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Wide versus Narrow

LAST MONTH SUZUKI LAUNCHED A 250-CC GIXXER AND AN UPDATED 150-CC GIXXER. The first ride on both these bikes was held at the Buddh International Circuit. After riding both the motorcycles everyone said that the 250 was not as nimble and quick to steer as the 150. Both the motorcycles share the same chassis with identical steering head angle and wheelbase, but one steers quicker than the other. Nobody knew why that was happening. The answer is very simple: the 250 runs on a wider set of tyres compared to the 150 and this slows the steering response. Fit the 150 wheels and tyres on the 250 and you will see that it is as quick and nimble to steer as the 150.

Incidentally, today the “expert” opinion-making journalists are able to differentiate between a slow-handling bike and quick-steering motorcycle but are unable to identify the reason for the change in characteristics.

We did a road test on the new Honda CB300R and the bike feels like a 150 to ride with a leaner power delivery. The compact motorcycle is a joy to ride as you can flick it through traffic and around corners. Though it is sold out, the price is on the high side. Would I pay nearly Rs 3 lakh for a single-cylinder motorcycle when I can buy a Royal Enfield 650-cc twin-cylinder for almost the same price?

Last month Indian motor sport suffered a huge loss with the demise of Nazir Hoosein. In a way he was responsible for kick-starting my own motorcycle racing career, for it was at the Juhu races organized by his motor sport club, IARC, in 1977 that it all started for me. May his soul rest in peace.

 

Aspi Bhathena
Editor

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A Bleak Scenario Indeed

THE TWO-WHEELER INDUSTRY HAS BEEN WITNESSING A DECLINE MONTH ON MONTH FOR the past six months. There are a couple of reasons for this such as the atmosphere of uncertainty in the market, whether it is the job situation or just no cash flow, and to top these issues there is the compulsory five-year insurance for two-wheelers. When somebody buys an entry-level 100/110-cc motorcycle in the region of Rs 50,000, they are already stretching themselves to buy a daily mode of transport. If, over and above this, you burden them with a further Rs 5,000 or Rs 6,000, it makes the bike an unaffordable proposition for them.

Then we also had a fuel price hike wherein the cost of fuel hit the ceiling with an all-time high of Rs 90 per litre. If all this were not enough, we have the Bharat Stage VI norms coming into force. To meet these norms the manufacturers will have to do a considerable amount of work on the existing models and most of them will have to shift from carburettors to fuelinjection. This is going to push the prices even further north and if the economy does not improve, then the downward trend will continue for two-wheeler manufacturers.

The other day I stopped a motorcyclist going down the wrong way at Koregaon Park in Pune and asked him to turn around and ride on the correct side of the road. His response to me was, ‘This is my country and I will do what I want! Who are you to tell me?’ If such is the people’s attitude, what hope can we have? The only option is to enforce law and order in a strict manner, due to which the same Indians follow rules when abroad. Only then will we see some change in the attitude of the people; otherwise the scenario is bound to go from bad to worse.

Aspi Bhathena
Editor

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Dismal Trend

Two -wheeler sales have witnessed a steady decline over the past six months and this has prompted most of the manufacturers to cut down production. Incidentally, the health of the automobile industry is a good indicator of how the economy is doing.

Last month I was in Portugal to ride the all-new BMW S 1000 RR at the Estoril racetrack. The bike is truly a rocket ship. You may read my first ride report in this issue. The problem I face while riding these 200-plus-PS motorcycles is that I am sore for three to four day after the ride. This is due to not riding a motorcycle on the racetrack on a regular basis. The last time I rode a motorcycle on a racetrack was in January 2018 when I had gone to Valencia to ride the Ducati Panigale V4.

After the S 1000 RR ride I headed straight to Las Vegas for the BMW X7 drive and all the fellow journalists were laughing at me as I was struggling to walk up and down stairs. All I can say is that I am thankful to God that I can still wobble around a racetrack at a decent clip and keep the Indian flag flying. Most of the Australian, American, and European journalists are very quick to look down upon Asian journalists, especially when you have grey hair. However, it is only when they see you ride that their perception changes and so does their attitude.

Indian motor sport suffered a big loss with the passing away of George Francis. I had known George since my racing days when he got into race photography. He used to be present at all the race meetings in Chennai and I remember having fun with him while he was shooting. Whatever few action shots I have of myself are thanks to George. Thank you,
George. May your soul rest in peace.

Aspi Bhathena
Editor

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Triple Crown for Rookie Twain

AFTER A LULL OF THREE MONTHS, THE WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP (WSBK) kicked off in Philip Island, Australia, and the MotoGP season kicked off in Qatar. History of sorts was created by Alvaro Bautista and the all-new Ducati Panigale V4 R. It was a race for the V4 Panigale. It was rookie bike and rider that claimed the triple crown of the super pole, race one, and race two. Bautista is a rookie in WSBK but has come from MotoGP and this just proves that the standard of MotoGP is much higher than that of WSBK. I wish one of the sport channels starts broadcasting the WSBK races live.

For the first time, we saw the Japanese rider, Kaito Toba, win a Moto3 race. In fact, Kaito is a product of the Asia Talent Hunt Racing series which is open to all riders from Asia. We do not have a single rider from India in this series which is a stepping stone to Moto3 world championship.

In Moto2, Lorenzo Baldasari won from Thomas Luthi who made a successful return to Moto2 after struggling last year in MotoGP. It was business as usual with the main protagonist, Andrea Dovizioso, and Marc Marquez finishing first and second and Cal Crutchlow making a brilliant comeback from injury to claim the last spot on the podium.

This month we have quite a few first rides, comprising the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R, the upgraded Bajaj Dominar, Benelli TRK502, Yamaha MT15, and the updated Yamaha R15 ABS.

 

Aspi Bhathena
Editor

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Room for Improvement

AT THE VERY OUTSET I WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE ARAVIND KP FOR FINISHING THE Dakar Rally. The issue of Indian riders not being able to compete with their international counterparts and fighting for podium positions in any form of motorcycle racing, be it motocross or racing on the tarmac, still remains. In this issue we have done an interview with Aravind KP in which he mentioned that this time he was riding between 65 and 75 per cent of his riding capability and that this helped him in not crashing during the raid. Because our boys lack the out and out speed of the international riders, they have to ride at 100 per cent, or even beyond that, just to keep up with a top-class rider.

The solution to this is to start racing at the age of four or five years and racing with better
riders. It should not matter to you that you are not winning races; your aim should be to
become a faster and better rider and then success will automatically follow. For me, finishing
the IOM TT race was more satisfying than winning all the races I have won put together.

Last month we gave away the Bike India Awards. We had 34 two-wheelers vying for those. As many as 13 sub-200-cc motorcycles were launched during 2018 and there were 19 premium motorcycles contending for the Two-wheeler of the Year Award. After facing competition from the best in the world, the Royal Enfield 650 Interceptor was crowned the Two-wheeler of the Year. The Royal Enfield team, led by Siddhartha Lal, deserves all the accolades, for they have created a fantastic motorcycle. It is not that they made an excellent motorcycle and priced it out of the reach of the enthusiasts; their pricing is the real icing on the cake.

 

Aspi Bhathena
Editor