Their legendary R 1200 GS found many takers here and rumour has it that, for 2018, the German marque is now planning on bringing their smaller adventure bikes, the F 750 GS and F 850 GS to India as well. Shifting our sights lower, we also expect to see the long-overdue G 310 R and G 310 GS hit our shores this year.
Benelli have been doing quite well in India with their well-priced range of naked and sport motorcycles, and we expect to see them diversify into a variety of new segments this year. On the cards is the mid-sized adventure bike, the TRK 502, the scrambler-styled Leoncino and the retro Imperiale 400.
The number of Ducatisti in India has growing exponentially, and the Bologna-based brand sure made hay in 2017 with the success of the entry-level Scrambler brand, three variants of the Multistrada, the supermoto-styled Hyperstrada, the focussed Panigales and the recently-launched SuperSport. For 2018, Ducati are expected to unveil the new Monster 821, the big Scrambler 1100 and the 2018 Multistrada 1260. We also have our fingers crossed in the hope of seeing the Panigale V4 on our shores soon.
Believes that happiness can be found mid-corner.
Anosh Khumbatta – who has written 281 posts on Bike India.
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